twoboys

Thank you so much Globeman for taking the time to write this post. It did make me a little nervous. But I am hoping that with "normal" water conditions and a staff that has a couple of months under its belt, the kinks will be ironed out. This is our first time on a river cruise. you know what they say, "You only have one chance to make a first impression" :) Im sure we will enjoy it. And if we dont think its completely fabulous. we will go back to Seabourn cruises.

One thing is certain, the people on this board are very generous with their information and wisdom and I truly appreciate it. This bodes well for the character of river cruisers so Im sure we will meet some nice people

Thank you Twinkletoes. This will be a brand new experience for us. I have read so many reviews and posts and it looks like river cruising has many raving fans. I hope that we too will write a glowing review when we return.

Thanks again. I am looking into some independent tours to Sintra. I believe that there is an extra charge anyway from Uniworld for that.So I will compare and contrast. But I figure if we will be on larger groups on the excursions once we are on the ship. it might be nice to do something with a smaller group on our own. We are pretty much independent travelers, and I tend to do alto of research before we go anywhere. Between iPhone apps, guidebooks, Trip Advisor Guides, etc, we have done and seen some amazing things on our own (many for free!).

I am awaiting our final documents from Uniworld so once I have that in hand I can make an educated decision. Our trip starts on Juen 27th, so I imagine we will get them soon.

Thank you Cruz-or. Wow, 6:00??? That us so early. Usually on vacations, especially in Euorpe, we don't hear until 8 or 9. But I guess we shall wait and see.

Thank you for your reply. We actually booked a Jr Suite with a balcony which I think will be quite nice. Maybe you can help me with some other questions:

1-Is dinner at a set time? If so, what time?

2- What is there to do after dinner? We have only been on ocean cruises (our favorite is Seabourn) that have some entertainment at night and usually a casino.

3- when you go on the excursions, do they keep all the passengers together or will they break up into smaller groups?

4- did you have time on your own to explore more off the beaten path?

5- any tips for what not to miss in Lisbon?

Thank you

Anyone been on the new Queen Isabel yet? We are going at the end of June and its our first River Cruise. I keep looking for new Uniworld reviews in general. There hasnt been a new one since December. Are there no cruises between December and April? I know its a smaller population that takes river cruises and once you divide it by company, its even smaller. But I do love reading the reviews. If anyone has been on this ship or any Uniworld cruise in the past couple of months, I would love to hear what you have to say :)

thanks

We are first time Seabourn cruisers and we will be n the Quest this July to celebrate our 20th anniversary. . If we could get a referral coupon that would be awesome and would cover the cost of our cooking excursion in Santorini! I am guessing I just send it to my travel agent, right?

thank you!

aschers at optonline dot net