Review of Premicon Queen

This will be a brief review of the new Premicon Queen River cruise Ship:

This beautiful ship went into the water in June, 08 at a cost of 20M euros. It is gorgeous, with polished woods from ceiling to floors. The cabins are divided into 4 types, with the deluxe suite being the most prevalent. The deluxe suite offers a nice sized room, small bath, plenty of storage space, flat panel TV, wireless internet, small refrigerator, and a host of other amenities. Wonderful thick towels and robes are found in each suite. The next size up has a much larger bath, and the largest suites offer a sizable living area.

Service: Without question the finest on the water. From the moment you arrive and are greeted by white gloved waiters with champagne, you are encircled by a 5star experience. The staff knows your name and preferences and delights in making you pleased with each aspect of the cruise.

Fellow passengers:Unbeknowst to us we were the 3rd Americans on the ship; in fact they thought we were German till the American passport came out of my purse. Within minutes our menus were in English along with English newspapers and announcements. The tour director Doris requested English speaking guides at the Abbey at Melk, and other items to make the trip pleasant.

Food: The highlight of the cruise was the meals. Each meal is a Jean-George, the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons on steroids. Breakfast begins with 2 6ft trolleys being rolled to your table: one contains a myraid of smoked fish, and the other peeled fresh fruits carved to your specification. 10 juices, cheeses, cold meats, enough jams, jellies and preserves to fill a shelf at a gourmet shop, champagne, large variety of home baked breads are but a few of the items that make up breakfast. Lunch is a 5 course meal, with appetizers, superb soups (the pumpkin soup was unique) entrees, cheese board and dessert. The afternoon is punctuated with afternoon tea, that resembles a fine Viennese pastry shop, and lovely small sandwiches. Dinner is a 6 courses including an amusee bouce, appetizer, soup, entree, vegetables are brought to your table to choose, cheese, and dessert. After all of that there is a snack at 10:30. Each course could be on the cover of Gourmet, and the taste was even better.

Entertainment: A combo is playing in the theatre. One night a singer and accompaniest were brought on board; it was very Broadway-like. We were so exhausted from eating that staying up late was out of the question.

Sights and excursions: We were delayed as there was a wreck on the Danube. We were late to Passau, and did see the large organ. The Melk Abbey was most interesting and the guide spoke fluent English. The tours were well organized and most reasonalbe in price. We missed Linz due to the Danube wreck.

We had taken a previous river cruise and noted that the ship was open to anyone when docked. Not so on Premicon as you are required to show your room key when departing and arriving, so as not to let strangers on board. The fellow passenger kept repeating that this was the only 5 star ship on the rivers of Europe; they are correct

I will be pleased to elaborate on this; please write to mem469@yahoo.com

Have a wonderful experience on the Premicon Queen

Thank you for the detailed report Paolosmom. This sounds a wonderful experience - my kind of trip. You talk about the food but was it open seating or assigned and was there the almighty rush to grab a table when the restaurant opened (like on another river cruise line I have been on)?

You are assigned tables, with nameplates no less. You can dine when you wish and there is not the rush for seating as on the Viking line. Dinner begins at 7 and we generally ate about 9. Truly the Premicon Queen is in a league of its own

:)

This sounds like a REAL first class line.

Are there any tables for two?:)

We just recieved there brochure. Very impressive. Reminds me of Silversea.

We are leaning towards Taucks new ships for 2010. Premicon Queen seems more gerred to Europens I think cause of the 3, 4 and 5 day cruises.We are looking into doing Amsterdam to Budipest 14 days.Taucks new ships seem as close as a product to Premicon as we can get.

Good day

we were on a sparesely populated cruise and were seated alone, just the 2 of us. I saw no tables for 2.

I did not mention the wonderful wine selections. We were most impressed with the sommelier and the selections; like everything on this ship, very top of the line.

As for the length of days of the cruise, I do think they have 7 day cruises. We did take advantage of the pre and post packages and I would suggest you look into these as well

Tauck is good as is Deilmann and Amadeus Waterways. The rest are 3-4 stars at the very best.

The experience on Premicon is not just the food but the entertainment, ambience and service. This is very high end cruise-like, and a new experience for river cruising.

Premicon does also offer longer cruises.

Here is a link to a review on a German cruise board. You might not be able to read it but there are some nice pictures.

More pictures (plus a very long German review, so just scroll down) can be found here

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-1-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-2-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-3-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

steamboats

The ship decor (interior only) looks very nice, but there appears to be a lot of buffets as opposed to waiter service. Is this accurate? I dislike buffets.

Oceans&Rivers,

Breakfast is buffet style but you can also order anything. You can´t help yourself at the buffet but will be served. For lunch you can choose off the menu or off the buffet. Dinner is only off the menu.

steamboats

We had no buffets; breakfast was either serverd on trolleys (smoked fish and fresh fruit), although there were stations for eggs, an area with breads, another area for juices, etc

Lunch and dinner were served in the main dining room, and no buffets. Even the tea service was brougt to you.

The staff does not allow you to carry any dishes. If you desire to take yuor morning coffee to your suite, the staff carries it to you.

If you have a fax I will be pleased to fax some menus.

We have cruised on high end cruise lines such as Regent, and this is a far more luxurious experience

The staff does not allow you to carry any dishes.

That's good news. :)

We have cruised on high end cruise lines such as Regent, and this is a far more luxurious experience

How does it compare to Crystal Cruises? And, on the river, to Peter Deilmann?

Premicon does also offer longer cruises.

 

Here is a link to a review on a German cruise board. You might not be able to read it but there are some nice pictures.

 

More pictures (plus a very long German review, so just scroll down) can be found here

 

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-1-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-2-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

http://heinbloed-minis.blogspot.com/2008/12/tag-3-auf-der-premicon-queen.html

 

steamboats

From the blog: "Die Organisation war eine Katastrohphe."

Now that doesn't sound good at all. :eek:

Oceans&Rivers,

No, he refers to the office not to the ship. His cruise was mixed up sort of. It should have been a Nuremberg roundtrip but then the CEO of Premicon decided to go on this trip with a whole group. And then the itinerary was changed and everyone care for that group but not for the other guests.

The other review was the cruise prior to that one and those passengers were really pleased with the onboard service.

The Premicon Queen might be a touch better than Deilmann. Service is really excellent on Deilmann. But Deilmann has the older ships of course. Not that you will see the age. The ships are in perfect shape. But lets say when the ships were built no one cared for the cabin size as the customers now are doing. Therefore the cabins are much smaller than on the Premicon Queen except for the MS Mozart. Food is also excellent with Deilmann. On the MS Mozart we had 10 chefs and Captain´s Dinner was up to 9 courses. And although the cruise on the MS Mozart was all messed up (because of high water) Deilmann did their very best to please the passengers organizing bus trips, extra shore tours, welcome back receptions, a night in hotel in Budapest (of course 5 stars plus)... and we ended up in choosing between a 25% refund or a 50% discount on a future cruise. Our daughter and the two other kids received a little present (a book according to the age of each kid!). If you want to know more about Deilmann check my reviews linked in my signature.

steamboats

Oceans&Rivers,

 

No, he refers to the office not to the ship. His cruise was mixed up sort of. It should have been a Nuremberg roundtrip but then the CEO of Premicon decided to go on this trip with a whole group. And then the itinerary was changed and everyone care for that group but not for the other guests.

 

The other review was the cruise prior to that one and those passengers were really pleased with the onboard service.

Thank you. I saw the pictures and it looked like a lot of buffet food. I'm glad to read that it was served at the table, at least most of the time.

Regarding the age of riverboats, do they go in for extensive renovation such as is done by some companies with their ocean-going ships? We just did a cruise on the Crystal Symphony and it was so beautifully renovated you could not tell it was built in 1995.

But Deilmann has the older ships of course. Not that you will see the age. The ships are in perfect shape. But lets say when the ships were built no one cared for the cabin size as the customers now are doing. Therefore the cabins are much smaller than on the Premicon Queen except for the MS Mozart.

In pictures the MS Mozart looks very dark from the dark woodwork. Has it been or will it be updated? I do enjoy larger cabins, but also want excellent food, and I don't really care too much about included excursions, being very familiar with Europe and especially the towns along the rivers (in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) from extensive travels there.

Oceans&Rivers,

Yes, the ships are refurbished frequently. I don´t think they will change the dark wood of the MS Mozart. It´s considered as elegant.

steamboats

Thanks for your review.

I had a tour while the ship was in Vienna in Oct and was very impressed. Is it true that the shore excursions a done only on an individual basis?

If so what type of costs were involved

Thanks

Yes, the ships are refurbished frequently. I don´t think they will change the dark wood of the MS Mozart. It´s considered as elegant.

The actual lightness or darkness of wood does not connote elegance to me, but if the wood is of high quality, that would contribute to an elegant atmosphere.

If the rooms are brightened with excellent lighting that would help. It's just that all the photos I have seen of the Mozart make the ship appear to be very dark inside. Most of the photos have not been recent, though. Could you provide some links to Mozart photos which would show her off to best advantage?

Oceans&Rivers,

Have you checked our photos already?

http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-mozart.shtml

I have apologize that the website isn´t really up to date.

I never found it being too dark aboard the MS Mozart.

steamboats

Oceans&Rivers,

 

Have you checked our photos already?

 

http://www.rivers-rails.com/boats-mozart.shtml

 

I have apologize that the website isn´t really up to date.

 

I never found it being too dark aboard the MS Mozart.

 

steamboats

Your photos are lovely, and yes, at least some of them look familiar, so I must have Googled the Mozart and found your site before. I'm sorry to take so long to reply to you. I wasn't on the boards for several months.

Thank you for providing me the link to your pictures. I enjoyed looking at them again. :)