Just Back from Uniworld River Beatrice Any Questions for Me

[Mylisa]

Just back from the Enchanting Danube cruise on the River Beatrice with 3 day extension in Prague. I will be glad to answer any questions. I'll be posting a review as soon as I have time to type it up but meanwhile I wanted to be able to answer any questions anyone going soon might have.

 

In short it was a wonderful trip. There were 11 of us ages 21 to 60 and we had the entire bottom deck essentially to ourselves. The crew was very friendly and our cruise director Mirela (sp?)didn't stop smiling the entire trip and she was everywhere and very visible which was amazing as she is a little thing.

[cozzello]

How was the trip? What surprised you? Did you need any dress clothes ie sport coat? What cabin were you in and did you do any extra excursions? We go on June 19 and are anxious to read all about your trip.

Cheryl

[Mylisa]

We were on the lowest deck. It was less expensive and I was a bit worried about not having a big window and being partially below the water line. But to tell you the truth we were never in our rooms so in the end it didn't matter and I was glad we saved the money. Also since there were 11 of us and that deck is only 1/2 passenger deck we virtually had the entire deck to ourselves. So we stood in the halls and talked and left our doors open and went back and forth between rooms.

 

There is only one american plug in the cabin so if you need more than one plug take a surge protector with multiple plugs. The hair dryer in the room works fine so don't bring one. All the hotels we stayed in also had hair dryers. The shower had a shower door which worked well. No plastic curtain stiking to your hiney.

 

I refilled the furnished water bottle from the glass bottle that the cabin steward refilled every day. There is a clock in the room but it is on military time. I used it to set an alarm but if you want standard time bring your own battery operated clock.

 

I was a little disappointed in the food. For example the steak which is always offered as an alternate meal along with salmon was not a great cut of meat. They did buffet for the soup and salad sometimes for dinner and the buffet is very small and 150 in 2 lines was crazy. Also several meals you could only choose the entree the salad and soup and desert was already set. Breakfast was good but the same every morning.

 

I would take a sport coat, no tie, to wear at the 2 captains parties. My sister's crew did not bring one but I thought it looked nice on my guys. Some people even wore jeans to dinner on other nights although not many. You can order beer for free with dinner but they don't tell you that. Wine was sometimes good and sometimes bad. You should definitely sign up to eat dinner in the Captain's study, it's where the library/game room/computer room is at the end of the ship. They only allow 15 people a night to eat in there and it is very relaxing. Menu is a bit limited as it's at the other end of the ship but still mostly the same as what is being served in the dining room. Waiter named Daniel in dining room was great. He learned and used all 11 of our first names.

 

We did not do any extra excursions. In Vienna we took the subway to the palace on our own all 11 of us. Very easy to get around. Then bought the tour with the hand held audio device for the group of rooms we wanted to see. We also took the subway to the central shopping area in Vienna as well on our own.

 

We had one bad tour guide, Hans in Salzberg. Boring and monotone. Everyone else was very good. Study up on some European history as they cover a lot and it was hard to understand who reigned when and who they were the son of and who they married, etc.

Print out a timeline for yourself and take it with you about the Austrian/hungarian rulers.

 

I also hired private guides in Budapest and Prague to take us thru the Jewish quaters in each city and the Jewish museums. If you want their names or emails let me know. They were fabulous and well worth the money. You might be able to add on some other people from the ship to share the costs. These tours were not offered by the ship as the synagogues were closed when the ship would want to offer the tours so they didn't.

 

Let me know if you have other questions. Also if you are doing the Prague extension let me know if you have questions about that as well.

[Mylisa]

Almost forgot to tell you that if you like your bed with a duvet your good to go but if you prefer "american style" top sheet and blanket all you need to do is ask your cabin steward and they will make your bed up the way you prefer.

[cozzello]

Thanks for the heads up about the bed linens, I know it is silly but I do like a top sheet. I am sorry to hear about the food and especially the breakfasts, was the food served very heavy? Did you have much down time? We are going to the concert in Vienna but that is it for extras, I think we will wander. Did you need much cash (euros)? We will be spending two extra days in Munich.

How were your flights?

Thanks for your info.

Cheryl

[Rbel4]

Thanks for the information about private guides of the Jewish quarters in these cities. We would be very interested in doing this. We are going on the River Beatrice in August. Can you please provide their names and email addresses. How much did they charge and how many hours were the tours.

 

Also, what hotel did Uniworld put you up at in Prague and what were your observations of it.

 

Regards, Rbel4

[Mylisa]

Thanks for the heads up about the bed linens, I know it is silly but I do like a top sheet. I am sorry to hear about the food and especially the breakfasts, was the food served very heavy? Did you have much down time? We are going to the concert in Vienna but that is it for extras, I think we will wander. Did you need much cash (euros)? We will be spending two extra days in Munich.

How were your flights?

Thanks for your info.

Cheryl

 

 

 

One comment on the Vienna concert. We didn't go but we spoke to people who did. They very much enjoyed it but said that it was extemely hot in there. So dress very very cool!!!

 

We did not exchange any money prior to going. We used ATM's in Vienna and everywhere else when we needed cash otherwise we used our credit card. We called all the bank card companies before we went and found out which one had the best rate and used that card. Any cash we had left over of the Hungarian money we used as part of our tipping of the staff on board the ship. We ended up leaving Europe with just pennies in foreign monies.

 

Don't get me started on our flights. We had to fly from Atlanta to JFK and then from JFK directly to Budapest. However due to lightening in Atlanta we were delayed getting into JFK and our flight to Budapest left early without us. There were 8 people on our plane going to Budapest and Delta didn't hold the flight the extra 15 - 20 min it would have taken to board us. We went to the Delta counter and they said "don't worry we have you on the next non-stop flight to Budapest in 2 days"! WHAT!!!!! After I exploded they got us on a flight to Amsterdam that left in 40 min so we had to run. Then in Amsterdam they wanted us to have a 5 hour layover and that didn't work for me either so they got us on a flight leaving in 30 minutes to Budapest. So we ended up getting in with a few hours of when we would have arrived. The most amazing part of this story is that our luggage actually arrived!!! We were shocked. Then going back I went to print our boarding passes and found out that they had changed our seats. I had those seats assigned for more than 9 months. At the airport they said well we don't guarantee seat selections. Word of warning check your seats regularly even in Europe if they are seats you really want.

[Mylisa]

Thanks for the information about private guides of the Jewish quarters in these cities. We would be very interested in doing this. We are going on the River Beatrice in August. Can you please provide their names and email addresses. How much did they charge and how many hours were the tours.

 

Also, what hotel did Uniworld put you up at in Prague and what were your observations of it.

 

Regards, Rbel4

 

In Prague we used a guide named Katarina Kruspanova. She is a licensed guide. She attended the American University College School and passed the English Language State Exam. She also worked under contract for Coca Cola for 7 years. Her company is called "The Perfect Package". Her mobile phone number is 420 723 002 075. Email is package@prague-perfect.cz website: http://www.prague-perfect.cz She is very knowledgeable and even brought us handouts of information. She charged us 800 CZK for 4 people for I think 3 hours which turned out to be about $10 per person per hour.

 

The hotel we stayed at in Prague was the Imperial Art Deco Hotel. It was a fantastic location and a great hotel. Large rooms, high ceilings. Top rated!! Also the guide they assign you there is Jana and she is wonderful. She is at the hotel all the time and very helpful. She arranged our tour to Terezenstat concentration camp. Don't tip the bell hop when he delivers your baggage the tips have already been payed for by Uniworld.

 

The guide we used in Budapest is Anna Gorgey. Her email is annagorgey@gmail.com She told us personal stories from her grandmother and her mother and she was extremely knowledgeable as well. Her webiste is http://www.personalguidebudapest.com Tell her that the people from Atlanta who were tired referred you.

[cozzello]

Did you have any problems with water levels? It aounds like someone on a Viking ship was bussed for part of their trip.

Thanks.

[Mylisa]

Did you have any problems with water levels? It aounds like someone on a Viking ship was bussed for part of their trip.

Thanks.

 

No we had no problem at all with the water levels at all.

[funtwotravel]

We are going on the River Beatrice in July from Passau to Budapest. We have been to Europe several times but have never taken a river cruise so we are very excited! I have a couple of questions.

1. Did people change or dress-up for dinner every night or did most people just do that on the Captain nights?

2. If the boat is docked overnight, are you able to get off the boat after dinner and wander around?

I appreciate your help and look forward to your full review!

[Mylisa]

We are going on the River Beatrice in July from Passau to Budapest. We have been to Europe several times but have never taken a river cruise so we are very excited! I have a couple of questions.

1. Did people change or dress-up for dinner every night or did most people just do that on the Captain nights?

2. If the boat is docked overnight, are you able to get off the boat after dinner and wander around?

I appreciate your help and look forward to your full review!

 

 

 

People only dressed on the 2 captain's night and even then there was a variety of dress. At the reception in the Lounge the captain and the cruise director welcome you as you come into the lounge door by clinked their champagne glasses with one that you are given. Kind of good to know what you have to do. No shaking of hands.

 

On those nights you will see every kind of dress from no sports coat but a button up shirt to someone wearing a coat and tie.

 

The other nights people wore casual wear but no shorts except breakfast and lunch.

 

I would take the clothes that you want to wear and not worry about dressing up too much. If you want to then do so if you don't you'll be fine also. Both Captains parties I wore pants and a decorative top. My guys wore a sport jacket but no tie. My sister's guys only wore button up shirts no coat. Everyone was fine.

 

We docked in Vienna at night and we got right off the boat and took the subway to the city center where we walked around and shopped and people watched. So yes you can get off of the boat.

 

One more thing I just thought of. When docked at Linz which is where you will dock to go to Salzburg don't go out into Linz at night. It is a college town and some people we talked to did go out and said that the college students were drinking a lot and were not behaving well. The people came right back to the ship as they felt uncomfortable. This could have been a one time thing but there are a lot of students in that town. The town looked cute and we wanted to go see it at night but it started to rain a little so we gave up going but those other people went anyway.

 

Oh and go up on the top deck when you go through a lock. It is very interesting. Once they did not let us go up but we went up 2 other times. I think you go through 10 locks all together. I think most of them is when your sleeping though.

[Wineart]

Funtwotravel -

 

What date are you going in July? DH and I are on the July 25th Passau to Budapest.

 

Roberta

[ltansil]

Thank you so much for filling us all in. There are 8 of us going together. Will it be a problem for us to eat our dinner meals together and also, be in the same group during the day tours if the people are split up? We are doing Passau to Budapest Oct. 17th and can just hardly wait! Our first river trip too!

[Mylisa]

Thank you so much for filling us all in. There are 8 of us going together. Will it be a problem for us to eat our dinner meals together and also, be in the same group during the day tours if the people are split up? We are doing Passau to Budapest Oct. 17th and can just hardly wait! Our first river trip too!

 

 

I believe that the round tables will fit 8 people easily and there were several of those. I would advise getting to the dining room early or as soon as it opens to reserve your table.

 

They put all 11 of us in the same group for tours the entire time without us having to ask so it shouldn't be a problem for you either. They will split up the ship into 4 or 5 groups. They also sometimes offer a slower pace group for people who can not walk far or need a slower pace.

 

When you get ready to go on a tour you take your key to the front desk and they give you a boarding pass and an FM receiver box and ear piece. The receiver box will have the group number written on it in large print and they are color coded as well. When the tour guide turns on her transmitter and you turn on your receiver your receiver will sync to her transmitter. This means that any receiver can sync to any transmitter. The group numbers are just to break the people up into groups. So if one of your group gets put in another tour group they can just bring themselves over to your group and turn their receiver on near your tour guide and the receiver will find the new tour guides transmitter. I hope this is clear. Also when you turn in your FM receiver box detach the earpeice and keep it to use on the next tour. Another good thing to know is if you have a hearing problem in your left ear (that's the ear the piece is designed to fit on) you can turn it upside down (so wire is coming up from the bottom of your ear) and wear it on the other ear. The receiver box also had a neck loop to hang it around your neck and a volume control along with the on/off button. If you have problems syncing to the tour guides transmitter then turn off your receiver and get closer to the tour guide and turn it back on. It does take a few minutes to sync by the way. FYI.

 

When you come back onboard you need to turn back in to the front desk your boarding pass as well as your FM system. If you forget to turn in the boarding pass as my DH forgot to do you will get a phone call in your cabin asking whether or not we were both back on board. The call came late at night also.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Let me know if you have any additional questions.

[maryvt2002]

Prior to taking the cruise from Passau to Budapest in October we are spending a few days in Prague. Your tips on travel guides in Prague and Budapest are appreciated. Do you have any suggestions on must-sees in Prague? Also, how did you do the transfer from Prague to Passau since it sounds like you weren't on the Uniworld group extension?

[dwindy]

mylissa,

i am a 51 year old teacher and want to go solo on a river cruise in august.

maybe Uniworld. were there any singles on your trip? i heard that most river cruisers are in their late 60s to 70s. Do you think i will be comfortable and more importantly, safe?

[pacmom]

On our dozen river cruises all over the world there have always been solo travelers. They ranged in age 40 up. Always welcome to join with others at meals and independent walking. Find a good deal and go. Pat

[Mylisa]

Mary,

 

We did the Uniworld extension in Prague and I would strongly recommend it. They use a hotel that is fabulous and has a wonderful location. They also have a respresentative that comes to the hotel everyday and has a desk in the reception area. When we arrived Jana held an orientation meeting for all of us. She talked about which cabs to use and other safety issues. She then took us on a short walk to help us get our bearings (this was not included in the package - she just goes a over and beyond). The next day we did the real included tour with her. They bused us to the palace and then we toured the big church there and walked back to the hotel via the St. Charles bridge (a must do). I however, had hired a guide to do a tour of the Jewish quater and we met her at a location on the way back to the hotel. Jana let me use her cell phone to call the other guide to set up a meeting location and confirm the time. The Uniworld package includes the above tour, hotel, breakfast (which is very expensive otherwise), all tips to porters and transportation from the ship in Passau to Budapest or the other way around for you. It also included transportation to the airport or from the airport to the hotel. I would go with Uniworld extensions again in a second. I felt that I had a person there if I needed help or had questions. Jana was wonderful!!!!!! And the expression they use there is "Dobry Den" which means "good day". They don't say good morning or good evening just Dobry Den.

 

Dwindy, I work for the schools also by the way. I think as a single woman you would be fine. Having been on numerous large ship cruises I found that we got to know a lot more people by name on this cruise. From what I remember there were women traveling with friends and I'm sure some single people. The first night for dinner we couldn't sit all together so we were put with 2 single ladies. They were a hoot!!! We had a great time visiting with them. They were from Canada.

 

You will most definitely be safe. I think they take very good care of their passengers and the fact that the crew actually gets to know you really helps. The age group I would say was 50's and up except for our children and one other young girl. You have to take a boarding pass with you when you leave the ship and turn it back in when you come back on board so they know if you don't show back up. They actually called our room one time as my husband forgot to turn in his pass.

 

Sign up and go. You'll love it.

[dwindy]

i have my own post about going solo on a river crusie.

sounds like from your post and replies, that i shouldn't have much of a problem. thanks.

dwindy

[dwindy]

just noticed that you included my concern in your last post of your thread.

thanks

[jenjo]

Hi Mylisa,

Thanks for all of your info so far! I know this is a wierd question, but I am trying to manage the luggage restriction (1 bag!) so every little bit counts...we are going on the August 8 sailing (Passau-Budapest) so I'm not sure that the weather will be similar, but could you let us know how it was when you were there and how you managed your clothes (did you need a jacket at night?)?

Also, I hear that some toiletries are provided in the rooms, do you remember what they were? Again, I'm trying to manage the liquid restrictions...

Thanks!

JJ

[funtwotravel]

Thanks to Mylisa and DiamondDiva for all the great info about the River Beatrice : Passau/Budapest! There's nothing like first hand knowledge.

 

Even though the gratuity envelope is for staff and crew to be shared, do you still individually tip the bartenders?

 

How was the internet connection on board?

 

Did anyone go to the thermal baths in Budapest or the Vienna zoo on your trip?

 

How did Uniworld handle picking you up at the airport and then getting you back to the airport.

 

I really appreciate all of your help! We are on the July 11th cruise from Passau to Budapest and I can't wait!

[ltansil]

Yea - we wondered this too! are you transferred from Munich to Passau on a bus or train, etc.? How long did you wait at the Munich airport? Where were you met? Thanks for any and all info.

[gbond3]

Did you arrive in Budapest the same day you went to the boat? Was it a Sunday and did you have any problems getting from the airport to the boat? If it was a Sunday, did you do a little sight seeing that day? On Monday, the only full day there, with the tour already scheduled, did you have any free time to shop?