Uniworld Bordeaux cruise

[Pioneer70]

Has anyone been on Uniworld"s Bordeaux cruise in the fall? I'm interested in doing that cruise and am wondering if fall or spring would be better. Any other info. would be appreciated.

[caviargal]

Has anyone been on Uniworld"s Bordeaux cruise in the fall? I'm interested in doing that cruise and am wondering if fall or spring would be better. Any other info. would be appreciated.

 

We went in late April and had high water issues. Next time we would choose October (after speaking to lots of locals and also due to crush).

[Pioneer70]

Thanks Caviargal for the reply. That helps in planning.

[JPH814]

I have heard that Both fall and spring have advantages and disadvantages. Fall is the busy season for wineries. Because of that some may not be accessible for tours. We are going early may of 2017. We will let you know our experiences (if you wait that long.

 

 

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[Pioneer70]

Thanks JPH 814. I'm torn between Bordeaux and Burgundy and may ask for opinions on Burgundy. I've heard that Bordeaux, aside from water issues, can be difficult to get to. Still thinking it over.

 

Thanks for offer to report and I hope you have a great trip next May.

[webfoot]

I took a wine-themed cruise in Burgundy and Provence last October/early November with Avalon. It was so much fun. We were able to visit each scheduled winery. It wasn't the height of the tourist season which made for pleasant travel. I went prepared for wet weather and cold weather.

 

 

Pat

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[Pioneer70]

Thanks, Pat. It seems that the trip is a real craps shoot and the only decision is whether my husband and I want to roll the dice.

[pully8]

given the water level issues that seem to be an issue most years, perhaps we could be safely adopting that attitude with many of the river cruises.

it can be a risk and an expensive 1 if travelling for many hours to get to Europe. some may not mind the cruise becoming a bus trip but its best to be prepared nevertheless to avoid disappointment.

so many of these destinations can be enjoyed as land trips with beautiful accommodation. as you said roll the dice.

[Pioneer70]

Thanks Pully 8. I agree; just need some serious negotiation with the "other half."

[JPH814]

Has anyone been on Uniworld"s Bordeaux cruise in the fall? I'm interested in doing that cruise and am wondering if fall or spring would be better. Any other info. would be appreciated.

 

 

By the way, Uniworld has a nice promotion now for this cruise in 2017: you can get free airfare from most us cities. We go business class and basically the promotion covered about half of the cost.

 

 

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[Pioneer70]

Thanks, JPH. I've been getting all the tempting offers.

[caviargal]

By the way, Uniworld has a nice promotion now for this cruise in 2017: you can get free airfare from most us cities. We go business class and basically the promotion covered about half of the cost.

 

 

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We are very close to confirming a cabin in mid April of 2017 on Uniworld's new ship to Paris and Normandy as well. Maybe we will be on the same cruise :).

[JPH814]

We are very close to confirming a cabin in mid April of 2017 on Uniworld's new ship to Paris and Normandy as well. Maybe we will be on the same cruise :).

 

 

We board in paris april 23 and bordeaux apr 30.

 

 

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[caviargal]

We board in paris april 23 and bordeaux apr 30.

 

 

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We will miss you by a week!

[eyeu]

Returned Sunday after the Uniworld Bordeaux riverboat cruise. All I can say is that it is amazing! the wines, the food, the sights were all first class.

Had no rain the entire week with temps in the mid 80's.

Be happy to answer any questions....

A great trip if you love food and wine..though there are other highlights as well.

Rick

[JPH814]

Returned Sunday after the Uniworld Bordeaux riverboat cruise. All I can say is that it is amazing! the wines, the food, the sights were all first class.

 

Had no rain the entire week with temps in the mid 80's.

 

Be happy to answer any questions....

 

A great trip if you love food and wine..though there are other highlights as well.

 

Rick

 

 

Glad it went well.

 

A question for you: Did you, or anyone you knew, purchase wines and had them shipped to the USA? I am wondering if there is some process facilitated by Uniworld for doing this.

 

 

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[capriccio]

Glad it went well.

 

A question for you: Did you, or anyone you knew, purchase wines and had them shipped to the USA? I am wondering if there is some process facilitated by Uniworld for doing this.

 

 

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I don't know about vineyards in Bordeaux but the vineyards we stopped at on our Uniworld excursions in Burgundy and Provenance last month could handle shipping to the USA. So maybe the Bordeaux vineyards have the same capability (I'd be willing to bet on it :D). Uniworld wasn't involved.

[caviargal]

Glad it went well.

 

A question for you: Did you, or anyone you knew, purchase wines and had them shipped to the USA? I am wondering if there is some process facilitated by Uniworld for doing this.

 

 

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We are very recently back from Bordeaux. It is very easy to ship wines home and shipping costs ranged widely based on vineyard/shop. Much easier than in the Rhone where our favorites were not available to be shipped to the USA.

 

The cruise lines are not involved in the process.

[lecobra70]

Returned Sunday after the Uniworld Bordeaux riverboat cruise. All I can say is that it is amazing! the wines, the food, the sights were all first class.

Had no rain the entire week with temps in the mid 80's.

Be happy to answer any questions....

A great trip if you love food and wine..though there are other highlights as well.

Rick

 

Hi Rick - I will be taking that cruise in October and would love to hear any of your must-sees or must-dos, outside of the planned excursions. Also, did you stay in Bordeaux before or after the cruise? We will be staying the night before and would love any tips.

 

Thanks! Rosalynd

[eyeu]

We loved the pace and the activities of this cruise. In many places there will be choices that you must make that eliminates other good excursions.

 

There are three optional excursions...

1. Tour of Remy Martin...very nice way to see how cognac is produced in a first class winery. The tasting included three levels of Remy Martin paired with tapas like offerings. Did it...enjoyed the tour.

2. cooking class....great fun..great fun chef who served our prepared food with very nice wine selections. did it...really like it.

3.trip to Arcachon...only room for 7 in the van...expensive (like 170 Euros)...a trip to the new French Riviera. Amazing day...climbed the dunes, visited oyster beds, great views, and a lunch at a 5 star restaurant !!

Very pricey but may have been the highlight of the trip.

 

One day I chose the barrel making facility while my wife went to a behind the look within a chateau. She loved her trip and I loved the barrel making factory.

I have posted lots of pics on my website if you would like to see...

eyeu.smugmug.com at the bottom of the page is the Bordeaux album.

 

Hope that helps...any other questions?

rick

[lecobra70]

Thank you Rick! Also, what is the location to board the ship in Bordeaux?

[eyeu]

nicely located to walk from the ship into the city...near the roller park...about ½ mile or so from the water mirror..a main site in Bordeaux.

On my smugmug site at the bottom of the photo, there is a little logo..the circle with in "i" imbedded will usually have a map so you can see exactly where the photo was taken...

[lecobra70]

Thank you, that is very helpful to our planning!

[editor@cruisecritic]

Hi, Rick, thanks for the tips and I second you on Archachon. It was an extra-fee tour on the Bordeaux Viking cruise we did and it was definitely a highlight.

 

I'm heading back in a few weeks for a second trip (on Ama this time) and wonder: What, other than wine-themed activities, places, anything really, do you recommend we check out? Thinking about fantastic markets, bicycle rides, cool museums, etc. It's been awhile :)

 

Thanks.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

We loved the pace and the activities of this cruise. In many places there will be choices that you must make that eliminates other good excursions.

 

There are three optional excursions...

1. Tour of Remy Martin...very nice way to see how cognac is produced in a first class winery. The tasting included three levels of Remy Martin paired with tapas like offerings. Did it...enjoyed the tour.

2. cooking class....great fun..great fun chef who served our prepared food with very nice wine selections. did it...really like it.

3.trip to Arcachon...only room for 7 in the van...expensive (like 170 Euros)...a trip to the new French Riviera. Amazing day...climbed the dunes, visited oyster beds, great views, and a lunch at a 5 star restaurant !!

Very pricey but may have been the highlight of the trip.

 

One day I chose the barrel making facility while my wife went to a behind the look within a chateau. She loved her trip and I loved the barrel making factory.

I have posted lots of pics on my website if you would like to see...

eyeu.smugmug.com at the bottom of the page is the Bordeaux album.

 

Hope that helps...any other questions?

rick

[caviargal]

 

I'm heading back in a few weeks for a second trip (on Ama this time) and wonder: What, other than wine-themed activities, places, anything really, do you recommend we check out? Thinking about fantastic markets, bicycle rides, cool museums, etc. It's been awhile :)

 

 

We also enjoyed Arcachon and next time will make a day trip by train rather than take the ship tour as the traffic was awful and it took almost 2 hours to get back when we visited in April.

 

We spent 4 days in Bordeaux very recently and loved the city! We did not do any of the museums but the new wine museum is open now and looked very interesting, as well as unique to the area.

 

There were open air markets everywhere in Bordeaux, different each day. Visiting public markets, farmers markets, etc., is very high on our list of things to do and there was a lot going on outdoors in Bordeaux.

 

Whiling away an afternoon sitting at a cafe overlooking the main promenade was a favorite way for us to soak up the ambiance of this lovely city, which is bustling with energy and people. We loved it!