Just Back from the Rhine on Uniworld SS Antoinette!

[acwmom]

Hello acwmom,

Wow! Excellent review and fantastic photos. Well done, right down to the end!

We are considering the Rhine and Moselle for our river cruise in 2018.

You documented your trip so well. It has inspired me to do a better job taking notes.

We tend to get overwhelmed towards the end of the adventure and when we get home, I need a vacation from my vacation. :D

Thanks for sharing your experience and for taking the effort and time to post the outstanding photos.

Bobbie

 

 

Thanks for the kind words, Bobbie.

 

This cruise was easily our favorite, so far, overall. The ship, the crew, the passenger mix, the weather, the ports.....were all as close to perfect as they could get. I still think the Danube is more scenic, however.

 

We looked at the Moselle for next year, but ended up opting for the Danube again, as the cruise we chose has a few ports which will be new to us.

 

Best wishes on your planning.

 

Robin

 

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

What a great review! It brought back so many great memories! I remember seeing that glass house and thinking it was like living in a fish bowl! LOL! We missed the send-off tea. I guess that the captain and hotel director have changed ( it was a married couple when we were on Antoinette.) At any rate, I loved the photos of the dinner. I had the arctic char that night and it was equally good and as usual, I skipped the dessert and had the cheese plate, which was always wonderful! Glad you had such a lovely trip!

[papa B me]

Thanks for the kind words, Bobbie.

 

This cruise was easily our favorite, so far, overall. The ship, the crew, the passenger mix, the weather, the ports.....were all as close to perfect as they could get. I still think the Danube is more scenic, however.

 

We looked at the Moselle for next year, but ended up opting for the Danube again, as the cruise we chose has a few ports which will be new to us.

 

Best wishes on your planning.

 

Robin

 

 

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Robin,

Did you book your Danube cruise while on board? If yes, were there any additional incentives? We head out for our third Uniworld cruise in a couple of weeks and haven't booked on board before. Wasn't aware if there were any incentives to take advantage of.

 

Thanks

Brian

[acwmom]

What a great review! It brought back so many great memories! I remember seeing that glass house and thinking it was like living in a fish bowl! LOL! We missed the send-off tea. I guess that the captain and hotel director have changed ( it was a married couple when we were on Antoinette.) At any rate, I loved the photos of the dinner. I had the arctic char that night and it was equally good and as usual, I skipped the dessert and had the cheese plate, which was always wonderful! Glad you had such a lovely trip!

 

 

They do the farewell tea on all of their itineraries, but usually, we are out and about, and only catch the remnants, so it was nice to be there for the entire thing (though few were-guess they were napping)

 

I believe there are 3 or 4 rotating captains, at least, and the same with cruise directors. Chad, our CD, is now on the River Duchess on the Danube-we just had a conversation yesterday (on Instagram) about Uniworld's Schoenbrunn Palace excursion for guests, where only their guests are there, and they can take pics! Anyway, he said he rotates between three ships during the course of the year.

 

Thanks for following along, glad you enjoyed.

 

Robin

 

 

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[acwmom]

Robin,

 

Did you book your Danube cruise while on board? If yes, were there any additional incentives? We head out for our third Uniworld cruise in a couple of weeks and haven't booked on board before. Wasn't aware if there were any incentives to take advantage of.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

Brian

 

 

Brian,

 

Our next Danube cruise is actually going to be on the AmaSerena. We've been wanting to try AmaWaterways, and the price was right.

 

However, the onboard offer was 20% off. Not sure if you actually had to book, or could just purchase a voucher, with a deposit. I've learned patience pays off, as usually around October or November, they offer a better Heritage Club member discount, which has been as high as 50% off the price of their lowest cabin category.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Robin

 

 

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[papa B me]

Thanks Robin!!

We've been blessed to travel in a suite in our two prior cruises and are booked in a cruise this time. We booked this one over a year ago and with the early booking discount and river heritage discount I haven't seen a promotion that made it less expensive. Was hoping there was some form of discount that would be on top of the other discounts.

 

I look forward to your comparison of AMA vs Uniworld.

 

Brian

[jrose529]

Hi Robin,

 

I know it has been a few years since your wonderful review, but I just came across it today. Thank you so much for all the pictures and details. We are booked for early May 2020 on this itinerary but are going in the opposite direction. I'm a bit concerned because it seems Basel to Amsterdam would have been a better choice. Oh well, we are very excited about our trip. We have been on many ocean cruises but this will be our first river cruise. Reading this has been so helpful and I can't wait until May!

 

Thanks!

Judy

[gnome12]

25 minutes ago, jrose529 said:

Hi Robin,

 

I know it has been a few years since your wonderful review, but I just came across it today. Thank you so much for all the pictures and details. We are booked for early May 2020 on this itinerary but are going in the opposite direction. I'm a bit concerned because it seems Basel to Amsterdam would have been a better choice. Oh well, we are very excited about our trip. We have been on many ocean cruises but this will be our first river cruise. Reading this has been so helpful and I can't wait until May!

 

Thanks!

Judy

Don't be worried about the direction. There are 2 sides to every discussion on the subject. You start in Amsterdam, and the sailing from there is mostly canals. Then you get onto the Rhine, and have the castles to view.

Edited August 26, 2019 by gnome12

[acwmom]

11 hours ago, jrose529 said:

Hi Robin,

 

I know it has been a few years since your wonderful review, but I just came across it today. Thank you so much for all the pictures and details. We are booked for early May 2020 on this itinerary but are going in the opposite direction. I'm a bit concerned because it seems Basel to Amsterdam would have been a better choice. Oh well, we are very excited about our trip. We have been on many ocean cruises but this will be our first river cruise. Reading this has been so helpful and I can't wait until May!

 

Thanks!

Judy

The Antoinette is a beautiful ship, and you have picked a fantastic itinerary. With the exception of the castle section, most of the cruising is at night. The section between Amsterdam and Cologne would be the only significant difference, to the best of my memory. If you have time at the end of your cruise, I would highly recommend a few days in Lucerne. It's a "quick" two hour train ride from Basel.

 

Enjoy!

 

Robin

[jrose529]

On ‎8‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 8:54 AM, acwmom said:

The Antoinette is a beautiful ship, and you have picked a fantastic itinerary. With the exception of the castle section, most of the cruising is at night. The section between Amsterdam and Cologne would be the only significant difference, to the best of my memory. If you have time at the end of your cruise, I would highly recommend a few days in Lucerne. It's a "quick" two hour train ride from Basel.

 

Enjoy!

 

Robin

Thanks Robin! We are actually doing a pre and post stay in Amsterdam and then Basel/Lucerne. This is a bucket list trip so we decided to go all out. It's also a celebration of our 40th anniversary.

 

Are there any excursions that shouldn't be missed? I noted the vinegar tasting as a must. Besides that, anything else?

 

Thanks for your detailed trip report. It was so helpful!

Judy

[jrose529]

On ‎8‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 9:44 PM, gnome12 said:

Don't be worried about the direction. There are 2 sides to every discussion on the subject. You start in Amsterdam, and the sailing from there is mostly canals. Then you get onto the Rhine, and have the castles to view.

Thanks gnome12. That is good to know. We wanted to start in Amsterdam so we could do a pre-cruise stay. I've always wanted to visit there. The dates worked for our schedule. We then decided to add a post-cruise stay to see Basel/Lucerne. I'm so excited!

 

Judy

[acwmom]

12 hours ago, jrose529 said:

Thanks Robin! We are actually doing a pre and post stay in Amsterdam and then Basel/Lucerne. This is a bucket list trip so we decided to go all out. It's also a celebration of our 40th anniversary.

 

Are there any excursions that shouldn't be missed? I noted the vinegar tasting as a must. Besides that, anything else?

 

Thanks for your detailed trip report. It was so helpful!

Judy

Judy,

Congrats on 40 yrs! We just hit 25 this year.

As to not miss, it's really personal preference. We aren't wine drinkers, so opted for the "hike" in Rudesheim. In Mannheim, we opted for the additional cost Heidelberg tour, and were glad that we did. In Koblenz, the cable cars weren't running to the fortress yet, but had they been, we probably would have done that excursion. We passed on the Cologne excursions and scaled the cathedral tower (because that's what we do:-) )

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report! We need to plan another river cruise. We miss them.

Robin

[helpmesailaway]

Hi acwmom

 

I just saw that you are going on the Danube with AMA - when are you going because I would love to follow along if you are writing a review.

 

We would like to sail on a Danube cruise and AMA has some great itineraries - so difficult to chose just one!

 

Your review got us to Castles on the Rhine  with Uniworld and it was a fabulous time.

 

I was also wondering if AMA has a "sale season"  like Uniworld does in Nov - Dec.

 

 

[jrose529]

8 hours ago, acwmom said:

Judy,

Congrats on 40 yrs! We just hit 25 this year.

As to not miss, it's really personal preference. We aren't wine drinkers, so opted for the "hike" in Rudesheim. In Mannheim, we opted for the additional cost Heidelberg tour, and were glad that we did. In Koblenz, the cable cars weren't running to the fortress yet, but had they been, we probably would have done that excursion. We passed on the Cologne excursions and scaled the cathedral tower (because that's what we do:-) )

I'm glad you enjoyed the trip report! We need to plan another river cruise. We miss them.

Robin

 

Congratulations on 25 years!

 

I don't drink at all but my husband loves beer and wine. I'm fine going to a wine tasting with him. How difficult is the hike in Rudesheim? I have no problem walking, but too many steps are difficult. Scaling the cathedral tower is not for me!

 

My husband is a bike rider and is hoping to borrow a bike some of the days. I would like to ride, but not if it's too rough.

 

Thanks!

Judy

[acwmom]

13 hours ago, jrose529 said:

 

Congratulations on 25 years!

 

I don't drink at all but my husband loves beer and wine. I'm fine going to a wine tasting with him. How difficult is the hike in Rudesheim? I have no problem walking, but too many steps are difficult. Scaling the cathedral tower is not for me!

 

My husband is a bike rider and is hoping to borrow a bike some of the days. I would like to ride, but not if it's too rough.

 

Thanks!

Judy

Judy,

 

The hike in Rudesheim is quite easy. You ride the cable car to the top of the hill, hike through the forsest (flat) and then traverse down hill through the vineyards. There is some downhill grade, but nothing steep. There are a few steps downhill, at the end, to get into town, but those are the only actual steps.

 

There was one organized bike ride in our direction (Boppard to Koblenz) and bikes were available for anyone every other day. Friends of ours took the bikes out in Breisach, and maybe Mannheim?

 

Robin

[jrose529]

9 hours ago, acwmom said:

Judy,

 

The hike in Rudesheim is quite easy. You ride the cable car to the top of the hill, hike through the forsest (flat) and then traverse down hill through the vineyards. There is some downhill grade, but nothing steep. There are a few steps downhill, at the end, to get into town, but those are the only actual steps.

 

There was one organized bike ride in our direction (Boppard to Koblenz) and bikes were available for anyone every other day. Friends of ours took the bikes out in Breisach, and maybe Mannheim?

 

Robin

 

Thanks Robin! It's good to hear that the Rudesheim hike will work for me.

 

I'm sure my husband will borrow a bike whenever he can.

 

Judy