Finally booked my 2nd River Cruise!

[Lois R]

 After almost 3 years I have finally booked my 2nd River Cruise!  My first one was TULIPTIME on AMA in April 2016 and I will be going in APRIL 2019...….so it will be exactly 3 years.

This one will be on Uniworld (yes I have read the recent thread) but the timing, itinerary and price work for me and I have also read some very good reviews too. Robin, if you see this,

I am going from Lisbon to Porto on The Queen Isabel. I am getting a French Balcony and really looking forward to it.  If anyone has taken this cruise I would love to hear from you!

I go to Lisbon for 3 days pre-cruise and the cruise ends in Porto.

 

I need to start looking for flights!

[Coral]

Congrats Lois!

 

I am going on my 2nd cruise after 10 years since the last one. I booked mine last minute.

[acwmom]

Congrats on booking your 2nd river cruise. We have considered Portugal, but will likely wait until Uniworld's new ship comes out.  We are doing a Viking Ocean cruise for our 25th in April.

 

Given the circumstances currently with low water levels, I'm sure all of the river cruise company's personnel are stressed. As you may recall, our Uniworld cruise as cancelled, and we were able to jump to a different cruise and had a great time. Uniworld has always taken good care of us.

 

Phil did this cruise this year, perhaps he will chime in.  I always enjoy his reviews.

 

Robin

[Lois R]

Hi Robin, has the Douro been known for low water levels? I just gave my deposit today...….and I didn't know they have a new ship coming for this itinerary.

[FuelScience]

I think that high water is more of an issue in the spring. On our Vantage Douro cruise this spring the ship actually scraped the top of the pilot house going under a bridge. The next day a sailor was painting...

[Lois R]

7 hours ago, FuelScience said:

I think that high water is more of an issue in the spring. On our Vantage Douro cruise this spring the ship actually scraped the top of the pilot house going under a bridge. The next day a sailor was painting...

 

Good morning, isn't April considered the Spring?

[FuelScience]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

 

Good morning, isn't April considered the Spring?

Yep, April is spring. My point was that you'll be more worried about high water than low water.

[dolllover]

That's news to me. I didn't think the Douro had a high water problem. Good to know! I've been lucky so far that my two river cruises didn't have a water issue. The Douro rive is on my radar.

[FuelScience]

1 hour ago, dolllover said:

That's news to me. I didn't think the Douro had a high water problem. Good to know! I've been lucky so far that my two river cruises didn't have a water issue. The Douro rive is on my radar.

This was posted a few days after we got off of our Vantage cruise this spring. I think that there were also problems in the previous year. 

 

 

[Lois R]

This is getting me concerned...I know if you cancel they keep 200.00 and refund the balance (of the deposit)…….

I haven't booked my airfare yet but maybe this one is just not meant to be.

[acwmom]

35 minutes ago, Lois R said:

This is getting me concerned...I know if you cancel they keep 200.00 and refund the balance (of the deposit)…….

I haven't booked my airfare yet but maybe this one is just not meant to be.

You found an itinerary and date you liked, so go for it. We always go in March. This past year, there were record floods in Paris in late January/early February. For our departure, we were to have left from Paris. However the Seine's level was too high, and the captain took the ship several miles away, to avoid being stuck. We were bussed 30 minutes for the start of our cruise. Yes, we missed a sailaway past the statue of Liberty, but our cruise was able to sail.

 

There will always be good years, and bad years. I don't how often there are two bad years in a row. 

 

Can you tell I'm a glass half full person?

 

Enjoy!

 

(BTW, the $200 they keep can be used for a future cruise for up to 5 years, if you decide to cancel)

 

Robin

[Lois R]

Hi Robin, yes......that is true. I spoke with Uniworld today (not about this) but asked about the 200.00 and was told the same thing.

Not sure why I am having such angst...…..normally when I book I am really good with my decision.

[celvalliere]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Hi Robin, yes......that is true. I spoke with Uniworld today (not about this) but asked about the 200.00 and was told the same thing.

Not sure why I am having such angst...…..normally when I book I am really good with my decision.

We had friends that sailed the Duoro River this last April and had a great time with no problems. We are sailing the Rhine with AMA this December and we are still confident that all will work out. 

 

[luv2travel90266]

I did the Douro as my first river cruise with Uniworld. I leave in a month for my 3rd "Uniworld cruise to Vietnam/Cambodia and have already paid in full for my 4th in March 2019 for the tulips. My recollection is it went perfect. The food was not the same as my 2nd trip to Bordeaux that was amazing but the menus are based upon local produce and recipes and I like French cooking best. Great scenery and I love port so enjoyed it thoroughly. My only recommendation is I wish we would have spent extra time in Lisbon so you might consider that. 

[bottomfeeder]

Hi Lois, I am flying out tomorrow to Venice for a solo Uniworld river cruise "Venice and the Gems of Northern Italy."  It will be my first river cruise and I'll be sure to post (either on this board or on the solo cruisers board) my experiences.  Of course I don't have another river cruise in my past to compare it to, and it isn't "really" a river cruise since it mostly just sails around the  Venice lagoon...and of course the forecast is for rain pretty much all week and I'm worried about getting into Marco Polo Airport on Sunday with the weather forecast for thunderstorms, rain and wind...but even so I'm sure I will have a wonderful time!  As I expect you will too, since I think you've only had the one bad cruise ever, right?  🙂

[Lois R]

4 hours ago, bottomfeeder said:

Hi Lois, I am flying out tomorrow to Venice for a solo Uniworld river cruise "Venice and the Gems of Northern Italy."  It will be my first river cruise and I'll be sure to post (either on this board or on the solo cruisers board) my experiences.  Of course I don't have another river cruise in my past to compare it to, and it isn't "really" a river cruise since it mostly just sails around the  Venice lagoon...and of course the forecast is for rain pretty much all week and I'm worried about getting into Marco Polo Airport on Sunday with the weather forecast for thunderstorms, rain and wind...but even so I'm sure I will have a wonderful time!  As I expect you will too, since I think you've only had the one bad cruise ever, right?  🙂

Hi, long time no see!...….hope you have a wonderful time. I LOVE Italy and was there this summer!  (on a cruise). 

 

As for the bad cruise? OMG....you have a great memory.....you must be referring to that Constellation sailing I took when it was spring break...….that is the only one that comes to mind as being bad.

 

Please do let us know how the cruise goes.....I never expect anyone to post while they are away (I don't do that anymore) so give us a review upon your return.  I really hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Lois R]

I want to thank everyone who has posted on here first......but after some deep soul searching I have cancelled this Douro Cruise. I don't want to have to take a bus every day and for the amount of $$$ I am spending on it, I have to know I feel good about the entire purchase.  (and all the posts about the water levels too) but I will take another river cruise and I will just go back to my research.  Uniworld keeps 200.00 of the deposit and it is good for up to 5 years.

 

Thanks again. 

 

 

[acwmom]

2 hours ago, Lois R said:

I want to thank everyone who has posted on here first......but after some deep soul searching I have cancelled this Douro Cruise. I don't want to have to take a bus every day and for the amount of $$$ I am spending on it, I have to know I feel good about the entire purchase.  (and all the posts about the water levels too) but I will take another river cruise and I will just go back to my research.  Uniworld keeps 200.00 of the deposit and it is good for up to 5 years.

 

Thanks again. 

 

 

Sorry to hear that, Lois, but totally understand. I've canceled cruises as well, because it just didn't feel "right"   You'll find the right one! 

 

Robin

[Lois R]

Hi Robin, thanks...…..yes, that would be the most important thing.....having doubts about something and when you are spending ALOT of $$$ for it...….needed to do what I felt was best.  I will find something else, I do know that much

[bubbulz]

17 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi Robin, thanks...…..yes, that would be the most important thing.....having doubts about something and when you are spending ALOT of $$$ for it...….needed to do what I felt was best.  I will find something else, I do know that much

I feel the same way after the stress of watching and waiting to see whether we would be going on a river cruise or a bus tour this December. For next year we've decided to tour Scotland on our own for a few weeks vs. jumping on another river cruise. We normally book our vacations well in advance, but if we ever do another river cruise it will probably be a last minute booking.

[Lois R]

I have no clue why I am having such a hard time deciding what I want to do.  I don't always book way in advance, although there have been times I have done it that way over the years. In this case, I know I want to go in the spring. I would say March/April. Most river cruise get in "full swing" in April but I know  there are plenty of ocean cruises in both of those months.

I know I will have to decide something soon though......it is almost the end of the year now!

[FuelScience]

I understand you anxiety about low or high water levels. You might think about a Mosel cruise. You could do Luxembourg to Amsterdam or Luxembourg to Nuremberg. From my observations on CruiseCritic, both of these seem to be pretty immune to water problems. Also, I'm a real Mosel fan. I think that it as the best scenery of any of the rivers we've cruised.

 

Avalon has some good deals now offering free air for some spring 2019 sailings. Other lines offer similar cruises, but I like Avalon's cabins, and the current Avalon sale seems like a good one. Also, with Avalon you can to the standard Paris to Amsterdam or Paris to Prague which includes pre and/or post-cruise stays, or you can just book the cruise portion to save money. If you do decide to include Paris in your cruise, Avalon takes you to or from Paris via high speed rail rather than giving you a long bus ride. If you go to their web site, you can start the booking process and see what cabins are available.

 

Good luck  

[bubbulz]

44 minutes ago, FuelScience said:

I understand you anxiety about low or high water levels. You might think about a Mosel cruise. You could do Luxembourg to Amsterdam or Luxembourg to Nuremberg. From my observations on CruiseCritic, both of these seem to be pretty immune to water problems. Also, I'm a real Mosel fan. I think that it as the best scenery of any of the rivers we've cruised.

 

Avalon has some good deals now offering free air for some spring 2019 sailings. Other lines offer similar cruises, but I like Avalon's cabins, and the current Avalon sale seems like a good one. Also, with Avalon you can to the standard Paris to Amsterdam or Paris to Prague which includes pre and/or post-cruise stays, or you can just book the cruise portion to save money. If you do decide to include Paris in your cruise, Avalon takes you to or from Paris via high speed rail rather than giving you a long bus ride. If you go to their web site, you can start the booking process and see what cabins are available.

 

Good luck  

Thanks for this info! Sounds like a great option to consider.

[Lois R]

Good morning.....Fuel, have you cruises on The Seine? I see most cruise lines do the Paris/Normandy itinerary and I have been saying I want to go to Paris now for several years (never been).  Any thoughts on it?

[FuelScience]

5 hours ago, Lois R said:

Good morning.....Fuel, have you cruises on The Seine? I see most cruise lines do the Paris/Normandy itinerary and I have been saying I want to go to Paris now for several years (never been).  Any thoughts on it?

We haven't done the Seine. Our first cruise was Viking's Cities of Light (Paris to Prague), and we've done the Rhone with Avalon. Both of those featured a couple of days in Paris. The Seine consistently gets good reviews here, with the only consistent negative being Viking's docking location which is pretty far outside the city. Apparently Paris can't or won't accommodate their 135 meter boats. I'm sure that others will weigh in on the Seine. If you haven't done Paris, it would be nice to fly in a few days early and see the city while getting over jet lag.