Uniworld 10 August Highlights of Eastern Europe (Budapest to Bucharest) is a GO!

[AlpinVogelsong]

Yes, thanks so much Phd-iva! This has been very helpful and informative!🤗

[PhD-iva]

Let me see if I can copy/paste my trip report here. I have deleted all the photos to make it easier to paste. Is there any interest in my pdf file with the pictures? Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

First a summary: Uniworld did an excellent job under difficult circumstances. Service was perfect and food was excellent. I'm glad I went!

Uniworld 10 August 2021 Eastern European Highlights cruise

Countries traveled include Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.

The cruise focused on prehistoric and late medieval to modern history, culture and daily life in the Balkan region. Accommodations and food were excellent, with good pairings of local wines.I’m excited to have found a greatly discounted, last minute cruise on Uniworld, leaving about 6 weeks after having booked in late June. My great TA got me a free bottle of champagne, a bottle of red wine, a vase of fresh cut flowers, a box of chocolates and $125 shipboard credit! She also spent hours and hours on the phone or on hold with Uniworld Air, trying to fix their F’ ups!

Prior to the cruise, I spent a lot of time reading up on current regulations and concerns regarding COVID in Europe. Up until the day before my flight, the official position of the Hungarian police was that US citizens could not fly into the country (we don’t allow Hungarians to fly into the US). Other cruise lines deviated their passengers into Vienna and then a bus ride into Budapest. Uniworld decided not to do that, so at the last minute they had to cancel the day in Budapest and all the Budapest tours. Regulations said we had to transfer directly to the ship and depart the country that night. Many passengers who DIY’ed their airfare had no problem arriving early, sometimes days early and touring the city on their own.

·       Budapest, Hungary Tuesday 10AUG2021

Hungarian police required a negative COVID test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival, but news reports of long delays to receive test results were a concern. I scheduled 3 tests prior to my departure, the first one 4 days before arrival in case of long processing delays. I flew out on a Monday and didn’t know whether Sunday would be a lost day or not. In the end, I received all 3 tests results in time for my arrival in Hungary. However, the police were only interested in my CDC vaccination card. While there was a lot of worry prior to departure in the end, entering the country was easy (but who knew!).

Uniworld’s agent, ZsaZsa, met me at the airport and we waited a short while for Allen and Kristy to arrive and to join us. The ride to the ship was about 45 minutes through evening rush hour traffic. We boarded the ship just as the safety talk was about to begin. There was jut enough time for Timbor, the butler to show me my room. Lovely!

Uniworld gave me a free upgrade to a Deluxe stateroom, #301. It was closest to the reception area and very convenient to the lower deck where the 24/7 coffee machine and tea is available, a laundry room and a fitness center, a jewelry store and access to a printer. Uniworld has eliminated single-use plastic water bottles and instead provided reusable, PBA-free water bottles for passengers’ use.

I don’t have the first day’s itinerary, but I think we had the safety chat at 6PM in the lounge while enjoying very lovely cocktails and wine. I arrived late to sit down in the lounge and 2 women invited me to join them. Sisters Teresa and Beth, originally from upstate NY but now living in Florida. Teresa is funny and outspoken, so I asked if I could join them for dinner. Due to COVID restrictions, passengers were required to sit with the same table mates during the whole cruise. I never had a boring meal with these two sisters!

On this sailing I was told capacity was 110 passengers and this particular sailing had 70 passengers. Uniworld required passengers to wear a face mask when walking in the ship hallways, in the lobby, in any common area or on your way to a seat in the lounge or in the palace restaurant. Once you were seated in the lounge, service was very fast to get a drink in front of you. I never had any complaints about service in the lounge or on the sundeck. In comparison to Celebrity, where my previous experience was that your included alcohol package was only good if you could access a bartender.

I think it was probably more polite to wear your facemask in the Palace restaurant for breakfast or lunch as you passed along the buffet line. Passengers were asked not to serve themselves but to let staff and servers to serve them. Not all passengers complied with this, but for the most part they did.

On board the ship they tried to minimize paper, so we didn’t get a lot of itineraries or agendas printed. Each day I would take a photograph of what was posted in the lobby. I was very impressed by how Uniworld found interesting places for us to visit.

We set sail about 7PM. We had scenic cruising on the sundeck while sailing through Budapest. Good service for cocktails was always available.

·       Mohacs/Batina, Croatia Wednesday 11AUG2021

Our first excursion included a bus ride to a craft historical museum in Osijek, Serbia showing typical village life. This was a full day excursion, from 10 until almost 5PM. Throughout the program, the buses were never full.

After a tour of the village craft museum, an included lunch of traditional Serbian food: clear soup with noodles, pork roast with potatoes and green salad with tomatoes. Dessert was very good.

We then traveled to Vucedol archaeological museum documenting the prehistoric life thousands of years ago. The museum’s exhibits display daily life and customs to round 3500 BC. Archaeological excavations to date are able to reconstruct the daily life and customs of the Vučedol culture. This museum was incredibly interesting because the archeological digs found “models” of many items crafted there. So, they have strong evidence to support how life was in that area. For example, they found models of baby shoes, and other clothing items. The museum’s exhibits were very well presented.

After our return to the boat, we enjoyed the Tambura band playing local Croatian folk music while we enjoyed cocktails. Uniworld’s cosmopolitans are delicious, tasting just like I make them. Tonight was the Captain’s Gala dinner. My dinner was prime rib, so delicious! Dessert also great!

After dinner many went back to the lounge to dance to music played by a local DJ. Working off those calories!

·       Novi Sad, Serbia Thursday 12AUG2021

During our 3 days in Serbia, we did not have access to internet. The ship’s wifi worked well throughout the cruise, but in Serbia there was little infrastructure. Diane had no trouble accessing the internet using her VPN. A good tip!

We had a walking tour through the old town of Novi Sad. We toured the cathedral. I especially liked the German-inspired roof design. We took a bus through the town and went to the ancient fortress. We walked around and had a short break at an outdoor café. Our ship docked in the center of town.

The excursion ended before a wonderful lunch back on board the ship. A second tour was offered in the afternoon, a hiking tour in Fruska Gora National park. Most of the hiking was downhill through a wooded forest. We stopped to look at a monument and to take a break at a café. We were back in time for cocktail hour!

·       Belgrade, Serbia Friday Friday 13AUG2021

I got up early and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, followed by the Wellness lesson with Mary Rose at 6:45AM. No one else came to the lesson, so it was a “private” lesson for me. We quickly changed from cardio to stretching, an area I need to work on.

We started the day with a morning lecture on “East meets West – our Oriental heritage.” Very interesting. The excursion stopped first for a tour of the Karadjordjevic Dynasty Palace, where the Prince and Princess of Serbia now live. At the end of the tour of the royal palace we were told the Prince and Princess would like to welcome us. That was a nice touch. They emphasized their role in helping Serbia to return to a democracy, and their philanthropic endeavors.

The excursion next visited the Kalemegdan Fortress at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. A Roman emperor divided the Roman empire between his 2 sons, and the Sava River was the dividing line between what became the Roman and the Byzantine Empires.

Lunch was back on board the ship. We ate all but 2 lunches on board the ship during the cruise portion. When we didn’t eat on board the ship, the excursion included a nice lunch, local restaurant and typical meal. Once (or both times?) our meal was accompanied by local musicians and dancers in typical costume.

After lunch, 2 shuttle buses were available to take passengers back to the pedestrian walking area of Belgrade. Walking back to the ship was also an option, as it is a steep downhill walk, but very doable.

I went back in the find some suntan lotion and look for crafty jewelry. I found a few fridge magnets but that’s it. Back on board the ship we had a lecture from a local expert on the historical background of the conflict, ongoing for centuries, between the ethnic groups in the Balkans. This was a very interesting talk.

Tonight’s dinner was rack of lamb – one of my favorites! Dessert was also terrific!

·       Golubac Castle and the Lepenski Vir archaeological park, Serbia Saturday 14AUG2021

This morning I was up early again on the elliptical for 23 minutes. I didn’t want to be late for the Wellness class on the Sun deck with Mary Rose. As we approached the Castle I was quite distracted, and Mary Rose kindly took a picture of me cruising to the castle.

While we go on excursions each day, our ship sails further down the Danube. We will catch up with it at the end of the excursion.

Next we went to the Lepensky Vir archeological park. As we walked to the site, we enjoyed a scenic view of the other side of the Danube river. The Californians in the group agreed it was the “Serbian Half Dome.”

This archeological park documents an important discovery made along the banks of the Danube river. The site was excavated just before a hydroelectric dam was built in the 1960’s and that part of the Danube River was flooded.  Many villages and several towns were “relocated” further up the hills away from the expanded shoreline of the Danube. The artifacts were relocated to a higher elevation and the archeological site was recreated at that higher elevation. A huge glass structure was built to cover the dig. A movie to explain the significance of the findings and to document the discovery as it happened was very interesting.

This afternoon was scenic cruising along the “Iron Gates” and the Kazan Gorge of the Danube. Timbor the butler performed a “sabering.” He opened a bottle of champagne using a saber.

During scenic cruising we passed the Tabula Romana. It was built in Roman times to celebrate the building of a road through the mountains along the Danube River. This tablet would have been flooded by the dammed river, so this was moved to a higher elevation.

We then went through locks, but I failed to take a picture (only movies).

 

·       Vidin, Bulgaria Sunday 15AUG2021

After 30 minutes on the elliptical and a delicious breakfast, our half day tour took us to the hill town of Belogradchik to explore the red rocks and the ancient fortress. The bus ride was very scenic. The bus parked on a very steep hill just below the fortress. We climbed up rough stone steps (poorly) carved into the mountains. When there were handrails, sometimes they were very rickety. It was a cautious journey up and down.

The afternoon was scenic cruising again, but here the views were unchanging countryside, without much of interest. Service on the sundeck was always excellent.

Every evening we had a cocktail hour in the lounge followed by dinner. I often sat with Kristy and Allen and/or Diane and Zack. I enjoyed their company and hope we will stay in touch!

 

·       Rousse, Bulgaria Monday 16AUG2021

I met with Mary Rose again for the Wellness exercise and for the second time I was the only participant. We got off the ship and walked along the area close to the docks. This area had been spruced up during the covid closures, and it was a lovely area.

Our excursion took us to the hill town of Veliko Tarnovo and Arbansi. Uniworld scheduled a restroom break at a very nice hotel in Veliko Tarnovo before we continued onto Arbanasi. The hotel restaurant had a lovely view while we enjoyed included coffee, tea, water and lovely sweet pastries and cookies.

In Arbanasi we visited an ethnographic museum, primarily a well-preserved, typical home from perhaps the 18^th or 19^th century. We walked along the village streets to visit 2 well-preserved Greek Orthodox churches. In the first church, we were allowed to take pictures, but not in the second church. In each church we had a local expert who gave an excellent tour.

Uniworld organized an a cappella choir to sing to us in Old Bulgarian. The chapel was quite small, so we were very close to the singers. It was lovely. Three female singers and one male, who is a member of the Bulgarian National Opera. The full day excursion included a typical Bulgarian lunch. A Bulgarian folk group performed for us.

Our bus returned us to the hill town of Veliko Tarnovo to do some shopping on a street lined with stores selling crafts and local products. I bought some sterling silver hand-crafted earrings for my DILs. The town fortress was picturesque but we didn’t tour it.

·       Giurgiu, Romania Tuesday 17AUG2021

Prior to debarking our ship and being transported to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bucharest, Uniworld organized COVID tests for passengers returning to the US at the end of the program.

Our hotel rooms would not be ready until mid-afternoon. The buses took us from the ship directly to the hotel, where we could use the restrooms and take a look around. I dropped off some hand luggage. We then went on a city tour on the bus to tour Bucharest, the Paris of the east. We got off at a pedestrian street in the historic center. We had 2 hours to get lunch on our own and shop for some souvenirs. Buses picked us up to return to the hotel where check-in had already been done for us by Uniworld. We were handed our keys quickly.

The hotel lobby, pool and restaurants were very nice and up to Radisson Blu standards. I thought my hotel room was not the greatest, but perhaps I am spoiled from the upgrade we received in Brussels where we were given a room on the Concierge floor (and I met the president of one of the small, Baltic countries as we went down in the elevator together, along with her security guards).

I signed up for an optional tour (fee required) of the Palace of the People, which today houses the Parliament along with other agencies (including the FBI).

Ceauscescu ordered construction of the building, which is the second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon. The construction caused much suffering of the Romanian people and prior to its completion, a revolt (supported it is said by Gorbachev) overthrew his regime. Ceauscescu and his wife were executed 2 days later on 25 December 1989.

Dinner was on our own. I met up with Allen and Kristy, Diane and Zack in the lobby. I shared my complimentary bottle of red wine with them. I ordered ice from room service to ice down the champagne so that I could share it the next day. We went to a nearby pizzeria. I got to take back the leftovers, which was my main meal the next day, along with the champagne!

The next day (our last in Bucharest) I signed up for the optional (fee required) afternoon tour of Ceauscescu’s residence. The palatial mansion was in almost exactly the same condition as when the family lived there, as the military guarded the residence during and after the revolt. Only the jewels and some of her clothes were missing.

I had my dinner of leftovers and champagne in my room. Many travelers had early morning flights and ended the day early. My wonderful TA, Sheryl, had booked me on a relaxing 2PM flight so I enjoyed a leisurely included hotel breakfast the last morning before our Uniworld transfer to the Bucharest airport.

The journey home was long and tiring but I was happy to see my husband at the Austin airport around 12:30AM and to see my girls (our two dogs) when we arrived home.

Uniworld did a great job under difficult circumstances. I hope to travel with them again soon!

[PhD-iva]

I still need to post the rest of the menus. Give me another day or two. I love reading posts on cruise critic!! Thanks to all who share your insights with me!

[Ritabob]

Thank you PhDiva,  great overview of your trip.  Really gets me itching to cruise again.  We will wait until next year to use our credit from our 2019 cancellation with Uniworld. 

RB 

[jklc123]

Yes, thank you for this great trip report. If we decide to travel again to Europe, this is the itinerary I would like to do. 

[PhD-iva]

Dinner Menus.pdf

Here are most of the dinner menus. I'm missing a few. Each night's menu is 2 pages. Food was excellent and service everywhere was flawless!

[AlpinVogelsong]

Fyi - The dinner menu link is not accessible.

[PhD-iva]

Just now, AlpinVogelsong said:

Fyi - The dinner menu link is not accessible.

Hmmm. When I click on the icon in my post, I can open the PDF file. What would be another method of posting 10+ pages of menus? All pictures? Host Jazzbeau, do you have any suggestions for me?

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Hmmm. When I click on the icon in my post, I can open the PDF file. What would be another method of posting 10+ pages of menus? All pictures? Host Jazzbeau, do you have any suggestions for me?

It doesn't work for me either, even after I fiddled around with the post a bit.  Don't know what's wrong.  Maybe the upload was too big?

[PhD-iva]

14 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It doesn't work for me either, even after I fiddled around with the post a bit.  Don't know what's wrong.  Maybe the upload was too big?

Ok, will redo. I hope to be able to post several smaller files tomorrow.

[hihandycap]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

Ok, will redo. I hope to be able to post several smaller files tomorrow.

IVA:

A couple of suggestions:

If the file you tried to upload was stored on Google drive, you may have to grant a universal permission in Google drive to allow anyone who accesses it to open it.

 

Also if you can open the file as a webpage on the Microsoft Edge browser,  you might try using the Web Capture feature:  Web Capture in Microsoft Edge: how to use? - Auslogics blog 

[PhD-iva]

7 minutes ago, hihandycap said:

IVA:

A couple of suggestions:

If the file you tried to upload was stored on Google drive, you may have to grant a universal permission in Google drive to allow anyone who accesses it to open it.

 

Also if you can open the file as a webpage on the Microsoft Edge browser,  you might try using the Web Capture feature:  Web Capture in Microsoft Edge: how to use? - Auslogics blog 

Lol! I hate technology and I have no idea how to do any of that stuff.

I’m off to work soon so I’ll try again tomorrow. I’ll probably add a few pictures in several posts. I might try to match the menus with a picture of my dinner and or dessert.

thanks for the good thoughts and suggestions. They just won’t work for this techno-phobe.

[mj_holiday]

Thank you so much not only for the interesting writeup of your trip, but also for the info about the protocols for COVID.  Although things change, your writeup give me some kind of idea about what to expect.

 

I have really enjoyed reading your posts.

[PhD-iva]

3 minutes ago, mj_holiday said:

Thank you so much not only for the interesting writeup of your trip, but also for the info about the protocols for COVID.  Although things change, your writeup give me some kind of idea about what to expect.

 

I have really enjoyed reading your posts.

Thank you so much!

[LizEsq]

PhDiva, thank you for the trip report. I'll be on a Viking river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest in October, and one of our ports is Osijek, Croatia. Do you remember how the dock is from the town center? I was considering exploring the area on my own and then realized it may be one of the stops that is far from town.

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, LizEsq said:

PhDiva, thank you for the trip report. I'll be on a Viking river cruise from Budapest to Bucharest in October, and one of our ports is Osijek, Croatia. Do you remember how the dock is from the town center? I was considering exploring the area on my own and then realized it may be one of the stops that is far from town.

We docked in Mohacs, I believe. I believe that is where we went through customs to exit Hungary. We debarked the ship, went on a full day excursion and probably met back up with the ship in Vukovar, Croatia. Thus, I don’t know the answer. Sorry I can’t help.

[PhD-iva]

I’m sorry that I haven’t had a chance to break up the dinner menus into smaller, more accessible files. I hope to be able to tackle this after my return from Mexico on 10 September. Thank you for your patience!

[PhD-iva]

Let’s See if I can post some dinner menus and photos. Here is the two page menu for day two, along with a picture of my delicious ribeye steak and tasty dessert, which I think was “Opera”.

[PhD-iva]

Day 3 dinner menu and photo. I was not crazy about the tortellini pasta, or the peanut butter lasagna. The cream of carrot and ginger soup was excellent.

Edited September 12, 2021 by PhD-iva
Edit

[PhD-iva]

Day 4 menu and photos. The rack of lamb was excellent, fabulous. Dessert was also great. I think it was the peach crumble.

[PhD-iva]

I think this menu is from the first night. I think I ordered the vegetable Wellington, I don’t know why I did that, I’m not much of a vegetarian. It was OK. The moist orange cake was very good. No photos, sorry.

[PhD-iva]

Day 5 dinner menu and photos. I ordered the Oso Buco, very good.

[PhD-iva]

DAY6 menus and photos. I probably took some photos of my dinner companions’ food, as I did not order all of this.

[PhD-iva]

Day 7 dinner menu and photos. I ordered the duck and thought it was a little over cooked, but since I never order duck, what do I know. Due to my medical issues I have some trouble chewing food. Other people might not have any problem at all.

[PhD-iva]

Lunches were always excellent as well, as was breakfast. Several lunches were served during a full day excursion, with a local restaurant as the venue and a three-course meal serving something local and typical. Very good, excellent.

alcohol was always top-notch, very good, always available.

that’s about all I have to post. Let me know if you have any questions.
I was so glad to be able to go on this uniworld cruise.
I’m looking at prices for 2022, and I’m not sure it will fit in the budget. I pre-paid a 2022 cruise about a month ago when prices were still low. Looks like prices are on their way up!