Just back from 7 night Castles on the Rhine w/Uniworld

[Spree75]

I know I've gotten a lot of information from others that have posted their experiences and especially with Covid restrictions I thought I'd give our account for the trip.  I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

 

Cruise - 8 day Castles on the Rhine 

Cruise line - Uniworld

Itinerary - Breisach (overnight) -> Strasbourg -> Rudesheim -> Boppard -> Koblenz ->: Koln -> Amsterdam

Cruise date - August 15-22

Ship:  SS Antoinette

Note: there was lock maintenance in the Canal du Alsace so the cruise was unable to start in Basel as planned.  We spent a week in Switzerland pre-cruise and 2 nights in Amsterdam post cruise outside of the cruise package.

 

The Covid stuff:

• When we booked Uniworld was only requiring a negative test result but while we were in Switzerland this changed to "must be vaccinated".  I suppose this could have caused a problem since there wouldn't be a way to get fully vaccinated in the short time that they switched policies.  I personally think the change was made after France and Germany tightened their requirements to eat at cafe or visit any cultural institution.
• Have your vaccination card with you at all times.  Don't rely on a photo as this will not be accepted in some situations
• Museums in France (at least in Strasbourg) won't even accept a vaccination card.  They require the EU QR code from an app.  We were told we could get a temporary QR code from a pharmacy but the pharmacy said they weren't doing this anymore and you'd have to get it from a consulate...  Needless to say we didn't get in to that museum.
• Masks were required on the Uniworld buses at all time. 
• In Switizerland, France, and Germany  masks were required in all indoor situations (of course excepting sitting down to eat or drink) and all transportation but you didn't need to wear them outdoors.  The Netherlands was SUPER lax about masks.  The only place it was required was in public mass transit.  There was also no vaccination checks in Switzerland or the Netherlands in restaurants or museums.
• In the Netherlands museums are by timed appointments so don't expect to just show up to the Rjiksmuseum and expect to get in.
• On the ship masks are required at all times while moving about indoors.  Masks can be removed in the lounge and dining area once you are seated (and of course your cabin).
• Seating for meals was fixed after the first breakfast and you couldn't switch tables to sit with people you may have met.  The why of this wasn't clearly explained.
• Breakfast and lunches were buffet style but you were not allowed to touch the food.  Instead you walked by the stations and chef/waiter would put whatever you pointed to on a plate for you.  Dinner was from the menu and served by courses.
• There was a strong encouragement to use the sanitizers which were everywhere around the ship.
• You will almost certainly be required to have a Covid test prior to your departure back home and Uniworld will help locate a test center.  There is self test kits available on the ship but these are not accepted by airlines/governments.  We had set up with the hotel/travel agent but most people on the ship were surprised about the requirement.  There is a test location in most international airports but you do need to schedule an appointment.  I do know that some people were leaving REALLY early on the day we docked in Amsterdam and were concerned about getting their test results.
• We were lucky and none of the guests had any symptoms of sickness but it was also a unclear what the process would have been if one of the passengers did get sick.
• That isn't to say there wasn't Covid aboard the ship.  We had one non-passenger facing crew member (I believe one of the engineers) that tested positive for the virus on the first night.  That crew member was immediately quarantined off the ship.  The passengers were informed during the next daily briefings by the cruise manager.  There was a thorough decontamination during the night of all public spaces while and we were offered better masks if we wanted them (although they were more difficult to breathe through).  We felt the ship was very transparent about the situation and we didn't have any more incidents the rest of the cruise.

 

About the cruise:

• We talked with a some of the senior staff and found out that Uniworld has set a limit to the number of passengers per cruise which is about half of normal (max passengers in ~150).  On our cruise there was only ~60 passengers.  There was ~45 crew so it's a really amazing crew to passenger ratio right now.  We were the fourth cruise since Uniworld started sailing on the Rhine.  We had heard that the cruise after ours had even less passengers than ours.
• Almost all passengers were from the USA or Canada.  We were told that Uniworld usually draws in UK, Australia, and NZ passengers but obviously the latter two are on lock down and there are major travel restrictions for the UK.
• There were included excursions every day and some days a choice of excursions.  The excursions seemed to be the usual sort and included walking tours, wine tastings, bike tours, etc.  There were two Uniworld buses available to take passengers on excursions and in general there was 1 guide for every 15 people on the tour.  We don't normally take the ship excursions so I can't say whether or not this was different or not.
• Due to the low number of passengers none of the premium excursions managed to get the required numbers except Heidelberg Castle which was cancelled because the government wouldn't allow access to the castle ruins.
• Piet, the cruise manager tried to be really flexible with excursions but he did need to send lists of passengers in Germany in advance so once you signed up for an excursion you couldn't switch options
• The additional dining area on the deck and the bar were not open at all on this cruise.
• Max 1 person/family in the pool and Max 2 people in the gym.
• Piet managed to bring on entertainment most evenings who played until the ship left but there was no onboard entertainment so evenings were very quiet. 

 

Overall we were very happy to be travelling again.  This was our first river cruise so we didn't know what to expect and were happy with the product.  We normally travel with Seabourn on the ocean and would say that this wasn't quite as luxurious as that.  No idea if that was the cruise line or if travelling during Covid as we don't have any reference for either.

 

Once again, happy to answer any questions you have that I can.

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Thanks for your observations.  I can attest that while Uniworld is very nice for a river cruise line it is definitely not as upscale as Seabourn.

[trickylibrarian]

Thank you for this information.  We are traveling on our third Uniworld cruise (Italy) in October.

I hope Uniworld keeps the numbers down for safety.  

[Coral]

Thanks for your comments! Glad you had a good time.

[moodyb1]

Great information! Thanks!

[notamermaid]

Spree75, thank you for your detailed information. I am sure it is very helpful in other people's planning.

 

Sorry to read about Heidelberg castle. Do you happen to know if that was for group visits? I checked the website and for individual visitors the castle is open. It also makes me wonder about Marksburg castle. Do you know what happened there, or was it not available on your cruise (website says only specific sailings)?

 

I can understand the excursions being an organisational challenge due to the contact tracing required.

 

And the most important question: would you go on another river cruise?

 

notamermaid

 

[Spree75]

Hi Notamermaid,

 

I believe Heidelberg Castle was a group issue.  The government (local, state, or federal? not sure which) wasn't accepting the list of people that the cruise director was trying to send and without the okay from the government it wasn't worth the risk of going and finding out that you couldn't visit the castle.  Especially since this was a premium excursion.

 

As for Marksburg, that excursion went on as planned with about 30 of us going on that tour (split into two groups of 15).  Masks were required at all times during the tour.  Viking got there ahead of us and had 3 semi full tour buses of passengers.  Lots of visitors but I'd imagine the castle would be more mobbed if not for Covid.

 

Excursions that went on as planned:  Alsatian villages (Kaysersberg and Eguisheim), Walking tour of Strasbourg, Vinegar Tasting, Panoramic Walk around Rudesheim, Walking Tour of Speyer (extra in replacement of Heidelberg w/ the cruise director), Wine Tasting at Castle Vollrad, Let's Go Hike in Boppard, Walking Tour of Boppard (extra tour from the cruise director), Let's Go Bike from Boppard to Koblenz, Walking Tour of Koblenz, Marksburg Castle, Walking tour of Cologne. 

 

As for another river cruise, we'd definitely consider it and would be happy to go again with Uniworld.  Cruising was fine and we'd just need to find the right itinerary.

[skinnylegs]

Thank you for the Uniworld Covid policy updates! We're leaving for Burgundy and Provence on 9/5. The Rhine on the S.S. Antoinette was our first river cruise. It was nice reminiscing via your report. Loved that trip!

[Southack]

Thanks for your post.  We'll be on the same ship in October and are keeping our fingers crossed!

[jpalbny]

Same as skinnylegs - our first river cruise was also SS Antoinette all the way back in 2014. Really enjoyed it and also enjoyed reliving it some through your recap.

[nursinadream]

Spree, Can you tell a little about your week in Switzerland?  You planned this on your own, sounds like?  Other posters say that's a pricey country.  Did you do Lucerne, Mount Pilatus?

Deb

[cruisinlawn]

We're interested in your pre Switzerland experience as well 🙂

[Spree75]

On 8/28/2021 at 4:55 PM, nursinadream said:

Spree, Can you tell a little about your week in Switzerland?  You planned this on your own, sounds like?  Other posters say that's a pricey country.  Did you do Lucerne, Mount Pilatus?

Deb

 

This was a travel agency/personal planned extension so it was not part of the Uniworld package (same with Amsterdam).  And yes, Switzerland is a ridiculously pricey country even considering where we stayed.  Everything was at least double of what we have paid in the past for comparable hotels, guides, restaurants in other parts of Europe (Italy, Southern France, Barcelona, Denmark, etc)

 

For Switzerland we did 3 nights Zurich, 1 night Vitznau, and 3 nights in Basel.  Daily itinerary was (you might be able to tell we don't "relax" on vacation...):

Day 1 - Land in the morning and check in to the Widder Hotel.  Walking tour of the Old city and afternoon at the Kuntshaus - If there is one thing to see in this area it's the Chagall Windows in Fraumunster.  They are the one of the most beautiful set of stained glass windows I've seen and topped only by the overall effect of Sagrada Familia.

Day 2 - Architecture tour of Zurich including University of Zurich/ETH, FIFA headquarters, Dolder Grand, Pavilion Le Corbusier, MFO Park, Fischli and Weiss sculpture, Anne-Sophie Statue, Puls5 (a converted foundry), Schiffbau (the converted shipyard), Frau Gerolds Garten, Freitag flagship, Viadukt.  We also did a 1 hour lake cruise around the lower end of Lake Zurich (saw Tina Turner's house).  

Day 3 - Day trip to Bern.  Walking tour of the old city with a tour inside of the Zytglogge (one of the coolest things we saw on the whole trip but I'm a science nerd...) and a visit to Einstein's House.  Afterwards we went to the Zentrum Paul Klee which is a very unique looking building housing a massive collection of Klee's paintings.

Day 4 - Transfer to the Park Hotel in Vitznau.  We took the train up Mt. Riggi.  It was kind of hazy so the views weren't that great, it was really hot, and I couldn't believe the number of people up there...

Day 5 - Ferry transfer from Vitznau to Lucerne (Lake Lucerne is beautiful).  Visit the Rosengart Collection.  If you love art you should visit as there as so many Picasso, Klee, and other modern masters which you won't be able to see anywhere else in the world as the museum does not loan any of their paintings. Stop off for pictures at the Chapel Bridge.  Transfer to Basel for two nights at a friend's house.

Day 6 - Whirlwind tour of Basel including Transitlager building, BIS building, St. Alban section (to see the old city wall), Beyeler Foundation (there is one crazy room in this museum with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art), Vitra Design Museum (which is actually in Germany), sculpture at the meeting of three countries, Expo Center donut

Day 7 - Transfer the to Les Trois Rois.  Old City walking tour in a loop from the hotel to the Gate of Spalen to the Johann Wanner Christmas House to the rock and roll graffiti mural to the Tinguely Fountain to the Basler Munster to the Rathaus and back to the hotel.  In the afternoon we visited the Tinguely Museum.

Day 8 - Visit the Kuntsmuseum (don't get this mixed up with the Kuntshalle...  so many museums in Basel) followed by the transfer to the Antoinette docked in Breisach in the afternoon.

 

If you wondering about Amsterdam:

Day 1 - Transfer to the Conservatorium - City walk from the hotel to the Pijp district, to the Basel Archives, to the Dam Square and then the tram back to the MOCO museum.

Day 2 - Drove to Loenen and took a Vecht river boat to see the Dutch country estates ending in Oud-Zuillen.  In the afternoon we visited Slot Zuylen which was a fascinating castle just outside of Utrecht.

 

Considering how desperate my partner and I were for a vacation the trip was well worth what we spent and we had a fantastic vacation.

 

[bostonstrong17]

Hi.  Thanks for the information.  I am booked on a Basel to Amsterdam cruise next August.  We will be staying in Amsterdam for two nights after the cruise on our own.  What hotel did you stay at?  Since I'm a Marriott elite member I am deciding between the Amsterdam Marriott and the Renaissance Amsterdam.  Do you happen to know which is a better location?  Thanks.

[Wings55]

@bostonstrong17  The Amsterdam Marriot is close the the Rijksmuseum while the Renaissance is near the Central Station. It depends on what interests you the most. For me, I'd pick the second. 

[Spree75]

On 9/13/2021 at 11:55 AM, bostonstrong17 said:

Hi.  Thanks for the information.  I am booked on a Basel to Amsterdam cruise next August.  We will be staying in Amsterdam for two nights after the cruise on our own.  What hotel did you stay at?  Since I'm a Marriott elite member I am deciding between the Amsterdam Marriott and the Renaissance Amsterdam.  Do you happen to know which is a better location?  Thanks.

We stayed at the Conservatorium Hotel that is right across from the Van Gogh Museum.  It's one of our favorite hotels around the world.   The museum district is always nice to stay as it's quiet, easy access to the major art museums, and has the large open park space if you are looking to people watch.  The museum district also has several high end shopping streets.  Not our focus but might be of interest.

 

I do want to try and stay in the old city at some point as that will give easier access to nightlife.

 

I don't think you can go wrong with either Marriott hotels.  It just depends on what you want more convenient.

[cruisinwithsusan]

On 8/26/2021 at 3:05 PM, Southack said:

Thanks for your post.  We'll be on the same ship in October and are keeping our fingers crossed!

Us too!  Oct 10.  SOON!

[Gopherpharm]

I realize this is an older thread but we are doing this same ship and itinerary next month. Will be interested to see what has changed or remained the same from last year.