Uniworld itineraries

[saz25]

Hi

When I look at various cruises on the Uniworld website, the itineraries don’t show the times of arrival and departure like other cruise lines do. I know the times could change a bit.

 

I’m wondering if river cruise ships stay in port longer than ocean ships so you can experience more of the port.

comments ?

 Thanks 

[Roz]

I don't think most river cruise lines show port times.  What lines are you looking at that show times?

 

Time in port varies.  Sometimes you'll spend most of the day in a port but the ship moves and you catch up with it later.  I've found river cruises are more likely to have overnights in port, especially at the beginning and end.  For instance, if you're doing Amsterdam to Budapest, you'll overnight in Amsterdam and Budapest.  

 

I hope this helps.

 

[saz25]

This would be out first river cruise. Uniworld. We’ve done many ocean cruises as you can see in my signature and they always show port arrivals and departures times.

 

I’m wondering how do you know beforehand what those appropriate times are?

 Thanks 

[Wings55]

•  I agree it would be nice to know, but my guess is docking times and locations are more flexible than those of ocean cruises, so they don't get very specific in the brochures or websites.
  Paul

[Host Jazzbeau]

21 minutes ago, saz25 said:

I’m wondering how do you know beforehand what those appropriate times are?

You don't need to know on a river cruise, since all the shore excursions are built in to the itinerary.  And you can't know the timing, because delays at locks and forecasts of water levels cause constant changes to the schedule.  You can't even know in advance where the ship will be docked, because that is determined by the port authorities at the last minute (and can even require repositioning the ship after it is docked).

[Roz]

@saz25, are you asking because you want to book your own shore excursions?  As @Host Jazzbeau explained, they're included and built into the fare.  If you read the tour descriptions they can sometimes give you an idea about how much time you'll be in a particular port.  Booking or doing things on your own can be risky if the ship has to move.  

[notamermaid]

Several river cruise lines, mostly German, do post the times online. But they are always never fully fixed, i.e. I mean this is the plan but it can change at the last minute. And the river cruise lines state this as well. In agreement with what the previous posters have said, I also think that booking your own excursions is not necessary if you are new to the ports. They are great introductions and some are fantastic and in depth for experiencing the culture. If you want to see something specific or meet a person locally, you can get an idea when the brochure says "morning", "afternoon", etc. Plan loosely and confirm on board with the cruise director. But again, it is possible that you think you need to be back on board at 6pm and you find out on that morning that the ship needs to leave at 5pm. If you venture out on your own for several hours always make sure you can communicate with the ship by phone.

 

notamermaid

 

[saz25]

On 9/19/2022 at 2:36 PM, Roz said:

@saz25, are you asking because you want to book your own shore excursions?  As @Host Jazzbeau explained, they're included and built into the fare.  If you read the tour descriptions they can sometimes give you an idea about how much time you'll be in a particular port.  Booking or doing things on your own can be risky if the ship has to move.  

I was asking because I thought if we knew when the ship leaves we could plan to do something on our own onshore; not necessarily another excursion but an activity, visit a specific site, etc.

 

We’ve always sailed ocean cruises (about 20 times). We always wanted to try a river cruise to see the difference,

 

Looking forward to it.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, saz25 said:

I was asking because I thought if we knew when the ship leaves we could plan to do something on our own onshore; not necessarily another excursion but an activity, visit a specific site, etc.

 

We’ve always sailed ocean cruises (about 20 times). We always wanted to try a river cruise to see the difference,

 

Looking forward to it.

My suggestion is that you do your research, and know what you would want to do if you had the opportunity. Know the hours, and the location in advance. Then, when you know the time that you will have available, you will know what to slot into that time, and won't be scrambling. The cruise director can also help with advice as to timing.

[Got2Cruise]

It depends on the itinerary. Which itinerary are you considering? 

[saz25]

10 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

It depends on the itinerary. Which itinerary are you considering? 

Amsterdam to Basal on the Rhine.

[Got2Cruise]

18 hours ago, saz25 said:

Amsterdam to Basal on the Rhine.

The ship travels during the night. You should have plenty of time at each stop. 

[dalekwho]

I was wondering the same, regarding how much time at each port along the Rhine. I am on Uniworld in December 2023, and wanted to know how much time I have at each Christmas market. Also which market I would see in only daytime and which ones at nighttime. Thanks 

[Ritabob]

A place to start is look up the official christmas markets websites for each port you will be visiting . Some markets are open every day, some only on weekends and some only in the evening.

If your cruise is marketed as a Christmas cruise, then your cruise director should have all that mapped out for you.

RB 

[Second seating]

Remember in December Europe is dark around 4:30!

[Roz]

4 hours ago, Second seating said:

Remember in December Europe is dark around 4:30!

In mid to late December in Amsterdam,  it started to get dark around 3:30 - 4:00. It's cold and wet too. Still had a great time, just be prepared.