Uniworld Magnificent Moselle & Rhine -- Thoughts/Recent Impressions?

[Caligirl58]

We have only done two river cruises - both on Uniworld.  Castles Along the Rhine (Amsterdam to Basel) on SS Antoinette in 2017 and Delightful Danube & Prague (Budapest to Prague) on SS Beatrice in 2019. Enjoyed them both very much - especially Castles Along the Rhine.  Now we are planning our next river cruise for Summer, 2024.  Some friends (two couples) have already booked Uniworld's Magnificent Moselle & Rhine (Frankfurt to Frankfurt) for late July, 2024 and want us to join them.  We know we'd enjoy traveling with them, but we have been reluctant to book, knowing that the Rhine portion of the itinerary will include many of the same stops as our CATR cruise in 2017.  Some of the things we are struggling with:  Do we want to spend the money knowing that part of the trip will be a repeat - or instead choose a different cruise with an itinerary we have never seen.?  Is the Moselle portion of the cruise enough to justify seeing the Rhine portion again?  Also- the MM&R cruise is on the River Queen, which - as of now - is not a Super Ship.  Will we notice a significant difference in terms of amenities/service?  I realize no one can make the decision for us, but if you have thoughts about the MM&R cruise, the River Queen, or anything else that might influence our decision, I'd welcome your input.  Thank you.

[Ritabob]

Caligirl58, 

If I was invited to join friends on this itinerary I'd be pulling out my wallet ready to pay up again. We've sailed along the Moselle twice and had our third time cancelled in 2020. The scenery, wine, history, and tours are all great.

The River Queen is my favourite Uniworld ship and there is something special about her, even though she is not an SS ship. Cabins are small, there is no pool, but the food and service are the same on all the Uniworld ships.  There is always something new to explore at every stop, and every local guide puts their own spin on the stories they tell.

RB 

[Caligirl58]

Ritabob - Thank you so much for your response. We appreciate your thoughts about the Mozelle and about the River Queen.  We enjoyed both of our previous Uniworld cruises, so I'm sure we would enjoy this one.  Just trying to decide how to best spend our future cruising dollars!

[Canal archive]

Sorry for butting in but on another cruise I’m sure with friends you will view it through different eyes and I strongly suspect Uniworld has done a few tweaks here and there. Cruising cash is never wasted.

[Marshyone]

DOING UNIWORLD JUNE 19 DANUBE RIVER.  VERY EXCITED.  ANYONE ELSE DOING THIS CRUISE?

[Caligirl58]

9 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Sorry for butting in but on another cruise I’m sure with friends you will view it through different eyes and I strongly suspect Uniworld has done a few tweaks here and there. Cruising cash is never wasted.

Not butting in at all -- I appreciate your input.  I agree about "cruising cash" -- but as retirees, just want to use our travel dollars (and years!) wisely.  It sounds, though, that this cruise might be enough different from our previous cruise to justify the expense.   

[pontac]

Half the trip is on the Mosel, and the Moses is very scenic and so are the towns visited. I went with Viking from Basel the Trier. I'd done the Rhine bit twice before, so visited the Speyer Technical museum, which is a very short walk from the river and has English language signage and a guide book. There's also a separate old mansion in the grounds which the ticket allows entry to filled over 4 floors with toys, costumes, stuffed animals and more. I went with first time cruisers and found that the guides we had on this trip showed different things than the guide we had last year.

 

So, as you enjoy Uniworld and your friends company I'd suggest you follow @Canal archive 's wise words.

 

You may like to read the report of my trip

 

[Gourmet Gal]

The Moselle is probably the most beautiful river for cruising in Europe with the possible exception of the Douro but personally I wouldn’t want to waste my time cruising the Rhine a second time when there are so many other great regions in Europe to explore.  As for the River Queen, I did this itinerary on her a few years ago and felt the ship and especially the cabins felt crowded and small.  I don’t care for the faux chateau decor either.  There are certainly better ships out there but if you must take this cruise I would  highly recommend booking a suite.

 

 

[PhD-iva]

I cruised on the River Queen last July, Frankfurt to Strasbourg on the Rhine and Moselle rivers. The Moselle river is incredibly beautiful, scenic and unforgettable. Uniworld service and food excellent. Highly recommend!

[Gourmet Gal]

On 6/2/2023 at 10:15 AM, Caligirl58 said:

Not butting in at all -- I appreciate your input.  I agree about "cruising cash" -- but as retirees, just want to use our travel dollars (and years!) wisely.  It sounds, though, that this cruise might be enough different from our previous cruise to justify the expense.   

So Caligirl58, what did you decide?