Review of Castles along the Rhine with Uniworld

[PNFL]

I sailed on Uniworlds SS Antoinette June 10-17.   Prior to the cruise we did the pre-extension to Lucerne and post cruise with did the extension in Amsterdam.  We were meet at the airport by a Uniworld rep and the ride to the hotel took about an hour from Zurich airport to Lucerne.  The hotel was very nice.  Our room did not over look the lake but the view of the hill side was still nice. Our guide meet us at the hotel and told us there would be a meeting at 2pm to talk about the agenda for the following day and also to enjoy a welcome drink. There were about 13 of us on the pre-sxtension.  Three of us had signed up before leaving on the cruise to do the optional tour to Mount Stanserhorn but the guide knew nothing about us signing up for this tour.  Before we left we were told we had to either do the walking tour of Lucerne or the optional tour but we could not do both.  Our guide said no it was possible to do both and she would contact Uniworld. 

After our meeting and a glass of wine we decided to head into town for some dinner.  To get into town you had to take the funicular lift and then a ferry.  We had a wonderful dinner at the Hotel Des Balances.  It was expensive but worth the money.

The next day we took a walking tour which lasted about 90 minutes then we headed to Mount Stanserhorm.  Mount Stanserhorn was wonderful and not very crowded.  We returned to the hotel around 4pm and just decided to eat at the hotel. The next day we were transported to the ship.  The bus arrived at 12:30 but we did not get to the ship until after 3pm.  I really think the bus driver got lost.

The SS Antoinette is very nice and the bed was very comfortable.  This was our third Uniworld cruise and I will say it was not my favorite.  The service was excellent but I thought the food was just OK.  We did sign up for an optional wine dinner for 70 euro's and I did not think it was worth the money. Most of the stops we had to take a bus for the excursions which is fine but I enjoy just being able to get off the ship and wander into town.  

We also did the post extension in Amsterdam with Uniworld.  This was definitely not worth the money I think I could of done it much cheaper on my own.  When we got off the ship in Amsterdam we were taken by bus to the Rijksmuseum and then a canal ride.  We spent I think about 2 hours at the museum but wish we had more time.  Our Uniworld guide after our canal ride walked us to the hotel and gave us a 24 hour tram ticket.  The next day was on our own.  Before leaving I had gotten tickets to the Van Gogh museum and also the Anne Frank house.  We did a lot of walking that day!  The next day we were transferred to the airport and arrived in plenty of time for our flight.  So I enjoyed the cruise but it was not my favorite.   If you have any questions please let me know.  

[ak1004]

Thanks for the review!

 

What was less favorite on this cruise compared to your previous cruises? You mentioned food, was food better on the previous cruises? Which ships have you previously sailed? Are there significant differences between different Uniworld ships? We are doing the Empress in September, the longer version of your cruise (10 nights).

[PNFL]

14 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Thanks for the review!

 

What was less favorite on this cruise compared to your previous cruises? You mentioned food, was food better on the previous cruises? Which ships have you previously sailed? Are there significant differences between different Uniworld ships? We are doing the Empress in September, the longer version of your cruise (10 nights).

The food was just not up to the quality of other ships we have been on.  The last night on board I got the halibut and it was dry and tough.  I thought the breakfast and lunch buffet were good.  We were on the River Princess on the Danube and SS Joie De Vivre from Paris to Normandy.  The service was wonderful on board.  Also the scenery along the river was not as nice as the Danube. We took the optional excursion to Heidleberg and I loved it.  My first cruise was from Budapest to Praque and I loved it so it is hard I think for other cruises to live up to that cruise.  I am sure you will enjoy the cruise.