Uniworld Cruise on the Seine

[VAGuy]

We are considering the Uniworld cruise "Paris to Paris" on the River Baroness in the Fall of 2007. Has anyone taken this cruise? We would appreciate comments regarding the cruise/boat in particular and your experience with Uniworld in general. Thanks :)

[pacmom]

We are very pleased with Uniworld--working both with them and a TA. In fact, we are taking our 5th cruise with them in Feb, on the Nile. We took the Seine cruise in 2000. At that time it was one way between Honfleur and Paris. It sold us on river cruising--touring in the morning, cruising in the afternoon. Since the distance to be covered wasonly 200 miles, we did no overnite cruising. The pace was very relaxed. The present trip is different, but includes the Normandy beaches--a wonderful trip. If you can possibly do it spend some extra time in Honfleur--a beautiful village. Good luck and travel safely. Pat

[Studebaker59]

We're going on Uniworld's Paris & Normandy cruise in May, 2007.

 

This will be our first riverboat sailing.

 

We're looking forward to it.

 

I'll post our feelings after we return.

[dee dee gold]

My girldfriend and I are leaving for the Paris to Paris Uniworld cruise this coming weekend. We are both new to river cruising and very excited about this trip. Anyone else going on this cruise at the same time, or have already come back from this cruise? Would like your comments on this itinerary.

Dee Dee

[bbuchanan]

We just returned from the River Baroness round trip Paris last Sunday and I'm still trying to adjust. Learned only 35 were booked for this week's trip and thought very strongly about staying on board. They relocated a few staff to other boats until passenger counts increase.

 

I can't say enough about river cruising; this our first after over forty ocean cruises. The River Baroness is one of Uniworld's older boats. Since we had nothing to compare her to, we found her very enjoyable and comfortable.

 

It did not hurt that northern France was experiencing unseasonably warm weather. Every day, with exception of our day in Normandy, was sunny with temps in the mid seventies. We did find many places rather crowded as it was the first week of their two week spring vacation. Lots of families with children and school groups.

 

A couple of changes from the information in the cruise guide. Your evening boat trip on the Seine will not be on the Baroness but on a regular tour boat with others. You will be expedited through the lines to board.

 

Currently, the "Dutch" and French are "negotiating" river policies and the Baroness was not cleared to sail past Rouen. Therefore, bus rides to Honfleur and Le Havre were longer in addition to the bus to the Normandy Beaches. Hopefully this is an issue that will be resolved soon. As the OP mentioned, Honfleur is a wonderfully delightful village, enough so that I could go back for an extended visit. Additional time in Normandy would have been welcomed. For this inconvenience, Uniworld offered "complimentary" wine on both the Captain's Welcome and Farewell evenings.

 

The cabins are small, approximately 120 sqft. including bath. Very compact with far more storage than you might expect. A small closet with three drawers at the bottom and safe and the headboard is a bookcase with storage across the top and down each side. Full picture window. Floor to ceiling mirror by the entry. Bath "extremely" compact as one might anticipate, with very small shower.

 

While the brochure advises there is a 110 plug but it does not accommodate our newer grounded pins. Lots of folks having a crew member file the larger pin down. An adaptor would work. There is only one plug in the cabin and it is located next to the bed by the window, so no mirror.

 

Dining room wonderful with open seating. Dining each evening about 7PM and very fine choices. It's not well publicized, however if nothing on the evening menu appeals to you, steak, chicken and salmon are available every evening as alternative choices. The salmon was very nice. Wines were very good and cheeses served at dinner wonderful as well.

 

On my next trip I will know take many more Euros than I did. With tour guide gratuities, boat gratuities at the recommended amount of 13 Euros per day per passenger. ATM's are available in many towns, just hated taking the time to fool with it. Gratuities are all paid in cash and not charged.

 

Happy to answer anything more specific. I now have about six on my "to do" list.

[VAGuy]

Thank you for your posting regarrding the Uniworld cruise on the Seine.

 

I do not understand your comment about the Dutch and the French negotiating river policies.:confused: I would appreciate your explaining this situation in greater detail.

 

Thank you.:)

[bbuchanan]

I do not understand your comment about the Dutch and the French negotiating river policies.:confused: I would appreciate your explaining this situation in greater detail.

 

The Baroness is owned by a Dutch Company (Tour Director on board who was absoluetly wonderful was from Amsterdam). This is my paraphrase of the explanation given the first evening on board. The French are quibbling about restrictions and required permits on the river north of Rouen and the Dutch claim all is in order. There is government red tape in every country.

 

I still have regrets about not staying on for this week's trip. Since there were only 35 guests, they were all moved into Category 1 cabins for the convenience of the crew and staff. I would speculate they would have probably made us a reasonable deal. Having done the tours, I would use the time in Paris to go to the Louvre we skipped the first week and spend time in Honfleur. Other than that, just sit in a lounge chair on the sun deck and watch the beautiful scenary slip by.

 

I failed to mention how wonderful the people were to us at every stop. Warm and very friendly. Walking by the river one evening a young family approached us to inquire where we were from and conversed for a while.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[JPCruising]

My wife and daughter just returned from the Uniworld River Baroness cruise this past Sunday and they had a super time. I have just posted a photo album with 259 photos divided over 10 chapters on my photo website: www.jprphotos.com

 

I hope you enjoy the photos.

[tobes]

Booked on this trip for July. Someone mentioned that when the boat was docked in the small towns, bicycles or motor bikes were available for exploring the town in any free time. Do you know anything about this? Thanks, Judy

 

 

 

We just returned from the River Baroness round trip Paris last Sunday and I'm still trying to adjust. Learned only 35 were booked for this week's trip and thought very strongly about staying on board. They relocated a few staff to other boats until passenger counts increase.

 

I can't say enough about river cruising; this our first after over forty ocean cruises. The River Baroness is one of Uniworld's older boats. Since we had nothing to compare her to, we found her very enjoyable and comfortable.

 

It did not hurt that northern France was experiencing unseasonably warm weather. Every day, with exception of our day in Normandy, was sunny with temps in the mid seventies. We did find many places rather crowded as it was the first week of their two week spring vacation. Lots of families with children and school groups.

 

A couple of changes from the information in the cruise guide. Your evening boat trip on the Seine will not be on the Baroness but on a regular tour boat with others. You will be expedited through the lines to board.

 

Currently, the "Dutch" and French are "negotiating" river policies and the Baroness was not cleared to sail past Rouen. Therefore, bus rides to Honfleur and Le Havre were longer in addition to the bus to the Normandy Beaches. Hopefully this is an issue that will be resolved soon. As the OP mentioned, Honfleur is a wonderfully delightful village, enough so that I could go back for an extended visit. Additional time in Normandy would have been welcomed. For this inconvenience, Uniworld offered "complimentary" wine on both the Captain's Welcome and Farewell evenings.

 

The cabins are small, approximately 120 sqft. including bath. Very compact with far more storage than you might expect. A small closet with three drawers at the bottom and safe and the headboard is a bookcase with storage across the top and down each side. Full picture window. Floor to ceiling mirror by the entry. Bath "extremely" compact as one might anticipate, with very small shower.

 

While the brochure advises there is a 110 plug but it does not accommodate our newer grounded pins. Lots of folks having a crew member file the larger pin down. An adaptor would work. There is only one plug in the cabin and it is located next to the bed by the window, so no mirror.

 

Dining room wonderful with open seating. Dining each evening about 7PM and very fine choices. It's not well publicized, however if nothing on the evening menu appeals to you, steak, chicken and salmon are available every evening as alternative choices. The salmon was very nice. Wines were very good and cheeses served at dinner wonderful as well.

 

On my next trip I will know take many more Euros than I did. With tour guide gratuities, boat gratuities at the recommended amount of 13 Euros per day per passenger. ATM's are available in many towns, just hated taking the time to fool with it. Gratuities are all paid in cash and not charged.

 

Happy to answer anything more specific. I now have about six on my "to do" list.

[bbuchanan]

No bicycles I saw or knew of and no mention during any on board talks.

[letsgo39]

Isn't it Amadeus that has the bikes?:confused:

[skertso]

My brochure for our Amadeus MS Amadagio cruise states that it has complimentary bicycles for their passengers use.

 

:)

[skertso]

My wife and daughter just returned from the Uniworld River Baroness cruise this past Sunday and they had a super time. I have just posted a photo album with 259 photos divided over 10 chapters on my photo website: www.jprphotos.com

 

I hope you enjoy the photos.

 

I thouroughly enjoyed your photos! Thanks so much for sharing them!!

:)

[Studebaker59]

Thrilled to read bbuchanan's comments, and see JPCruising's pictures.

 

We will be on this trip in two weeks!!!

 

I'll post coments when we return.

[VAGuy]

For BBuchanan:

 

We will be arriving in Paris a few days prior to the start of our river cruise with Uniworld and will have to make our own way from our hotel to the River Baroness. Where does the River Baroness dock in Paris?:confused: What is the closest Metro stop? Any info you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks.:)

[Studebaker59]

bbuchanan-

 

You mentioned that you should have brought more euros with you. Since we're going on the identical trip in two weeks, we'd really appreciate knowing how many euros you think would be appropriate, per person. This info would be very helpful.

 

Thanks!

[VAGuy]

ATM's are widely available in Europe so it is not necessary to"bring euros with you." Just bring your ATM card (which must have a 4 digit PIN) and remember to notify your bank as well as any credit card companies about the dates and countries you will be in Europe. The ATM's work just like they do here in the USA, and you should get the best exchange rate by using an ATM.:)

[amyr]

I was delighted to come across this thread. After sailing the Danube with Uniworld and then taking their China tour, we were trying to find another river trip. We just got off a transatlantic and took a day tour to the landing beaches in Normandy, and our guide stopped in Honfleur on the way back to the ship in Le Havre. We couldn't stay long - he just wanted us to see the village - and he mentioned that many river trips included Honfleur. For that alone, we are now looking at this cruise rather than Russia for next year.

 

JPCruising - thanks for sharing your photos, I'm off to look at them now!

[texastart]

This was our second cruise...the first was just a repositioning cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver on Norwegian Dream. It was awful and we figured the river cruise had to better, particularly since my sister got an amazing price thru airline employee discount. This cruise was absolutely wonderful and we are planning our next one in September to Budapest-Vienna.

One of the best bonuses on this trip was that we were always so busy, we couldn't even spend money on junk if we wanted to! Our favorite town was Arles, where we started. Right off the dock is a local tavern and they cook pizzas on an open wood fire. We sat there outside at dusk and had a pizza, even though we had finished dinner a little earlier. We wanted to experience the ambience!! Before we left Arles the next day, I bought a red and white toile round tablecloth. It turned out to be the only thing I had time to buy!!

The cabins were just fine and I was able to bring my laptop since the River Royale was the first of their boats to offer high speed internet...they were having trouble with it, so the service was complimentary. It was really neat sitting in front of the floor to ceiling windows, chatting in real time with my adult kids, describing the scenery! Oh..and before I forget, going thru all the river locks was a first for us as well..and extremely interesting.

I am a very picky eater but I like simple comfort foods and I thought the food was surprisingly good. The different daily soups were fantastic and I looked forward to those. Breakfast and lunch are great...you can't mess that up. Dinners were good as well and if I remember correctly, you had a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian.

Love the casual atmosphere and I was glad that I didn't feel awkward in jeans. Most people wear what they want and the heck with everyone else.

The weather was wonderful, sunny, but still a little cool and we enjoyed laying on the deck with the blankets, getting a little tan.

We were not able to have dinner at Bocuse but we were bussed, instead, to a delightful village ..i think it was Perouges..and had wonderful poullet de Bress and I've never seen so much wine in my life. They were pouring it so fast I couldn't keep count. Each tour was great as were the guides.

 

We simply had a great time..the staff was attentive, the food great, cozy with only 100 passengers. The convenience of unpacking just once, the price including ALL MEALS AND OFFSHORE EXCUSIONS....What more could you ask for? I wish I could go 4 times a year!!

[MrsDave]

We leave on Saturday..on River Royale..it's our first river cruise and I have been a tad nervous...honestly..if you read everything..you can simply go nuts!

I was so happy to hear that you had such a lovely time..thank you for sharing...

Tina

[tobes]

We leave Saturday also, on the River Baroness, Paris to Normandy. I have been on many large cruise ships and then last summer I tried the Xpedition to the Galapagos with only 72 people. I loved the small ship so much more than the large ones that I can't wait to try this small river cruise. Happy sailings to everyone taking off! Judy:)