Uniworld River Countess

[bernie_lomax]

Has anyone been on this ship in since it was refurbished in 2007?

The picture of the stateroom in the 2008 brochure is nondescript at best.

We are thinking of taking the Amsterdam - Vienna cruise in 2008, any feedback on this ship and itinerary would be appreciated!

[tiggypooo]

I did that itinerary May 23 this year, on Uniworld's River Duchess. That ship was also refurbished last year and they did a wonderful job.

I was thrilled with the ship, itinerary and Uniworld as a company.

There was no nickle and diming of the passengers, as I have experienced with so many of the large cruiselines. That was very impressive for me.

The itinerary itself, had just the right amount of shore excursions and sailing time for me. The local guides were very good and the local entertainment was a nice touch.

The staff onboard, could not do enough for the passengers. Every single passenger that was on my cruise was more than happy with the whole experience.

I have booked quite a few of my clients with Uniworld and now that I have experienced it myself, I will be booking alot more of them.

[realent]

Thanks for your opinion. We are thinking of Uniworld for our first river cruise!

[trrea]

You say you liked much about the cruise but did not describe the cabins. What were they like. How large? How were the beds, windows, etc. I went to their web site and they do not have a single picture of a cabin interior.

 

Thanks, trreat

[pacmom]

If you go to the web site and click on ships, there is a cabin picture next to the River Duchess. Pat

[KarlS]

I did that itinerary May 23 this year, on Uniworld's River Duchess.

So happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise! We hopped off River Duchess (from the reverse itinerary to yours) in Amsterdam the morning you must've boarded. This was our second Uniworld cruise, and both just happened to be on River Duchess because those were the itineraries we wanted. This past cruise was our absolute happiest, most pleasureable cruise (ocean-going or river) we've ever experienced. Jan Wlodarczyk, the hotel manager, "Bond, James Bond" Kristian, the restaurant manager, and Ingrid van de Ven, our cruise manager, couldn't have been more talented, enthusiastic, and professional. There was absolutely nothing reasonably requested that wasn't immediately delivered. (Of course, your mileage may vary...)

 

(I'm sorry, Bernie. I hijacked your thread).

 

The cabins were all wonderfully appointed. They seem just a little bit small compared to ocean-going vessels, but everything was in its place. The walls and ceilings were in warm woods, the bedding/duvets were excellent, drawers and closets were very adequate. The whole ship was spotless. When we were tied up in Vienna along with five or six other similar ships, we were able to look into the other ships' cabins after supper as we strolled along the shore before sunset. River Duchess's cabins seemed to be much nicer, with wood instead of wallpaper, and soft lighting instead of stark bulbs or floresscent (sp?) bulbs in cabins. (Of course, those could've been crew/staff cabins; we wouldn't have known otherwise). We were very happy we had such a nice cabin. The public spaces we saw on the other ships looked to be very comparable to ours. Hope that helped answer some of your questions... even though it was the wrong ship.

[tiggypooo]

Hey Karl, I just got back on the boards and noticed your post.

(Sorry Bernie I too have taken over your post)

I so agree with your opinion of The Duchess, crew, accomodations, etc.

Jan was a gem. He would bend over backwards to make sure that each and everyone of us had everything that we needed.

We had Doris as our Cruise Manager and there was very little time when she wasn't available to us. Anything that was arranged for off the ship, ran very smoothly, even when we had a few changes because of the flooding on the Main. (Those low bridges can be a problem)

I really found each and every member of the crew to be as pleasant as can be. I often commented that their faces must hurt from smiling so much.

I don't think that I could be that pleasant all the time in my job.

The staterooms are quite small but I think that that is par for the course. We had a suite and the extra 60 sq ft. was well worth the money.

Two weeks is too long to spend in cramped quarters.

The food was fabulous. I loved that it was very European with smaller portions. I didn't feel gorged at the end of each meal.

We loved the cruise so much that I am now planning to go on another one next May.

[KarlS]

Tiggy, I enjoyed your post. It's wonderful to see consistency with Jan's accommodating staff. We're booked on the River Queen's May 4th Scenic Moselle/Rhine itinerary, Amsterdam to Basel. Keeping our fingers crossed Uniworld has instilled Jan's spirit and professionalism across all their ships. :)

[pacmom]

KarlS,

 

We hope to take this cruise in 2009. Have been on 5 Uniworld cruises and yet to be disappointed. Looking forward to your review.

 

Pat

[tiggypooo]

Has anyone been on this ship in since it was refurbished in 2007?

The picture of the stateroom in the 2008 brochure is nondescript at best.

We are thinking of taking the Amsterdam - Vienna cruise in 2008, any feedback on this ship and itinerary would be appreciated!

 

As I stated in the last post, I did the same itinerary on River Duchess this year. That ship also has just been refurbed and they did a very nice job.

I would imagine that the same care and quality would go into The Countess.

Amsterdam to Vienna is a very nice itinerary.

I felt that there was just enough sail and tour time. Some people complained about not having enough time to tour on land, but I think that if you want all land, you do a coach tour.

A river cruise is about enjoying the sail and all the beautiful scenery along the river.

Some of my favorite things were:

 

1. Castles on the Rhine- For a 4 hour stretch prior to arriving in Rudesheim (Amsterdam to Vienna) you will sail past approx. 40 castles. Most are restored to their previous glory. Quite a wonderful experience. The Crusie Director that we had did a wonderful job explaining little stories and details about each castle.

 

2.Mainz- This is where the Guttenberg Museum and bibles are. The town is quite charming and there is some good shopping.

 

3.Miltenburg- Wonderful timber plank buildings there and a wonderful old brewery.

 

4.Bamburg- Probably in my opinion the most beautiful buildings that we saw. Many were painted with wonderful pictures and colors. It was pouring rain the day that we were there but still loved it and got some great pics.

 

5.Nuremburg- Definately one of my favorite stops. I didn't think that the history of it all would affect me much, but it did. The old town of Nuremburg is spectacular too.

 

6.Passau- This is not on the itinerary, but we ended up here because of some flooding and not being able to get under one bridge. So glad we did as it was a fascinating town.

 

7.Wacchau Valley- This is another beautiful gorge area that you go through before reaching Vienna.

 

Hope that this helps

[tiggypooo]

Sorry, I kind of repeated myself. Caught up in the moment I guess.

It's nice to meet a few Uniworld people on here that actually are happy with the company.

I just think that they're great and I'll definately be sailing them again and again.

[California Traveler]

Tiggypooo, thank you so much for this additional info. We are planning a first time river cruise with Uniworld -Vienna to Amsterdam. Does anyone know which itenerary is best starting at Amsterdam or Vienna? We have done much research on all the river cruise lines and are most impressed with Uniworld.

[pacmom]

We have sailed from the Black Sea to Amsterdam with Uniworld. Going towards A., you have a tendency to sail thru the weather. In the opposite direction, the weather seems to follow you. Plus at the end of the trip in A., you are that much closer to home. Pat

[KarlS]

We are planning a first time river cruise with Uniworld -Vienna to Amsterdam. We have done much research on all the river cruise lines and are most impressed with Uniworld.

I will continue to sing the praises of Uniworld, since 2006's Tulip Time Amsterdam-to-Antwerp itinerary and this past May's Vienna-to-Amsterdam itinerary (both on River Duchess) were wonderful. I recently scanned in the Uniworld on-board shore guide pages and our daily "programmes" from our May cruise, so if those are of any interest to you, maybe we can figure out a way to get those to you (since private email isn't enabled here (yet)).

[tiggypooo]

Hi California Traveler:

You're quite welcome for the info. I could talk about it all day, so if there is anything else you need, please ask.

After doing the Amsterdam to Vienna itinerary, I am advising my clients to do the opposite, Vienna to Amsterdam.

There is a couple of reasons why. One would be the weather issue that pacmom mentioned. We had 4 rain days in a row and it really did follow us.

The 2nd reason would be, Amsterdam to Vienna you do an overnight in Regensburgh. We weren't so keen on that. Not too much to do.

Going the other way you get to overnight in Mainz. We loved Mainz and would have loved to spend longer there.

The last reason would be, the most spectacular scenery on the river is definately the "Castles on the Rhine" area, in the Rhine Gorge. You go through that on the 3rd day, A to V and given the choice, I would have liked to have that more towards the end of the cruise.

One other thing that I would suggest, if you've never been to Amsterdam, take a few extra days and see that city while you're there. It's definately one of the most fascinating cities that I've ever been to.

[tiggypooo]

Sorry, it wasn't Regensburgh that you overnight in A to V, it's Rudesheim.

Regensburgh was very nice, the other a little boring.

[KarlS]

Sorry, it wasn't Regensburgh that you overnight in A to V, it's Rudesheim.

Regensburgh was very nice, the other a little boring.

(From one who's only done Vienna to Amsterdam,...)

 

I'd have to agree. Rudesheim is okay for a morning/afternoon visit, with a ride up to the summit and back down in the gondola car, and a glass (or two or three) of the local wines in one of the lovely hotel outdoor cafes. Regensburg seems like it would have much more to do after dark.

 

We also discovered most of these cities/towns/villages shops along this itinerary close up for the day at lunchtime on Saturdays, and they're closed all day Sundays and holidays, although some of the most touristy shops obviously stay open a bit longer.

[lddam]

Does anyone know if either of these boats have French balconies and/or windows that open? Thanks in advance.

 

Dave of ...

[KarlS]

Does anyone know if either of these boats have French balconies and/or windows that open? Thanks in advance.

River Duchess does not have French balconies and/or windows that open.

[bcrcornet]

River Duchess does not have French balconies and/or windows that open.

Neither does the River Countess. :)

[tiggypooo]

I don't believe any of the Uniworld ships have them. It wasn't a problem though.

I'd rather have the larger room, as any ships that have balconies, take the extra space from the room.

The ships cannot be any wider than 37 1/2 ft. because of the locks, so the space for a balcony can only make the stateroom smaller.