Uniworld: Paris and European River Romance

[nordski]

KCalla already has posted a this cruise and, despite the fact we shared the same cruise and at the risk of redundancy, I'll share a somewhat different reaction. Since I'm late to the party, I'll start a separate thread so as not to interfere with the discussion on that thread.

I'll post in three sections so you can choose the parts to read or ignore.

This was our third cruise (first with Uniworld) and overall we agree with KCalla that it was a very good experience.

Section I The Tours:

Suggestion1:
Seriously consider the optional tour to Heidelberg. Of all my memories the castle, vistas and town are standouts. Perhaps I'm influenced by the foul weather that day, which only heightened the gothic atmosphere, and our two superb guides. The bus ride to the town was an issue, but the road follows a ridge of hills and forest so it was interesting in its own right.
My wife joined another couple on the alternate tour, Frankfurt, and they were less pleased with their experience

Suggestion 2:
Do not be concerned about the bus ride to Rothenberg. The ride itself was memorable: following the Romantic Road through rolling hills and pcturesque villages of farm homes and outbuildings. Another highlight.

Suggestion 3:
Enter the Catholic Church in Miltenberg (at the east end of town where tours end). Although not on the regular tours, and not an impressive Cathedral, we were lucky to have a member of the Church's Board as our guide. Inside the Church has been remodelled to contain an interesting mixture of modern and historic iconography and symbolism. An excellent reminder that these towns and their people are not just historic artefacts. Also look for images that underline the historic importance of pilgrimmages to Spain.

Suggestion 4:
Instead of the somewhat overwhelming Louvre, consider the Musee d'Orsay and Orangerie which contain art from a much more limited time period and geography. Visit the former, cross the pedestrian bridge to the Tuileries Garden, enjoy a reviving snack and glass of wine, and head to the latter for iits exhibit of Monet and other works. In that brief time span, could life be much better?
If you do go to the Louvre I suggest obtaining your own guide book and selecting a small area to investigate (The gallery presenting works by Giotto is my favourite). The guided tours, in my experience, simply try to do too much.

Suggestion 5:
Consider visiting Versailles, on your own, it's easily accessible via the RER-C Line. To do justice to the palace, gardens and the town itself you need more than a 1/2 day tour (optional). Avoid the tram ride to the Trianon, I spent my early life riding on a farm wagon that was more comfortable.

[nordski]

Part II On Board the Ship

As KCalla points out in her thread, The river Princess is a well-appointed ship. It has undergone refurbishments which has helped to keep it fresh. The crew was generally as good as any we've experienced and thus overall the service was as well. The food also matched our expectations and those who were less satisfied it seems were new to river cruising. That said some more suggestions.

Suggestion 1:
Don't know if it's typical of Uniworld ships, but there is a significant serving station in the centre of the restaurant. As a result, generally it's best to arrive early for meals and obtain a table either in the fore (preferrable) or aft sections to avoid the sides where sight lines are considerably compromised. Also sitting at the sides can be kind of like sitting near the door to the kitchen in a restaurant.

Suggestion 2:
In another thread there was a comment that on a Uniworld cruise a passenger had trouble receiving attention for specific dietary concerns. Obviously the buffet breakfast and lunch with their abundant choices provide few problems, and the only significant problem we had was during the 2 Captain's Dinners: Welcome and Farewell. During these meal substitutions became more difficult and an overeager server for the Welcome dinner compounded the problem. The Restaurant Manager worked very diligently to help with this problem (he deserves great praise for his efforts) and the Farewell dinner was much less stressful.
Since the meal issue was somewhat more troublesome than our earlier cruises, I suggest that, if you are concerned, besides noting the issue on pre-boarding information sent to Uniworld, that you meet privately with the Restaurant Manager upon boarding and go over the issue(s).

Suggestion 3:
Overall, although the crew was excellent, I seemed to run afoul of one of them. We were forced to vacate our stateroom because of sewer gas and that officer was spectacularly unsympathetic or concerned. Once I got over my surprise, I finally realized I would just have to approach someone else, and indeed the problem was attended to.

Suggestion 4:
We were in a stateroom with a French balcony. This was a good choice if you're a fresh air fiend as we are, otherwise perhaps money could be better spent on other things (a beerhall?). Our room was next to the restaurant but there was no problematic noise from either it or the corridor.

...to be continued

[nordski]

Part III: Itinerary

Here's where Kcalla and I might possibly most diverge in opinion. Because of some issues in Paris, if taking this cruise again I would start in Nuremberg and reverse the cruise. Here are my reasons:

1/ I am less sanguine about the division of the cruisers into 2 groups in Paris: 1/3 at Le Meridien Montparnasse and 2/3 at the Pullman near, as I understood it, the Eiffel Tower.
This meant that until the 3rd evening we didn't meet the majority of fellow cruisers and the Cruise Director. This may be of little concern to most, but my wife and I are not that gregarious and it wasn't until the last few days of the cruise that we felt we had somewhat fitted in with the larger group. That was certainly not their fault as they had already formed some friendships in the 1st 3 days. Perhaps we need to examine our own coping skills.
The Uniworld Agent at Le Meridien seemed somewhat overwhelmed by the task. In a couple of instances her advice to me was misleading and her 30 minute tour of the hotel's area was interrupted by a number of cell phone calls. I decide to explore on my own.
Meeting the larger group led to comparisons of our 2 hotels. Although the hotel staff was very good, in terms of location and amenities Le Meridien seemed to lose in this comparison.
In defence of Uniworld, perhaps this division of cruisers was an anomaly and they were reacting as best they could to the issue.
The final problem occurred on our bus trip from Paris to Trier. I was really looking forward to Trier as the only Roman site on our cruise and. Unfortunately, because of forgotten items at our hotel, a mix-up re guides
and poor weather we almost suffered a cancellation of that tour. Fortunately, our guide at Trier was excellent and was able to provide a superb if shortened version.

Therefore, I suggest starting at Nuremberg:

Fly in a day early and visit either the medieval and/or WWII elements of the city (not included in the itinerary). We have visited the Christmas Markets there, but there would be much to explore
You will begin the cruise on the first day of the itinerary and thus meet everyone.
Since we suffered some foul weather, you will be sailing east to west and thus, perhaps, shorten that potential issue.

In fact, I can only blame myself for not thinking of this beforehand.

Sorry for the verbosity and, as I have stated, overall we would certainly recommend this cruise.

[H2Otstr]

Who was your cruise director?

[nordski]

Originally Posted by H2Otstr

Who was your cruise director?

Wouter (sp?) .
He was experienced and excellent in any dealings we had with him, particularly in handling our stateroom problem. Perhaps that's why we regretted not meeting him in Paris.

[nordski]

I want to apologize for the rather messy Part III. Apparently it should be a rule for me not to post while my grandaughter provides a distraction .

If it's incomprehensible, I can try to edit it.

[KCalla]

I can see advantages to the reverse itinerary as well as to the route we took. We did not spend any time in Nuremberg, and I am sure, missed a lot. Visiting Nuremberg, and learning about its history, in conjunction with Christmas markets sounds like a plan to add to our travel wish list! It is amazing to me, and speaks to the far reach of Cruise Critic, that there were two Cruise Critic members on the same, small capacity cruise.

[nordski]

Originally Posted by KCalla

I can see advantages to the reverse itinerary as well as to the route we took. We did not spend any time in Nuremberg, and I am sure, missed a lot. Visiting Nuremberg, and learning about its history, in conjunction with Christmas markets sounds like a plan to add to our travel wish list! It is amazing to me, and speaks to the far reach of Cruise Critic, that there were two Cruise Critic members on the same, small capacity cruise.

We can't recommend the Christmas market cruise too highly. It remains our favourite itinerary.

Ahh...but this is how the illness begins...your first river cruise, then another and soon you're feverishly reading brochures, trolling on web sites, signing up for what seem to be daily e-mails and planning for the next. Just a warning from we who have succumbed .

KCalla, on a tangenital issue how would you compare your river cruise to those you joined on the ocean? Is there an itinerary that you loved equally?

[KCalla]

The ocean cruises we have been on are far less port intensive, with a 7 day cruise having at least one and usually two days at sea. These are great days for relaxing on board, but no where near as stimulating as the daily new town, new included tour we experienced on the river cruise. The obvious difference is the number of people, but this has not been a problem, just a difference. We do not tend to take formal excursions at every port when on ocean cruises, but this is probably because we have repeated itineraries. My favorite itinerary is cruising the inside passage to Alaska. Not all cruises to/from Alaska spend much time between Vancouver and the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Canadian Mainland, and this is a route worth seeking out for even more beautiful scenery. Second to that in favorite itineraries: a northeast cruise from Montreal to Boston.

You are correct, in addition to the ocean cruising disease, I now have the river cruise variant as well!