Uniworld river cruise March 2012 - yes or no

Hi fellow travelers,

We are new to river cruising and saw a sale for $2149 for the tulips and windmills cruise for 10 days. What a deal it seems to us but . . . having no idea what to expect and the date for the discounts end on June 17th thought I would turn to my trusted friends on this site and see what the real scope is. Hard to believe that this includes shore excursions too. We have done cruises on big ships but thought we would give this a try? Any insight you have would be so much appreciated. Is this a bad time of the year - weather wise ? Are the cabins small and yucky? Is the food good ? Thanks for all your help

Sue

We just returned from a Uniworld cruise in south France and to answer a couple of your questions: Cabins are small (remember this is a "river boat" not a big ship), but definitely not yucky! Very luxurious. We had a French Balcony and that added to our pleasure. Food was wonderful and the service is top drawer. Excursions are excellent with local tour guides whose knowledge of the area is great. The morning excursions are included in the fare. We had the option of several afternoon additional excursions and those were about $50 per person and well worth them. Spring in Holland will be beautiful because of the tulips (if they are in bloom). You will not be disappointed and will probably become a big fan of river cruising (and Uniworld) if you book.

B. Cole

March in general can be chilly/cold in The Netherlands,but this year temperatures were above normal.

Keukenhof gardens will open on March 22 and apart from flowers in glasshouses and the daffodils there will not that much to see yet.

Too early for tulips.

Mid April till Mid May is for those flowers the best time.

if you want one with french balcony,costs more,,,then check whether air inc??but I have been on Uniworld and many others,,,had a great time and rooms very similar on all,,ex.for new ships coming out with both reg,and french balcony....food is good,not great on most,,,and entertainment is good,,with local talent at ea.port,or piano player..so give it a shot,,,

agree weather can be cool and rainy,just dress correctly and enjoy...:)

I did this exact cruise with Uniworld at the end of April 2008.

The cruise, ship, Uniworld staff, cruise director, tours, food, fellow passengers, were all fabulous. The weather, not so much. Rainy, cool most of the time.

I think March is a little early, as at least we got to see Kukenhoff at full bloom, even though

the weather was crappy.

March might bring you bad weather and no flowers.

Definitely do do a river cruise though. They are out of this world.

I think that the Uniworld book and pay in full discount ends the end of June does it not??