Uniworld SS Antonette - AMAZING

Hi, I just want to say, that we did the SS Antoinette Castles of the Rhine cruise in May 2012 and it was one of our best vacations ever. Uniworld's entire product from staff to food to the ship to the excursions is outstanding. It is hard to explain just how absolutely great this trip was. I just want everyone to know, if they are considering a Uniworld cruise - on this ship or any other - this company does a sublime job - don't hesitate to book the cruise. You will almost certainly be as delighted and thrilled as we were.

SuiteTraveler thank you so much for posting ..... I have been going thru and reading your many postings about the May Uniworld cruise, am now actually starting to print out some along with a couple other informative posts!

DH and I are Regent cruisers but a river cruise is at the top of our bucket list. Have been trying to decide between Uniworld and AMA, frankly you likely have just solved that dilemma for us! Looking at Fall 2013 or Spring 2014 to do pretty much the same cruise you just did. Weather and crowds are my main concern, do not like tourist season of summer and hubby is very grumpy when its too hot!

Any advice would be wonderful :)

PS somewhere on the River Cruise board I think I read your packing advice and had to laugh....I put more than that in my carry on...DH sure wishes I could pack like you :) :) :)

Nice to hear this. Although I guess it helps that the Antoinette is the newest, most luxurious river boat in the fleet. My TA likes it as well. I suspect that the ship you choose plays a big part in the enjoyment of a river cruise. I'm a Regent cruiser, still haven't dipped my toe into the river yet.

Hi, Wendy, I loved Antoinette as well and consider it comparable to Regent (though river IS different from coastal, in terms of ships). Curious though: What's held you back from trying river?

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Nice to hear this. Although I guess it helps that the Antoinette is the newest, most luxurious river boat in the fleet. My TA likes it as well. I suspect that the ship you choose plays a big part in the enjoyment of a river cruise. I'm a Regent cruiser, still haven't dipped my toe into the river yet.

SuiteTraveler thank you so much for posting ..... I have been going thru and reading your many postings about the May Uniworld cruise, am now actually starting to print out some along with a couple other informative posts!

 

DH and I are Regent cruisers but a river cruise is at the top of our bucket list. Have been trying to decide between Uniworld and AMA, frankly you likely have just solved that dilemma for us! Looking at Fall 2013 or Spring 2014 to do pretty much the same cruise you just did. Weather and crowds are my main concern, do not like tourist season of summer and hubby is very grumpy when its too hot!

Any advice would be wonderful :)

 

 

PS somewhere on the River Cruise board I think I read your packing advice and had to laugh....I put more than that in my carry on...DH sure wishes I could pack like you :) :) :)

LOL! I do pack light c/o 25 year career that involved extensive travel and early laptop computers that originally weighed 25 lbs! This BEFORE roll aboards! I'm very feminine and dress very well, but I'm not going to schlep extra stuff if I can avoid it.

I think you will LOVE Uniworld. We went the first week in May and it was blissfully uncrowded. We had a mixture of cool and hot days, but I had sleeveless sundresses and sweaters to go over them which was perfect. I did bring a light raincoat which I wound up wearing on the day we cruised the castles because it was cool and rainy that day. (Which actually made for some amazing photos! Overcast is always best!) My routine 3 prs of shoes got stripped down to 2 when my flip flop broke in London Heathrow (person in line stepped on my shoe, LOL!) No worries, I still had my walking sandals and walking shoes and that was more than sufficient for the trip.

We absolutely loved our suite and I highly recommend getting one if you can. But the other staterooms were lovely, too! I did see the Grand Suite - that was right across the hall from us. The couple in there - the lady did not know she had the biggest suite on the ship until I mentioned it when she showed us the suite! (How suave is that on the part of her husband??? Mr BIG does exist! Albeit as a somewhat nerdy engineer type guy - but still and all - his great gift to his wife was not lost on me!)

My main advice regarding this cruise is that you should bring nicer clothes - people were very well dressed on this cruise and don't sign up for all the optional excursions. One was to a castle with some 80+ steps to climb and then once you get up there, there is a very uneven cobblestone rode to navigate. The castle is pretty average - so I would recommend taking a pass on that one. Definitely go to the Castle Volrads wine tasting - that was great! Definitely go on the Black Forest excursion. It is a long bus ride - but to such an incredible area it is 100% worth it. The day in Alsace was also fantastic! Try to plan for some down time where you can enjoy the SS Antoinette for an afternoon.

Suitetaveler, so glad to hear of your experience! Will you be posting any pictures?

Hi, Wendy, I loved Antoinette as well and consider it comparable to Regent (though river IS different from coastal, in terms of ships). Curious though: What's held you back from trying river?

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Carolyn, it was an either/or thing. I had the shortlist ready for fall 2013, and when I went over the list with my husband, and pointed out that two sets of friend were going to be on the Oceania Riviera crossing, our desire to try out Oceania, and to take a more relaxing holiday, won out.

Logistically it's just all so easy to fly to Barcelona from Tampa a few days early and have a nice relaxing time on a new ship, with friends, and bop home to Tampa afterwards. And we sprung for a PH, which at 420 square feet should be very comfortable for a crossing. And it's cheaper than any river cruise that I had costed out.

Suitetaveler, so glad to hear of your experience! Will you be posting any pictures?

My husband and I both took a ton of pictures, but I have not downloaded them yet - there is a tour of one of the suites on youtube here:

and Uniworld also has some videos on the SS Antoinette on Youtube.

Are there any specific things you would like to see photos of?

One other thing I wanted to mention about this trip - normally my husband and I don't like buffets - we don't like them for a number of reasons which include the typical quality of the food and sanitation issues, but on this cruise, the food on the buffet at breakfast and lunch was really good! And everything is kept so very clean and pristine and at the right temperature, that we were very comfortable with it and enjoyed the food. I think what really helps is that the head chef mans the carvery station, so if anything is not right, he is there and sees it and it is fixed immediately. I could also tell that the Captain really liked the food on the ship. I remember talking to the Captain's wife one day and I asked about what the crew eats and apparently they get great food, too. She said that is very fundamental to the crew being happy. It made me happy to hear that. All of the crew members seemed very happy with their jobs, which was very heartwarming.

My wife and I are slowing emerging from under the weight of river cruise brochures and we are focussing on a Castles of the Rhine cruise in Jun next year. As river cruise virgins, we are now faced with the quandary of deciding the benefits versus the costs of the various staterooms on offer on the SS Antoinette. Any thoughts please on the merits of a 2 versus a 3? I have spoken briefly to the Uniworld agent in the UK and they say that they can request a specific stateroom.

Thanks to all above for posting such helpful comments.

HenGus, I cruised on the Antoinette in early May 2012. I was in cabin 330, category 3. I met people in room 332 and 331 they both were happy with their rooms. The only difference in Category 2 and 3 is the location. I had no problems with noise or anything else in my cabin, for the cost, if available I would definately take a cat. 3.

We also stayed in a category 3 near the reception area. Loved the location and never heard any noise. If we forgot something, it was an easy and quick return to our cabin. The ship is wonderful and the crew are so friendly and made us feel like family. Go for a cat. 3 and you will not be disappointed.

Thanks both. Is there anything else we should bear in mind? How formal are the dinners for example, and which of the excursions would you now choose if you were to repeat the experience? My wife and I are both in our early 60s.

We did not do any of the optional excursions and preferred to go on our own into town after the morning tours. People often came back exhausted, but enjoyed the tours. I would suggest that when you are in Rudesheim, go to the Music box museum. It is a fantastic take and well worth it. You will be presently surprised. Speyer is a great little town and fun to walk around in. Have a great trip.

Thanks for the info ...

Oh no. My DH and I thought that we had made a decision on Uniworld and then a friend mentioned the great time that they had with Avalon. 'Same route, new ships and a lot cheaper'!!

My wife and I plus another couple are booked on the Antoinette for the Rhine Castles cruise Aug 25 from AMS-Basel. Was wondering if the Uniworld pre-cruise tours in Amsterdam are worth doing, or should we venture out on our own? Was also considering opening a link on this site to see if anyone else would log on and who is taking this particular cruise--but seems like there is usually not much interest/awareness/traffic for such.:(