Uniworld River Baroness and River Royale.

[chefess]

We are booked on these ships, 10/2 and 10/10 and are looking for others who are also on these ships. Anyone else going?

 

Chefess

[Senga]

We are thinking of booking the Grand France on these ships for June 2012 and would be interested in hearing about the condition of the ships. This will be our first river cruise. I am just starting to research this but it seems Uniworld doesn't include shore excursions.

[GraNanny]

Uniworld does include excursions. On their website, if you find the cruise you are looking for, click on the "day to day" tab and you can see a description of each day's excursion. Here is a link to the Grand France page.

 

http://www.uniworld.com/Destinations/Europe/Grand_France/2011/Day-To-Day/

[gnome12]

You get even more information from the Cruise Companions

 

http://www.uniworld.com/Before-You-Go/Cruise-Companion

[franski]

We did half of that itinerary - Paris to Normandy - as our 1st river cruise. We loved it.

 

We were very happy with the Baroness as it was - but it will have a refurb before starting the 2011 cruise season.

 

We went with the lowest category cabin - as the cabins and windows are all the same on the boat --> the only difference is where the cabin is situated. Some people do prefer being on the upper deck - but we enjoyed being closer to the water line.

[Senga]

Thanks so much for the information; good to know the excursions are included. Regarding selecting a cabin; being on the water line would suit us fine but we wouldn't like to be close to the engine room. Any recommendations?

[franski]

We were in Cabin 103 - and thought it was perfect. Close to the dining room, and the stairs to go up to main reception. I have attached a picture taken from our cabin when we docked in Auvers sur Oise. Opened up the curtains - and this was the view.

 

I also attached a picture from Giverny - Monet's garden. It was surreal to be in the garden where he painted the Water Lilies. We went to see the canvases in the Orangerie in Paris when we were there... Just amazing.

 

We would love to go back again - but have lots of places to see before we start retracing our steps.

[shoshona2]

Hi Chefess,

 

You can also check out the "Roll Call Section" of the board under "All River Cruise Roll Calls" above.

 

Sheila

[Senga]

Looking further into a France river cruise, I was shocked at how high the tipping costs are. We've done 32 cruises and the tipping is minimal compared to the river cruise!

[franski]

Tipping amounts are suggested - not added automatically to your account at the end of the cruise. We have happily paid the suggested amount - and not felt that we were being taken advantage of.

 

The tipping is also anonymous - so you can tip as much - or as little - as you wish.

 

If the gratuities are a concern, there are at least 2 lines (Tauck and Scenic) that include gratuities in their fares.

[Senga]

I would never try to get out of tipping; it is what it is. However, I think $700. a couple for 15 days as opposed to $275. for a non-river cruise is excessive. Unfortunately, Uniworld is the only line that has the itinerary we want. Guess we'll have to weigh the pros/cons before making a decision.