Uniworld "River Duchess" review

[The Old Fogies]

We just got back from 4 weeks on the River Duchess from Amsterdam to Bucharest. Trip was WONDERFUL!!!! I can't say enough about how great Uniworld is. Only problem was that the water in the Danube is low so we couldn't go all the way down to our last port but they changed some of the tours and bused us to where we needed to be.

 

Anyway - this was our 1st river cruise. I had no idea about how things are run on a river boat or what to expect so here are my notes for those who want to know what to expect on a river cruise:

 

Food & Service are FABULOUS!

 

FOOD:

There are 3 LARGE jars of candy in the Reception Area in the center of the ship so you are always passing by the candy!!!

At certain times during the day, there is iced tea, coffee, tea & pastries & cheeses available in the Lounge.

There is a coffe/tea/hot chocolate/etc. machine downstairs with 2 jars of small cookies available at all times.

Breakfast is usually buffet style from 7 to 9 AM – depending upon tour schedules (includes free champagne & strawberries!).

Lunch is also a buffet usually from 12 to 1:30 – free beer, wine or soda (as much as you want).

Dinner is almost always at 7 PM – sit down - casual or as dressy as you want. NO shorts for men in the dining room for dinner. Women do wear dressy capris to the dining room at dinner. Dinner is always rolls, appetizer, soup, main course, dessert and free beer, wine or soda (as much as you want).

 

Dress: People dress very casual during the day and on tours. For dinner, some dress up more than others. Woman can wear capris to dinner. Men are asked NOT to wear shorts. We have 2 “formal” nights on a 2 weeks cruise. About half the men had sports coats on at the 1st half of our 4 week cruise. For the 2nd half (Vienna to Bucharest), it was more casual. The other men just had shirts and slacks. A few women wore dresses. Most wore slacks and nice tops.

 

Washer & Dryer are free and they supply free detergent but there are only 2 of each of them. The dryer takes a LONG time to dry your clothes. I finally learned to twirl the knob of the washing machine to find the 30 minute wash. There’s also an iron & board in the small room.

 

The exercise room is okay for my husband BUT when he is on certain machines, he is too high to see out the window to watch the sights go by! There are about 6 or 7 machines in there.

 

There is a library/game room. Every morning there are newspapers in there. Highlights of different papers are printed up by “A unique service for River duchess” - USA Times, Britain Today, The Canadian, The International, etc. The papers are also available in the Dining Room.

 

The beds are VERY comfortable. They are pushed together in the middle of the room and have really nice pillows & comforters on them. I did ask for a sheet to go over us and under the comforter. The 2 beds together are wider than a Princess Cruise Line Queen bed.

 

Towels & wash cloths are very thick! Soap is very smelly/perfumed – so if you have sinus problems, bring your own soap! They do have wash cloths.

 

There is a Hair Dryer stored in the bathroom. You can use it in the bathroom or in the bedroom.

 

There are 3 closets in the room on the side of the cabin across from the foot of the bed – each about 28” wide – some with shelves. There is a safe in there. Only problem is that IF one of us wants to get into the closets, the other can’t walk by the foot of the bed. In our friend’s room, their closets are behind the door to the hall so that might be better – but they have a pole going down the closet with shelves so they lose space.

 

There are 2 large pull-out drawers under the foot of the bed. The suitcases can go under the head of the bed. You receive one very heavy bathrobe per person. It’s much too warm for a summer cruise so you can store that in the drawer under the bed to get it out of your way.

 

If you bring a lot of clothes, bring more hangers.

 

There are 2 chairs and a small table in the bedroom.

 

There is a flat screen TV on the cabin wall across from the bed and there is a keyboard that you can use to get on the Internet on the TV in your room!

 

There is a computer room downstairs with 2 computers and a printer.

 

Electricity – In the bathroom there are 2 outlets, 1 is 220 V. and the other is 115 V. In the bedroom by the desk, there is a panel with 2 “strange” outlets, one 220 for the hair dryer and 2 – 110 outlets. Very convenient for me – I plug my surge protector strip into it and am able to charge my 2 camera batteries at once and/or use my computer. Just noticed – there is also a 220 plug by the cabin light switches.

 

There are 4 full mirrors in the room, and mirrors behind the bed headboard and the night table & desk.

 

Every night when your cabin is made up when you are at dinner, you are left a program of tomorrow’s activities & tours.

 

The local tour guides are Excellent!!! One was a 3rd year medical student. One had a degree in Economics. They ALL were very knowledgeable about their country’s history. I’d say that they were almost all college grads. At each port there is a “Featured Tour” – a walking tour OR a bus ride and walking tour. And in some towns, you are given the choice of OPTIONAL tours. Some would replace the free walking tours, some are in the afternoon during your free time and some take you to far off cities for the day, etc. Their prices are fairly reasonable – 35 Euros for a few hours OR 69 euros for a day in Salzburg (no lunch). Some Optional Tours were cancelled because not enough signed up!

 

In each room are 2 – “Quietvox” with ear pieces. You are responsible for keeping them charged and bringing them to your tour every day. They are MUCH better than other receivers we have used around the world on tours. You can hear everything the tour guide says!

 

Early to mid August – from Amsterdam to Vienna - The room seemed to be very humid. I bring a thermometer and keep the room about 69 degrees. The humidity runs about 57 to 65%. If I wash a pair of nylon underwear at night, they are NOT dry by morning. I can actually get the humidity down by opening the sliding glass door!

 

Mid to late August – from Vienna to Bucharest –because it is warmer out, the A/C runs more and the room is much less humid! When it got up to 104 degrees in Bulgaria & Romania, the room’s A/C could not keep up with the heat outside. It got up to over 75 in the room. But after dinner, the room was fine again.

 

The ship’s Cruise Manager is an Independent Contractor. Our Ramona was EXCELLENT! Suggested gratuity for her is 3 Euros a day per person.

Suggested for the rest of the crew is 10 Euros per person per day. The crew does everything in their power to make your stay WONDERFUL!!!

 

BRING good walking shoes/sneakers/sandals because most of the old towns have cobblestoned streets.

 

Weather: We were there for the month of August. From Amsterdam to Vienna in the first half of August, it was in the low 70’s, very little rain, mostly cloudy and a few sunny but very nice days ----- PERFECT weather for walking tours!!! It can be quite chilly on the Sun Deck when we are cruising because of the wind. And I almost always need a sweater in the Lounge and Dining Room. From Vienna to Bucharest during the last 2 weeks of August, it was MUCH warmer. Less clothes & more A/C were needed for this leg of the cruise.

 

In your bedroom, there is a large umbrella for you to use while on the cruise. I would bring 2 small lightweight umbrellas, a backpack and a thin lightweight nylon hooded jacket with you.

 

In your bedroom, there are 2 aluminum water bottles for you to use while on the trip – and you can take them home with you. Make sure you wash them out before using them the first time!

 

The cabins do have HEAVY curtains to keep the sun & heat out!!! Heard from my friends that a different river boat company they were on did NOT have heavy curtains and sometimes it was hard to sleep.

 

Will you get bored????? That's what I was afraid of!!! But we were only bored about 2 days out of 27 when we did more cruising down the river than touring local towns.

 

Night Life?? There is a piano player in the lounge every evening. Or they might have some local band or dance group come in to perform. But we were sooooo tired after a day of walking & touring & being in the breeze on the sun deck that we just went to bed after dinner!!!

 

Bring Sunscreen!!!

 

Did you know?????? Between Amsterdam & Vienna, you go through over 60 locks????? Yup!!!! And a few very Big locks between Vienna & Bucharest! No - we did not hear the Captain hit the walls of the locks during the night as I've ready in some other posts.

 

 

MINUSES:

 

 

Even though we are on the 4th deck and have a Category 1 cabin, it is quite small. Two people can’t walk around the bed. The bathroom is very small, too. The toilet sits sideways in front of the bathroom counter & sink. The shower is larger than Princess’ Balcony Cabins shower. It’s a nice size. After a few days, you actually get used to the small bedroom and learn how to think ahead about how to move around each other.

 

 

If your room is on the top deck, you will hear people stomping around on the Sun Deck – some very early. The rooms are not quiet like on big ocean cruise ships. I almost always got woken up by 6 AM from the heavy walking on the Sun Deck!!! Next trip, we are NOT going to get a cabin on the same deck as the restaurant or under the Sun Deck. The last night on board, there was a LOT of noise on the top deck because some other boat hooked up next to us. I don’t know what they were doing up there but they had me awake for hours!

 

There is no line in the shower to dry clothes! I always like to wash out a few things by hand. Sometimes I end up hanging things to dry on a hanger stuck up into the A/C grate on the ceiling.

[bobalink]

Thanks for sharing!

[fred111]

Great write up. We are going on the Duchess next September.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[Sthronds]

Thank you for all the great information! You answered so many of my questions. I'll be on the River Duchess in October and feel much more prepared now.

[lcj4]

I have been on the Duchess twice and just asked for more hangers and they were brought right away.

[franski]

Thanks for taking the time to post in such detail...

 

We have truly enjoyed our past trips with Uniworld - and your post makes me want to go AGAIN!!

 

We usually travel Aquarium class, so haven't had a problem with people stomping above us. On one of our cruises (don't think it was Uniworld...) there was a notice that the walking track on the Sun Deck was not "open" until 8 am - for this very reason.

 

Fran

[CleoV]

We loved the Duchess and would sail on her again in a heartbeat. Just wonderful. Odd though...we had loads of hangers. I wonder if the guests before us asked for more and they were still in the closet.

[The Old Fogies]

Hangers - okay, okay - I know I can ask for more but I find it easier to have them with me than to wait for someone to bring some when I want to get the unpacking done!

 

When I leave the ship, I leave the hangers. Then that is extra spare room in my suitcase for stuff I buy along the way!!!

 

We liked Uniworld so much that we are in the process of booking their Russia river cruise next July with Baltic extension! I don't have any other cruise lines to compare it with but after such a great experience I hate to try another line!

 

Karen

[The Old Fogies]

Euros & other foreign currency - I forgot to mention money - Uniworld exchanged our money for us and did so at a pretty reasonable rate. Couldn't complain. We liked not having to hunt for and use foreign ATM's.

[The Old Fogies]

BOOKS - I also forgot to mention that on the River Duchess, they had for sale a really nice pull out River Map of "The Rhine, Maine and Danube - from Amsterdam to Budapest" and a 304 page book called "European River-Cruising, The Rhine, Maine and Danube From Amsterdam to Budapest". They were from a company called projekt_ard. Their website is"

www.projekt-ard.de

 

They were perfect for following the cruise route.

[franski]

We liked Uniworld so much that we are in the process of booking their Russia river cruise next July with Baltic extension! I don't have any other cruise lines to compare it with but after such a great experience I hate to try another line! Karen

 

We did Russia with Uniworld this year - and it was an amazing experience. We have travelled with other lines - but went back to Uniworld for Russia, as we liked the package they put together.

 

We were prepared for "less" in Russia than in Europe - as they are very clear in their literature that it wasn't the same experience.

 

We didn't find it "less" at all... The meals were great - the staff amazing. We booked "Aquarium class" - and those rooms are the best kept secret. The stair way to get down is quite steep - so not great if you have a mobility issue. But the rooms are a VERY generous size.

 

Fran

[Sthronds]

Do you happen to remember the cost of the optional excursions? I'm trying to budget things out.

[The Old Fogies]

Most of the optional tours were from 39 Euros for a half day to 69 Euros for a full day. Some tours didn't go at all because enough didn't sign up. We really wanted to go on the tour to Cesky Krumlov & Budweis but there wasn't enough interest. That would have been 79 Euros including lunch. And I think the one to the perfume factory (Farina House Visit - Eau de Cologne) didn't go. That was only 19 Euros.

 

My FAVORITE tour was in Belgrade where we went on the tour "The Royal Grounds in Belgrade - The Palace of the Karadjordjevic Dynasty"!!!!! When we got there, they announced that the non-ruling Crown Prince of Serbia & his Princess would like to meet us all!!!!! They were both so very nice and we all had our pictures taken with them. That was 39 Euros.

 

I enjoyed the "Hungarian Puszta and Equestrian Show" ( 39 Euros ) because we used to have horses.

 

And Schonbrunn Palace (39 Euros) was BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

We did not go to Veliko Turnovo and Arbanassi (with lunch) even though it turned into a free excursion. The Danube was so low that we couldn't get all the way down the river to the port near Bucharest. That tour would have been 69Euros but they gave it to us for free but we didn't go anyway because it was 100 degrees out!!!!

 

Oh - we went all the way from Amsterdam to Bucharest so some of these tours won't be on your itinerary if you're only going half way.

 

The included tours were GREAT. They had very well educated guides. Sometimes we wished they didn't want to tell us 2,000 years of history in 2 hours so we could have walked more!