Uniworld River Beatrice, Enchanting Danube: Thoughts, pictures, and menus

[AttilaTheFun]

Thank you for the great post. We are booked for a Nov. cruise on the S.S. Antoinette, and I noticed that you are booked on her in Dec.. I noticed that your ship had a laundry, and I hope that there will also be one on the Antoinette since we are traveling light and will be traveling to Lucerne post cruise. This will be our first river cruise and we will be sailing from Amsterdam to Basel. Could you please tell me what time you are allowed to board the ship?

 

Yes, you can see a laundry room on the lowest passenger deck of the SS Antoinette in the deck plans. It's very nice to have free self-service laundry facilities onboard. We are thrilled to be trying the SS Antoinette for a holiday markets cruise from Cologne to Basel.

 

In terms of boarding, it may vary by sailing, but I feel like the River Beatrice allowed boarding of the next sailing's passengers by about 10am while we were disembarking in Budapest. The ship's staff said we could stay onboard as long as we wanted that day, even to have lunch onboard still! When boarding the ship in Passau, we didn't get there until after 4pm, so I don't know how early they allowed passengers to start boarding there. Keep in mind that if you board very early, your room likely won't be ready, but the staff will probably be more than happy to store your luggage.

[AttilaTheFun]

AttilatheFun....your name jiggled a memory that i was sure i had read one of your reviews before and now,when I sacn down your signature, I see you did the Grand Med on the Ruby last June...we went in Aug so I had read your reviews etc.

 

THAT was my fav cruise EVER :)

 

Yes, the Grand Mediterranean itinerary is amazing and hard to beat! I kind of gave up on finishing that review as it took me a long time and I didn't seem to be getting much of a reaction. It's very disappointing to put so much effort into something and not hear back from anyone.

[remydiva]

Yes, the Grand Mediterranean itinerary is amazing and hard to beat! I kind of gave up on finishing that review as it took me a long time and I didn't seem to be getting much of a reaction. It's very disappointing to put so much effort into something and not hear back from anyone.

 

I read your review and made lots of notes. You were good about answering others questions so others did read and did appreciate your time and effort. Maybe others, like me, were just lax in saying so...me bad:o

 

Don't be discouraged as I've been in your shoes...took notes, posted and got a couple of 'thanks' but if it helps even one person (as I have been helped countless times) then it is paying it forward and that's ok :)

(sorry, high jacked your review....carry on...)

[jc foster]

Absolutely the best prepared, best organized, and most helpful post we have ever read on cruise critic and much appreciated.

[ewizabeff]

I'll be on the River Ambassador in September 2014. I'm already thinking about the food! I've read that after dinner it's common to top off your glass of wine, load up a cheese plate, and snack on it in the lounge while you relax. Sounds like a great way to spend a night...

[AttilaTheFun]

I'll be on the River Ambassador in September 2014. I'm already thinking about the food! I've read that after dinner it's common to top off your glass of wine, load up a cheese plate, and snack on it in the lounge while you relax. Sounds like a great way to spend a night...

 

That's actually one of the few things they asked us not to do, saying that the wine at dinner should only be consumed in the dining room. But, you can bring on as much wine as you like and consume it for free, other than in the lounge, where they charge a corkage fee. Someone from our group shared a bottle of wine with us on the sun deck and the lounge server happily brought us glasses and bar snacks.

[cherrybear]

Lovely review, thank you for doing it. A river cruise is quickly moving higher on the list.

[Barrheadlass]

We've enjoyed 2 Uniworld cruises and your pics and comments were so very enjoyable and brought back great memories! I will say I was surprised by the scantiness of the afternoon tea on your cruise....I hardly ever partook because of "no room" but the teas were always elaborate. Our first cruise we too had a room like yours and also felt it was fine as we spent so little time there. As for food portions, we saw folks getting seconds w/o any problems.

I couldn't decide on dessert one night, so the waiter brought me 2. Never, ever had a problem finding good things to eat! Thanks for your great pics!

[Twinkstarr]

Thanks for taking the time to post your pictures and write a review. I've been considering a river cruise and am looking at the different lines.

 

Uniworld part of the puzzle in place!

[jc foster]

Just curious, did the airline bus your luggage to the second port ? We missed a 10 day Baltic cruise along with 3 nights precruise hotel in Copenhagen after a freak hail storm closed the Newark airport in July 2009. We have been very paranoid with anything to do with the airlines since that time. Was your transfer from the airport on Time? I just booked B/A air with Uniworld and saved a few bucks over the B/A website prices, but what I liked most is that unlike ( CHOICE AIR) I did not have to pay a fee to choose my seats. Thanks for the help.

[AttilaTheFun]

Just curious, did the airline bus your luggage to the second port ? We missed a 10 day Baltic cruise along with 3 nights precruise hotel in Copenhagen after a freak hail storm closed the Newark airport in July 2009. We have been very paranoid with anything to do with the airlines since that time. Was your transfer from the airport on Time? I just booked B/A air with Uniworld and saved a few bucks over the B/A website prices, but what I liked most is that unlike ( CHOICE AIR) I did not have to pay a fee to choose my seats. Thanks for the help.

 

Yes, the airline bused our luggage to the next port, which was Linz. According to GoogleMaps, the driving time is 2.5 hours from the Munich airport. I'm not sure how far the airline is liable to take your luggage, but we were very worried that we would be stuck wearing the same clothes the entire cruise! The Uniworld staff worked very hard to contact the airline multiple times each day for updates and to demand that they bring the luggage ASAP.

 

When we landed at the Munich airport, the Uniworld representative was at the baggage claim. After we filed a lost luggage claim, we got on the Uniworld transfer bus and picked up passengers at two other terminals. There's no way of saying the shuttle was "on time" because Uniworld doesn't quote a pickup time, but we didn't have to wait for the shuttle at all. I assume the people at the other two terminals had to wait a bit longer as we were the first pickup terminal. Does that make sense? We really appreciated the free transfers that were included with Uniworld, even if you don't book your air through them.

[jc foster]

Hi again. You mentioned that your cruise was sort of cool. Maybe I missed it, but what month was your cruise? Was it mid april may or what? Also you mentioned how close the chairs were to the wall. This appears to be the case even in Cats. 1-3. I was wondering if the cabin steward would simply remove these from the room? Thanks Clark

[lrdavis440]

Thank you for sharing an awesome review and pics. My SO and I are going on this same cruise in August so this has been extraordinarily helpful. One question I have is my SO and I are in our mid 40s so we're curious as to the average age on board. What was your experience as to the diversity of the age groups?

[AttilaTheFun]

Hi again. You mentioned that your cruise was sort of cool. Maybe I missed it, but what month was your cruise? Was it mid april may or what? Also you mentioned how close the chairs were to the wall. This appears to be the case even in Cats. 1-3. I was wondering if the cabin steward would simply remove these from the room? Thanks Clark

 

We departed in late April and sailed through early May. The weather is unpredictable at this time, from what I can tell. The guides said that literally a week before we got to Budapest, it was snowing, but while we were there, it was in the 70s-80s! That's quite a big difference!

 

We didn't ask the steward to remove the chairs, but you could try. The concern is that they probably don't have much storage space onboard, but it's worth asking!

[AttilaTheFun]

Thank you for sharing an awesome review and pics. My SO and I are going on this same cruise in August so this has been extraordinarily helpful. One question I have is my SO and I are in our mid 40s so we're curious as to the average age on board. What was your experience as to the diversity of the age groups?

 

My sister and I are in our 20s and were the youngest, by far. There was a newlywed couple that was maybe in their 30s. Past that, I feel like the average age was in the 60s, but most everyone was mobile and able to get around. Uniworld offers "Gentle Walking" tour options in nearly every port for those who want to go slower or walk shorter distances. It was a nice mix onboard and nearly everyone was friendly.

[lilybob]

Glad I found your review....excellent commentary and pics! It will help as we plan our first RC. Thanks for taking the time to post:)

[Nelle Nansorb]

Atilla,

 

We are sailing on the river Beatrice on the Danube in Aug./Sept so I am very glad to read your excellant review. this will be our 3rd Uniworld cruise. We've been on the Emperass, Frankfurt to Amsterdam & the Antoinette, Amsterdam to Basel. Both were beautiful but the Antoinette is the largest of the fleet and has a small indoor pool. Enjoy yor travels.

[sherry4]

Attila, what great reviews and pictures. Thanks for all the time you took. I am saving them for our next river cruise that could be Uniworld thanks to your info. Good to get the real scoup.

[marysb]

Thanks for taking the time to do a fantastic review. Love the details!

[whatnot]

Thank you so much for your very comprehensive reviews and photos, We are doing our first river cruise on the River Beatrice on September 8. 2013. Your comments have been extremely helpful in preparing us for our trip. Thanks for all your time and effort to put this together!

[Arizonasunshine]

A fantastic review. We are traveling on the "River Queen" August 2nd. We have never cruised with Uniworld before and really enjoyed reading your comprehensive review. The pictures were great. Thanks, I know writing a review with as much detail as yours takes a significant amount of time and effort. It is much appreciated.

[AttilaTheFun]

Thank you so much for your very comprehensive reviews and photos, We are doing our first river cruise on the River Beatrice on September 8. 2013. Your comments have been extremely helpful in preparing us for our trip. Thanks for all your time and effort to put this together!

 

A fantastic review. We are traveling on the "River Queen" August 2nd. We have never cruised with Uniworld before and really enjoyed reading your comprehensive review. The pictures were great. Thanks, I know writing a review with as much detail as yours takes a significant amount of time and effort. It is much appreciated.

 

Thank you for the kind words! I hope you both enjoy your upcoming Uniworld cruises!

[AttilaTheFun]

Passau, Germany

 

Sorry for the extended delay, but wanted to post some pictures and tips about the ports we visited on this cruise. We flew into Munich the morning of our cruise and after filing the lost baggage claim with an unhelpful KLM agent, we boarded the complimentary Uniworld shuttle to Passau, which was about 1.5 hours after we left the airport.

 

Afternoon tea was set out and we had that as a snack after being checked into our room. Check-in was completely painless and a staff member escorted us to our room. The location of the ship in Passau changed that evening. Where we boarded the ship was not walkable to the old town, but the ship moved downstream a bit to dock right at the old town area, where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz rivers all converge. After dinner, we explored Passau a bit with our tablemates (who turned out to be wonderful friends by the end of the trip). The pictures didn't turn out very well on my iPhone from the low lighting, so the pictures I share are all from the next morning, during our tour and free time in Passau.

 

Park at the convergence of Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers

 

 

 

 

Perspective on where the River Beatrice docked in relation to the old town

 

 

 

 

Tour guides in all the ports used the QuietVox portable audio sets - they had microphones and all the passengers have wireless receivers and earpieces to hear the guides very clearly. We were able to wander off and still hear the guide before re-joining the group.

 

 

 

 

A famous monastery across the river in Passau - notice the covered stairway, which supposedly has 321 steps and pilgrims stop and pray at each step. We didn't have time to visit it, unfortunately.

 

 

 

 

Notice there are no fences or railings along the walkway!

 

 

 

 

A carved wooden door depicting Jesus

 

Edited June 30, 2013 by AttilaTheFun

[AttilaTheFun]

Passau (cont.)

 

The famous glass museum (we didn't visit)

 

 

 

 

Flood markers on the old town hall. The floods this year after we sailed passed the 1954 flood marking! As a point of comparison, my sister is about 5'8 and barely passes the 1920 marking.

 

 

 

 

Our tour guide pointed out a horse butcher

 

 

 

 

A cute painted intersection

 

 

 

 

The old Bishop's Residence

 

 

 

 

We stopped inside the entrance of the Bishop's Residence briefly, but did not tour it. Here is a picture of the ceiling above one of the stairways.

 

Edited June 30, 2013 by AttilaTheFun

[AttilaTheFun]

Passau (cont.)

 

The organ inside St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is the world's largest church organ outside the U.S.

 

 

 

 

More interior shots of St. Stephen's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notice how the columns are plain at the bottom to draw the eye upward and communicate how incredible heaven is compared to earthly life

 

 

 

 

Golden pulpit

 

 

 

 

The outside of St. Stephen's

 

Edited June 30, 2013 by AttilaTheFun