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

[marysb]

Thanks for the posts Atila - I am looking forward to the next installment. You are definitely not babbling to yourself.

[jc foster]

I'll try to add some more thoughts, but please keep coming back and letting me know that you're following along! At some points, it feels like I'm just babbling to myself and it takes quite a while to compile all these posts. Glad that my ramblings have helped you prepare for your trip!

We check this post everyday to see if something has been added.

[lrdavis440]

I am going on the same cruise next month so looking forward to hearing more!

[AttilaTheFun]

Melk

 

The third day of our cruise was very long and intense, primarily because we managed to fit 3 separate Uniworld excursions into our day! The morning started with a Melk Abbey & Library visit, then we did a 17.5 mile bicycle ride from Melk to Durnstein through the Wachau Valley, and then my sister went on a saffron visit and I went to a winery. Whew - I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

 

The Melk Abbey tour started at 8:45am and the transport buses drove us for only about 5-10 minutes before we were at Melk Abbey. You can read all about the history of the abbey online, so I'll mainly stick to posting pictures. Note that you are not allowed to take any pictures in the library, but you can also find pictures of it online or purchase some in the gift shop (yes, the abbey ends with a gift shop visit!)

 

 

There are a few stairs to walk down after the bus drops you off

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of people at first, as another Viking ship tour was entering at the same time, but inside the Abbey it wasn't nearly as crowded

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our tour guide was wonderful

 

 

 

 

The Melk Abbey museum was very modern - unexpectedly so for such an old building. I won't even try to remember what each color and room represented, but everything was very symbolic.

 

 

 

 

The mirrored room with treasures from the Abbey was trippy

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Melk (cont.)

 

These pictures of a giant rotating model, while a bit blurry, give you a sense of the size of the abbey. We entered through the area on the far right of the model.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the area with the cathedral, library, and amazing lookout point

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry, I can't even remember what this room was/is used for, but it's very ornate!

 

 

 

 

From the "lookout point" you can see the town of Melk

 

 

 

 

The cathedral portion is very hard to fit into the frame of a picture!

 

 

 

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Melk (cont.)

 

Of course, the inside of the cathedral is breathtaking as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some info on the high alter symbolism and then a picture of the high alter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another gigantic organ, which played a short concert while we were visiting

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Biking through the Wachau Valley

 

The Melk Abbey tour wrapped up around 11am and we were bused back to the ship, although they pointed out a path to walk back to the ship if you so choose. Because we had signed up for the bike ride, we decided to take the bus and save our energy, which was a very good decision!

 

The bike ride was 17.5 miles and the ship requested you sign up in advance. The Cruise Manager was surprised at the number of sign-ups and was skeptical that everyone could handle it. We ended up having around 30 people go, if I remember correctly, and everyone but one person finished the trek.

 

Because the bike tour left almost after we returned from the abbey, the ship packed us boxed lunches to take with us. Those who stayed on the ship had the normal dining room lunch option. Uniworld actually didn't use the bikes from the ship, but instead had a different tour company bring their own bicycles and 4 guides - 3 who rode with us and 1 who drove along the way to help in case of emergencies.

 

I am not a big cyclist at all and haven't rode a bike in probably 6 years, but my sister is a fan and thought the distance wouldn't be too bad. However, she said the bicycles they provided are not good for long-distances and took a lot more exertion than if they had provided proper road bicycles. Even in my mid-20s and fairly fit, I felt that the bike ride took a lot of effort and was exhausted when we finished. There was an especially strenuous portion that was only a slight hill, but took an enormous amount of peddling to overcome. However, the views were awesome and I'm glad I did it.

 

The River Beatrice docked in Melk before our bike ride

 

 

 

 

We saw a couple castles along the way, but one of my main complaints is that the pace was not leisurely at all. I would peg it at near-grueling and there were so many nice views that I would have loved to photograph, but the group just kept peddling on. I think they could cut the route in half and allow people to actually enjoy the ride a bit more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped maybe 1.5 hours in at a little roadside restaurant where we ate lunch on the grass. We were only give about 30 minutes, which again felt like everything was in a hurry. Give us some time to enjoy lunching by the river!

 

 

 

 

At one point, the River Beatrice sailed past us down the river. Once we got near Durnstein, we had to take a ferry across the river to finish the last portion of the bike ride. We passed by many great vineyards.

 

 

 

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Durnstein

 

My "thank God I survived the 17.5 mile bike ride" photo of the ship docked in Durnstein

 

 

 

 

We met up with the ship around 3pm and that was the scheduled time for the wine tour to start. Because the first buses had already left with the non-biking passengers, Uniworld had a "later" bus for the bike riders to go to the wine tour.

 

The other option instead of the wine tour was a saffron tour. My sister wanted to go to that one instead as she doesn't drink wine, but the time had been moved up from 3pm, so the whole group had left already. At least one other person from the bike ride had wanted to go to the saffron tour, so the Cruise Director hastily found some transportation and they joined the talk late. At this point, I have to just copy-and-paste my sister's description of the saffron tour because it still makes me laugh out loud:

 

The saffron tour was fun, although not very exciting. The cruise director is from a town not too far from Durnstein so I think it may be him just giving his friends business, but I'm not sure. The entire thing was just going to a little shop that had a room connected to it which had about 30 chairs set up, a few big pictures of saffron flowers framed on the wall, and the table up front where the saffron guy talked about saffron. He showed us Iranian and Spanish saffron and spent quite a long time telling us how theirs is not good quality, especially compared to his, and how a lot of the stuff that is sold to tourists is fake saffron. He passed around some samples of the different types of saffron so at least that was interesting to look at. Then we sampled some type of juice with & without saffron, a piece of bread with saffron apricot jam, and a piece of their saffron chocolate bar. They also have some type of special Austrian cake that is made with saffron and they made each of us a mini cake to take back with us so that was nice. But that was the entire tour! We didn't get to go see the plants or anything because apparently this guy is very afraid people will steal his plants or ruin them so he hides his crops in very high up places and in different places throughout the town.

 

After that, we just could go to the gift shop and then wait for the bus. Several people asked lots of silly questions because they weren't listening so that got a bit grinding - particularly because for whatever reason he doesn't just sell the saffron, he only sells saffron products (chocolate, honey, vinegar, etc) and everyone kept asking him if they could buy it in the US, if they could buy it here, etc. Most people on the tour bought quite a bit of stuff as souvenirs, but I think it could be a scam... 1) there's no way to tell he actually used high quality saffron in any of the stuff you buy and the taste is so subtle you can't really discern anything 2) the prices weren't too crazy, but still kind of silly when you use VERY small amounts of saffron in anything because it's very potent + supposed to be very expensive. After the tour, the cruise director said the bus wouldn't come for at least 25 mins for some reason, but the saffron guy's wife offered to drive a few people in her car. The cruise director seemed like he was good friends with her so that's why I think he may just be bringing everyone there since he's friends with them. The saffron guy told us he makes 99.9% of his money by selling his products to tourists. Who knows!

 

Since the bus was going to take forever and the car was just for people who couldn't walk, the cruise director offered to show us around the little town nearby. We walked over there and looked at some of the shops, their maypole, and he told some of the other cruise people about what wines they should buy. He showed us where the monastery is, but there was a 3 euro entrance fee so I decided not to go.

 

Here are the pictures from her tour and subsequent walk back to the ship.

 

A picture of saffron!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AttilaTheFun]

Durnstein (cont.)

 

While my sister was on a saffron adventure, I took the late bus with the other bike riders to the wine tour. It was fine overall, but I felt that way too much of the time was taken up with passengers asking questions to "show off" their wine knowledge. Let's keep things moving people!

 

We visited the Nicolaihof Winery, "the oldest wine estate in Austria." Our guide was the youngest generation of the family, continuing the wine-making tradition.

 

 

 

 

He showed us a gigantic old wine press, that is still used once per year

 

 

 

 

And gigantic wine casks, which have intricate carvings and are commissioned when a child is born to the family

 

 

 

 

Beautiful outdoor courtyard area for the wine tasting at the end of the tour

 

 

 

 

We had three tiny white wine tastings that were barely two sips each. There was also some bread and spreads on the table. This area of Austria is known for Gruner Veltliner, which is very good.

 

 

 

 

After dinner that night, we walked about 10 minutes to see the Blue Church, which Durnstein is famous for

 

 

 

 

And after all that, we were ready for bed! It was a fantastic, but very busy and exhausting day!

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

Wonderful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

[avalong]

I'll try to add some more thoughts, but please keep coming back and letting me know that you're following along! At some points, it feels like I'm just babbling to myself and it takes quite a while to compile all these posts. Glad that my ramblings have helped you prepare for your trip!

 

Hey, I subscribed to this thread, so keep it comin'! ;)

[glamour]

What an amazingly informative thread-love it!

Question about the food on Beatrice: did you happen to notice if there was sugar substitute available (Equal, Splenda,etc.)?

Also, if you ordered beer or wine in the lounge during meal hours was it still free or is it only gratis while seated in the dining room?

Many thanks for being so informative and helpful.

[marysb]

Great pictures of the Abbey. We will be there in September.

Thanks for the honest appraisal of the bike tour .... and I think I will give the saffron tour a miss :D.

[AttilaTheFun]

What an amazingly informative thread-love it!

Question about the food on Beatrice: did you happen to notice if there was sugar substitute available (Equal, Splenda,etc.)?

Also, if you ordered beer or wine in the lounge during meal hours was it still free or is it only gratis while seated in the dining room?

Many thanks for being so informative and helpful.

 

Thank you! I use Splenda and remember them having yellow sweetener packets, but don't remember the other kinds available. Beer and wine are only free in the dining room during lunch and dinner. You can bring on your own wine or beer though and they only charge a corkage fee in the lounge for wine. You can drink it in your room, dining room, or on the sun deck with no problem or extra charge.

[AttilaTheFun]

Great pictures of the Abbey. We will be there in September.

Thanks for the honest appraisal of the bike tour .... and I think I will give the saffron tour a miss :D.

 

I forgot to mention that for our bike ride, the weather was perfect - low 70s with a great breeze - and I was still sweating! If it had been typical summer weather there, I can't even imagine...

[glamour]

Thanks for the info! Are you able to sit & drink your own wine/beer in the dining room at any time or only during meal hours? Not that we plan on sitting on the boat while in port, mind you, but would like to know.

The gym looks so TINY! Will be a challenge to work off all of the amazing food & bevvies.

[AttilaTheFun]

Thanks for the info! Are you able to sit & drink your own wine/beer in the dining room at any time or only during meal hours? Not that we plan on sitting on the boat while in port, mind you, but would like to know.

The gym looks so TINY! Will be a challenge to work off all of the amazing food & bevvies.

 

The dining room is only open during meal times - the staff is cleaning/resetting in the off hours and the doors are closed. The lounge is a better place to hang out though or the roof deck, if the weather is nice.

[marysb]

Attila,

How dressy was dinner. I know there are no formal nights and men can wear dockers and a polo or button-down shirt.

 

What about the ladies - is it similar to the smart casual nights on an ocean cruise? I would normally wear a dress or skirt, nice top, heels and some jewelry (or similar to going out for dinner at home). ....or is it a bit more casual?

 

Mary

[AttilaTheFun]

Attila,

How dressy was dinner. I know there are no formal nights and men can wear dockers and a polo or button-down shirt.

 

What about the ladies - is it similar to the smart casual nights on an ocean cruise? I would normally wear a dress or skirt, nice top, heels and some jewelry (or similar to going out for dinner at home). ....or is it a bit more casual?

 

Mary

 

The dressiest nights were the Captain's Welcome reception and Farewell Dinner, but even those nights were not super-dressy. It's probably more casual than what you described, so I would recommend packing what you feel comfortable wearing. After a long day of touring and the amazing sights, the other passengers don't really care what you wear. Have a great time!

[Hulagirl]

I just had to write and tell you how much I enjoyed reading your review and looking at your pictures. What a wonderful trip you had. We did an Avalon river cruise a couple years ago of the Rhine and enjoyed it quite a bit. I love the fact that you can just walk off the boat and be in town at most of the stops.

 

The food looks delicious. Avalon was decent, but the food lacked at times. Uniworld looks like they did a much better job.

 

All this did was make me want to book another trip soon. Thank you for all your work here with the posts. It was so much fun to read.

[AttilaTheFun]

I just had to write and tell you how much I enjoyed reading your review and looking at your pictures. What a wonderful trip you had. We did an Avalon river cruise a couple years ago of the Rhine and enjoyed it quite a bit. I love the fact that you can just walk off the boat and be in town at most of the stops.

 

The food looks delicious. Avalon was decent, but the food lacked at times. Uniworld looks like they did a much better job.

 

All this did was make me want to book another trip soon. Thank you for all your work here with the posts. It was so much fun to read.

 

Thank you for the kind words - it means a lot to me! I still need to tackle our days in Vienna and Budapest, but there is so much to cover for those ports!

[glamour]

Anxiously awaiting your posts on Vienna & Budapest- will stay tuned! Think I'll buy some Hungarian Forints after all since the euro has gone up- argh!

[whatnot]

I'm still enjoying your posts! i too am anxiously awaiting your Vienna and Budapest posts. We leave for Budapest in a little over 4 weeks. Did you do Budapest with Uniworld or on your own? We are staying on Hotel points and doing it on our own with a private guide.

[AttilaTheFun]

Anxiously awaiting your posts on Vienna & Budapest- will stay tuned! Think I'll buy some Hungarian Forints after all since the euro has gone up- argh!

 

We found the price to be best at souvenir shops when you payed with Forints rather than Euros, so that's probably a good idea.

 

I'm still enjoying your posts! i too am anxiously awaiting your Vienna and Budapest posts. We leave for Budapest in a little over 4 weeks. Did you do Budapest with Uniworld or on your own? We are staying on Hotel points and doing it on our own with a private guide.

 

Thanks! We did the included tour with Uniworld that includes visiting the Parliament building, which I can't recommend enough! We stayed 2 nights in Budapest after the cruise and toured on our own.

[sweetcat]

Your review is better than the info given by the company. I am blown away. Showed it to my husband and we are excited to take a Uniworld France trip. Thanks.