Food on Uniworld

[seabreezer]

I have my first river cruise coming up next fall and I was always under the impression that river cruise food was generally better than ocean cruises. Not sure if Uniworld compares in any way to Silversea but how about foodwise? And how does Uniworld food compare to other river cruislines? Any comments on the quality of wines would be appreciated as well.

[id4elizabeth]

The main difference you will notice is the timing. There's no 24-hour or all-day buffet. There's a one-time seating and one room location. Breakfast and lunch are generally buffet style while dinner is a sit-down and be served affair. There are also few 2-top or even 4-top tables. Most are 6 seat tables. There's no assigned seats. One of the things we like about river cruising is actually meeting other passengers on the ship, so we actually like the more communal set up. And you can meet new people at each meal if you like, or sit with folks you've met and liked. There are a few 2 and 4 seat tables, but if you want one of these, get there early as they go fast.

 

As far as the quality of the food itself, I think they're about the same, but I've only sailed on Princess. Of course there's not nearly the choice either that you have on the big ships - and no "specialty" extra-charge restaurants either. There were usually 4 or 5 choices for your entree and 3 for the appetizer and dessert. There was always a vegetarian option, but did not see a gluten free choice.

 

The FREE wine is usually decent, but again, not a lot of choice - one red and one white. But you can pay extra for a better quality wine if you want, and one couple we ate with often did this and seemed pleased with the wine cellar. We were fine with the FREE and unlimited wine.

 

We were on Uniworld for a Russian cruise and were not expecting good food as we would be in Russia after all. We were expecting lots of borscht, lots of potatoes and unidentifiable meat. This was definitely NOT the case. The food was quite good. We've been on one Viking cruise on the Rhine and thought the Uniworld food was slightly better.

 

Hope that helps.

[Yggdrasil98]

I have only done River and small ship sailing, so am unfamiliar with the big ship issues with seating etc.

 

I prefer Uniworld's cuisine over AMA/APT and my small ship co, and some Asian river ships I have sailed. It's free seating, and one seating for each meal.

 

I'm veggie with an allergy, so I have the occasional issue, but overall Uniworld is my preferred river co. Cabins are more compact IMO, but overall I can deal with that for all the other things that I prefer about them!

[jpalbny]

Hopefully we can make a direct comparison in a few months. We're on the SS Antoinette for Castles on the Rhine, 3/30 - 4/6. And we've done a bunch of Silversea cruises in the past 3 years.

[Ship's Wake]

I found the quality and presentation of the food on Uniworld to be very good. However I found the food on Azamara and Oceania to be better (my opinion of course).

 

It certainly appears that Uniworld's new "luxury" branding may be getting far ahead of the product it delivers if they are giving you the impression that their culinary offerings exceed Silversea.

[seabreezer]

Uniworld has not given me the impression either way but

I am trying to find some comparison to what I know. So far the food on the ships I've been on has been good enough, not stellar with the exception of The World which is a different experience altogether. I've never seen a 24 hour buffet on a ship.

 

Jpalbny, I would love some feedback if you get a chance after your cruise. Thanks!

[Got2Cruise]

The galley on a river ship is very small. It doesn't matter which line. It is unfair to compare the food on an ocean liner to a river cruise ship.

One would have to compare menus line for line to compare the quality of the food and wine offerings on river ships.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Got2Cruise

[id4elizabeth]

Princess had a casual 24-hour buffet where you can eat anytime. In my comparison of Uniworld, I could only compare with Princess as that's the only ocean liner I've sailed on. Given the price difference between Silverseas and Princess, I would imagine the food on Silverseas would be better than Princess, and hence better than Uniworld. I would not suggest for a second that Uniworld's food is better than Silverseas, but does compare Ok against Princess.

 

I would also say that the reason we like river cruising has nothing to do with the gourmet food, but with the smaller size group and getting to the ports and seeing the sights. On any river cruise, the food is not going to be gourmet, but having sailed Viking and Uniworld, I do think Uniworld's is slightly better.

[Ship's Wake]

Uniworld has not given me the impression either way but

I am trying to find some comparison to what I know. So far the food on the ships I've been on has been good enough, not stellar with the exception of The World which is a different experience altogether. I've never seen a 24 hour buffet on a ship.

 

Jpalbny, I would love some feedback if you get a chance after your cruise. Thanks!

seabreezer, here's a previous food review I did on Uniworld's food from several years ago that includes menus. Most of the review still holds true today. You may find it to be helpful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=890494

Edited January 20, 2014 by oysterdam

[jc foster]

Just off Uniworld S.S. Antoinette in November and it featured two nights of Private Fine Dining. This featured limited space and it is highly suggested that you sign up when you board the ship. This dinner is cooked in the Orangrie and the food is prepared by the executive chef with most done at tableside. I have eaten at many upscale steak restaurants, but this was the finest filet that I have ever experienced. Usuallly , two main courses are offered at this sitting. We also found the food to be comparable or maybe a little better than Princess but the selection is not as varied.

[seabreezer]

Thanks so much for the link oysterdam. Looks like I won't starve! I am one of the few people who actually loses weight on cruises because I don't snack, always ask for the sauce on the side and don't eat desserts but I am a little picky and just generally eat less when touring. A number of bouts with food poisoning when traveling has also made me cautious.

[rae47]

We cruised this past summer on the River Royal/Uniworld, Provence & Burgundy. It was our first river cruise & only had ocean cruises to compare. The food was quite good with not as many options for the seated dinners. The wine was from the area each day & nice, thoroughly enjoyed it but then we were in France. There was a large group (1/3 of the passengers) traveling together & that made a big difference in the dynamic of the cruisers.

We also cruised with Azamara for the first time in the fall & it was our favorite so far. They now do an Azamazing night on each cruise, which is hosted off the ship.

We are doing Castles Along the Rhine this next fall on SS Antoinette/Uniworld. This is a much nicer ship than the RR & really looking forward to it. We were given an incentive from last year due to the high rivers in Europe 2013 & we wanted to use it. I think you'll enjoy your Uniworld cruise!

[horatio123]

I've done the River Beatrice and the antoinette. Believe me you won't starve! Breakfast and lunch buffets..plenty of food, pretty good food. I have never been on an ocean cruise before but I am pretty sure ships like Oceana and the like would be superior in food quality and options. But like already mentioned you are not measuring apples to apples....these are small river ships.

[AttilaTheFun]

I've also done the River Beatrice (link in my signature, with menus/food photos) and the S.S. Antoinette. I found the food to be good to excellent, with my preference being the River Beatrice. There were a couple disappointing lunch buffets on the Antoinette, but the private dining option was very nice in L'Orangerie and free of charge - just sign up at the front desk when they announce it. They offer it on two separate nights with the same menu, so that more people can experience it. I found the food to be comparable to Princess and enjoyed most of the free wines offered. You can also bring your own wine onboard if you choose and only have to pay a corkage fee if you drink it in the bar.

[Lphs35]

We have cruised with celebrity , regent, and uniworld. We loved regent and now love uniworld as well. I am a picky eater and had no problem and thought food was outstanding. Our friend was gluten free and his dining room shadow appeared immediately as he entered to help him with selections and bring his gluten free bread.

 

 

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[gogispu]

Hi,

We were on the SS Antoinette for a Christmas Market cruise. Having done over 11 ocean cruises on a variety of lines, here is my take on the food. Uniworld is quality, not quantity. As mentioned before, there are 3 meals and tea. Now, that being said, there were also special meals for while we were cruising, a special brunch of local delicacies and the welcome/departure brunch also. There is not the selection that there is at sea but the quality was much better. The choice of white or red wine/beer for meals was great also. There was also 24/7 coffee and cookies as well as Glug wine in the lounge. You will not go hungry

[jklc123]

Hi,

We were on the SS Antoinette for a Christmas Market cruise. Having done over 11 ocean cruises on a variety of lines, here is my take on the food. Uniworld is quality, not quantity. As mentioned before, there are 3 meals and tea. Now, that being said, there were also special meals for while we were cruising, a special brunch of local delicacies and the welcome/departure brunch also. There is not the selection that there is at sea but the quality was much better. The choice of white or red wine/beer for meals was great also. There was also 24/7 coffee and cookies as well as Glug wine in the lounge. You will not go hungry

 

We will be on the Antoinette in the fall. Do you have any idea what time the welcome brunch is served? We will spend the night before in Basel and didn't know whether to have lunch before boarding. I do remember lunch the day we boarded the Beatrice. The preliminary schedule on the web site just indicates that dinner is provided.

[Lphs35]

We also spent the night in Basel. Boarded at noon for lunch. Others were already eating.

We were told you could board anytime and there would be refreshments but room would not be ready til 2:30 or so.

As we were disembarking at about 9 am, others were boarding!

Diane

[beesKate]

I have never heard of a welcome brunch on Uniworld. Maybe this (and the Glug wine) was special for the Christmas Market cruises?

 

They do keep a nice spread of food in the lounge -- but we've never arrived before noon to see how they accommodate the very early arrivals. The dining room is open for normal breakfast for the previous cruise, I don't see how they could turn it around that quickly for arriving cruisers -- but I guess if you arrived while it was still being served they'd allow you to go down and get a bite. But this is speculation, if you plan to do that, you'd best check directly with Uniworld to see if they'd welcome you in the dining room or just direct you to lounge.

[whatnot]

I have sailed on large ships in the past but for the last 10 years only sailed small ships such as Sea Dream Yacht Club, Regent and Windstar. Sea Dream is in my opinion the best food and service at sea. Uniworld River Beatrice is very good and probably compares favorably with the food on Regent or Windstar. I think it is better than the megaships unless you dine in the specialty restaurants. The wine was OK. The choices are from the regions you are sailing through. So if you are in Hungary you get Hungarian wine and you get Austrian in Austria, etc. Some of these wines are sweeter than we liked. Once we found a couple we liked they would serve us those if they were still available when we did not like that days selection. I really liked the breakfast buffets and lunch buffets on Uniworld better than their dinner selections. Hope this helps!

[Ritabob]

On our previous Uniworld cruises they have provided a luncheon in the lounge for the departing passengers waiting for their departure time and for the embarking passengers. The meal is not as elaborate as the buffet you will experience beginning the following day, but very tasty and satisfying.