Uniworld or CroisiEurope?

[sjde]

Can anyone make a two river cruise lines? Is there a big difference? Can anyone make a comparison of these two? Is there a big difference? TIA!SometimesSometimes I like sittingSo  with

[Roz]

There is a huge difference. 

[Roz]

@sjde, have you checked out the "stickies" at the top of this page? Lots of good information about the different river cruise lines, including comparisons. 

[CielBleu]

Yes, there are differences. We have cruised only on Avalon and CroisiEurope, but I am very familiar with most of the other lines too. Uniworld is in the luxury, all inclusive category, although they do have some special excursions that cost extra. Some of their ships have over-the-top decor that some people love and others find gawdy. Food and excursions are usually rated very high in quality.  You will find more English speakers on Uniworld.

 

CroisiEurope is usually rated more of a middle of the pack category line; some would even rate it lower. After 3 cruises on Croisi, I can say the following. I categorize it as all-inclusive. They say there is an extra charge for a few of the top shelf cocktails. We've never had any extra charge added on. Excursions are generally excellent. Some days there was only one, but other days there were two.  Almost all the food is French and excellent; wines and cheese also usually local French.

 

The cabins are smaller and plainer than Uniworld and many other lines. We accept that, but I'm sure some people wouldn't like it. There seem to be a lot of people who think you have to speak French to take a Croisi cruise. I'm not saying it isn't helpful to know some French, but the crew members we've had on our 3 trips have all spoken English except for some of the captains, and there's very limited time with them anyway. Passengers on our cruises have been a mixture of French, North Americans, British, and Australians. Cost, of course, is typically quite a bit lower on CroisiEurope than on Uniworld. Being European, Croisi doesn't "push" for gratuities as much as most. They do mention it, but there are no pre-paid gratuities. It's up to the passengers at the end of the cruise what you want to give the staff. All this said, we have only cruised in what Croisi classifies as their 5-anchor ships. I don't think we would choose any of their 4-anchor ships.

[sjde]

Thank you. To me then, the main difference seems like smaller and planner cabins and that wouldn’t bother me if there’s a huge  price difference.

 

This is a first time I heard anyone refer to 4 and 5  anchor ships -could you explain ?  Is one just smaller than the other?

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, sjde said:

Thank you. To me then, the main difference seems like smaller and planner cabins and that wouldn’t bother me if there’s a huge  price difference.

 

This is a first time I heard anyone refer to 4 and 5  anchor ships -could you explain ?  Is one just smaller than the other?

One other drawback for some on CroisiEurope is that there is (technically) no choice at dinner. The meal is announced, and if you can't eat it for any reason you have to let them know in advance. For me that makes it a non-starter.

[sjde]

Ya, I would not like that !
I think Gate 1 is sort of like that? No choice for appetizer,  starter and dessert , but three choices at least on main entree.  I’m beginning to like Grand Circle even more!

[sjde]

gnome12- Do you happen to know if the same is true on Croisi Europe’s French barge cruises?

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, sjde said:

gnome12- Do you happen to know if the same is true on Croisi Europe’s French barge cruises?

No, but I would assume so. The kitchen would be even smaller on them. (As an aside, I have been on 2 bike and barge trips - different from a barge cruise - and on one we had a small buffet every night with a couple of choices, on the other you were served a prepared plate.)

[CielBleu]

10 hours ago, sjde said:

This is a first time I heard anyone refer to 4 and 5  anchor ships -could you explain ?  Is one just smaller than the other?

The 5-anchor ships and barges are considered premium and are usually the newer vessels or more recently fully renovated. The ones classed as 4-anchor usually have more outdated decor. 5-anchor might have larger cabins, but I don't know that all are larger. Sometimes when they do a full renovation, they gut the ship and make the rooms larger than they were. I feel like you just have to check the square footage.

[sjde]

Do all river cruise lines use these descriptions? 

[gnome12]

17 minutes ago, sjde said:

Do all river cruise lines use these descriptions? 

No. Most use a star system.

[CielBleu]

20 hours ago, sjde said:

Do you happen to know if the same is true on Croisi Europe’s French barge cruises?

Their barges only hold 22 passengers and the kitchen is small. They don't offer multiple selections for meals.  One night I couldn't eat the main dish due to a medical reason, so the chef made me some beef and vegetable skewers. But the meals on the barges are amazing and all passengers raved about them.

[slidergirl]

On 5/13/2024 at 6:15 AM, CielBleu said:

Their barges only hold 22 passengers and the kitchen is small. They don't offer multiple selections for meals.  One night I couldn't eat the main dish due to a medical reason, so the chef made me some beef and vegetable skewers. But the meals on the barges are amazing and all passengers raved about them.

I did a Rhone Canal barge cruise 2 years ago with CrosiEurope, on the Anne Marie.  It was a charter through Adventure Women - 12 of us.  Definitely not a luxury cruise from a hard product standpoint, but an excellent relaxing cruise that made me feel I was living in luxury.  All crew, regardless of nationality, spoke English.  The breakfast was buffet, but the lunches and dinners were plated no choice.  I have to say the food was fantastic!  How Chef made such good meals in that tiny galley was a wonder to see.  One of the women was GF and Chef accommodated her at every meal.   Excursions - we had one per day as a group and some were tailored to go to women-owned business or discuss history from the women's POV.