Review for Uniworld River Beatrice - 7/11-7/19

[MrsDave]

We are just back from a fantastic trip on the new River Beatrice (Danube - Passau to Budapest).

The ship is beautiful. Uniworld has really done a great job..themes of taupe and white...the sundeck has plenty of shade where you can steal some time to read a book...I did my laundry (I know it was vacation!, but who cares I had clean clothes and some of the passengers even kept an eye on it for me!) The machines are free.

First stop was Passau, a lovely quaint town in Germany...our tour guide Dorothea was wonderful....

People are lovely and friendly....

My favorite stops were Melk (the abbey is gorgeous) and Durstein...what a beautiful city....

It was hot this week and we were greeted back at the ship with a cold drink and a refreshing towel.

The crew is fantastic....Alina, our concierge knew all of our names (there were 105 passengers) and always went out of her way to ask how we are and if we needed anything.

Uniworld provides complimentary water in sport bottles and you can refill at the fountain so, you don't have to worry about bringing water bottles or buying water...one less thing!

Our cruise manager was Hildegarde...I have traveled with Uniworld before and can tell you Hildegarde is A+ and more...she made us all feel welcomed and by the end of the week we were all family....my husband has some difficulty walking and Hildegarde was always sure to offer options (Plan A & B) so we didn't miss out on anything..

If there was something I would change...I think it would be the stop in Bratislava...they are still coming back from the Communist regime and it will take some time...as I write...I reflect....as an American I am grateful for my country and we should never take it for granted.

The food on the ship was very good....there was variety and if you didn't like the menu you could opt for streak and fries or chicken breast...there was something for everyone...

Dress is casual.....my husband didn't have a jacket with him and we didn't feel uncomfortable at all...men do need to wear slacks for dinner...women casual...

Budapest is gorgeous....it's much like a cross between Paris and Vienna.

The last day we encountered a terrible rain storm and we had been on a tour of the castle in Budapest...when the bus got back...there was the Captain greeting us with an umbrella (there's an umbrella in every cabin) and Alina and her team running to the bus with towels to shield us...

We were very spoiled on the Beatrice and I think this is what vacation is all about...

If you have any questions...please feel free to contact us.

Happy Sailing..

Tina & Dave

[orchestrapal]

By any chance did you get to see the large suite 300 sq ft on the Beatrice? For us, who need space, it may be the only way to ever take a river cruise. Thanks for your observations.

[newlondon]

orchestrapal, The Tauck boats all have 14 300 sq ft suites. You can find pictures on their web site in the river cruise brochure.

[trvlgirl99]

Sounds like you had a great time! As a follow up to your comment regarding Bratislava, Uniworld has removed this as a stop for 2010, they said it was based on a combination of guest feedback and it would allow more time in Vienna and more daytime cruising, which will be great.

 

Regarding the suites, I have seen both the owners suite and the Jr. Suites and both are fantastic and offer plenty of space. Plus, I just heard that in 2010 Uniworld will be offering butler service in all of the suites on the River Beatrice - that is what I call service!

 

You can find pictures of all 15 of the River Beatrice's suites on the Uniworld website.

[MrsDave]

By any chance did you get to see the large suite 300 sq ft on the Beatrice? For us, who need space, it may be the only way to ever take a river cruise. Thanks for your observations.

 

We had a suite..it was awesome!

[franski]

It is great that the companies are listening to the guest feedback - and I am sure that many will now look at this cruise because of the extra time in Vienna...

 

On the other side of this, we booked this cruise because of Bratislava. We wanted to stay with Uniworld after our wonderful experience last year, but cancelled our trip for 2010 when Bratislava was taken was taken off the itinerary. Well - to each his own. That is one of the beautiful things about river cruising - there are many "options" - so that people can get what they really are interested in...

[boards]

I have to totally disagree with MrsDave and others, but we do not see any reason to taking the stop in Bratislava out of the cruise. We never felt any pressure and anything special that spoke loudly out about communist regime. It was mentioned just like the history of WWII was spoke of concerning the Germans. It was history and that is what we went for, to understand.

[MrsDave]

You are right, Boards...it is and was history...

For many on board the ship...it was depressing...the buildings are all the same..much like the uniformity of low income housing..

I suppose a lot of us felt that we were on such a high from the trip and our vacation...that it was a low point...

I agree, we can't always look at the good things...we need to remember the not so good things...

But, there was very little to see at this stop and that was the major point..

Tina

[bchbum4000]

We are just back from a fantastic trip on the new River Beatrice (Danube - Passau to Budapest).

The ship is beautiful. Uniworld has really done a great job..themes of taupe and white...the sundeck has plenty of shade where you can steal some time to read a book...I did my laundry (I know it was vacation!, but who cares I had clean clothes and some of the passengers even kept an eye on it for me!) The machines are free.

First stop was Passau, a lovely quaint town in Germany...our tour guide Dorothea was wonderful....

People are lovely and friendly....

My favorite stops were Melk (the abbey is gorgeous) and Durstein...what a beautiful city....

It was hot this week and we were greeted back at the ship with a cold drink and a refreshing towel.

The crew is fantastic....Alina, our concierge knew all of our names (there were 105 passengers) and always went out of her way to ask how we are and if we needed anything.

Uniworld provides complimentary water in sport bottles and you can refill at the fountain so, you don't have to worry about bringing water bottles or buying water...one less thing!

Our cruise manager was Hildegarde...I have traveled with Uniworld before and can tell you Hildegarde is A+ and more...she made us all feel welcomed and by the end of the week we were all family....my husband has some difficulty walking and Hildegarde was always sure to offer options (Plan A & B) so we didn't miss out on anything..

If there was something I would change...I think it would be the stop in Bratislava...they are still coming back from the Communist regime and it will take some time...as I write...I reflect....as an American I am grateful for my country and we should never take it for granted.

The food on the ship was very good....there was variety and if you didn't like the menu you could opt for streak and fries or chicken breast...there was something for everyone...

Dress is casual.....my husband didn't have a jacket with him and we didn't feel uncomfortable at all...men do need to wear slacks for dinner...women casual...

Budapest is gorgeous....it's much like a cross between Paris and Vienna.

The last day we encountered a terrible rain storm and we had been on a tour of the castle in Budapest...when the bus got back...there was the Captain greeting us with an umbrella (there's an umbrella in every cabin) and Alina and her team running to the bus with towels to shield us...

We were very spoiled on the Beatrice and I think this is what vacation is all about...

If you have any questions...please feel free to contact us.

Happy Sailing..

Tina & Dave

 

Thanks for the great review. Thinking about taking this cruise. Having never done a river cruise before your review was very helpful.

[DiamondDiva]

Thanks for the review. We are going on this cruise in late May, 2010 and are waiting with great anticipation!

[Momo@LJ]

Hi Mrs. Dave,

Thank you for your detailed review.

We are taking our first River Cruise on Nov. 1 from Passau to Budapest.

We will see our friend in Budapest after this Cruise and then we stay a few more days in Vienna, since we didn't think we have a enough time to go to concerts and Opera and sight seeing with 1 day stop with cruise.

 

It probably much colder when we go there, but we are really excited about this cruise.

 

At the Vienna, there are two optional tours for concert and tour of the Opera House. Did you do any these optional tours?

Also they have free bike. I don't know if we have enough time to do all, but we want to see as much as we can while we are there.

 

Momo

[Shawski]

MrsDave,

 

Just read your review of the Beatrice. It sounds like a great time. We are looking at doing that cruise next May or June. I had a question I'm hoping you can answer for me. Did you go on the excursion to Salzburg? Did you feel it was worth the long trip? Was there an alternative to going to Salzburg? The brochure just talks about the Salzburg excursion.

 

Did you do an add-on in Prague or Budapest?

 

Thanks,

Shawski

[boards]

On our cruise on the Beatrice in June 2009 there was no alternative tour, it was one of the included tours of the cruise. For to say whether it was worth is a problem because when we got to Salzburg and when we started the it rained most of the tour and it was hard to enjoy it. That is not to say that it was not interesting, but the rain made if difficult. They did not have to go on the tour if didn't want to, we were docked at Linz and you could have just stayed there on the ship and do some shopping in Linz. According to the handout it says there is plenty to occupy your time in Linz. A mini train that did a panoramic tour of the city, there is a castle. We went on the Salzburg tour.

[Mylisa]

Thank you for the review.

 

As you can see we are scheduled to go on the Beatrice in May 2010.

 

Is there anything in particular that we need to know about the ship, crew, dining room, getting around?

 

Did you take any optional tours? Do you think that the tours provided by Uniworld were adequate or would you recommend us hiring guides on our own in addition to the tours? What stops would you recommend we do the additional guides?

 

Were you able to eat on the top deck? Is so, how soon did you need to make the reservations?

 

We have booked the bottom deck cabins as there are 12 of us. They have the very narrow window. Were you able to see any of these cabins? Is so, what was your impression.

 

Was the engine very noisy or have vibrations associated with it?

 

Please add anything else you think that we should know.

 

Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance for your input.

[DiamondDiva]

We are on the cruise immediately after Mylisa, so we too are interested in the answers. Thanks for all the help.

[boards]

There were no meals served on the top deck on our cruise, but there was a Captain's dinner served in the arean where the Library and computers were located. We did not attend, but we heard it was very nice. We did not see the lower cabins, but I spoke to someone who was in one and showed him ours and he said the cabin looked the same except for the french balcony we had. Our cabin was really nice, lots of room to store everything. I cannot say enough about how great the River Beatrice and the staff were.

[tvlchick]

Hi Mrs.Dave! It is your tablemates from the Captain's night... read your review! Great to see you again!

 

Have read some of the comments... I liked Bratslavia, I thought it was interesting to see, but you are right.. unless you were in the old part of town it was very "communist" looking...

 

The trip to Salzburg was very enjoyable.. if you don't go on the Salzburg day trip you can hang out in the town of Linz...

 

I thought that the excursions offered via Uniworld were very interesting and gave you just enough time to learn about the area but also a lot of time to go off on your own to explore.

 

We rode the bikes everyday and loved them.. there is a paved bike trail all along the Danube.

 

Our favorite stop was Budapest, we wished we had stayed on there after the cruise.

 

We took the optional tour in Vienna for the Palace and didn't care for it. Not enough time to wander in the gardens afterwards. We didn't do the concert but heard it was marvelous...

 

I love Uniworld and am getting ready to head out in the Spring to Burgundy and Provence!

[RCDR]

We are just back from a fantastic trip on the new River Beatrice (Danube - Passau to Budapest).

The ship is beautiful. Uniworld has really done a great job..themes of taupe and white...the sundeck has plenty of shade where you can steal some time to read a book...I did my laundry (I know it was vacation!, but who cares I had clean clothes and some of the passengers even kept an eye on it for me!) The machines are free.

First stop was Passau, a lovely quaint town in Germany...our tour guide Dorothea was wonderful....

People are lovely and friendly....

My favorite stops were Melk (the abbey is gorgeous) and Durstein...what a beautiful city....

It was hot this week and we were greeted back at the ship with a cold drink and a refreshing towel.

The crew is fantastic....Alina, our concierge knew all of our names (there were 105 passengers) and always went out of her way to ask how we are and if we needed anything.

Uniworld provides complimentary water in sport bottles and you can refill at the fountain so, you don't have to worry about bringing water bottles or buying water...one less thing!

Our cruise manager was Hildegarde...I have traveled with Uniworld before and can tell you Hildegarde is A+ and more...she made us all feel welcomed and by the end of the week we were all family....my husband has some difficulty walking and Hildegarde was always sure to offer options (Plan A & B) so we didn't miss out on anything..

If there was something I would change...I think it would be the stop in Bratislava...they are still coming back from the Communist regime and it will take some time...as I write...I reflect....as an American I am grateful for my country and we should never take it for granted.

The food on the ship was very good....there was variety and if you didn't like the menu you could opt for streak and fries or chicken breast...there was something for everyone...

Dress is casual.....my husband didn't have a jacket with him and we didn't feel uncomfortable at all...men do need to wear slacks for dinner...women casual...

Budapest is gorgeous....it's much like a cross between Paris and Vienna.

The last day we encountered a terrible rain storm and we had been on a tour of the castle in Budapest...when the bus got back...there was the Captain greeting us with an umbrella (there's an umbrella in every cabin) and Alina and her team running to the bus with towels to shield us...

We were very spoiled on the Beatrice and I think this is what vacation is all about...

If you have any questions...please feel free to contact us.

Happy Sailing..

Tina & Dave

 

I just spoke to a uniworld agent, he said the bathroom on this ship does not have a DOOR, is that true? Its hard to believe no doors....

Thanks,

:eek:

[oneadam12]

We cruised on the River Beatrice in April and had a great time. To answer some questions; all the rooms that we saw, the bathrooms had doors. On two nice afternoons, we had lunches on the upper deck. The question to tour Salzburg or not is a matter of individual taste. We did go on the tour and found Salzburg the most 'touristy' of the places that we visited. We did walk around Linz in the evening and enjoyed that.

 

Bill

[trvlgirl99]

RCDR - I sailed on the Beatrice in April and stayed in one of the cabins on the lower deck and it definitely had a bathroom door - not sure why anyone would have said there weren't bathroom doors on all cabins.

[RCDR]

RCDR - I sailed on the Beatrice in April and stayed in one of the cabins on the lower deck and it definitely had a bathroom door - not sure why anyone would have said there weren't bathroom doors on all cabins.

 

Thank you so much for verifying that! Yeah, it was strange why the agent told me that especially when he said he JUST went on that cruise a few months ago! :eek:

[cozzello]

Did you bring Euros, if so how much did you need? We will be staying an extra two day in Munich aterwards.

We are sailing the River Beatrice on June 19,2010.

Thanks.

Cheryl

[bchbum4000]

We are sailing on River Beatice in October. Budapest to Pasau. Will love to hear your thoughts about the ship and service.

[letsgo39]

Did you bring Euros, if so how much did you need? We will be staying an extra two day in Munich aterwards.

We are sailing the River Beatrice on June 19,2010.

Thanks.

Cheryl

 

There are ATM's everywhere including the airport.This is the most convenient and cheapest way to get your local currency.Make sure your ATM pin is all numbers and your money at your home bank is in your checking account NOT your savings. I bring my ATM card and my Visa card and that is all I have ever needed in 7 trips to Europe.Be sure to notify your bank and your credit card company that you are traveling in Europe and the dates.You really do not want to carry a large sum of money with you.While on the ship we spend very little money but once in Munich figure about the same as a big U.S city like Chicago or New York.You will not have any problem finding ATM's anywhere.On Avalon the CD always marks the city maps handed out everyday with WC and ATM locations.

[boards]

Everything that can be said about the Beatrice has already been said earlier in this thread.

You cannot go wrong in booking this ship, everything about it was great. I certainly hope we can do it again, but on a different itinerary even though a repeat would be good too, because the ship is beautiful.