Trip Report: Arles to Lyon | Saône & Rhône | Emerald Liberté | July 1-8, 2017

Thanks for the write up. Always nice to hear opinions from people who have traveled on multiple line.

Hi, really enjoyed the info on your French river cruise.

Having also done a river cruise last year on UNIWORLD river duchess, I was interested to read about Evergreen liberte. You allude to there being differences between the two ( apart from it being fully inclusive) , wonder if you can be specific about the differences?? Is it the decor, service, amenities. Just curious.

As hubby and I are happy with just a couple of wines , we are not bothered about being ALL INCLUSIVE. It seems like , on paper, that this is the only difference. ???

I really appreciate you posting all the bar info and prices and a copy of the daily run sheet. I love having as much info as possible. Always amazes me how people that I've met whilst traveling have NO idea where there are going and what they have paid for.

I booked this trip Lisbon to Nice with Evergreen because UNIWORLD didn't do this itinerary... plus their prices jumped heaps from last year.

That holiday Amsterdam to Istanbul was the BEST holiday ever so Evergreen have huge shoes to fill.

I also read you review under REVIEWS Evergreen Liberte. Great too. Thanks.

The decor differences between emerald and Uniworld are night and day. Emerald is sleek lines with mirrors. Uniworld is floofy French traditional. The emerald service (bar/dining room) is a notch below. They're ok, but they don't seem to anticipate your needs or wants like Uniworld does. For example, if I ordered black tea for breakfast two days in a row on Uniworld they'd have it at my plate every day after that before I returned from the buffet. I had to ask every day on emerald, and 2 days no one stopped by in time for me to even get tea. If I ordered tea in the lounge, they'd give me a look like I should just go get it myself. That would never happen on Uniworld (and they served loose leaf tea).

I'm on a plane about to take off, but let me know if you have other questions. Someday I'll get to posting the other dailies [emoji3]

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It looks like Avalon is a lot like Emerald. On our Avalon cruise the staff seemed overworked let alone remembering any kind of drink. Not a lot of choices on excursions as well. We still had a very nice time.

Thanks for the great review! I think that the first paragraph addresses the critical question a lot of us ask when looking for a cruise. "How much is the extra service you get with a premium line (Tauck, Uniworld,and Scenic are the first that come to mind for me) worth?

I've generally not been able to justify the extra price, so we've cruised with Viking, Avalon, and Vantage, and generally been satisfied and pleased with their products. But everyone has different preferences, and that's what makes life interesting.

Hi. I'm sure I remember you saying that you did an excursion to UZES. Can you advise from which city ( boat stop) you did this from? Thanks.

The decor differences between emerald and Uniworld are night and day. Emerald is sleek lines with mirrors. Uniworld is floofy French traditional. The emerald service (bar/dining room) is a notch below. They're ok, but they don't seem to anticipate your needs or wants like Uniworld does. For example, if I ordered black tea for breakfast two days in a row on Uniworld they'd have it at my plate every day after that before I returned from the buffet. I had to ask every day on emerald, and 2 days no one stopped by in time for me to even get tea. If I ordered tea in the lounge, they'd give me a look like I should just go get it myself. That would never happen on Uniworld (and they served loose leaf tea).

 

I'm on a plane about to take off, but let me know if you have other questions. Someday I'll get to posting the other dailies [emoji3]

 

 

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The Uzes visit was part of the Pont du Gard excursion, which left from Avignon.

:hearteyes:

The Uzes visit was part of the Pont du Gard excursion, which left from Avignon.

ThanksK