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There were two multigenerational groups on my Uniworld Enchanting Danube trip in 2023. That would be another option for you. As to learning Hungarian, I tried years ago as I have an affinity for languages with a minor in French. It’s exceptionally hard due to the grammar and gave up.

I took my mother there in late March 2004. The place was spectacular and we still talk about how beautiful it was.

My first river cruise was with Viva round trip from Passau but it turned around after the Iron Gates so I can speak to part of the lower Danube. I found the stops in Serbia to be great. We did a mid-day stop in Novi Sad, an overnight in Belgrade with the Serbs partying until 2 AM, cruised through the amazing Iron Gates, and stopped at the Golubac Fortress. I blogged the trip here and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Absolutely get a quote from other lines. Your loyalty savings will pale in comparison to not having to pay Viking’s full fare for a single person. Other lines also include much more than Viking. Uniworld, for example, also includes alcohol at all times not just during meals.

I won a bid for a suite on the Maria Theresa last year. When cruising on the Bon Voyage this year, I declined to bid. The value of the suite wasn’t there for me compared to the suite I had on Viva for a Danube cruise in 2022. There is no outdoor space in the suite. The “balcony” was just a curtained off area of the cabin in my Uniworld suite. It actually made the room feel smaller and the “balcony” area cramped. I’m more of a self-service type so the Butler wasn’t of much use to me.

This is something that Bar Harbor, ME has been struggling with. It’s a small town that gets very crowded with folks visiting Acadia National Park then the cruise ships.

One of the single women on our cruise told us that another passenger said to her that she must only be on the cruise by herself because she was looking for a husband. It is amazing the things people will say when they don’t think there will be any repercussions.

Took a Uniworld cruise, Brilliant Bordeaux, last month. Plenty of tables for 2 and they have no issue with you sitting at a table for four if there are no 2s available. That’s what we did the first night until our group formed.

The first evening of the cruise, the cruise director will give you information about all the excursions. The sign up sheet will be in your cabin.

Did the Uniworld Brilliant Bordeaux in late June/early July of this year. I’m not a big red wine drinker but had a fantastic time on the cruise. Determined I definitely don’t like Sauternes, had great oysters with a very nice white at the Medoc Fort, “stormed” the Citadel in Blayne, had great reds in St. Emilion and bought two bottles of a vintage that made my cousin cry (it’s from the year we graduated college and a Eurail trip), and enjoyed the city of Bordeaux. We had a little group of solo travelers that hung out together and had a great time.

Yes, other lines do use Asian staff. My Viva cruise had bar staff that was largely from Myanmar. They were shocked when I told them I’d actually been there.

With everything I’ve had going on this year, I completely forgot about this.

Just got home from my second Uniworld cruise on Monday. This was in Bordeaux and we spent a lot of time docked in Bordeaux which was unexpected. There were two biking excursions planned with one through the vineyards. Bikes were always available at the ports if you wanted them. I also cruised Viva and would say that my cruise was a less active one there. I don’t recall a bike excursion and don’t think there were bikes. Regardless, the cruises are all what you make of them. There are informal ways to find activities that suit your needs. The crowd on board can be more sedate, as it was on Viva, or more rambunctious as it was on both my Uniworld trips. However, no one was, as far as I know, singled out because they didn’t drink. Our just completed trip had a far number of solo passengers (we had 94 passengers out of a possible 124) and we seemed to congregate in groups. When I took my first one on Viva, I wasn’t sure I’d like river cruising but have come to really enjoy it. Took another ocean cruise this April and I’m pretty sure that I won’t do one again except for Antarctica.

My mother and I both walked around Kirkenes (because our Russian Border tour was cancelled), Bronnoysund, and Stokmarknes.

Uniworld at the stop in Linz offers an excursion to Salzburg. If I recall correctly, it’s a three hour round trip. We declined and did an excursion in Linz.

I got my upgrade on my first Uniworld cruise.

I used it last year for my Danube cruise. Bid for a suite and got it. On another cruise this year and am not bidding up. Didn’t feel like I got the value for the price.

I was watching a video of one on a Bordeaux cruise. Might see one when I do mine in June.

Guess I’m heading down on SEPTA. Cassatt is one of my favorites.

I’m an introvert and have done a solo cruise on Viva where I was the only non-German speaker and a cruise with a cousin on Uniworld. I enjoyed both and was as social as I wanted to be. Of course, it’s easier when most of the other passengers can’t speak to you but I did have a few conversations. My cousin is more social so I was as well but we also had time to ourselves. As far as excursions go, it’s no big deal if you don’t take any and just do your own thing. The ships aren’t large so you’re not really dealing with big crowds. On both cruises, tables for two were easy to come by.

I’m glad I’m not the only one that was marginal on Uniworld’s food. I felt I had better meals on my Viva cruise than on Uniworld.

Glad I’m not the only one who has that down. There for a while, my father used to ask me regularly “So, what country did you go to this weekend?”

There are a fair number of German place names in the US with the most common one being Berlin

Sprite and ginger ale should also be available as well as both still and sparkling water.

My bags were ever scanned at any time during my cruise. I suppose I could have brought wine. I did bring some food and there was no issue with it. In Bergen, you check in at a terminal, drop your bags, then head upstairs. If you’re too early, there’s a lounge you’ll wait in. If you’re there before cabins are ready, then you can wait in the public areas. We didn’t arrive until later so we were able to go straight to our cabins. Looks like the latest is 15 minutes before departure. Here’s the details about checkin.