jklc123

Let me know how you both find it! I am currently working hard on German and started refreshing my Italian. It is super "user friendly". Though sometimes the women who speak the Italian are a bit difficult to understand. No such problems with German though. Very precise! (Very German?)

Thanks for recommending duolingo. I've started working on German for an upcoming trip.

Hydrokitty, I've been concerned about some of the posts about ACL, too. If we go, it will be for the itinerary and not the food. If the meals are better than expected, that will be a plus!

Another thank you from a future traveler on the same route. I almost feel as if I've already taken the trip. Great photos and commentary.

We are thinking about a 2015 7-night cruise on the Hudson with ACL. They have numerous cruises on various rivers in the USA.

I agree that Vienna is easy to do on your own and probably less expensive and more flexible than through Uniworld. We easily used the trams and subway trains to get around when we returned to Vienna for three days after our Passau to Budapest Uniworld cruise.

I also like the line-year format for roll calls. Should make it quicker to locate roll call.

We had an awesome private full day tour that got us out of Amsterdam and we were able to see exactly what it sounds like you want to see. I am going to provide the link. I hope that is allowed here. http://www.privatehollandtours.com/index.html We highly recommend Ray. He can customize your tours. You can also read the great reviews on Trip Advisor that others have left.

Thanks for the link. This does look perfect.

Also enjoyed your comprehensive cruise review, which covers in part where we were on Danube cruise and will be in part on Rhine cruise this fall, when we will spend 3 days in Amsterdam post-cruise. Do you have any recommendation about which direction to take a train out to see the countryside and villages?

You are so right about change for the public WC . In a small town outside Budapest I tried to use one but only had Euro coins. The dragon lady wouldn't let me in!

We must have seen the same horse farm outside Budapest that you did. Quite a show! I've enjoyed language lessons on our river cruises in China and Russia and it was fun to try out the little I learned on the crew.

Planning way ahead, thinking about ACL Hudson River cruise in 2015. Like the itinerary, ships seem comfortable, but the very few reviews on cc and other sites are not very positive about the less than professional service. Prices seem a little high for what you get. Any comments from anyone who has sailed with this very small company recently?

Paperbacks. Easier on my eyes and easier to deal with at the beach or pool.

I also read books related to where I'm going or have visited and sometimes leave them in the ship's library. For example, really enjoyed "Tales from the Expat Harem" for Turkey, "The Madonnas of Leningrad," and "Child 44" and "The Secret Speech" (both by Tom Rob Smith) for Russia, and, having seen the film "Monuments Men," I'm just finishing "The Rape of Europa" by Lynn Nicholas. It's incredible that literally thousands of pieces of great art moved by the ****s as well as countries in fear of them were saved and are now back in museums, pieces I've seen and had no idea the perilous journeys they had been on. Will be in Amsterdam in the fall and will probably take "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom.

Can't use the search function...How difficult to snag a table for two? Are there very many? We do enjoy meeting new people but may feel like having a quick dinner on occasion and would hate to be rude and just leave our dinner mates mid-meal.

There are a few tables for two. We had friends on our cruise on the ship that preferred the two tops and they almost always ate there. The key is to be at the doors to the dining room when they open.

We splurged on a room with a balcony so can't answer your other question.

I'm sure you'll have a fascinating voyage.

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.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Russian cruise with Uniworld in 2012. We had such a good experience with Uniworld on the Danube that we stayed with Uniworld for Russia. All the ships looked the same on the outside as they were all built by the same Russian company, but inside, the Uniworld ship looked more "upscale" than the ships we passed through when double or triple docked. We did have a junior suite so our cabin was more spacious than the more reasonably priced cabins. Uniworld partitioned some of the walking decks into balconies, the only ship we saw that had this, if you like having your own balcony. The food was fine. Took a couple of Russian language lessons while sailing and learned Russian history from our onboard Russian history professor. We had a couple of evening concerts by local musical groups. The ports of call were fascinating, with expert guides. More daytime is spent sailing on this cruise than most due to the long distance, so it was beautiful and relaxing to watch the villages, fields and forests go by. As you probably know, in Moscow and St. Petersburg you stay on the ship instead of a hotel in the central city area. We actually enjoyed spending part of our free time in the park next to where you dock in Moscow, watching the local families enjoy time together. We used the metro to get into St. Petersburg for free time there, which worked out fine. During the bus rides into Moscow and St. Pete, we learned quite a bit from our guides & the time in traffic didn't seem too awful. (The trip from the Moscow airport to the ship was another story!) The staff was just as top notch as on the Beatrice. Some of the wait staff was still learning English which was actually kind of fun. All except one of our local guides spoke very good English.

I guess you can tell we had a good time!

jklc123

please share where you have decide to stay in Amsterdam. We too are still trying to decide. will be there 2 night first part of October after Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking. Will be with another couple.

We ended up booking a higher priced hotel than we had planned, the Banks Mansion, which sounds delightful but is expensive. We were surprised to find most of the hotels that were recommended to us (on another thread) were already booked. DH doesn't want to stay in one of the many interesting hotels that weren't booked because they have steep stairs and small rooms, according to comments on Tripadvisor. So my advice is to book as soon as possible to get what you want!

Well, we're looking forward to our third trip with Uniworld, down the Rhine this fall. In the process of selecting a hotel for three nights post-cruise in Amsterdam.

TC2

I've been looking forward to your comments about the vibration. We sailed recently in PHC suite 878, directly above your suite. We were worried about the vibration before sailing but didn't find it bothersome. We also may have become used to it. We really liked the balcony that curves around to port side. Very much enjoying the comments on your current cruise.

Using a consulate would be good, too, I suppose. If I remember correctly, we had to send our passports with the application (multiple copies, I think) to Zierer's office in San Francisco (we are in LA area), which was unnerving. From what I've heard, we ask as many intrusive questions of Russians wanting US visas as they do of us.

Merry Christmas to you, too!

Linda

Ugh!!!!!! Mosquitos? Bummer. One reason that we picked the early August date was what we thought was good weather. We checked the weather history for that date range and it appeared (historically) to be in the mid 70's during the day and mid 60's at night. BUT..... Did not see mention of Mosquitos anywhere. 'Grin'.

 

I do have a question for you. Did you have any trouble with getting a Russian visa? And from where did you obtain yours? Sounds like getting the visa can be a bit if a headache from what I have read.

 

Thanks for the great information.

After we booked, Uniworld pointed us to the Zierer Visa Service website, where we downloaded the application to complete & send to them with the fee. The application takes a while to complete; you can start & go back to it. Rather detailed questions, such as your work history & organizations you belong to, etc. But once we submitted it, it worked out fine.

AND........... we greatly enjoyed our Uniworld Castles on the Rhine itinerary in September.......and I know you will too. ;)

 

I have heard from others that most of these cruises in Russia use the ship as the hotel..(while others do provide central hotels)....and would have been easier/nicer if a central hotel had been used. I guess that is the part that I was willing to compromise with in order to use Uniworld.

 

I was in port in St. Petersburg in 2009 on an NCL cruise for 2 days and we were bussed into the center of the city to see the sites..... and at that time I did not mind that ride. It was narrated by our guide and gave me the opportunity to see the sites while riding - rather than driving. :) I just hope that this time will be the same.

 

As to your Castle's cruise........... I can only say that ours was FABULOUS. The staff/crew where awesome, and the attention to detail was far beyond any other cruise that we have taken. Food was great, and the tours were very well organized and very interesting. Of course we had to buy a cuckoo clock while in Bavaria which we had shipped home....... (and also a suitcase in Speyer) to carry the extra goodies we bought while on this trip also. :eek:

 

I hope your trip is as great as ours was. To be honest, the way we were treated on the Rhine cruise by Uniworld is a big reason why we are using them for Russia. I am sure that the other cruise lines in Russia are good ( and may be better ) but why wander from a known good thing !!

We didn't mind the bus rides into town, either. The commentaries by the guides made the time pass quickly. We did use the subway from the ship to St. Pete when we had free time. The walk to the Moscow station from the ship is a bit longer, but you do walk through parks used by the locals, which is interesting. We chose Uniworld for Russia after only one cruise with them as we were impressed by how they handled a schedule change due to high water, among other things. While every river cruise ship in Russia looks the same from the outside, when we crossed through other ships when double or triple docked, ours looked the most modern. And we liked that Uniworld had turned a walking deck into balconies for the deck we were on. We sat out there & watched the riverbanks go by more than once, although it was also great in the evenings on the front observation deck. (We were there close to the long "summer white nights.") I think you will have rather hot weather in August. You might want to take anti-mosquito spray as on one stretch, although it wasn't really very warm yet for us, mosquitos did board the ship, and seemed to like the computer room! Also, I enjoyed the Russian language sessions on board.

Anyway, we are looking forward to being pampered on the Antoinette and wish you a great voyage, too.

We greatly enjoyed the Uniworld Russian itinerary in 2012. The only drawback, for some travelers, is that you stay on the ship instead of a centrally located hotel during the time in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And now we're looking forward to "Castles on the Rhine" next fall.

Thanks JKLC123.

Have you been on Viking?

No, so I can't compare Uniworld with Viking. What we've liked about Uniworld, among other things, is the company's quick ability to arrange excellent excursions when we were on the Danube & hit with high water, necessitating a schedule change. We didn't have to be bused from port to port as other lines had to do at that time. The guides were excellent in most cases, as with Regent. The only thing we didn't like is that on our Russia trip, we didn't stay in a downtown hotel in Moscow & St. Petersburg but on the ship for our 3 days in those locations. It's possible to use the excellent metro system in each city if you want to see more during the evening, but there is a 10 to 20 minute walk to the stations there. I highly recommend that itinerary on just about any river cruise line.

Emdee: We also are itinerary driven first and ship second. We greatly prefer small ships, which is why we gave Regent a try (and hope to return). We have just booked our 3rd cruise with Uniworld. You might find them close to Regent in quality.

We are booking a river cruise with Uniworld. I was happy with a moderately priced cabin with balcony, but after having recently sailed in a PH C on Voyager, now DH has decided to upgrade us to a suite with much more room, more closets (unfortunately not walk-in), double sinks and a butler. I knew we'd be spoiled on Regent!

Began our recent cruise with 3 nights in Venice at 3 star Violino da Oro Hotel, located on a small canal not far from Piazza San Marco. Loved strolling in that area at night. No bridges to cross if you take a water taxi, one if you use vaporetto. Staff helpful with making restaurant and concert reservations. Good breakfast in a room overlooking gondoliers preparing their gondolas for the day.

We did do the deviation to accommodate arriving 3 days early to Venice and staying several days in Turkey. Our flight home was changed on us after we had arranged a tour of Cappadocia, which complicated things. But it all worked out in the end.