Babcia7

We did this several years ago with Uniworld.  On our way to Salamanca we had a comfort stop.  While in Salamanca we had a guided tour and time for a delicious tapas lunch on our own.  After lunch our Madrid based guides relinquished us to our ship's guides.  We gathered in a ballroom of a beautiful hotel for more sandwiches, pastries and drinks before boarding buses that took us to our ship.  The scenery along the way was beautiful.  I always consider the bus rides to our destinations as part of the journey.  We saw many stork nests and storks along the way which added to the fun of the trip, and our guide provided some commentary along the way which made the drive time very tolerable.

Thanks for all the replies.  When I last checked our cruise there were 28 cabins available for the April 1 sailing, so the ship is definitely not at full capacity.  I was advised by my trip advisor, and again by a rep at Uniworld to ask for a complimentary upgrade once we are on the ship.  I do think it would make sense logistically for the ship to have passengers grouped on the same levels.  We have sailed with Uniworld 8 times in different categories other than a suite, and other than the size of the window and place of the cabin on various decks, the dimensions of the cabin and the amenities are the same.  Although I would like to be upgraded, from experience we spend little time in the cabin so it isn't a deal breaker for us if we are upgraded or not.  Just wish Uniworld would acknowledge the fact that we are loyal customers, this being our 8th trip with them!

We are booked on Uniworld's Tulip and Windmills cruise next week (April 1).  I just checked their website and right now there are 28 cabins available.  Any chance of a complimentary upgrade?  This will be our 8th river cruise with Uniworld.  Our travel advisor suggested that we ask for an upgrade once we're on the ship. Has anyone had any luck with that? In years past, Uniworld would upgrade to the next category if you were a repeat customer and a cabin was available for upgrade.

Thanks for your review!  We will be on Tauck's Venice and the Dalmatian Coast trip aboard Ponant's ship Le Jacques Cartier in August.  It will be our first trip with both Tauck and Ponant, so it was good to read such a positive experience.

Thank you all for your suggestions! We are really looking forward to this trip!

Thanks for the response!  Good to know that the ship docks so close to the old town.  My husband and I always try to stay awake and outdoors on the day we arrive, and even though a bit jet lagged, we find that we adjust to the time change much better if we just opt for an early bedtime shortly after dinner!

We will be on Uniworld's Tulip and Windmills cruise April 1-10, and arrive in Brussels early Saturday morning.  If all goes well we should be in Antwerp and on the ship mid morning, so we'll have plenty of time to do some exploring on our own.  Any suggestions for places to go within walking distance from the port?

Thanks!

We'll be going on Le Jacques Cartier Venice and Croatia in August.  We booked with Tauck, but this will be our first time on a Ponant ship.  Are we still eligible for the first time discount?

Also, we'll be flying to Venice a day early and are looking for suggestions for non-touristy restaurants.  Any suggestions?

I disagree with CruisingAlong4Now.  To me, the bus rides provide some scenic views from Milan to Venice.  Uniworld makes a stop at Verona, which for the most part is very touristy, but they also stop at a wonderful vineyard for a delicious multicourse lunch with plentiful and splendid wine.  Tour of the estate was also enjoyable. I definitely did not see it as a waste of a day, but to each his own.

Hi Bob, We took this trip in 2014 and enjoyed it so much that we booked the same trip (with the addition of Milan) in 2016!  It is not a typical river cruise, since most of the cruise is spent in the Venice lagoon, but we loved being able to explore much of Venice and the surrounding islands.  I think the itinerary has changed somewhat, with great additions.  We especially enjoyed the after hours visit of St. Marks, Chioggia, Bologna, Burano and Torcello.  We love Uniworld's product and have booked our 8th river cruise with them next spring!

Also, glad you confirmed what Don told us about the laundry, since we will be traveling for 6 days before the cruise!

A question:  Did people change out of their day clothes for evening/dinner? I'm not packing anything fancy, but I thought I'd want to change out of jeans for dinner.

Was the top deck restaurant/bar ever opened during your cruise?

15 hours ago, Missouri travel girl said:

Just back yesterday and sadly no Olga😔. Loved the staff, expeditions were great and the teams.  First time kayaking on the ocean was awesome!  Being in the zodiac that close to a glacier, seeing the stellar sea lions, orcas and humpbacks! Had a great humpback group bubble feeding on our last night and they slowed and circled for a while so everyone could see them.  We used the frog togs they have onboard for zodiac and kayaking. I actually bought a pair of extra tuff boots in Ketchikan and I love them, plus I will use them here in Missouri.  If you already own water proof pants or jackets I’m sure they will work better, but I just wore theirs over my jeans and over my parka and I was never cold or wet. We had rain, so the waterfalls were running full force and so beautiful.  
Don told us about the one bag of laundry and it is a big bag free of charge one time during the cruise. They say in the “brochure” they have irons and ironing boards on board to use, they were shocked when I asked. Not the crews fault, lack of communication from AQV. But they have pressing service and it worked great!  If all of your electronic devices are fairly new you should be fine. I know for sure there were several fried curling irons. I asked before using mine and they told me it would not work. My cpap machine and phone charger worked just fine.  I’ll be very happy to answer any questions. I was concerned about a few things and Don and Navy Veteran were great. You will love it.

Thank you for your comments! We'll be on the ship next Saturday after a few days on the Rocky Mountaineer. So glad to hear that you had a wonderful time. 

Thanks! Finally received all travel docs electronically yesterday. Also, was told that luggage tags would be available at the pre-cruise hotel. Leaving Sunday for what we hope will be a wonderful adventure!

We leave for our pre-cruise trip on Sunday and still haven't received travel docs from AQ.  We were told we would get them electronically. We did get an email with a printable copy of the AQ luggage tag, which we were instructed to print out and somehow attach to our luggage.  We're spending thousands of dollars for this trip, and the company couldn't sent luggage tags?!? I sure hope the experience on the boat far exceeds the pre-trip woes!

Me Too! Coeur de Leon necklace and earrings were a great way to use the credit!  Lovely way to have  a reminder of our cruise!

53 minutes ago, JAT0303 said:

I found it on the website at the bottom under Travel Guides.  Here is the link https://www.aqvoyages.com/travel-guide/

Thank you so much! 

Several years ago we were booked on a Uniworld cruise on the Rhine and Moselle.  Two weeks before the cruise, the ship had engine problems and the trip was cancelled.  Uniworld offered us several alternative options, and were very accommodating in working with us to salvage our vacation plans.  We ended up taking a much longer (and more expensive) cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam around the same dates that we had originally planned, at no extra cost to us.  We have always had a great experience dealing with Uniworld.  Sorry that the company hasn't offered you acceptable alternatives to your cancelled trip.  In our experience our one (and only) trip with Viking did not compare with the cruises we've taken with Uniworld. 

12 hours ago, JAT0303 said:

We'll be taking the Ocean Victory at the end of August and I'm trying to do some planning on what to take.  I've seen the list from the cruise company but have some questions for those of you who have taken this trip.

 

I saw the discussion about the rubber boots and no need to take them as they have some on board.  My question is when are they used?  Is it for wet landings?  If that's the case, I am leaning towards taking my water shoes and changing them when on shore.  We're from Washington State so used to cold 🙂.

 

I know it may be in the 50's or 60's while we're there but am hesitant to pack all of the winter clothing suggested.  

 

I'd appreciate any input from those lucky enough to have taken this trip already!  Thank you.

We'll be on the trip in two weeks.  I haven't seen a packing list.  Would you share how/where you found it?  Thanks.

When we were on the American Queen in March, the staff provided a good presentation of what to expect on the Ocean Voyager Alaskan trip.  Needless to say, more than half of the people who attended the presentation left early.  I'm assuming that they realized that the trip might not be for them.  (There were many onboard with mobility issues and I'm sure an expedition cruise might not be an experience they could fully enjoy).

I'm sorry to learn of the covid outbreaks on your cruises.  We will definitely be masked going through the airports!

Thank you all for your trip reports.  Is there anything you wish you had brought along or left behind on this trip?  I'm glad they have boots onboard for our use.  That will give me a little more space in my suitcase!  Did you find a need for gloves, hats or a parka type coat? 

8 hours ago, BJHeard549 said:

We start our Sitka to Vancouver tomorrow, June 27!!!  Of course we don’t board the ship until the afternoon of the 28th, but we are really excited for this trip.  All we need now is for Delta Airlines to NOT cancel our flights!!!  🤞🤞🤞🤞

Hope your flights are on time!  Have a great trip, and please post your review when you return!

4 hours ago, adstz said:

Does anyone know what hotel is the host hotel for the Ocean Victory cruises starting in Vancouver? We get in late in the afternoon (3:15 arrival at airport) and I need to research how to get to the hotel the quickest. I'm presuming we need to do a COVID test that afternoon at the hotel so trying to get there asap.

Thanks.

(Sailing on the August 20 Vancouver to Sitka)

It's the Hyatt Regency, according to the info I received. 

11 hours ago, NMCruiser55 said:

Just got back from our Ocean Victory cruise. Once on the ship had a great time. We only received one water bottle after asking. Food was fine, but I'm not too fussy. DH didn't find out you could ask for a hamburger at lunch until late in the cruise. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.

 

Doing the zodiacs was the best. We got close the glaciers and saw lots of animals. One group saw a bear. They also have kayaks, but we decided we aren't very good kayakers. lol

We only did the pre-cruise tour in Sitka and saw bears at Fortress of the Bears (a sanctuary). It was still too early for bear excursions to see wild bears. Some people went on a fishing excursion and caught some salmon. Everyone that took the jet boats really enjoyed them.

 

Now for the not so nice.

Sitka taxi situation sucks. There were ten of us at the airport looking for a ride. One person was trying to call the taxi service but couldn't get an answer. Someone saw an idle hotel van. He talked to the driver and he agreed to take us to his hotel which was across the street from ours.

The ship is docked away from town and not where the other cruise ships dock for their port stops. Not a big deal as they have shuttles. The big deal was a mis-communication as to what was required to embark. (Hint: not just the covid test results.) We had our paper ticket but some had packed theirs in their suitcase. If that wasn't enough, bags were manual searched and every one was wanded. Needless to say we left a bit late. 😕 

Disembarkation turned into another fiasco. We were almost at the dock when we went back out into the harbor. After 2 hours we had 2 tugboats push us to the dock. Once we actually left we didn't have too much problem. The port terminal was a madhouse. Once we pushed through that we made it to the train and zipped to the airport and  through their lines. 

Glad you had a great time once you were on the ship. I would have thought that AQ voyages would have explained what was necessary for embarkation (tickets, tests, etc.) in the documents they provide before the trip. That might have avoided some confusion. 

We experienced the same kind of fiasco on our Mississippi trip on the American Queen this past March. Both embarkation and disembarkation were totally disorganized and frankly very frustrating.

With so few passengers on the Ocean Victory, I would've expected a smoother operation.

On 5/25/2022 at 12:56 PM, NMCruiser55 said:

Thank you for your review. I'm disappointed to hear the captain didn't go to the glaciers. I expected they may have supply chain issues being new to the region. We will be doing this cruise June 7, will see if more kinks have been ironed out.  😉

Hoping to hear that the kinks have been worked out for your voyage.  Any insight or review of your trip would be most welcomed for those of us who are booked later this summer. Hope you are having a wonderful adventure!

10 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

COVID tests are not required for domestic flights from Sitka to other locations in the United States. They are required for international flights from Vancouver to the United States. AQV has told me they will test us on the ship. I hope they get the act together before my cruise in late June.

Wow, I guess I'd better lower my expectations about our upcoming trip.  I was so hoping that considering the cost of the cruise on Ocean Victory the experience would be on a par with other expedition cruises that we've taken.

I hope you will have a better voyage than what's been reported in previous reviews.  Please share your experience when you return.