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Uniworld Mekong river February 13


Gardendog
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This is our first river cruise after many years of ocean cruising. We chose Uniworld for our South East Asia adventure based on previous CC reviews and recommendations from friends.

 

We left snowy Chicago on EVA air. We had premium economy seats and had a very comfortable flight to Taipei, where we boarded our flight to Hanoi.

We had applied for multiple entry visas via the San Francisco consulate and had them stapled in our passports so entry into Vietnam was a breeze.

 

We arrived a few days before the tour with Uniworld started so we did not qualify for their pick up. Instead we had scheduled a private driver to pick us up and that worked very well, the driver had our name on a sign.

 

We are staying at the Intercontinental West Lake and we upgraded to the club level for the days before the tour. Lovely room and the club lounge was great and the people there very helpful. We felt spoiled. Bathroom has all amenities that you would expect from a nice hotel including a make up mirror.

 

The first day being Sunday we walked around the neighborhood trying to avoid the ever present motorcycles. We were tired and went to bed early.

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We had booked a Sea plane tour with Hai Au to Ha Long Bay which included private driver pick up at the hotel, flight to Ha Long Bay, cruise in the bay with lunch, plane ride back to Hanoi and private drive back to the hotel.

 

On Monday morning the driver was there to pick up up on time and we got to the airport with time to spare. Unfortunately the flight could not take off due to bad weather so they sent us back to the hotel with a driver. We knew that this could happen so we were disappointed but not surprised.

 

We received much help from the concierge at the hotel and with our guide book in our hand, we took a taxi to the Ho Chi Min mausoleum. From there we walked all over, up and down the streets in th Old Quarter, trying to find the streets and follow the walk in Lonely Planet. What an adventure that was! Cars, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians crowded the streets and sidewalks. Lunch at the La Place overlooking a Catholic Church in the old Quarter, very delicious.

 

We ended the walk when we got to the local market and asked a shop vendor to call for a taxi for us.

 

Taxis are very inexpensive, between $5 to $7 for a trip from our hotel to the old quarter.

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Tuesday found us still in Hanoi, now knowing what to expect we took off in a taxi, this time to the French quarter. We decided to go to the Temple of Literature even though we thought that the Uniworld would take us there. Very fun and interesting, we paid for the audio guide.

We also went to the infamous Hanoi Hilton, and got to spend as much time as we wanted. We ended the day with a taxi ride to the Museum of Ethnology which was a treat for us.

 

Uniworld tour started this evening, with a welcome packet, no meeting or anything.

 

We walked to a local restaurant for dinner as many places were closed due to Tet.

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First real day with Uniworld. We are 49 in the group and have three groups, each group has their own guide and huge coach bus, our group is the smallest with only 14.

 

We did the sightseeing city tour and they put us on an electric tram to go through the Old quarter. The visits to the Temple of Literature and Hanoi Hilton were brief so we were happy to have done them already. Lunch was provided and then an optional excursion to the Water puppet show. Uniworld charged $15 for the tickets and most of us went. I had the old 2017 guide so I thiught that this excursion was included, but not for this year.

 

Included was also a dinner, people were dressed very casually. There was a live music show during dinner. Spectacular.

 

Because of Tet we found out that most things would be closed on Thursday so we just hung around the hotel until it was time to board the buses for the airport on Thursday.

Uniworld did a good job getting us through check in, customs and baggage handling. All first class. I feel that this day was wasted since all we did was wait for the flight to Siem Reap.

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Gardendog, thanks for taking time from your adventure to post updates for us! Quite a pick for your first river cruise. But if Uniworld is as good as our past experiences with them, you'll surely continue to have a great time.

 

I hope you'll post some pictures when you get home. Would love to see some visuals of this journey. In the meantime, keep having a great time.

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Jpalbny,

I’ll try to post pictures when I get back.

CC has helped me so much over the years and I found very little recent information about Uniworld on the Mekong.

Uniworld uses Sofitel in Siem Reap, which is a nice property with a gorgeous pool. Dinner was on our own and we ventured out via tuk-tuk to the restaurant where we had made a reservation online prior to leaving. On the way from the airport, the guide gave us good information about Cambodia and how to pay for tuk-tuks.

 

On Friday morning we all got to go to Angkor Wat. Our guide, “Peter” was absolutely outstanding. Uniworld uses the Vox system so he talks normally into a microphone and we listen with our units and ear pieces. Uniworld provides cold water all the time, and wet wipes and hand sanitizers. We are broken into small “families” and it works really well. We seem to already look out for each other. Uniworld does not give out name tags, I am happy with that.

 

We had an excellent lunch provided at a local restaurant. People with special food restrictions are catered to. Later after a rest at the hotel we were driven by tuk tuks to a dance school and local artisan school where the students learn traditional dance and wood and stone carving. No dinner provided tonight, but we were all still satisfied after such a great lunch.

 

Today was a great day with just enough activities. Some have not been full enough for me but today was.

 

Since this is a tour and cruise I think I will also give a few thoughts about Sofitel. The provided breakfast is outstanding. Our room is a bit strange, I think they pushed two twin beds together because I don’t have a night stand. The bathroom is small, probably getting us ready for the ship, LOL. We can call for more water anytime. I don’t think there are enough towels. All first world problems, I know.

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Interesting to see how this trip has changed over the years (we took it in Dec 2015). Our water puppet show was included (kind of sad that they'd add on a $15 charge for such an easy-to-do cultural experience) and we stayed at a different hotel in Siem Reap. I believe you're on a new ship as well, so I look forward to your report!

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Ewizabeff, I have read your posts and blog about this trip. This surcharge for the water puppet must be new, because in the 2017 guide it was included, and that’s the only one I had. What I did not post earlier, and what was annoying to me, was that the price for the water puppet theatre was posted at the box office as you entered, 100 000 dong, which is less than $5.:(

Also, when you went and again in the 2017 guide, there was an optional excursion on the departure morning. There was nothing for us, just “free” time. Since it was Tet, nothing was open, but I can’t blame Uniworld for that.

 

That was not the greatest start with Uniworld for me.

 

They offered 4 optional excursions; sunrise over the temples, with a gondola ride on the moat; cooking class in Saigon and a special show in Saigon. We signed up for the sunrise, $77 pp. I don’t want to learn to cook on vacation, and we checked out the show in Saigon online, might make our own reservation. Uniworld wanted $60 pp for the show.

None of these excursions appear in the 2018 guide that I downloaded.

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I just read the Uniworld updates for 2019, and it looks like they're making drastic changes to this itinerary - making the entire Hanoi portion optional (along with Ha Long Bay). Maybe that's why they have been making those minor changes to the Hanoi part of the itinerary - they're nixing it all together.

 

It's a shame, as we really enjoyed our time in Hanoi in Ha Long Bay, and I can't imagine it being optional.

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Gardendog

 

We returned from Uniworld's Timeless Wonders of Vietnam and Cambodia on Jan 27. We did the trip in the opposite direction so that may be the reason for some differences in our adventure. I hope you don't mind that I add my comments on our trip to coincide with yours.

 

I totally agree with you that there were changes from the printed itinerary and I think some of your issues may have been because of traveling during TET.

 

There were 45 on our cruise. We were divided into 2 groups. Enjoyed the Intercontinental in West Lake, but our flight from Siem Reap to Hanoi was 5:30 pm, delayed until 7:30 and we finally got to the hotel at 11:00 pm. Why did they book us with such a late flight? I had planned to go to dinner in Hanoi that night but no way. The next night was the Farewell Dinner, so no going on your own. We did all the things you did on your full day in Hanoi including the Water Puppet Show. BUT, WE DID NOT HAVE TO PAY EXTRA! That is so strange! The next day was fly home or go to Ha Long Bay. We were flying out late so there were 6 of us who paid for the tour to the Ceramic Village. It was very interesting but no one else had the opportunity to do it. I thought Hanoi got cheated on the trip and would have liked another day there.

 

Interesting that they are going to do it as an add on in 2019. Maybe that way you can get to see more than we did.

 

Loved Seim Reap and the Sofitel was gorgeous. Our room was not strange, and had the biggest king size bed I have ever seen!

 

They told us that TET would be an issue because so much would closed. That is why we chose to go earlier.

 

You made a wise decision not to do the cooking class! It was by far the worst excursion, paid or included, that we ever took on any cruise line! It was outdoors in the Cambodian heat., although in a covered building. They had fans, but when you use alcohol burners, you have to turn the fans off because the burners don't work properly. The knives were dull and the teachers did not use proper hand washing when working with raw chicken. By time to eat the food we had cooked, we did not want to eat it! We complained to Uniworld and said that this was not a Uniworld worthy excursion. This was our 3rd Uniworld cruise, an even though we were in a 3rd world country, it was unacceptable!

 

I look forward to your future posts and I hope I am not intruding too much on your thread!

 

I will say, that we still found this trip to be an awesome adventure despite a few issues!

 

And ewizabeff, we used so much of your advice! Went to Cha Ca Trang Long for the Fish dish on our last day in Hanoi before going to the airport. Went to Marum for lunch in Siem Reap twice because we liked it so much. And we loved Hoa Tuc in Saigon so much that we went one day and the next day took our friends. Thanks so much!

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whatnot - I'm so glad the restaurants treated you well!

 

Sounds like maybe they changed the cooking class excursion as well. Ours was in Phnom Penh, inside a restaurant, and all the utensils were great. I wonder what's going on on the ground own there....especially with the puppet show inconsistency.

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Whatnot, the cooking class is in Saigon on our trip.

 

Second day in Siem Reap was the sunrise over the temples optional excursion. We left the hotel at 5 am and got to our spot in the dark. It was all very exciting with flash lights and all, walking up this hill. Our guide picked it since it would not be crowded. We saw the sunrise through a bit of haze. Then a gondola ride on the moat around Angkor Wat. Our whole group of 14 signed up for this excursion. I highly recommend.

 

Then the others joined us and we went to Banyon temple and Angkor Thom. Everyone loved the Banyon temple but of course the half over grown Angkor Thom is awesome as well. Dinner was included with a Apsara dance show and the food was great.

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We had a slow morning the day we left Siem Reap. We took a coach and it included a stop at a lovely restaurant besides the road. We got to the ship, the lovely Mekong Navigator around 5 pm. The luggage had been shipped on a truck before our buses took off so they waited for us in our cabins. It was a treacherous walk to the gangway since the water levels are low.

 

The ship is fabulous and the service excellent. The crew learned our names right away and our special requests and they are catered to.

 

I love cruising and feel so at home on a cruise ship. This is by far the smallest ship I’ve ever been on.

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This day had us visit a Buddhist temple in the morning with a water blessing. It was a hike up some steep steps but a bus was provided for the ones who did not want to walk. The shore excursion cater to the meal schedules so there is no need to purchase lunch off the ship.

 

We cruised along the Mekong and came to our next stop which was visiting a Cambodian village. We just walked right up, visiting with a woman and her family. We got to walk right into her house (up steps) and the guide showed us the running water and explained it all to us. Then it was English school time where we visited with the students. Some of us had purchased school supplies outside the temple in the morning and shared those with the students. Our guide did not encourage us to do that since he said that they get re-sold.

 

 

Dinner is served at 7 and there is absolutely no entertainment on the ship, no music to dance to, no shows so far, just visiting and drinking if that’s your thing. It’s a very quiet ship after dinner. All 49 of us seem to go to bed early.

 

 

The ship has a small work out area in the front, with one treadmill, two exercise bikes and one elliptical. It also has free weights. There is a stretch class at 6:15 every morning.

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Service on the ship is top notch, waiters call all by name, but then of course there is only 49 of us.

 

First day in Phnom Pen was spent taking a tuktuk to the royal palace and then to a museum with very old artifacts. In the afternoon the bus took us to the covered market. Fun to negotiate the price for the T-shirts we got. In the evening, some children came from a local orphanage to entertain with dance. Very nice! That was the only entertainment we have had so far on the ship.

 

We have a balcony cabin and despite being smaller than regular cruise ships, it’s big enough for us. Storage is not great compared to ocean liners, but it works. The bathroom is generous.

Twice a day cleaning of course of the state room.

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Second day in Phnom Pen was a somber one, visiting the killing fields and interrogation center. Absolutely awful but everyone in our small group went. All the guides had personal experiences from those dreaded days, losing parents, siblings and other relatives.

 

Back on the ship we slowly sailed into Vietnam. Customs were cleared the following morning.

 

We had purchased the multi entry visa from the San Francisco Vietnam consulate and it was all done online and took less than a week. We also got our Cambodian visas before we arrived, even though Uniworld offered to do that at the border. I will explain more later about the process and why we did it.

 

We had the afternoon empty and there is really nothing to do on the ship. Also the following morning was empty until a late afternoon excursion to a fish farm and a cyclo ride which was very fun.

 

The Mekong navigator anchors in the river and we take small local Sampan boats to the excursions.

 

The Navigator has a few public rooms, a library that is always empty, a covered outside bar and the lounge area with umbrellas outside.

 

There is a bar inside of course on the top deck and the dining room is on the second floor. When you go to dinner you just go where you want, no dining room staff to direct you to join an existing table, so unless you have traveling companions it can be a bit scary.

 

A small group gathered in the bar after dinner for some drinks and visiting, but that’s the extent of entertainment in the Navigator.

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Do you not have movies offered in the evenings?

Movies are only showed in the room on your TV.

 

We watched the Polpot one before visiting the killing fields.

 

Pace has picked up a bit, two excursions per day, one in the morning, back to the boat for lunch and out again for the afternoon. I like it, much more to my liking. I have talked to some of the guests who would prefer just one excursion a day. Uniworld excels in showing the way people live, we have visited so many small communities and individual homes. This is not something I can do on my own.

 

Last night we had a live band and dancing. The crew moved the furniture to create a dance floor in the lounge and it was a hopping party with most everyone dancing. Well done, Uniworld!

 

Tonight is the last night on the ship as we depart for Saigon tomorrow morning.

Now off to pack

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That's another change from the boat they used when I traveled. We had a movie room in the basement, which was also used for the Heritage Club reception and an educational lecture.

 

We had a similar setup on the Viking ship when we cruised the Mekong.

 

I'd have to say it was not popular with everyone, but it was a useful facility nonetheless.

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Enjoying your posts.

Keith

Thank you Keith1010.

Disembarkation was well organized with bags outside the door at 7. We left with our regular 3 buses at 8. Our local guide, Khanh has been absolutely outstanding. On the way to Saigon we stopped at the Reunification building, the palace also known as Saigon White house. It is now a museum and had most of the original furnishings including the telephones. Our guide led us through with a good pace. We also stopped at some sights in Saigon, the obligatory shopping stop at the lacquer factory and a quick walk through the market. All this before we checked into the wonderful Park Hyatt Saigon.

 

Our room was ready after a few minutes wait. Hotel room is lovely with a huge bathroom, separate shower and tub, a little “throne room” with a door.

 

More later as I am heading out to see Saigon.

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