Uniworld Optional Tour Costs

[Mylisa]

We are on the River Beatrice "Enchanting Danube" at the end of the month and I can't find anywhere in our documents how much they charge for the optional tours.

 

We were looking at the Budapest Optional Tour: Jewish Budapest.

 

Does anyone know what the charge is and is this tour a good one or should we do this on our own since we will be arriving a day early in Budapest.

 

I was also interested in some optional tour that some people have talked about on this board which involves riding bikes. Does anyone have any info on this tour? It's not in the brochure.

 

Any other comments on the optional tours and their costs would be appreciated.

 

As always thanks in advance for your help.

[Wineart]

We are on this same cruise but in July. I spoke with Uniworld last week, and was told they don't publish their tour prices because they're subject to change (currency fluctuations, etc.), and that there aren't a lot of optional tours on this trip. I was told that the evening Vienna concert will be approximately $81pp, Schonbrunn Palace will be approximately $64pp and is at the same time as the concert, and Szentendre will be approximately $58pp. They didn't mention the excursion you're interested in, but hope the other info helps!

[sands28]

We were on Uniworld's Normandy and Paris river cruise and found the optional excusions EXTREMELY expensive. We did not take any of them. We are going on AMA Danube cruise in Oct. We got the prices from AMA and also found them extremely expensive. I went on-line and have lined up potential independent tours in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest that are in-line with our intesests, at greatly reduced cost. We will book them a month or so before we leave for the cruise. Just Google for tours of each city you are interested in.

[Mylisa]

We were on Uniworld's Normandy and Paris river cruise and found the optional excusions EXTREMELY expensive. We did not take any of them. We are going on AMA Danube cruise in Oct. We got the prices from AMA and also found them extremely expensive. I went on-line and have lined up potential independent tours in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest that are in-line with our intesests, at greatly reduced cost. We will book them a month or so before we leave for the cruise. Just Google for tours of each city you are interested in.

 

 

Who will you be booking with in Budapest and Prague? I usually book our own tours as well.

 

Thanks for the info.

[sands28]

Here are a few places where you can start. I could find no tours of Jewish Vienna!! I hope this helps

 

Prague: office@wittmann-tours.com, reservations2@pragueexperience.com

Budapest: visit@greatsynagogue.hu

[Mylisa]

Here are a few places where you can start. I could find no tours of Jewish Vienna!! I hope this helps

 

Prague: office@wittmann-tours.com, reservations2@pragueexperience.com

Budapest: visit@greatsynagogue.hu

 

These are email address do you have the websites?

[DiamondDiva]

We are on the Beatrice on May 29, but with a pre-cruise extension in Prague. We are using the services of Sarka' s tour company, listed in both Rick Steves and Frommers. Her website is http://www.prague-guide.info/

[Mylisa]

We are on the Beatrice on May 29, but with a pre-cruise extension in Prague. We are using the services of Sarka' s tour company, listed in both Rick Steves and Frommers. Her website is http://www.prague-guide.info/

 

So how exactly did you book her. We are doing exactly the same thing you are with the extension but only the week before you. Did you book her for an afternoon in Prague and if so which day and what times?

[sands28]

I copied these from responses to my emails. I found the best thing to do is email them, give them the dates of your visit and the time you will be available for tours, and have them make recommendations. You can also just Google the key parts of their names:

 

Vienna wittmann-tours, Prague: pragueexperience.

 

Budapest: greats synagogue

[Kellie Poodle]

We are on the River Beatrice "Enchanting Danube" at the end of the month and I can't find anywhere in our documents how much they charge for the optional tours.

 

We were looking at the Budapest Optional Tour: Jewish Budapest.

 

Does anyone know what the charge is and is this tour a good one or should we do this on our own since we will be arriving a day early in Budapest.

 

I was also interested in some optional tour that some people have talked about on this board which involves riding bikes. Does anyone have any info on this tour? It's not in the brochure.

 

Any other comments on the optional tours and their costs would be appreciated.

 

As always thanks in advance for your help.

 

Might I make a suggestion?

 

We were in Budapest before our Uniworld Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in 2008. We took the Metro from the hotel and walked a few short blocks to the Doheny St. Synagogue. At the Synagogue sign up for the entire package - the tour and the museum - It is pretty much all you'll need to learn of Jewish history in Budapest. It is a most excellent tour and a very moving experience.

 

If Uniworld is giving a bus tour the next day, make sure you look for the monument of the shoes near the river as you pass the parliament building. Our Uniworld guide barely touched on it, but we had learned the entire horrific story from our guide at the synagogue. Sit on the right side of the bus.

 

We found that the Germans were very conscious of the Holocaust and appeared to have a national shame about it. The Hungarians, who by the way killed more Jews in Budapest than the ****'s did, brush over it.

 

I don't know want time of the year you are going, so you might want to find out about purchasing tickets for the tour in advance. We were there in October on a Sunday and it wasn't crowded.

 

Have a wonderful trip.

[DiamondDiva]

Mylisa,

 

We booked her by email after reading thru her extensive website. Responses have been prompt and we have not had any problems. We are doing a 2 hour tour of the Prague Jewish Quarter one of the days and a full day trip to Cesky Krumlov another day. There are 4 of us and the short tour is paid by the hour. One of our people is particularly interested in the Jewish Quarter and we wanted to be certain he got to see and hear all the things he wanted, since none of us speaks Czech. Check out the website and then contact her by email if you wish.

[franski]

Hi there - The Shoes on the Danube is easily walkable from the Chain Bridge. Depending on where your hotel is, you might be able to walk there on your own and/or do the Synagogue as well (as per the post by Kellie Poodle...).

 

We also did the House of Terror in Budapest. Quite easy to get to (walkable from the Danube) and well worth the time - even if you don't speak Hungarian.

[o.t.r.]

Go to the trafalgar tours website and click on message board. Scroll down to 'tour tales', then hit 'where are all the tour tales' An alphabetacal list will pop up. There is a fantastic tale written called, "Danube, Enchanting River Cruise" which is the same one you are talking about. :) It describes each port, optionals, costs, food, everything you could hope to find. It was posted in Aug. 2009. IN looking at the Uniworld book, i dont see many if any, changes. I am also considering this tour next year. Hope it helps.

[Kellie Poodle]

Here are a few places where you can start. I could find no tours of Jewish Vienna!! I hope this helps

 

Prague: office@wittmann-tours.com, reservations2@pragueexperience.com

 

Budapest: visit@greatsynagogue.hu

 

There is a very nice Jewish museum in Vienna. Our Uniworld hostess told us how to find it during the unescorted portion of our time there.

[Margate Cruiser]

From Chalon-Sur-Salone to Arles. The tours were over the top. The extra tours that you pay for in my opinion were fair priced. 45 to 60 euros. The tour guides were perfect they spoke very good English. They we all 4 hr. tours OR more. If you have any interest in those tours they offer I would suggest to take them. You won't be sorry.

[Maggie Mae]

We are on the Beatrice on May 29, but with a pre-cruise extension in Prague. We are using the services of Sarka' s tour company, listed in both Rick Steves and Frommers. Her website is http://www.prague-guide.info/

 

We used this company last summer for tours during our pre-stay in Prague before AMA Danube cruise. I can't say enough positive things about them. Jana, our guide, was OUTSTANDING! She arranged everything for us, walking tours, country tours, even our transportation with Michael to Nuremberg. Already contacted her for a future visit to Prague in 2011!

[ocngypz]

We are on this same cruise but in July. I spoke with Uniworld last week, and was told they don't publish their tour prices because they're subject to change (currency fluctuations, etc.), and that there aren't a lot of optional tours on this trip. I was told that the evening Vienna concert will be approximately $81pp, Schonbrunn Palace will be approximately $64pp and is at the same time as the concert, and Szentendre will be approximately $58pp. They didn't mention the excursion you're interested in, but hope the other info helps!

 

 

We paid 49€ for the Vienna concert last week. If you wanted to see the Riding School horses' exercises it was 12€. Those are the only optionals we took.

[DiamondDiva]

Yeah! Glad to hear that Jana is so great, as she is our guide for both our arrangements in Prague in 2 1/2 weeks. I will print out your comments and carry them to her.

[Maggie Mae]

Diamond Diva - You won't be disappointed, please say hello. We were a group of 10 from Connecticut and she took great care of us. We stayed at the Hotel Savic, which I would also recommend.

Have a great trip and tell Jana we will see her again in Nov. 2011 before our Christmas Market Cruise.

[mini moe]

This has probably been asked a dozen times but I can't find it. Can you pay for the optionals and other additionals costs on Uniworld with your credit card? Do they run a tab and you pay at the end?

[Mylisa]

This has probably been asked a dozen times but I can't find it. Can you pay for the optionals and other additionals costs on Uniworld with your credit card? Do they run a tab and you pay at the end?

 

They run a tab and you pay at the end. You can not use a credit card while onboard. All charges are put on your tab such as a drink at the bar and then you get a bill at the end of the cruise which you can then pay cash or charge to your credit card. They just ask for your room number and your charged for the drink or whatever. You don't have to give them a room key or sign anything. It was a pleasure.

[mini moe]

Thanks very much Mylisa....only 7 days until I leave for my trip and these types of message boards are so helpful. It is amazing that a lot of people just arrive without doing anything but talk with their travel agent. I wonder how many surprises they encounter :)

[Mylisa]

Thanks very much Mylisa....only 7 days until I leave for my trip and these types of message boards are so helpful. It is amazing that a lot of people just arrive without doing anything but talk with their travel agent. I wonder how many surprises they encounter :)

 

I always do research before a trip. I think it saves a lot of time when you know the lay of the land as it were. And this board and it's participants offer a wealth of information that I always find so helpful. That's why I try to give back to the board so that I can help someone else.

 

Your going to have a wonderful time! Uniworld and the River Beatrice was the perfect choice for us. Oh and if you find that the shuffle board is missing one of the pucks we confess. When our kids (21 - 31 years old) were playing one of the numerous games on the top deck one of the pucks flew up and over the railing into one of the locks. (we did inform the crew by the way) LOL Hope they've replaced it. Really the game was a lot of fun. Oh and don't forget to check out the captains lounge in the back of the ship. It's a great place to play cards and they have 2 computers there and all sorts of board games.

[Chgo Sales Gal]

What cruise are you on? We leave the 11th from Passau to Budapest.

[boards]

They must have a supply of those pucks, because it happened on our cruise too last year. We agree with your assessment of Uniworld and the River Beatrice, it was perfect for us too.