River Queen 5/30/11 Rhine & Moselle

[J&DfromTheVillages]

Has anyone taken this river cruise through Uniworld? We are booked but have no experienced with river cruising. What do we need to know?

Judy and Dan from St. Louis:)

[Barrheadlass]

Hi,

My husband and I took that cruise 9/4-9/17 last month. It was our first river cruise, and we loved virtually every thing about it. Would have liked to stay longer at some of the ports (certainly not enough time in Amsterdam!) but really liked everything else. Food was good, staff was terrific, and we made some very nice friends that we hope to keep in touch with. If you have any particular questions, just ask! I can't think of anything to tell your in regard to your question "what do I need to know." I can't think of any surprises we had!

Janet

[Maggie Mae]

Hi,

My husband and I took that cruise 9/4-9/17 last month. It was our first river cruise, and we loved virtually every thing about it. Would have liked to stay longer at some of the ports (certainly not enough time in Amsterdam!) but really liked everything else. Food was good, staff was terrific, and we made some very nice friends that we hope to keep in touch with. If you have any particular questions, just ask! I can't think of anything to tell your in regard to your question "what do I need to know." I can't think of any surprises we had!

Janet

 

We will be on the River Queen for our Christmas Market tour - did you like the ship? Anything you can share would be helpful.. we have a few trips planned so we booked a cat. d, hope it wasn't a mistake.

[franski]

maggiemae - what day are you leaving?? We are on the River Queen on November 30th - in the lowest category cabin (I believe we have the laundry room next door....) so can post on the location when we get back.

[KarlS]

Has anyone taken this river cruise through Uniworld? We are booked but have no experienced with river cruising. What do we need to know?

Judy and Dan from St. Louis:)

 

Hi Judy and Dan,

 

We took this itinerary on River Queen in May 2008. If you look on our web site at http://www.hillrisefarm.us/Cruising.html and then click on the link next to River Queen near the bottom of that page, you can find some of our pictures, as well as links at the bottom of the pictures page to the daily programs and port handouts. There may be minor changes, but that should give you an idea of what to expect.

 

We've now cruised on Uniworld four times, and have another already booked for next spring. We find we really like the river cruise format for the itineraries, the pace of the cruise, the small ship experience, the more-personal service the smaller ship provides, an opportunity to meet new people (some of which have become great friends), and the opportunity to be right in the middle of the village/town/city most every day.

 

Physically and esthetically, River Queen is the most unique of the three Uniworld ships we've sailed.

 

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help. Cheers to you both!!

 

...Karl

[KarlS]

We will be on the River Queen for our Christmas Market tour - did you like the ship?

 

River Queen has an actual fireplace in the lounge, which wasn't a bonus when we sailed on her in April 2008 (when it was warm), but for the Christmas season it should be wonderful!

 

...Karl

[Barrheadlass]

We were one deck up from the bottom, very happy with the location. We heard a bit of grumbling from the folks in the top deck, as every person on the ship had to pass by every room 3 times a day on the way to meals.

Interesting mention of the fireplace in the lounge...we heard that they never use it due to open flame laws! We loved our cruise director Ann, Gabor the bartender, Mario, Stanislaus, etc. The scenery on this cruise is just wonderful. The farmers' markets in Colmar and Luxembourg were unbelievable. I'd sail with Uniworld any time.

[bcrcornet]

We're booked on this ship, this itinerary, for the Oct. 22 sailing. It will be our second Uniworld river cruise (Nov. 2006 on River Countess, Budapest - Amsterdam, "European Jewels").

 

We have a pretty good idea what to expect, although there are a few welcome changes and improvements since our first cruise - wine/beer with dinner, wireless earphones for tours, bicycles on board, etc. One question for those with recent experience on this ship and this itinerary - how does internet access work on board? I understand Uniworld charges €20 for internet access for the duration of the cruise. Is that the case? How well does it work?

 

If your cruise originated in Amsterdam, where did the River Queen dock? At the "usual" cruise ship docks between the Amsterdam Centraal train station and the Mövenpick Hotel?

[J&DfromTheVillages]

KarlS: Thanks so much for posting those wonderful pictures on your web site. But tell me, are the optional excersions that I read in the dailies included in the original cost of the cruise, or are they additional?

Thanks,

Judy and Dan from St. Louis:)

[cruisetrip4me2]

We were on this exact cruise Sept. 4-17 and had a wonderful time. It was our first rivercruise and we will definitely do another with Uniworld. The ship, staff, itinerary, food, etc. were all great. The local guides were very good but after awhile it gets to be "information overload" as you see so much in a short period of time.

Some complained about the lunch buffet line as being very disorganized with passengers going all directions. Not a big deal for us as we opted for the smaller buffet in the lounge area .... no crowds, no waiting.

I'm sure you'll enjoy you trip. Have fun.

[Maggie Mae]

maggiemae - what day are you leaving?? We are on the River Queen on November 30th - in the lowest category cabin (I believe we have the laundry room next door....) so can post on the location when we get back.

 

Franski

We are on the Nov. 30, but not until 2011. They did upgrade us to a Cat. D so we are no longer next to the laundry, but still the same level. You will have to let me know what you think of the cabin and the ports, although I believe the itineray is different for 2011. After reading all the positive Uniworld reviews it is going to be a long wait! Not sure of your itinerary, but are you starting in, or going on to Prague? We planned our own pre tour of Prague before our last river cruise and it was the highlight - we will be going back at the end of the 2011 cruise.

[franski]

maggiemae - we are going from Cologne to Basel - I think you are correct when you say that the itinerary is changed. I seem to remember that Uniworld is putting a new boat on the Rhine next year.

 

We were in Prague last year - at the end of our cruise with AMA. Loved the city, and would like to go back.

 

I will definitely post when I return. This will be our 2nd cruise with Uniworld - and I am so excited about going... Just 7 weeks from tomorrow!!!