Uniworld: Venice and Po River Cruise

[TallBoy]

We plan our 7th Uniworld cruise in 2014. We would like the 8-day Venice and River Po cruise. Any information about time of year would be helpful. Which is better, April/May or September?

[fred111]

We are booked on the Sept 29, 2013 Po River cruise. We have been to Italy several times and always go in the spring and the fall. We steer clear during the summer -- too many tourists.

 

To us it is a toss up. Hotels will be less expensive in Apr/May since it is considered high season through most of September.

 

Take your pick. You can't go wrong with either.

[Talisker92]

From what I have read, the Po river has none of the charm that the French or German rivers do. The river is very marshy, and all the towns are a long bus ride away. They are not right at the river's edge as towns on the Rhine or Danube are.

[Condocat]

We were in No. Italy and Venice this past May.

 

Maybe it was an unual Spring, but we had rain almost everyday the first 10 days and it was very cool.

[parkie]

We were in No. Italy and Venice this past May.

 

Maybe it was an unual Spring, but we had rain almost everyday the first 10 days and it was very cool.

 

You know what "they" say: you pay your money and you take your chances; we were in Venice at the end of April through the first few days of May in 2012 and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. We were there several years ago in the spring and got soaked almost every day. Sometimes you win and then there are the other times!

 

Will be interested in how folks like the particular cruise; we are interested but since it is a new offering, we want to wait a bit to see what other travelers think. Hope that it is a grand success, as we have been to Italy many times (& go again next week) and are really interested in feedback on this offering from Uniworld.

[steamboats]

There are only a few stops on this itinerary and there´s nearly nothing to see at those stops. But instead you are bussed to other cities which are at least 1 to 2 hours away (one way by bus). So the main advantage of this trip is Venice and that you do have a floating hotel where you don´t have to pack and unpack (as you would have on a bus trip).

 

Currently there are only two ships going on the Po river, the Bellissima by Nicko Tours (German) and the Michelangelo by CroisiEurope. Both boats were blocked out by the Italian authorities for months last year as they did not allow them to travel over open water. By the end of the season they were able to resume the cruises but had to bus the passengers for the open water part. Passengers reboarded the boat after a shore excursion when the boat has reached the Po river part of the cruise.

 

The Po river hasn´t been nagivated for years due to a lack of water. It´s better now but still not perfect.

 

steamboats