Back from Uniworld Queen Isabel-Douro

[twoboys]

I plan on writing a full review. But here is the summary. Full disclosure, we chose Uniworld because Cruise Critic said it was the "Seabourn of River Cruises" . We went on one Seabourn cruise and it was THE BEST

 

1- Douro is lovely and the scenery is breathtaking

2- Queen Isabel is nice but room and bathroom very tiny (we had a Jr suite)

3- I am 48 and I was BY FAR one of the youngest (excluding a couple of young adults with parents)

4- tours were geared toward older crowd - not enough walking

5- crowd was sophisticated and well traveled but I felt like I was traveling with my mom's friends

6-food was okay, not great..nowhere close to Seabourn. But it was nice not to get dressed up

7-dining room, lounge and kitchen seemed short staffed and a little chaotic

8- service was fine, but once again were spoiled by our Seabourn experience

9- the "gym" was a joke

10 -on the plus side we didnt have to fight for chairs in the sun, the people we met were nice, we saw lovely little towns and had great guides and we loved Portugal

 

It was a nice experience. But for a luxury, small ship experience, I think I prefer Seabourn which has large bathrooms, a very well trained staff, a great gym (We were on the Quest) and fantastic food

[yourSLCwoman]

Thank you for posting your observations. My husband and I have also cruised with Seabourn and have been considering a river cruise. We will probably still eventually take a river cruise in order to visit places an ocean cruise cannot take us, but we will know not to expect a "Seabourn experience."

[laverendrye]

I'm glad you enjoyed your Douro cruise and do look forward to reading your detailed review.

 

I do think you were a bit unfair to Uniworld by remarking that it was not the Seabourn experience. First, Cruise Critic wrote that it was the "Seabourn of River Cruises", by which I would imply that Uniworld compares to other river cruise lines as Seabourn compares to other ocean lines, not that the accommodations, food, service and such are at the very high level that Seabourn offers. Second, the size of river boats obviously does not allow for the roomy cabins, bathrooms and other facilities (such as a gym) that even a small ocean liner such as the Seabourn ships can offer. On the Douro, the river boats are even more limited by the size of the locks.

 

I cruised last year with Uniworld on the Douro on the Douro Spirit (which is now the Viking Douro) and enjoyed the cruise very much. However I will say that my cruise with Uniworld this spring on the Danube was even better. This may be because the Queen Isabel is owned and operated by Douro Azul (as are nearly all the cruise ships on the Douro) while on the Danube Uniworld operates its own ships.

 

So I wouldn't want to compare Uniworld and Seabourn--river and ocean cruising are quite different, as I am sure you know. Now it will be interesting to see how the new Viking ocean cruise ship, Viking Star, compares when it begins service in 2015. Somehow I doubt that it will measure up to Seabourn.

[twoboys]

I was just going to try and write my review but the Queen Isabel is not listed as one of ships to review. So I will wait until Cruisecritic adds it.

 

I understand that ocean cruising and river cruising are different. But with Seabourn we did have a small ship experience that docked right in ports. But it was also obviously a larger ship and so there was more room for the gym and bigger bathrooms. I have heard that the Danube is better in terms of service and food. So I am not ruling it out. I was very lucky to get to experience Seabourn.

 

This was a great experience overall. But I think I might wait a few years to do another unless we can get more people our own age to join us

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ..

[didicruiser]

I came back last year from a river cruise in Russia. I am 53 and I was also the youngest on board by a least 15 years. I loved talking with everyone. I agree that the pace was slower than I would have liked but I knew that going in. River cruises skew to an older demographic.

[jpalbny]

I was just going to try and write my review but the Queen Isabel is not listed as one of ships to review. So I will wait until Cruisecritic adds it.

 

I understand that ocean cruising and river cruising are different. But with Seabourn we did have a small ship experience that docked right in ports. But it was also obviously a larger ship and so there was more room for the gym and bigger bathrooms. I have heard that the Danube is better in terms of service and food. So I am not ruling it out. I was very lucky to get to experience Seabourn.

 

This was a great experience overall. But I think I might wait a few years to do another unless we can get more people our own age to join us

 

We have mixed feelings about jumping ship (so to speak) from Ocean to River cruising... We have had 2 Danube cruises booked thus far and are now 0 for 2. One we gave up to go to Egypt at half price, and the second was canceled last month due to the flooding.

 

We did a week on the Nile with A&K which was a fantastic experience, so I'm sure we'll enjoy the heck out of a European river cruise some day. Our fellow travelers on the Nile were closer to our age, though, which probably made a big difference. While we were in Germany last month (we went on our own anyway), we saw a number of river cruise tour groups being herded through, and the demographic did appear different from our Nile cruise.

 

While we very much enjoy meeting experienced, well-traveled folks on our travels, like we have on O and ss, we wonder if we'd want to move at a faster pace then the group would allow. And if the included tours moved too slowly, I think I'd be torn between giving up the tour that we "paid for" vs. trying to do more on our own. We really enjoyed touring Germany on our own...

 

Hmmm. It's a nice dilemma to have! :)

[WallyB90]

My wife and I booked a cruise on Uniworld's Isabel ship. We booked one of the two suites located on the aft of the ship.

 

Our debate is WHICH side of the ship to select, Port or Starboard? Can someone who has taken this cruise share insight here? Does the ship generally cruise along the shoreline closer to its Starboard side?

 

Thanks.

[Stratheden]

My wife and I booked a cruise on Uniworld's Isabel ship. We booked one of the two suites located on the aft of the ship.

 

Our debate is WHICH side of the ship to select, Port or Starboard? Can someone who has taken this cruise share insight here? Does the ship generally cruise along the shoreline closer to its Starboard side?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

I asked this question earlier this week.

 

Hope this helps you.

 

http://http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1881055

[twoboys]

Because this cruise basically goes up and down the same river it might not matter. But the first and last night while you are docked in Porto our room was directly opposite a club/restaurant that blasted loud music past midnight. It would have been nice to sit out on the balcony while in Porto because it was so beautiful. We were in cabin 315 so you can look at the photos. I think it might be better to be on the other side specifically for the first and last night. But really its a toss up

[orangepeel]

4- tours were geared toward older crowd - not enough walking

 

I have to say I am happy to see this. I have been looking at sending my parents on a Uniworld cruise but was concerned about the amount of walking. My mom is partially disabled and while she can walk on her own, day after day of lots of walking would take its toll.

 

I still have a lot more reading to do and questions to ask before deciding if this would be a good trip for my folks. I am hopeful it will be though!