Uniworld Burgundy and Provence

[patrinka]

We will be doing this cruise in a month - was wondering if anyone has some advice on what excursions you found to be the best. Did you also do any of the optional excursions and what would you suggest?

[beesKate]

We haven't gone yet (10 days!!)... but here's comments on some of them http://landlopers.com/2015/09/15/uniworld-france-excursions

[MaxBuck]

I absolutely loved the cooking school in Avignon. A bit pricey, but worth every euro IMO. Completely participatory, and if you love cooking, you ought to consider it.

 

Also loved the "Go Active" options, though didn't take the kayaking trip. (There are plenty of places to go kayaking at home.) The walk into the vineyards at Tain L'Hermitage, though, was incredible, and I loved bicycling through Lyon.

[jklc123]

A wonderful itinerary. Lyon is a great place to explore. The night time tour was enjoyable, as was the "Do as the Locals Do," through the passageways of Old Lyon, although you might want to explore the Les Halles de Lyon on your own. The French Resistance Museum is within walking distance of the river cruise dock, if that is of interest.

 

In Tain I would recommend the vineyard walk, although some who took it found it a bit strenuous. DH has walking issues so we took the walking tour of Tournon, which is a pleasant town, but there's not a lot to see. We broke away (with most of our group) to go to the fabulous Valhrona Chocolate store instead of the scheduled wine tasting.

 

Viviers is a very interesting medieval town. We enjoyed the walking tour and organ concert. It's also a great place to explore on your own, depending on how much free time you have there.

 

Due to high water issues, we had to be bussed from port to port, with the Catherine meeting us each evening. As a result, we all went on what would have been optional excursions without charge, of course. The Truffle Farm was interesting, and we had a great lunch in a countryside restaurant as well as a visit to the small walled town of Grignon, but if we had been actually cruising, we would have skipped that as it involves quite a bit of bus time. This optional tour normally includes wine tasting, which is not our thing. (Great wine on the ship, by the way).

 

In Avignon we took the walking tour which includes the Popes Palace, and it was good to have a guide to explain the history of the place.

 

Due to the high water situation, we had an extra day in Lyon, which is not a bad thing, but at the end we had to choose between a tour of Avignon and free time there or a bus trip to Arles or one to the Pont du Gard, so regrettably we missed those places.

 

We enjoyed this trip so much that if I had the time and funds, I'd do it again if I could be sure of actually cruising. No guarantees on a river trip!

[jpalbny]

We enjoyed the truffle farm and the Pont du Gard excursions. Didn't do any others... I posted a photo log of the trip elsewhere on these boards that might give you an idea of some of the included tours (we did most of them). Link is in my signature below.

 

Our highlights - Viviers by night, wandering around the town on our own, Arles for its Roman ruins, the visit to the truffle farm (the second portion of this, Chateauneuf du Pape, was only OK). We actually enjoyed visiting Tarascon castle on our own - and it was a freebie, because the boat gave out tickets to anyone who wanted to visit independently.

 

The vineyard hike in Tain was less of a highlight for us, but that was because the weather was unpleasant. I think it would have been awesome on a nice day.

 

Be aware that some of the optional excursions are put together differently, depending on which way you go (north to south or vice versa). We went north to south.

 

Like jklc123, we'll visit this area again for sure - probably by land, though, to fill in all the places we missed like Nimes, Les Baux, more time in Lyon, etc, etc. One week is just enough to make you love the area and realize how much you're missing!

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Rhone has a very strong current, so I would recommend going North to South because the ship sails almost silently and you get more time in ports. JP: when you go to Les Baux, be sure to see the Carrières de Lumières -- it was fantastic! This year the artwork is what I call the Ninja Turtle Old Masters (Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael -- Donatello didn't make the cut... ;)); next year it will be different, but the experience of having it envelope you and move and swirl is mesmerizing.

[caviargal]

We did this cruise in July with Uniworld and last fall with AMA. It is one of our favorite itineraries on the river.

 

We did the truffle farm and Les Baux with AMA, as well as the olive farm and also Chateauneuf du Pape (all included). We enjoyed them all but did not do these with Uniworld where they were optional tours.

 

We intended to do the kayak tour while on the SS Catherine but the temps north of 100 degrees helped us decide to forego. We did the Go Active hike up in the vineyards and it was a workout but also a highlight of our trip. If you are fit, I would definitely recommend it.

 

We are food and wine fans and visited Les Halles on our own, which we enjoyed. Most of the ports we chose to DIY.

[bubbulz]

We did this cruise in July with Uniworld and last fall with AMA. It is one of our favorite itineraries on the river.

 

 

We're looking at this for 2017 and have cruised only with Uniworld so far. I'd be very interested in your thoughts about how the Uniworld and AMA cruises compared in terms of the ships, food, tours, pricing, etc.

 

Thanks!

[caviargal]

We're looking at this for 2017 and have cruised only with Uniworld so far. I'd be very interested in your thoughts about how the Uniworld and AMA cruises compared in terms of the ships, food, tours, pricing, etc.

 

Thanks!

 

I posted a very detailed comparison of both cruises an also a full review of each. Here is a link to the thread and you find the reviews in the review section on CC:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233779&highlight=ss+catherine

Edited October 22, 2015 by caviargal

[bubbulz]

I posted a very detailed comparison when we returned as part of my review.

 

Thanks! I'll go back and look for it.

[dbncsuvet]

Thanks for this post, as we are scheduled to go on this cruise in May and I also wonder about the optional excursions. We will have some on-board credits through our TA so we will definitely do the Pont du Gard, also possibly the truffle farm. JP, do you think it is worth the cost even though Chateauneuf du Pape was only so-so? We will be spending an extra night in Les Baux on our own after the cruise so that we can see Carrieres des Lumieres so we won't do that excursion. I am not sure which one to do in Lyon, the bike tour or the walking tour. Anyone know which of those may be better? Jazz, I am happy we booked North to South after what you said!

[jpalbny]

dbncsuvet - I think I would have been a bit annoyed spending €83 of my own money, per person, for that tour. The truffle farm was neat. The tasting, only OK. Since we did it free with OBC, it was less of an issue. I do think it was overpriced for what you got.

[Host Jazzbeau]

dbncsuvet - I think I would have been a bit annoyed spending €83 of my own money, per person, for that tour. The truffle farm was neat. The tasting, only OK. Since we did it free with OBC, it was less of an issue. I do think it was overpriced for what you got.

 

That's why I prefer AMA's choice of "inclusives." It's much easier for me to decide whether I want to pay for a drink in the lounge -- knowing that whichever excursions I choose they are all free!

[caviargal]

I, too, would not have paid 83E each for the truffle tour. It was included with AMA and we enjoyed it but would not have paid extra for that tour.