Viking vs. Uniworld

[mpbmark]

My DW and I are thinking of taking our first river cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam. Both lines offer this itinerary and for us, the price difference is not an issue.

 

I am interested in any comparisons between the different cruise companies. It appeared from the brochure that Viking had more complete excursions and stayed in a location for a reasonable length of time. I can't tell much about the individual ships so if anyone has done this cruise, I would appreciate any input.

[cmthomas]

Mark, I cannot comment or compare Uniworld to Viking as I have never been on a Uniworld trip. However, I did just return from a trip with Viking and was VERY impressed. This observation should be taken with the background of travel that we have had. We have been on over 40 ocean cruises, now 5 river cruises and many, many land tours including trips with Amercrombie & Kent and Tauck Tours, both leading tour operators.

 

Our opinion of Viking, at least in China, is very high. Our trip was mostly a land tour with a 3 day river cruise included. Both parts of the trip were well planned and executed and a good value.

 

I am sure that some members of this Board have been on both and you may even find some earlier posts comparing them if you search. If not, maybe they will join in and add to the comparison.

 

We did the itinerary from Vienna to Amsterdam a few years back on Grand Circle and enjoyed it immensly. Many ships do that itinerary and my consensus from reading the many posts is that just about all do it very well. I am sure that you won't be disappointed in the itinerary whichever ship or line you chose.

 

Clarence:)

[mpbmark]

Clarence,

 

Thanks for the prompt response. I hope to hear from others and I will look into Grand Circle.

[npphotog]

Mark - you might want to check out Vantage Deluxe World Travel. My wife and I went on their Holland to Hungary river cruise this past August. It was beyond our expectations. Everything was great. Our tour guide mentioned that the Holland to Hungary direction was better than Hungary to Holland. Seems the time frame for touring was better. Check out all three schedules and then what is included. Then check the price on all three for what you get. I would go with Vantage again in a heartbeat. We were that pleased.

Willard

[unberwoob]

Take a look at Avalon too. They are the new kid on the block and strive to be the best. We like Uniworld also, but if the itinerary is the same, we choose Avalon.

[mpbmark]

Thanks you two,

 

I have ordered a Vantage catalog. If you can, Unberwoob, please provide a webpage or some information on Avalon. I am interested in anything I can find.

[mpbmark]

Unberwoob,

 

I just found the website, http://www.avalonwaterways.com/

 

Looks interesting and I am ordering a brochure.

 

Thanks again.

[911boss]

Although I haven't been on Uniworld I have been on the the same trip you are interested in on Viking. In Vienna a Uni ship docked next to ours and they actually had to walk through our ship to get to land. I spent some time with some folks who described their trip. The crew was unfriendly, the ship was not as nice and the food not good. Check one thing and believe me this is a big deal. On the Viking ships, the windows open not Uni (unless they have some new ships.

Our shyip, the Spirit was fantastic.

 

Ist river cruise. 1st regular cruise and this was one of the best.

[911boss]

When looking at the brochure, check out those 2 odd shaped cabins next to the stairs. That's what I booked and could not have been happier.

[tban]

It would not hurt to also look at AMADEUS WATERWAYS. They offer the Magnificient Europe cruise from either Amsterdam to Budapest or reversed on their brand new ship, MS AMADAGIO, which is considered to be the most luxurious ship on the European Waterways. We have been on several cruises with them and each one was just exceptionl. We are planning to go with Amadeus Waterways again in fall - this time on their Russian cruise.

[hobse]

I cannot compare with Viking, but we just returned from a Uniworld cruise Prague-Vienna and could not have been happier. We were very pleased with the ship River Empress and the staff. The crew were all friendly and went out of their way to ensure everyone's happiness. Food good and plentiful, cabins VERY nice and VERY clean, modern. Looked into windows of a Viking ship and a GC ship and they did not appear as nice. Would definitely recommend Uniworld River Empress ship.

[Jancruz]

After reading all the boards,

It seems Uniworld and Viking rate about the same..

Jan

*****

[brandybold]

It would not hurt to also look at AMADEUS WATERWAYS. They offer the Magnificient Europe cruise from either Amsterdam to Budapest or reversed on their brand new ship, MS AMADAGIO, which is considered to be the most luxurious ship on the European Waterways. We have been on several cruises with them and each one was just exceptionl. We are planning to go with Amadeus Waterways again in fall - this time on their Russian cruise.

 

TBAN, when you did this cruise, did you find that there were too many ports somedays so that you didn't have enough time in some ports?

Thx, Brandy

[KarlS]

We've only done one river cruise, with Uniworld, so we don't have any other line to compare with it. We really enjoyed our Amsterdam to Antwerp cruise on River Duchess this past April. So much so, we knew right away we wanted to do another Europe river cruise.

 

This summer, while we waited for Uniworld's reservations dept to get its act together so it was ready to accept 2007 bookings,... based upon recommendations found here in this forum, we compared Viking, Avalon, and Deilmann. I think any of these three, plus Uniworld, would be terrific choices... based upon brochures/DVDs provided, and comments found on these forum postings.

 

We just booked a 14-day Uniworld European Serenade itinerary, departing from Vienna, to Amsterdam, also on Uniworld's River Duchess, for May 10th, 2007.

 

Three issues, (other than we'd already had a great experience on a Uniworld trip), helped us decide. First, Uniworld's itinerary spent a bit more time in Vienna, a city we've never had a chance to visit before. (In our case, our flight arrives at 9 AM, so we have time until boarding is available in late afternoon to explore. We have the whole next day in Vienna, plus the following day until the lunchtime sailing from Vienna). Second, some of the lines' (other than Uniworld) sample meals/menus indicated a bit fewer entree choices at suppers. (We're not picky diners, but it's nice to have at least three entree choices... at least for us). And third, Uniworld seemed the only line that specifically mentioned their no-smoking-anywhere-indoors policy in the fine print of their brochure. (Also, on our Uniworld cruise this past April, on the second day sailing, the captain announced most harshly that someone had been smoking on his ship, in a cabin, and he threatened when he discovered who it was, he would put them out at the next stop. When was the last time you ever heard of a ship-board staff member enforcing a "rule" before?). My wife and I don't smoke, and we're not fanatics about it, but we discovered we really enjoyed River Duchess more without smoke in the lounges and passageways. Maybe none of these issues would be important to you, but it helped tip the scales in Uniworld's favor for us... all other things seemingly equal.

 

Just my two cents' worth. Cheers! :)

 

...Karl