Uniworld Gems of Northern Italy June 23-July 2

[papa B me]

Day 6: Choice of Bologna or Ferrara

 

For the full 2 years I planned this trip this was by far the most difficult decision I had to make. We were suppose to leave from Polesella on the Po which means that Bologna would be about 1- 1 1/2 hours drive by bus for a full day tour or Ferrara which would be about a 30 minute drive for a half day tour then back to the ship for lunch with options to stay in Ferrara and take a later shuttle back to the ship.

 

As it turned out we were still docked in Chioggia and it was going to add an hour or so to Bologna and 30 minutes to Ferrara. I went back and forth with this decision all the way till the night before. Ultimately I decided on Bologna as the other couples we became friends with were all going there and the lure of the main event of the Bologna trip which was a pasta making demonstration with a pasta lunch.

 

I will say that this was my least favorite day of the trip. I didn't enjoy the walking tour of Bologna and found it to be a fairly large and less interesting city then most of the historic cities I've been to. That may just be me. The drive was too long for this city. So I found myself regretting the whole time we were walking through Bologna that I didn't go to Ferrara which by all accounts is a quaint fairy tale looking city. HOWEVER, when we arrived at the Pasta making demonstration and the pasta lunch with wine served it somewhat redeemed the day. I completely enjoyed that part of the day. I may have felt better about the trip had we left from the Po with the shorter drive time. This experience keeps my record in tact for the three Uniworld trips I've taken. There is always one day where I feel I made the wrong decision regardless of how much research I did in advance. And this was that day. However, again it was a nice experience just my least favorite.

 

As I mentioned we were docked still in Chioggia so there were some who stayed on the ship this day instead of going on the long trips. There are also bikes available provided by Uniworld that can be used if docked in cities other then Venice. Venice has a no bike law.

 

We left at 8:30 and arrived back to the ship about 5. It was a long day.

[papa B me]

Day 7: A half day in Chioggia before sailing back to Venice

 

We had a leisurely free time morning in Chioggia. This day falls on a Thursday. On every Thursday Chioggia has their weekly market. This is one of the largest outdoor street markets I've ever seen. This isn't a farmers market but a street market where clothes, shoes, purses, variety booths of many shapes and sizes with a few farmers market type booths scattered in. These are all new. This isn't a flea market. It is like having little individual shops. It is a massive undertaking when you see they are setting these up out of vans/tractor trailer type vehicles with dressing rooms and covered with canopy's for shade. Here's the bottom line. If you like to shop you will absolutely love this day. If not, you may want to consider staying on the ship and enjoying the unlimited alcohol offered 24 hours a day LOL. Now my wife and I both like to shop but she was having a great day finding blouses for 10 Euros or less, dresses for under 20 Euros and several pairs of shoes under 30 Euro

( we saw several of the shoes in a store in Venice considerably more). So she loved it. It starts about 9 am and they begin taking it down at around noon. The ship was leaving at 1:30. This is on their main street and it is about a 5-10 minute walk to the ship. We got back on the ship about 1:00. So for us this was a great day. It was also fun as most of the shoppers seemed to be local. It was a great way to get a little deeper into the culture while getting some good bargains along the way.

 

There is another excursion offered at 11 am for those who want to get on a boat to see the Mussel harvesting. This has changed from prior years. My understanding you use to actually go see the harvesting then have a Mussel lunch. That isn't the case any more. It is about an hour boat ride to see learn about mussel harvesting then you are back to the ship for lunch. Our friends took this trip and all enjoyed the boat ride. We did not as we were enjoying the market.

 

So around 1:30 we were sailing back to Venice through the Lagoon. Many were on the upper deck enjoying the ride, drinks and the sun(my wife enjoyed laying out and getting sun) I went to the lounge and sat in the front looking out at the scenery for a couple of hours while enjoying a drink. It was air conditioned and I could see the view from the front and both sides of the ship. It was a great relaxing afternoon.

 

We docked back at San Basillo(the cruise port) where we would be for the rest of the trip. The view isn't as nice as our prior docking but it isn't as inconvenient as it sounds. You can still walk into the heart of Venice from here.

[seabreezer]

What a great blog! Thanks for posting.

[beesKate]

We did the Padua tour, mainly because we wanted to see St. Anthony of Padua Basilica. I'm glad we went, but after touring the basilica we felt rushed by the tour guide to move on to the university area so she could finish her tour. We wanted to buy some religious items from the main gift shop across the street instead of the vendor carts out front, and told we had 5 minutes. We did complete our small-scale shopping, but would have liked to have been given maybe 10 minutes? I understand the people that did not opt for St. Anthony did get to see the surgery theater which they found interesting. Here is also where we learned the Italians were brilliant with their use of arcades (covered sidewalks... there's an Italian name for them that slips my mind).

And I wouldn't worry too much about missing Ferrara. There's a block-ish castle and a cathedral, but not really anything else too noteworthy. There really wasn't anything too special about it, I don't think I would have used the term "fairy tale" to describe it.

[Mark_T]

Here is also where we learned the Italians were brilliant with their use of arcades (covered sidewalks... there's an Italian name for them that slips my mind).

 

Thanks for the review, it is always good to read about these trips in detail.

 

Is the word you are looking for 'Galleria' ?

[papa B me]

We did the Padua tour, mainly because we wanted to see St. Anthony of Padua Basilica. I'm glad we went, but after touring the basilica we felt rushed by the tour guide to move on to the university area so she could finish her tour. We wanted to buy some religious items from the main gift shop across the street instead of the vendor carts out front, and told we had 5 minutes. We did complete our small-scale shopping, but would have liked to have been given maybe 10 minutes? I understand the people that did not opt for St. Anthony did get to see the surgery theater which they found interesting. Here is also where we learned the Italians were brilliant with their use of arcades (covered sidewalks... there's an Italian name for them that slips my mind).

And I wouldn't worry too much about missing Ferrara. There's a block-ish castle and a cathedral, but not really anything else too noteworthy. There really wasn't anything too special about it, I don't think I would have used the term "fairy tale" to describe it.

 

Debbie,

Thanks for the insight on Padua and Ferrara. That really makes me feel better about the decision. As I said, pasta making demonstration and lunch was worth while.

[papa B me]

What a great blog! Thanks for posting.

 

Thanks for following along. I would imagine most fine my reviews way to long winded. But I enjoy reliving it as I post and I know when I'm researching a future trip I like as much detail as possible. So I home some find it helpful.

[papa B me]

Thanks for the review, it is always good to read about these trips in detail.

 

Is the word you are looking for 'Galleria' ?

 

Mark, thanks for following along

[papa B me]

Day 8: Islands of Torcello, Mazzorbo and Burano

 

Today was another full day tour and the only tour offered. You had the option of staying on board and doing your own exploring of Venice. At 8:15 I would estimate about 80 or so people loaded onto a boat located right next to the River Countess to do a tour of three of the Venice Lagoons Islands. There was about an hour or less boat ride to the Northern Lagoon.

 

First up was Torcello. This is a small island that from what our guide said at one time had a population of over 20,000. The inhabitants had located from the mainland in I believe about the year 800 as they were under attack. So the whole community moved to this Island. Today I saw no evidence of people living there other then maybe those who cater to the tourist. The main attraction is the cathedral that is over a 1000 years old that has two remarkable mosaics. Susan the guide from St Marks Basillica was brought to the Island to narrarate the cathedral. She was as wonderful as she was at St Marks. There is also a bell tower you can climb for the view for 3 Euros. There is another small Cathedral that we didn't tour but we did stick our heads in. There are several restaurants on the Island. Uniworld provided a coffee/tea break with biscuits at the end of the tour before boarding the boat. There are a couple of shops on the island as well. Was a nice tour.

 

Next up was Mazzorbo. This island once contained a small winery that produced a wine that the Doges drank. It was eventually flooded out. Then a wine maker found some of the original vines and through DNA testing created the vineyard that is there now(not sure I'm explaining this correctly). So it now produces about 4000 bottles a year. It is a very unique wine in that has a golden color and when you hold it up to the light a small pin light appears. It was actually stunnning when the whole room held up their glasses. Then we tasted the wine. All I can say is Yuk. Didn't talk to anyone who liked it. They have an embossed gold leaf label that makes it a unique bottle. It is only a 16 ounce bottle and sells for $140. Don't think anyone bought one. Beautiful small garden and again the actual build up to the tasting is enjoyable and learning the history.

 

Finally Burano. This village is known for its colorful houses and its lace making. You arrive at this village about 12:30. There is a small walking tour provided but my wife and I set out on our own for free time. You are on you own for lunch although Uniworld offers to make reservations in advance at 3 different restaurants. We simply picked up a Panini to keep exploring the shops. I would say they are about 80% lace shops with some hand made(extremely expensive) and some machine made. There are a lot of shops though and we easily filled our time here. I thought it was very scenic but not my favorite island of the week.

 

TIP: Lot's of places to have a coffee or a drink. Worth taking 15 to 20 minutes for the break and then you have the free rest room to utilize. Along those lines there are free restrooms on both the other two Islands and a small one on the boat.

 

So all in all this was another enjoyable day.

[papa B me]

Day 9: Last day in Venice

 

Even as I write and relive this trip I'm stunned by how quickly it went by. So here we are at our last day in Venice. We were given three options for our morning excursion.

 

#1 A tour of the Rialto market with the Executive Chef.

#2. A tour of the Accademia Art gallery with Susan our guide from St Marks and Torcello

#3. Free time after a water taxi ride to a new Luxury shopping mall called "Fonaco del Tedeschi

 

We chose the Rialto market. This was an 8:15 departure by the water taxi I described earlier in the week. The water taxi took us up the grand canal to the Rialto Market and the Rialto bridge. I think there were 10 of us on our taxi with our local guide who was excellent. She then took us to the market where our Chef was waiting. He toured the vegetable/fruit/fish market with us as he would stop and show us what he had purchased the day before for our lunch and dinner. It really was interesting and much more entertaining then I expected. At the end of the tour Uniworld was providing a stop for wine and an Italian version of Tapas before providing the water taxi ride back to the ship. We decided to not go back but to walk back which was about a 40 minute walk directly back(You can probably tell by now that we are shoppers so we didn't head directly back). If you don't have mobility issues I highly recommend this. Uniworld provides maps of every place we visited so we had our map in hand. We also got directions from our guide. We only made one small wrong turn(actually missed a turn) and ended up on a dead end street along the grand canal with a wedding party.(we didn't stay for the reception). But a quick reverse turn and we were back on course. So after finding a store where all the clothes were 9 Euros each, another pair of shoes and another leather purse(already had 6) we worked our way back to the ship.

 

TIP: wander around Venice back streets crossing canals and getting just a little lost. It is the most unique part of Venice and from a shoppers point of view the best way to find the best bargains.

 

In the afternoon there was an excursion that crosses over to the Island across from Venice known as Giudecca Island for a Murano glass blowing demonstration then you are ushered into the showroom. We didn't go as we knew that this wasn't going to Murano(many didn't seem to understand that) and we have seen glass making before and were certain we weren't going to buy glass. So glad we didn't. From those who went there was absolutely nothing else to do. No place for a coffee/drink, no place to wander around. But if you are wanting Murano glass this would be worth while. In stead, we enjoyed additional time on the deck and packed.

 

That evening after dinner we got off the boat for one last Gelato. Our trip had come to an end.

[papa B me]

Food:

 

This is now our third cruise to experience and compare the food. The quality of the food was comparable to our other cruises which was excellent. I do believe that there is a little less choice on the River Countess then the other two SS ships we've been on. I believe there is two reasons for this. The first is simply the dining area is smaller so the buffet area for breakfast and lunch is smaller. On our other trips there was usually a carving station at lunch. That wasn't present. The other ships had a gelato freezer at lunch where you were hand served a choice of 3 Gelato flavors where on the Countess other then the last day it was already dished out on the desert bar with one choice.(last day they had 3 choices in a container on the desert bar with someone dishing it out). Just a couple small examples. The second is that they locally source as much as possible for fresh food. So the fact you are on an island vs Germany/France etc... I think this could have an impact. With that said there was no shortage of food or choices and the quality was outstanding. Had I not sailed on the other ships I wouldn't know the difference. Some notes about the meals:

 

Breakfast: This is your standard buffet for breakfast with an omelette/egg station, typical hot meats, cold cuts, fruits, pastries, etc... Breakfast was generally open about an hour or so from the first excursion until about 9 or 9:30 depending upon the schedule. There is also croissants and danish available for early risers in the Patio area on the lower deck where the coffee station is. Should you choose a suite you can also have room service from the Butler. We did this on one early morning excursion. We told the butler the night before what we would like to have and what time and right on time he knocked on the door with our breakfast. I know one of the other couples in a suite did this every morning. But we preferred to have more choice and to start the morning sitting with others to talk about the upcoming day.

 

TIP: Be aware that there is a menu as well but it isn't always offered but you can always ask. It would have things like Eggs Benedict, Eggs Florentine, etc...

 

Lunch: Again this is a buffet that changes every day. Salad Bar, cheese bar, with usually several local dishes such as pasta. Again plenty to choose from but just not quite as much as the larger ships. I'm a big soup fan and like my other two trips Uniworld always has wonderful soups. One or two days it had a seafood theme.

 

TIP: Don't forget about the pizza served on the sun deck and both lunch and dinner as an alternative dining

 

Dinner:

This is certainly where Uniworld shines. This is always a 4-6 course meal with appetizer, soup, salad, entree and dessert. On the last night there was an extra rissoto course. Generally speaking there are usually 2-3 of each course offered. Always choices with some local flair. Every meal that I recall had some fish option. The farewell dinner offered lamb.

 

In addition they always offer standard alternatives such as garden or Greek salad for an appetizer, and New York Strip steak, grilled Salmon, or chicken. If you aren't an adventurous eater no need to worry. There are always vegetarian choices as well outlined in the menu. If you have any Gluten issues or other issues they will accommodate and create special dishes for you if needed. Every venue we went to provided by Uniworld off ship always asked in advance regarding food allergies or special needs.

 

TIP: If you want something served differently ask. If you want something different ask. Several times my wife asked for a side of steamed vegetables to go with her meal. Not a problem and the waiter actually asked her several times if she wanted them again. If they have it in the kitchen they will prepare it.

 

Tea:

I'm only aware of 1 afternoon tea with snacks. My memory says that it was most afternoons on the larger ships with more elaborate desserts. Be aware that if you would like afternoon tea just go to the lounge and order the type of tea you would like. They will steam a personal pot using loose tea and serve it to you. My wife had several different teas during the week.

 

Wines:

Now I must admit I'm not a wine connoisseur. So I can only relate what otheres were saying. There was a different white and red served each evening. The vast majority were local in nature. The people that I met that had sailed on other lines commented that the selection was the best they had ever experienced.

 

TIP: If the choice of wine isn't to your liking and you want something served previously just ask. If they still have it they will serve it.

 

Alcohol:

Uniworld's all inclusive policy for alcohol is pretty extensive. From morning(mimosas) until the last person leaves the lounge it is included. I didn't meet anyone who felt the included alcohol wasn't top notch.

 

TIP: If you are a beer drinker make sure you let the bar tender know if you would like to try local beers vs the draft that you will normally get if you just order a beer. I tried 4-5 different beers during the week.

 

So bottom line I was pleased with the food and drink. There was a noticeable difference in selection from the larger ships but not quality

 

Seating: Generally dinner is from 7:00-9:00 and is true open seating. You can sit where you want and when you want. I never saw any frustration on the part of waiters for people who came in later the 7. Tables on the Countess range from 4 tops to 6 top rounds. I didn't see any 2 tops but since we weren't full there were tables available for just 2. As I've mentioned we developed a group of 8. The first night we had a 6 top that left 2 out. So from then on the waiters put two four tops together for us when we arrived.

 

TIP: There is no reserved seating. So if you have a certain place or like us needing room for 8 just one or two of your party leave the cruise director talk in the lounge that always precedes dinner about 2 minutes early and head to the restaurant. One nice feature is since the talk always goes right up to dinner time there isn't a line in front of the dining room waiting for the doors to open.

[papa B me]

Service:

 

The staff at Uniworld has truly been amazing for our previous cruises and was no different on the Countess. They are engaging and friendly and never feel as if they are rushing to accomplish their jobs. They will share about their lives if you engage them and will talk about the other ships they have been on. Uniworld allows them to move from ship to ship and region to region. They are overwhelmingly Eastern European and all are English speaking as well as often several other languages. The tips are included in the fare and I've seen no lack of service without an additional tip incentive. You will also see the staff pitch in wherever they need to and not just do their assigned tasks.

 

The cabins are serviced twice a day and we were personally never missing anything or saw anything not completed.

 

The wait staff was outstanding from lounge to restaurant to upper deck. If you take the time to engage them they will get to know you, your preferences and will enjoy joking around with you.

 

My first night on the ship I went to the lounge at the bar before dinner while my wife was preparing. I recognized the bar tender and he said weren't you on the Maria Theresa in 2015 when I was on there. He may have been guessing but he seemed to truly remember our conversations from 2015(I'm commonly waiting there while my wife prepares for dinner LOL). Many times I was addressed by name. Just a couple of examples of the service provide.

 

Butler Service:

I'm aware that most do not choose to use a suite on river cruises and there are only 4 on the Countess. I feel very blessed to be able to book a suite. When we booked our first suite with Uniworld 3 years ago on the Antoinette it was solely for the larger room. We were actually quite embarrassed(and still somewhat today) to mention we have a butler. We didn't think we would even need their services(and we don't) but I have to admit it adds a level of service and attention(as well as extra perks) that make the trip that much extra special. So for those who are considering a suite I thought I would mention some of the services and perks.

 

Basically the Butler is available to help with any issue you may have. He personally makes sure that the in room bar is stocked to your tastes and the room is always to your satisfaction. He brings a daily fruit bowl, keeps the candy jar stocked, and brings a daily snack which is usually cookies or brownies. The suite comes with unlimited laundry services. We did 2 bags during the week. It comes back folded and hung. We've never had a problem with the laundry service. He personally serves the room service. He had my shoes shined which really embarrassed me but they looked great after. If you need something at all you call the front desk and they had him there within 5 minutes. He can get any question answered you may have. Several times he would see my wife and I talking before an excursion and if he heard we forgot something he wanted to go to the room and get it(we didn't let him as we felt it would be our laziness to not walk 15 feet to our room). He is there to fulfill any special request:

 

For example, one of the perks of the Amex Plat card is they provided a bottle of Tattingers champagne in the room. By the end of the week we hadn't drank it. I asked him if I could take it to dinner the last night and share it with our new friends. He said he would take care of it. He was aware of the two tables we had put together every night and when we arrived there was our champagne with glasses and the waiter waiting to serve us and take pictures for us toasting. Just one example.

 

On the last day of the trip he knocked on our door carrying a bag of gifts. He said he had noticed that we had purchased some olive oil and thought we might like a bottle of balsamic as well. He also said he normally buys a silk tie but noticed I had purchased several so he bought me a leather belt(the right size). He also noticed I made good use of the Nespresso machine so bought me some coffee. And finally he wanted us to have something traditionally Vencian and bought us a Venetian mask.

 

This was repeated on our prior trips as well.

 

Bottom line is for me the level of detail given to service from all staff is outstanding.

[papa B me]

Closing Thoughts:

 

As many have noted on prior threads regarding this trip it isn't a traditional river cruise or a river cruise at all. It is a Lagoon cruise which allows you to experience Venice and its surrounding islands in a very convenient and special way. It is a much less intense experience then a traditional river cruise. I just found it ran at a slower pace.

 

Two of the couples that we befriended had never been on a river cruise before and I encourage them if they enjoyed this experience to move to a river cruise.

 

This is NOT my favorite trip. It is something I'm really glad we did and I enjoyed it completely. On a river cruise I felt every day was a new adventure. This to me had a sameness to each day. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I did find it a great way to absorb the culture of Northern Italy. I would much prefer this to spending a night or two and packing up and going to each of these places. It was truly a stress free way to experience this area of Italy.

 

Comparing this trip to my other Uniworld trips I often said to our new friends that take this trip and increase the experience by 30% in a positive way and that is the difference I feel comparing the newer/larger ships. But again if it was my first trip it would have been outstanding.

 

There is always a great debate when comparing Uniworld to Tauck, Scenic, Crystal, etc.. as to Uniworld being all inclusive. This is primarily to the fact that they offer a few extra excursion at a cost. PLEASE let's not reopen that debate on this thread. However, I just wanted to mention that all that you have read above was included. We got off the ship with a $0 balance(actually a very small OBC amount still left from Amex). You don't provide a credit card at check in. More then one passenger who had sailed lines other then the ones mentioned above, commented on how they loved never signing for anything and how they felt food, service, excursion, and especially alcohol was far superior to the lines they had sailed with.

 

So I now close this book I've written and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this cruise, Uniworld, or the other trips we have taken with them. Thanks for following along and I hope you found this helpful if you are considering this trip.

 

Happy Travels!

Brian

[mlld3536]

Day 5: Sailing from Venice to Chioggia

 

If you aren't familiar with the Venice Region there are many Islands dotting the Venice Lagoon. Anywhere from uninhabited to Islands with tens of thousands of residences. Today we sat sail for a fishing village called Chioggia. The sailing was for 2-3 hours in the morning. We divided our time between being on the sun deck to going to the cabin and laying on the bed and watching many of the Islands pass by. It really was a relaxing morning.

 

Today there were 3 choices for the afternoon excursions:

 

#1 Bus ride to Padua for a walking tour and a visit to St Anthony's Basilica

#2 Walking tour of Chioggia and a sister Island next door(now considered part of Chioggia) called Pellestrina

#3 Chioggia by bike(approx. a 12 mile bike ride)

 

We chose the bike ride. There were about 20 of us that chose this excursion(including the Captain of the ship). We rode through Chioggia and around a bay over to Pellestrina then onto the beach at Chioggia. At the beach we had about 30 minutes free time to either walk the beach, get a drink, or in our case try some more Gelato while looking out over the beach. This was a nice excursion and a good way to view the Island vs a traditional walking tour. There were a number of stops along the way to rest for a moment. We didn't find the bike ride challenging. It is all flat with mostly bike paths but there was some riding with a little traffic(foot and vehicle) but the guide was good about keeping us together and safe. I highly recommend this excursion if you feel comfortable on a bike.

 

Most selected the Padua tour. Most of the comments I heard was that it was nice but nothing special. I can't comment other then that since I didn't go. Maybe others who have taken that tour can give more detail.

 

I didn't talk with anyone who did the walking tour of Chioggia. If you go on this cruise and like us aren't going to sail the Po I wouldn't recommend this tour since there is plenty of time to explore Chioggia while docked. Just my opinion.

 

Normally it the Po is navigatable it is necessary to choose one of these three as everyone must be off the ship as it will sail that afternoon to the Po. It must cross a small part of the Adriatic Sea to reach the Po and Italian law will not allow a river cruise ship to transport people on the Adriatic. So normally you would then be bused at the end of your tour to where the ship is docked on the Po. But since we weren't sailing the Po you could stay on the Ship and do your own thing in town or just relax. It was also nice we didn't have a bus ride this day but just rode our bikes back to the ship and got on to get cleaned up for dinner. By the way the Port you would go to on the Po is Porto Viro then moving to Polsella later that evening. All for naught for us though. We just stayed in Chioggia. I think the main reason of moving to the Po is to put you closer to Bologna and Ferrara for the next days excursions.

 

Back on board about 4 we got cleaned up for the Captains welcome reception and Gala Dinner

 

TIP: Don't worry too much about the welcome and farewell reception. It really is no different then all the other nights since alcohol is always included. The lounge is filled every night from about 6-7 prior to dinner. The only difference is the Captain says a few words and introduces a few people. But to be honest since this occurs on your actual third night you are on the ship you have already met all the staff. Also DON'T stress over what to wear. On cruises past I wore a jacket with no tie. This trip I wore a tie with no jacket as I knew it was warmer then usual. BUT, 75% of the men wore neither tie nor coat and women wore anything from smart casual, to sun dresses. NO FORMAL DRESS was worn that I could see.

 

Dinner that night one of the choices was a Filet with Large Prawn(Their surf and turf) More on food later.

 

All in all this was a very relaxing and pleasant day.

 

I am really enjoying your account of your trip! In 2005 DH and I spent 4 weeks in Venice studying Italian. But except for Torcello and Burano, we saw very little of the lagoon. (Four hours per day in class plus the challenges of actually "living" in Venice took up a lot of time!) But this is bringing back fond memories. One point--and I hesitate to make a suggestion, as I have not yet been on a cruise--I would like to suggest for anyone planning this itinerary in the future: If you have any option at all to visit the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, I highly recommend it. The St. Anthony basilica is interesting, but the Scrovegni is sublime. It is like a small, quiet version of the Sistine Chapel, but with frescoes by Giotto instead of Michelangelo. A little jewel box. Most visits are limited to 15 minutes, though I don't know what the cruise can arrange. But it is worth every minute and every euro.

 

Again, thank you for a delightful travelogue!

[beesKate]

Brian, wonderful review! Was Tibor the butler on your cruise? Cesár the chef?

Your observations were similar to ours. We asked about the gelato on board and they told us they buy it, but make their own sorbets. I realize this classifies as a first-world-problem, but the different gelatos each day on our previous cruises was something I looked forward to. Not that there was anything wrong with the gelato they served, but it was the same three flavors all week. Like I said, first-world-problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[papa B me]

Yes Tibor and Cesar were with us. Tibor was a hard working young man. I saw him on the run constantly. He was very responsive. The truth is that I find most of my complaints about our trips truly first-world problems and am embarrassed when one slips out of my mouth or through my fingers while typing. I remember sitting out on the upper deck one evening looking out at Venice all lit up and saying to my wife how blessed we were to experience what we have experienced when traveling. We are truly blessed. But I did miss the SS ships Gelato.(ha)

[bubbulz]

Thanks again for the great report!

[IowaCruisers]

Thank you for this detailed review. As a river cruise newbie, you made your adventure come to life! We felt like we were on the ship with you, eating gelato and making friends. Thanks again for taking the time to include all of us.

[Babcia7]

Really enjoyed your trip report! Brought back great memories of our time in Italy aboard the Countess. We have not been on any of Uniworld's super ships (we have been on the River Baroness once and the River Countess twice), so I haven't experienced the difference between the ships with Uniworld. We did take a Viking longship (the Kvasir) on the Rhine two years ago. The ship itself was fine, but we find that we enjoy having less people on the cruise for a more intimate atmosphere. We are spoiled by the service Uniworld provides, and look forward to our upcoming trip on yet another one of their smaller ships, The River Queen. Maybe our next trip will be aboard one of their super ships! Again, thanks for sharing your experiences in Italy.

[Pickles61]

Thanks for following along. I would imagine most fine my reviews way to long winded. But I enjoy reliving it as I post and I know when I'm researching a future trip I like as much detail as possible. So I home some find it helpful.

 

 

 

Hi

 

Thank you for this review. I now know more of what to expect when I go the end of the month. Long winded, not at all, the more info the better

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[seabreezer]

Excellent review! I enjoyed reading it and now I know why the suites sell out so fast!

[need2travel1]

Thank you so so so much for your terrific review! We fly out next Friday for this same trip & your details could not have come at a better time. We were excited before & we're even more excited now. Thanks again!!

[ccruzer123]

Papa B Me,

Thank you so much for writing about your experience on this cruise. We are doing this cruise in October and you answered several questions we had, plus you gave us a better idea on what to expect. We really appreciate you taking the time to write down your thoughts. We are looking forward to this unique adventure.

[papa B me]

Thank you for the kind comments about my review. I have found the reviews of other CC members so helpful in both the planning of our trips and the part they have played in enhancing the excitement and anticipation of our trips. For those getting ready for this cruise you are going to have a great time.

 

Happy Travels

Brian

[bubbulz]

Yes Tibor and Cesar were with us. Tibor was a hard working young man. I saw him on the run constantly. He was very responsive. The truth is that I find most of my complaints about our trips truly first-world problems and am embarrassed when one slips out of my mouth or through my fingers while typing. I remember sitting out on the upper deck one evening looking out at Venice all lit up and saying to my wife how blessed we were to experience what we have experienced when traveling. We are truly blessed. But I did miss the SS ships Gelato.(ha)

 

Wasn't Tibor terrific?! We had Tibor along with another great butler, Marcos, on our last cruise. I think Tibor may still have been in training. They both couldn't do enough! We, too, feel fortunate to be able to be spoiled on our trips, but I do have to say it was refreshing to come back to the cabin to fresh laundry vs. having to spend time in the laundry room like we did on our first cruise. (Oh, and the fresh coffee with the wake-up knock was nice. :cool:)