Uniworld Excursions

[bubbulz]

I was referring to the fact that now Heidelburg has a fee when clearly 2 years ago it did not. What's up with that?

 

Do you know that for a fact? It had a fee on my cruise (which, like yours, also was 2 years ago), but I did a different itinerary than you did. You said you did Legendary Rhine and Moselle. I did Castles along the Rhine (as did jpalbany, I believe.) In any event, I think it had more to do with where the boat was docking and less to do with anything related to Uniworld becoming "less inclusive."

[seabreezer]

Yes. I know for a fact that we had zero balance and no OBC on that cruise so we did not pay for any excursions. Perhaps there was a difference in itinerary but there was a bus ride involved to get to town.

[bubbulz]

Sorry, I should've been more clear. What I meant was are you sure that there used to be no fee on the Castles along the Rhine itinerary (i.e., not on your itinerary).

 

 

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[jpalbny]

Sorry, I should've been more clear. What I meant was are you sure that there used to be no fee on the Castles along the Rhine itinerary (i.e., not on your itinerary).

 

 

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Heidelberg was optional, for an extra charge, on Castles on the Rhine in 2014. I just refreshed my memory by looking at my trip log. Sounds like it's still the same on this particular itinerary. Other itineraries may be different.

 

Wednesday 4/2 - An afternoon in Heidelberg:

 

Our tour was one of the optional (€59 extra) tours offered at this stop. It was about a 45-minute bus ride, otherwise it was similar in quality and intensity to the included tours. Not sure why this particular one was extra vs. included, but as it used up some OBC that we wouldn't have known what to do with, no problem for us.

[bubbulz]

Heidelberg was optional, for an extra charge, on Castles on the Rhine in 2014. I just refreshed my memory by looking at my trip log. Sounds like it's still the same on this particular itinerary. Other itineraries may be different.

 

Yep. Same as us (on same itinerary) in 2015.

[papa B me]

Same for us in 2014. Thinking it was 79 Euros

[hiccups]

Heidelberg was optional on our July 2015 Legendary Rhine and Moselle cruise. As I mentioned, it was cancelled because not enough people signed up.

[Gourmet Gal]

We took the Heidleburg tour with Uniworld in October of 2014 on the Rhine and Moselle cruise. I cannot remember if it was an option but it was definitely not an extra charge. Hiccups, when you say optional do you mean optional with a fee?

[laverendrye]

acwmom and jpalbany - thanks for the info.

 

The "problem;)" becomes so many wonderful choices. The vinegar excursion looks like so much fun and unusual. Heidelberg of course would be wonderful - and has anybody been to the Technic museum in Speyer?

 

I look forward to planning this cruise for next year.

 

I have taken 5 river cruises with Uniworld and can never recall that tours could be booked in advance. There was never a problem signing up while on board, except that on a few occasions there were not enough takers for a particular tour and it was cancelled.

 

In Speyer, many chose the vinegar tasting tour (included) to a village outside of Speyer and seemed to enjoy it. I took the walking tour of Speyer and found it very interesting indeed. We walked directly from the ship through a park into town. As it was a Saturday morning in September, the entire main street (Maximilianstrasse) from the Cathedral to the town gate was occupied by a fall fair with all sorts of food and other merchants. I stayed on after the tour to explore. I skipped the optional (i.e. with a charge of €60, I think) to Heidelberg as I had been there quite a few times over the years, and spent the afternoon at the Technical Museum. This is a huge and fascinating museum, with exhibits both indoors and out of vintage cars and other vehicles, locomotives, aircraft, some small ships (including a submarine) and many other items including a collection of working mechanical organs. The highlight is a Boeing 747 which towers over the museum. You can climb up the tower and enter the aircraft and even walk out on the wing. As I recall, the museum was about a 20 minute walk from where the ship was berthed. This was my first visit to Speyer and I really enjoyed the entire day.

[notamermaid]

This is the museum in Speyer: https://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/

 

I have been to its "other half" in Sinsheim nearby, fascinating, and I am sure Speyer is as good if not better.

 

notamermaid

[Gourmet Gal]

In 2014 legendary Rhine and Moselle included Heidelburg and Speyer neither with an extra fee but Heidelburg is so longer on the itinerary for 2017. We were docked in Speyer and took a bus to Heidelburg. We still had time to walk through Speyer on our own. Perhaps Heidelburg is still an option but with a fee but there's no indication on the website. So is it possible that Uniworld is a bit less inclusive as it once was?

Edited July 9, 2017 by Gourmet Gal

[helpmesailaway]

Speyer Technik museum - Thank you laverendrye and notamermaid for the info, This has my husbands name all over it as well as sounding like a fun and unusual museum.

 

I think this would be on our agenda.

 

notamermaid - I always enjoy your posts and have learned so much from the many interesting links you post. Thank you for this too!

[acwmom]

On our Castles of the Rhine trip in March, we docked in Mannheim, not Speyer. Here is a copy of the daily program for that day.

 

 

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[bubbulz]

On our Castles of the Rhine trip in March, we docked in Mannheim, not Speyer.

 

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Per my earlier posts, it appears to have less to do with, "becoming less inclusive," and more to do with the logistics of the particular itinerary. For our Castles along the Rhine itinerary, we docked in Germersheim on the day of the Speyer and Heidelberg tours. Although Heidelberg was a bit of a hike in our case (about 40-45 minutes driving), I think they knew that there would likely be a group of us interested in heading there for a half day despite the distance and the 59 Euro cost (and they were right). On the other hand, Mannheim is only about 10 miles from Heidelberg so I can much more easily see why that would be a standard tour.

[hiccups]

We took the Heidleburg tour with Uniworld in October of 2014 on the Rhine and Moselle cruise. I cannot remember if it was an option but it was definitely not an extra charge. Hiccups, when you say optional do you mean optional with a fee?

 

Yes, it was an additional charge.

[mingo]

We're on the Castles on the Rhine September 27th and hoping for good weather. This thread has been very informative. Thank you

[bubbulz]

We're on the Castles on the Rhine September 27th and hoping for good weather. This thread has been very informative. Thank you

 

Autumn is a great time of year, and that itinerary is wonderful! Enjoy!

[rubinstein2r]

We're on the Castles on the Rhine September 27th and hoping for good weather. This thread has been very informative. Thank you

 

 

 

We will be right behind you October 4!

 

 

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[caviargal]

Interesting, when I did Legendary Rhine and Moselle a couple of years ago Heidelburg was optional but not an extra fee. I'll be on a Tauck Danube cruise this Fall that includes a dinner and concert in Vienna. Surprised it wouldn't be included on Uniworld...are they becoming less all-inclusive?

 

Uniworld charged for multiple excursions on our 2 cruises with them that were included on other lines. And they were pricey. On their newest ship, they also charged for their premium dining venue. Port charges are being separate from the base fare for 2018. It appears to me that they are becoming less inclusive as on our first, port charges and premium dining were included.

[bubbulz]

Uniworld charged for multiple excursions on our 2 cruises with them that were included on other lines. And they were pricey. On their newest ship, they also charged for their premium dining venue. Port charges are being separate from the base fare for 2018. It appears to me that they are becoming less inclusive as on our first, port charges and premium dining were included.

 

Interesting, since we experienced non of this on either of our two Uniworld cruises, with the exception of the port charges of $140. The one optional tour we took was 59 Euros to Heidelberg since we were docked 45 minutes away. As I've said before, I can fully understand why it was an up-charge on our itinerary and we were glad they offered it. That said, the standard tours covered all the ports we visited. The special dining venues were also included on both of our trips including the one at the end of 2016.

 

ETA: I think the bottom line is that everyone should thoroughly research itineraries and understand what is included and what is not for each cruise line and each of their itineraries. We've never experienced any 'surprises' but then again, we tend to do our research beforehand.