Uniworld's River Tosca?

[49er]

The cruise director apologized for the ship at our first meeting and said it might be taken out of service in January for a redo.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

 

Welcome home Westlakeed, Sorry to read the news about the Tosca. For a new ship that had so many delays, it sure sounds like someone wasn't doing a very good job of supervising the work. Did your CD have any idea how long the ship will be out of service? We are booked for a Feb 26th cruise and hope she will be brought up to snuff by then.

[jperkin1]

Westlakeed - welcome back:) I have a ton of questions!

 

How did you find the Marriott in Cairo? Was the time there well spent and were you happy with that? We will be there a day early, and from what I have read the Marriott has a very good restaurant, so since I'm assuming we will be recovering from jet lag, we may just be content there or should we venture out? Did you do the Abu Simbel excursion? Because you stated that the itinerary was great, were you content with what was involved and all that you saw?

 

We will be on the February 5th sailing, so the temps may be different, but if you wouldn't mind throwing in what kind of clothing you brought and what you really didn't need, I would certainly be grateful! Were dinners casual? How were evenings on the boat? When going on excursions were hiking type clothes alright (capri's, running type shoes, polo shirts)?

 

I would love for the boat to be marvelous, but as long as the bed is comfy, the shower is hot, the food edible, and it's not dirty, I am good to go:)

 

Thanks for sharing any and all insight, it is very much appreciated!

[shoshona2]

To jperkin1,

 

I just returned from a tour to Egypt and Jordan and did a Nile River Cruise. I have just a little advice for you. Go to a health food store and buy a bottle of Pro-biotics (Acidophilus) and take three a day for two weeks before your trip and during your trip. I also chewed four Pepto-Bismol tablets a day while we were on our vacation. Use bottled water to brush your teeth even in the Marriott Hotel. We stayed at the five star Oberoi Hotel near the Pyamids and used bottled water to brush our teeth and on the river cruise. Most of the people on our trip got stomach distress -- some were very sick. My husband and I have been back a week and are doing well. The sights are awesome. Enjoy!!!

 

Sheila

[pacmom]

jperkin1,

The Marriott has 8 restaurants. We ate at the Pub and the Italian restaurants. There is also a wonderful sandwich shop/bakery on the lobby level. They make the sandwich to order--it was really good. The buffet breakfast was great, excellent selection. They were renovating when we were there a few years ago--should be done by now. The setting for the Marriott is like a desert oasis--lush and green, lovely pool and outdoor dining. Enjoy. Pat

[jperkin1]

Thanks Shoshona for that advice! We will definitely do that, that's good to know:)

[sands28]

I emailed Uniworld telling them that I was considering booking a cruise on the River Tosca and was concerned about the recent comments posted on this board. One day later I received the following reply:

 

Thank you very much for your inquiry about the new River Tosca. I am pleased you are considering cruising with us in Egypt; however, I also understand the concerns you now have based on the recent posting on Cruise Critic.

 

There are several issues we are working to resolve with regard to the finishing touches on the River Tosca. As with any new ship, there are always “growing pains” as it begins service and can be a work in progress. There are aspects to the workmanship that have not met our standards, and we have members of our management team currently onboard assessing the situation and formulating a plan to resolve all of the issues at hand. That plan will most likely entail taking the ship out of service for one to two weeks at some point in the near future so that all of the proper repairs can be made.

 

I would like to reassure you that we are committed to ensuring the River Tosca is truly the finest ship sailing the Nile, and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve that goal as quickly as reasonably possible. I will be happy to keep you advised of our plan when it is formulated and update you on the progress of the repairs after they have begun. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me directly if you have any additional questions or concerns.

[49er]

Thanks sands28 for the update on the Tosca. I guess the phrase "not quite ready for prime time" could be applied here. We have 100 days before we leave on our "Splendors of Nile" trip and are keeping our fingers crossed that she will be ship shape by then.

 

49er

[49er]

This might be of interest to future River Tosca cruisers....

 

http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/2009/10/uniworld’s-river-tosca-a-work-in-progress/

 

49

[Dakotabear34]

I met Next Trip and her husband on the Splendor of Egypt and the Nile sailing on the Tosca. I just got home yesterday morning(Wednesday the 25th of November to my home in Connecticut).

 

The tour was wonderful and our tour director Walid is the best you can get. He made the whole trip worthwhile, because he is so knowledgeable and accommodating to the people he shepard for the ten days we were with him. The optional tour to Abu Simbel is well worth the extra money($278US).

 

The Marriott & Casino is a very nice hotel. They have a wonderful Tuscany restaurant. The buffet breakfast in Omar's Cafe offers an expansive choice of foods.

 

The serve and attention of the staff on the Tosca is superb. The sights that we toured are indescribable and awesome.

 

The sore note of the trip is the ship. I was given the understand from the brochure that the Tosca was going to be a new ship of ultra luxury. Well this ship did not appear to be new and it definitely was not ultra luxury. The workmanship is very shoddy. The woodlike tiles in the stateroom and the corridor to the staterooms were bulking and cracking under foot. There was paint and spackling on the floors in our stateroom. The caulking in the bathroom was poorly done. Granted the bathrooms are very large. They have a bathtub as well as a separate shower. The three picture grouping hanging on our stateroom wall were not evenly spaced and were crooked. The Plexiglas guard to our French baclony was badly broken. The small tiles in the dining room popped out of the floor every time you moved you chair.

 

The good points about the ship is the very nice lounge, a nice sundeck with the cabanas, a very nice massage room, and a good selection of jewelry in the gift shop. There was also some good entertainment on Egyptian Nights.

[next trip?]

Hi DakotaBear,

We just returned home this afternoon and we would state exactly what Dakota Bear has said about the River Tosca. You would never believe that it is a new ship!! It could be beautiful but the workmanship is terrrible. The rooms are large, bathroom very nice and the lounge is laerge and nicely appointed. There are cracked and missing mosiac tiles, chipped parquet flooring, paint splatters everywhere, etc, etc,

There are no elevators or lifts and quite a few stairs to each level. Also, no jacuzzi.

There were a group of travel agents, vice President of Uniworld and several other management position people on our cruise looking over the ship. They also seemed very disappointed and stated the ship would be taken out of service for awhile to get it up to Uniworld's standards!

On the positive note---Our tour manager, Walid, was superb. He was extremely knowledgable, pleasant, great sense of humor and very easy going. He made our trip very special. We also had a small group of people that were delightful and everyone mixed very well. The trip met all of my expectationsd except for the river Tosca. it definitley was not a 5 star ship ( at this time anyway).

Dress during the day is casual--capris, khakis, light jacket. Dinner was dressy casual--nothing formal.

You can obtain your visas very easily when you enter Cairo. There is a booth right inside the airport. We were the only people in line when we arrived and it took about 2 mins. plus $15.00 each for the visa stamp.

You can buy antinol at any pharmacy for about 5 EP ( $1.00) for 12 tablets. I took 2 of them one day when my stomach didn't feel just right and had no trouble after that.

I will be happy to answer any questions.

next trip?

[Wineart]

How was the food on the boat?

[49er]

Welcome home next trip 2. Your comments about the River Tosca are right in line with others here on CC and elsewhere. Pretty amazing they (Uniworld) could not have corrected those problems before launch. Other then that it sounded like you had amazing trip. We are still recovering from too much Turkey but I will have a few questions for you later. In the mean time, have a nice weekend and enjoy your memories.

 

49er

[next trip?]

Even though we were disappointed in the River Tosca it does have many great features. The staterooms are large, the bathroom is the largest we have had on a ship, the staff was great and the food was very good. Breakfast ansd lunch were buffet style with plenty of choices. Dinner was a sit down dinner, except for the 2 Egyptian nights, which were buffets. I thought the choices of food was excellent and the presentation was beautiful. There could have been more choices at breakfast but you could always have omelets, cereal, fruit and pastry. I guess , when I think about it, that would be plenty of choices. I am not a breakfast eater so nothing partricularly appealed to me. There is yogurt, fresh fruit, eggs to order, cereal, pastry . Everything is presented very well and very clean and fresh looking.

We had an awesome time in Egypt and loved our tour guide, Walid, and the sights we saw were beyond my imagination. Everything ran smoothly and Walid was a very pleasant person who met all of our needs. Even though there are several very ealry mornings it was worth getting up to avoid large crowds.

Our weather was terrific--cool in the mornings and aorund 75 in the afternoon and then cool in the evenings. You do need a lightweight jacket. Dress was casual during the day and just a little bit dressy for dinner. Nothing formal, just business or smart casual.

The entertainement consisted of 2 Egyptian nights, which were lots of un, one show given by the crew members, which was great, a belly dancer and 2 whirling deverishes.

If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them, if I can.

next trip?

[49er]

If you have any questions I will be glad to answer them' date=' if I can.

next trip?[/quote']

 

OK, I have recovered from eating way too much Turkey so here are a few questions.

 

How were the beds on the Tosca? They look pretty soft in the pictures.

 

Is there one tour guide for the whole ship or do they split you up into two groups (and 2 busses presumably)?

 

Are you given much time in the mornings for breakfast or are the tours off and running pretty early?

 

Was bottled water available on board for no-charge?

 

My wife loves L'Occitane. Were they the provided toiletries on board?

 

I am sure a few more questions will come to mind but this is a good start. Thanks so much for any information you may provide.

49er

[next trip?]

Hi 49er,

The beds on the ship were heavenly! Not too soft nor too hard. We thought they were sooo comfy. Very similar to the beds at the Marriott. Nice silky sheets and duvets, several pillows!

Yes, bottled water is provided on the tours each day and we brought those back to our rooms. Never any problem about having enough bottled water. DO NOT use the tap water---even for brushing your teeth.

Our group consisted of only 14 people so we did not break up into smaller groups. We used a big, very comfy touring bus so if you wanted to you could spread out, Our guide was walid--he was exceptional so I hope you get him!

All bathroom products were Egyptian products that stated they were made with all natural ings. I loved them and, like your wife, prefer wither Aveida or L'Occtaian (sp?) The products on the ship were excellent and you could purchase them at the Spa, if you wished. I particularly liked the body lotion.

Breakfast was not rushed, although there are some very ealry mornings---like 4:30. We were alwasy given a wake-up call about an hour before we were to leave. That is not enough time for me so I had taken an alarm clock and set it for about 1/2 hour before their normal wake up call. The rest. was always open for a full breakfast and you could have a complete hour to eat, if you wished. The tour was never rushed but lots of early mornings. It was hectic in that way but worth getting up because you avoided the crowds. You did have time then in the aft. to either nap or rest up on the top deck. The top deck was wonderful. Lots of cabanas for shade or lounge chairs if you wanted sun. Afternoon tea was served around 4:00 or 4:30.

Dress was casual and in the evneings for dinner most of the women just wore nice capris and a dressy top. Only 2 of our group of men had jackets ( my husband not being one of them). They wore those at the Captain's dinner so I don't think it is worthwhile to pack one just for one night. All of the other men wore either nice khakis or dress pants with a polo shirt.

If I can answer any more questions just let me know.

My husband, who was reluctant to go at the beginning, admitted it was one of our best trips! You will have a fantastic time. There are a lot of vendors at all sights who really follow you around but I like haggling and it seemed to be done in a fairly good nature. I actually enjoyed it. Be sure if you are bargaining to cut the price they quote at least in half! Our guide, Walid, would always give us some price guidlines before we entered the sight. For example: at several sights they are selling 3 pretty nice wooden statutes of Ramses, Neferteri and ( can't remember the other one) but anyway they start at $30.00 and our guide said not to pay more than $5.00. He was correct since I got 2 sets, at different sights, for the $5.00. Just keep bargaining and then walk away. They will come after you and sell it for your low price! Postcards are 2 sets of 10 cards each for a dollar.

We found in all sights that they took american dollars. We did use some Egyptian dollars because of the good exchange rate but if we ran out we started using $1.00 bills. They accepted them readily.

Be sure to buy your Visa upon entering the airport, before baggage claim. Very easy to do and only $15.00. It took us about 2 mins.

next trip?

[Rosie01]

We also were on Tosca with Next Trip? and Dakotabear. This was our first cruise/tour of this kind ever and had a wonderful time. However, we had nothing to compare it with. Our group of 14 was great as was the guide Walid. The staff superb, food very good (however, we are fish eaters and did not eat the meat),small but good gift shop, beds very comfortable and bathroom spacious for cruise boats. There was a very limited wine selection. I did not see any other Nile river boat that looked any better from the outside than Tosca. However, as stated before, the Tosca needs quite a few finishing touches. The tour itself included many incredible sights, mostly in the morning, leaving the ship 7-8 (this is very early for us). We did the Abu Simbel trip and it was well worth the extra expense. There were other groups on board, i.e. Ancient Wonders and Jewels and each seemed to have their own guide, although the Abu Simbel trip was combined with one guide as we were a relatively small group. The weather was perfect for us, sunny blue skies during the day cooling down at night.

Any questions I will be glad to help if I can.

Rosie01

[geriyac]

We returned on November 3 from this trip of a lifetime and are still amazed by all that we experienced. The Marriott is a lovely hotel with wonderful beds and a nice variety of restaurants. We preferred the outside seating and meals at Egyptian Nights and the breakfasts were delicious and ample. Do use the bottled water for everything, including the coffee maker in the room. Avoid ice and opt for the local Heineken, Stella, or Sakkarah beers and wines. Our guide, Ossama, was the best. A trained archaeologist and Egyptologist, who has taught at the university level, he was one of the best teachers either one of us has ever had. The Prince Abbas, though older, was a very fine river cruiser with comfortable beds a good food. Lake Nasser added a whole different dimension to the Egyptian experience, culminating in the incredible Abu Simbel. This was one of highlights in a trip filled with high points. Though the River Tosca will benefit from the finishing touches that should have been made prior to putting her into service, it is a beautiful ship and should live up to the hype of being the most luxurious Nile cruiser. The cabins are spacious, the beds and linens luxurious, and the toiletries quite exotic. We loved the deck with the private lounge cabanas and the vantage for enjoying the views of the Nile. The food was satisfactory, but some tweaking is needed to earn the five stars of Uniworld's reputation. Luxor at night was indescribable and I wish we could also have visited Karnak after dark. The only real drawback of the entire itinerary was the jam-packed last day that saw a full day of touring (Valley of the Kings and Karnak), a flight back to Cairo at night, and a brief nap at the Marriott prior to taking off for the airport for our flight out at 4 am. Would I recommend this trip? Absolutely, with two caveats: Bring athletic walking shoes with good support and soles that grip and if you have trouble walking, seriously reconsider this trip. Our tour group included some folks who apparently hadn't read the fine print in the tour descriptions and they had a difficult time. Aside from this, I extend wishes for a bon voyage to all who are planning to take this incredible trip!

[opal21]

Great reviews of The Tosca. Four of us will be doing the 2/26 Splendors trip. I have some questions and maybe some of you can help.

 

Does the floor tile, bathroom issues, etc. cause a hazard to the guests or are they just unsightly? Are there bathrobes?

As to the extremely early tours...What time do they serve breakfast on those days?

After the tours do you have much free time to wander and shop? Is it easy to return to the boat on your own? Do you usually return to the boat for lunch? Can you get off the boat after lunch and walk around?

Someone mentioned people from other tours joining the Tosca. It looks like the people on the Jewel of Egypt join this trip. Is that correct?

 

We have arranged our own flights and are arriving one day early to the Marriott....Any advice on transport from airport to hotel(early evening) as we are four?(taxi, van, hotel car service) We also have a 4:40 AM return flight, so we can make our connection. What time did most people leave the hotel that last day?

It sounds like the guys can leave the sport jackets home and golf shirts are appropriate for dinner. More room in the suit case for the girls. Is it pretty cool on the boat in the evening?

Any info will be appreciated.

Carol

[49er]

My thanks to all the former River Tosca cruisers for all the information you have provided on your recent cruise. You all seem to have had wonderful trips in spite of the Tosca's "short comings".

 

So next trip?...what is the "next trip" going to be?? Planning is always half the fun. Thanks again for all your tips. BTW, we did secure our Visa at the Egyptian Consulate over in San Francisco so we are all set. I was going to bring a sport coat but I am now thinking it might get to stay home for this trip:-)

 

Opal21, We are also on the Feb 26th Splendors of the Nile cruise/tour and are keeping our fingers crossed that the Tosca will be ship shape by then.

We are also staying an extra pre-night at the Marriott (purchased through UniWorld) and an airport transfer is included. Uniworld also provides a transfer for our departure flight (also at 4:40am) on March 10.

Less then 90 days to go now. Can hardly wait.

 

49er

[opal21]

49er,

We booked The Marriott on our own, so we will have to get to the hotel on our own and return to the airport on our own. Interesting that you are booked on that same 4:40 Lhuftansa flight. We're coming from Texas and my sil & husband from NY and it was the best connection for all of us.

Look forward to meeting in Cairo,

Is the Abu Simbel excursion a full day tour?

Carol

[next trip?]

You can use Uniworlds' transportation for your return trip to the airport even though you booked your own flights. We booked our own and hired a guide for the firsat few days in Cairo until we met up with Uniworld. The fee for the trip to Mena House was $30.00 for both of us and it is a lot farther than the Marriott from the airport. If you let your tour manager know your flight time home he will include you with the group going back to the airport.

The trip to Abu Simbel began at around 6:00AM and we were back on the boat by 1:00 in time for lunch.

The rests. at the Marriott are very good--espcially the Italian rest. "Tuscany" and Egyptian Nights. The Marriott has lovely outdoor gardens with twinkling lights all over. It is a beautiful spot to eat outside.

The floors on the River Tosca are parquet ( not marble as the brochure states), except in the bathroom. the only problem was that twice my DH stepped on an exposed nail in the stateroom sticking up from the parquet. Luckily on both occassions it did not pierce his foot. when he let the front desk know they were knocking on our door to fix it within mins.

There was shopping after each tour--market type shopping with lots of haggling with the vendors. You will see the same items over and over again.

49er--the next trip is a month in Florida in March to escape our awful winter, a 10 day Caribbean cruise in May, then a week in June at Gulf Shores with our children and grandchildren to celebrate our 50th anniversary. We are also talking about another River Cruise next Fall on the Danaube and rhine. We have done several of those and loved them.

Oh, the joys of being retired!!!

You will all love your trips to Egypt. I can't stop thinking about all the things we did!

Nights are cool--be sure to bring a jacket or sweaters for the evenings and top deck on the ship.

next trip?

[next trip?]

Opal 21,

I forgot to answer your question about bathrobes. Yes, there are very comfy bathrobes for each of you in the stateroom.

We only went off the boat once on our own to shop and I believe that was Aswan. All other times you are sailing or getting ready to go on another tour.

You will have plenty of time though to shop at the local markets at the tour sights. I am a real shopper and it was enough for me. We did have the extra days in Cairo and went the the Khan bazaar, which I loved. Streets and alleyways of one vender after another. You really sharpen your bargaining skills on this trip!

next trip?

[Rosie01]

Opal 21:

There are bathrobes. The floor tiles are unsightly, but did not see any safety problems with them. They will probably be fixed by the time you go. They always served breakfast for 1 hour before departure at whatever time. We had wake up calls as early as 4:00 a.m. for 5:00 a.m departure to catch a plane. On return to US our plane left at 12:30 a.m. which worked out great. Checked out of hotel at 9:30 p.m. and Marriott hotel provided breakfast box. We flew in dark all way arriving at Kennedy at 6:15 a.m. so we were able to sleep on plane. We were back on board Tosca for lunch and free afternoon. There was free time in afternoons in Luxor and Aswan, but the mooring would require taxi or falucca(?sp) ride to get to city center. We were just content to relax on top, but some in our party did venture into cities.

Rosie01

[opal21]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info. It's so nice to be able to get all the facts ahead of time. All I need now is best transport from the airport to the Marriott and we're set to go.

By the way, was it a flight to and from Abu Simbel? How long did it take?

Carol

[next trip?]

Opal21,

Yes, it was a flight to Abu Simbel. The flight itself takes about an hour. That was one of the early morning wake-ups, but it was worth it to get to Abu Simbel before horrific crowds ascended. You are back on the ship by around 12:30 or 1:00, in time for lunch. Abu Simbel is awesome--don't miss it!

next trip?