Uniworld's Danube Discovery & Prague on the River Ambassador: A Review
Today I received a message from stranger through Trip Advisor asking about this trip, so I decided it was time to finally write up my review. I'm basing this off the review I submitted to Cruise Critic, but will expand on it quite a bit.
For the extremely curious among you (I count myself as one of those people!), I've uploaded all of the daily programs from the cruise portion of the trip. Use the arrows at the bottom to see the next page. If you have a Google account, you can even comment on each program to ask questions, if you like (feel free to comment on this blog with questions as well).
Now, on to the review. If you're looking for day-to-day details with photos, start here.
Embarkation
We arrived in Vienna for embarkation extremely early—we made it to the ship before 9:00 a.m. Our flight arrived about 30 minutes early, and we were met immediately outside baggage claim by a Uniworld representative. One other couple had also arrived early, so the six of us were transported to the dock in a small Mercedes van. It was an uneventful, enjoyable ride. We were the first passengers to arrive for this voyage!
Food
Excursions
The excursions were excellent. My favorites were Vienna As The Viennese Do and the Danube Bike Trip. Both of these were "choice" tours, which differed from the day's standard tour but were included in the cruise price. The QuiteVox system made it easy to hear our guides even as we broke away from the group, and they all provided excellent information (and were fluent English speakers).
Staff & Service
The staff onboard were excellent. I can't name them all here, but I must say that the cruise manager, Claudia, made our trip extremely enjoyable. She knew we were wiling to venture out on our own and would give us tips and maps to get out and about while returning to the ship on time. She even talked through future travel plans in Germany with us! It was clear she had all of the guests best interests in mind. Ogi, Alex, and Stefan shined in the dining room, making sure Dad had his fill of ice cream and Aaron had a beer with breakfast every morning.
I also took advantage of the spa service (60-minute full-body massage for $85), and was very pleased with the experience—it was my first massage! When we disembarked, the spa charge was all we owed. While the initial price of the cruise may seem a bit steep, you could truly get by without owing anything else to Uniworld at the end of the trip. We only spent a few hundred dollars on-shore during our seven-night cruise, and that included a fairly expensive, well-made hat we purchased in Regensburg.
Land Extension
After the cruise we were bussed to Prague for two nights in the Boscolo hotel. The accommodations were wonderful, and the location was good—a quick 7-minute walk to Old Town, but far enough out that you're not surrounded with drunken tourists and solicitors in the streets. If you want to explore Prague a bit more, it's just a block from a tram stop, metro station, and the main train station. The included tour in Prague was also great (we did not do any optional tours on this trip). We extended our stay in Prague, but it was nice to get our bearings while we still had people to help us.
We checked out of our hotel in Prague on the last day of the Uniworld vacation and stowed our luggage while we took a day trip to Terezin. While we were out, I received many messages on my phone (which had cell service turned off)—from the hotel, and from our travel agent. My travel agent also emailed me, and with free wifi on our bus returning to the hotel I got the message—we had left our passports in the hotel safe! The Uniworld staff made sure they were held for us, and even had our travel agent get in touch with us. The staff at Uniworld, whether onboard or onshore, really take care of you.
For the extremely curious among you (I count myself as one of those people!), I've uploaded all of the daily programs from the cruise portion of the trip. Use the arrows at the bottom to see the next page. If you have a Google account, you can even comment on each program to ask questions, if you like (feel free to comment on this blog with questions as well).
Now, on to the review. If you're looking for day-to-day details with photos, start here.
Uniworld Danube Discovery & Prague Review
My husband and I took a risk in May 2013 and booked a Uniworld river cruise on the Danube River, departing in September 2014. Yes, we booked over a year in advance! We wanted to secure the most affordable cabin, and with only a handful on the ship, we needed to book early. Being in our 30's (I turned 31 on this vacation, he's 36), we expected to be among the youngest on the ship. As it turns out, I was the youngest by at least 15 years. We traveled with my parents, ages 61 & 74, and they had plenty of potential friends to mingle with. As big fans of German culture, particularly Bavaria, we loved this itinerary. Each city was unique and offered something new to do. We were particularly interested in WWII history, but ended up learning a fair bit of medieval history as well. Age difference aside, we loved every minute of our cruise and have already booked our next vacation with Uniworld.Embarkation
We arrived in Vienna for embarkation extremely early—we made it to the ship before 9:00 a.m. Our flight arrived about 30 minutes early, and we were met immediately outside baggage claim by a Uniworld representative. One other couple had also arrived early, so the six of us were transported to the dock in a small Mercedes van. It was an uneventful, enjoyable ride. We were the first passengers to arrive for this voyage!
Because we arrived so early, many of the previous week's passengers had not yet left the ship. The cruise manager, Claudia, welcomed us and offered us spaces in the lounge where breakfast was provided. I enjoyed some fruit and a machiatto from the fancy coffee machine in the lounge (it dispensed coffee, cappuccino, macchiato, lattes, and hot chocolate, if I recall). Knowing that our rooms likely wouldn't be ready for hours (standard check-in time is 3:00 p.m., we conferred with her briefly over a map of Vienna and set out to explore the city. When we returned around 2:30 p.m., our room was ready and our luggage had been delivered.
Food
We consider ourselves foodies, and we were extremely impressed with all of the food served on-board, particularly the local specialties. We tried to eat these at lunch and dinner every day. The servers and restaurant manager (Stefan) were quick to remember our preferences (like my husband wanting a local beer with every meal—even breakfast), and everything was presented as it is in fine restaurants. Although we had planned on eating onshore often before we boarded, we only skipped one meal on the River Ambassador. For photos of menus and food options, check out this photo album.
Room
Room
Our room (129), while small, was extremely comfortable and had everything we needed, with more than ample storage space. We brought a cosmetics organizer that could hang on the back of the bathroom door for our toiletries, and that worked well (there is not much counter space in the bathroom). Noise was a bit of an issue, but I was somewhat prepared for that, knowing we had booked the lowest category cabin (the noise was from the engine and from water hitting the ship both while docked and while sailing). The stewards were amazingly efficient and super sneaky. Most every morning our room was picked up before we came back from breakfast.
Excursions
The excursions were excellent. My favorites were Vienna As The Viennese Do and the Danube Bike Trip. Both of these were "choice" tours, which differed from the day's standard tour but were included in the cruise price. The QuiteVox system made it easy to hear our guides even as we broke away from the group, and they all provided excellent information (and were fluent English speakers).
Staff & Service
The staff onboard were excellent. I can't name them all here, but I must say that the cruise manager, Claudia, made our trip extremely enjoyable. She knew we were wiling to venture out on our own and would give us tips and maps to get out and about while returning to the ship on time. She even talked through future travel plans in Germany with us! It was clear she had all of the guests best interests in mind. Ogi, Alex, and Stefan shined in the dining room, making sure Dad had his fill of ice cream and Aaron had a beer with breakfast every morning.
I also took advantage of the spa service (60-minute full-body massage for $85), and was very pleased with the experience—it was my first massage! When we disembarked, the spa charge was all we owed. While the initial price of the cruise may seem a bit steep, you could truly get by without owing anything else to Uniworld at the end of the trip. We only spent a few hundred dollars on-shore during our seven-night cruise, and that included a fairly expensive, well-made hat we purchased in Regensburg.
Land Extension
After the cruise we were bussed to Prague for two nights in the Boscolo hotel. The accommodations were wonderful, and the location was good—a quick 7-minute walk to Old Town, but far enough out that you're not surrounded with drunken tourists and solicitors in the streets. If you want to explore Prague a bit more, it's just a block from a tram stop, metro station, and the main train station. The included tour in Prague was also great (we did not do any optional tours on this trip). We extended our stay in Prague, but it was nice to get our bearings while we still had people to help us.
We checked out of our hotel in Prague on the last day of the Uniworld vacation and stowed our luggage while we took a day trip to Terezin. While we were out, I received many messages on my phone (which had cell service turned off)—from the hotel, and from our travel agent. My travel agent also emailed me, and with free wifi on our bus returning to the hotel I got the message—we had left our passports in the hotel safe! The Uniworld staff made sure they were held for us, and even had our travel agent get in touch with us. The staff at Uniworld, whether onboard or onshore, really take care of you.
Summary
All in all, this was an excellent trip. As I mentioned, we're already booked on our next Uniworld vacation, and we look forward to the perks that come with being a returning guest. At our age, we should be able to enjoy those perks for at least half a lifetime!
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