I traveled solo on the River Royale through Provence and Burgundy from April 29-May 6, 2012 and couldn't have enjoyed myself more. I am sold on Uniworld and river cruising. I kept a blog during the trip; if you are interested in reading about the shore excursions, meals, and my impressions, go to http://www.riverroyale.weebly.com. I also wrote a five-star critique on cruisecritic.com but it's a bit repetitive with the blog. http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=102349 This was truly a trip to remember.

My partner and I recently experienced our first river cruise last month on River Royale through Burgundy and Provence. A fabulous trip and kudos to the fantastic crew and the wonderful guides who together helped make it so special. To view my blog with commentary, photos, video interviews with Captain Emanuel, cruise manager Emmanuelle, hotel manager Eric and more, visit garythetravelexpert.blogspot.com

Our Grand France trip on Uniworld in August was 5-star. Both the River Baroness and River Royale exceeded our expectations.
The trip began in Paris, which was the least of our favorite due to the large number of tourists, pick-pocketers and an environment lacking authentic French culture. Paris today doesn’t compare to how we remembered it from our first visit 10 years ago.
The Baroness welcomed us with a lovely lunch, after which we were led to our 1st class cabin draped in fine fabric and offering a luxury bed, refurbished bathrooms, luxury bath robes and toiletries.
Our tour director ... for the entirety of the trip was Alexandra – she was very knowledgeable and well-organized, as well as willing to accommodate all of interests in local history.
The ship’s restaurant offered open-seating, allowing us to socialize with others and make friends right away. Of course there is the option of keeping to yourself, but this seems less fun. All of the waiters were very hard-working and provided attention to all of our needs.
We would like to thank Vasil and Violetta on the Baroness, as both made every meal so special for us. We would also like to thank Georgiev on River Royal, who served us wonderful meals with a smile, even through the pain of his injured foot.
Another thank-you goes to our wonderful chef Carlos Benedito - for all the lamb, fish, and escargot prepared in a small hot kitchen. You name it, he had it. Carlos was always interested in our approval and criticism and was attentive to our food restrictions. Merci beaucoup, Carlos.
The scenery and little towns were amazing, as were the bigger cities like Roeun, Lyon, Avignon. Our visit to the Normandy beaches was very special, as was Alexandra’s presentation and explanation of the history.
Entertainment on the ship was very relaxing – it included a piano player, invited performers, a French-singing couple and violinist.
The local guides were very knowledgeable: Christian and Laurent, to name just a couple, exposed us to so much history and local flavors. We found Quietvox to be very helpful, especially when taking 1,000 pictures and at the same time listening to the presentation.
We went on 4 optional trips: to the Cider farm and Versailles in the north, and to the truffle and olive farms in the south. All were very interesting and special, and we would definitely recommend them.
We met a lot of great people from Australia, the US, Israel, England, Taiwan, Hong Kong and France, not to mention our waiters who were from Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and other Eastern European countries.
We also would like to thank our hospitality directors Georgina on Baroness and Eric on Royale for the smooth and personable service and great coordination of the staff. Eric – thank you for a wonderful gift shop.
We returned home reenergized, with many new experiences, new friends and the best memories in our hearts. Not to mention all the pictures we took along the way.
Thank you Uniworld for smooth sailing along the Seine, Saone and Rhone. We won’t forget this wonderful trip, which we took for our upcoming 30th Anniversary. Thank you for the celebration of my birthday, too, with the cake and warm wishes.
Merci beaucoup,
Alex and Elena. Read More...

I can only give the highest of accolades about our river cruise through Burgundy and Provence trip this past month! This was our first cruise of this type and with Uniworld to celebrate a milestone anniversary and all our expectations were far exceeded! The transfers, the crew, the decor, the epicurean meals, the tours, the tour guides - everything - was first class all the way and has given us forever memories. Eric, A.J., Jeanette (our tour guide)and especially servers like Tibor, Tobor made our trip so enjoyable and fun. Thank you Uniworld and we'll see you next year - ... along with some friends - for a different itinerary and we can hardly wait to go again! Read More...

We selected this Uniworld cruise mostly because of the French itinerary. It was our first river cruise and our first trip with Uniworld. We were very impressed with the staff, the accommodations, the itinerary, the local guides, and of course the food and wine. Uniworld had thought of everything and all of the staff and crew worked very hard to make sure that their guests had a memorable experience. Our cruise manager Alexandra was wonderful. She seemed to be everywhere tending to all of our questions and needs. The fact that so many of our cruise-mates were repeat customers spoke ... a lot for the Uniworld reputation. The River Royale was a lovely ship. The rooms were small but well-designed with plenty of storage space and room to stow your suitcases under the beds. The bathrooms were roomy and well-appointed with L'Occitane products. The guided walks in the various ports were led by very knowledgeable local guides who lived in the towns we were visiting and had lots of tidbits to share. And the small group size for the walking tours was just right. There were about 20 or so in each group. We only signed up for 2 of the 4 afternoon optional trips and in retrospect we probably should have done all 4. We took the afternoon tours in Avignon to the aquaduct and in Arles to the olive farm and Baux en Provence and they were both excellent. But we also found that just sitting on the deck slowly cruising down the Rhone on a sunny afternoon was very relaxing. In Tain L'Hermitage, a group of us early risers got to walk up to the vineyards at 8 a.m. one morning with our fitness expert Nicola. We liked having the Audiovox (sic) system so we could easily hear our tour guide. We thought the food selection was also quite good. The menu focused on the specialties of the region we were traveling through and was complemented by the wine selections. There was always the option to have plain chicken or steak or fish. The portion sizes were just right so that we could enjoy all of the courses including dessert. And the wait staff were very attentive. English was the language of choice as many of the staff did not speak French. We would certainly take another cruise with Uniworld. Read More...

I traveled with 3 other girlfriends and we can thoroughly recommend this cruise for a wonderful holiday, the crew & staff were very friendly and most helpful, in fact we had loads of fun with the crew - there was a mixture of mostly Australians, Canadians & American passengers, who all mixed in well together on most nights together, the tours that were included were mostly interesting and the land tour guides had very good knowledge of the local areas, and could answer all queries..... whilst back on board, crew/staff members Eric, AJ, Istvana, Ivana & Daniella ... & others were great fun & most informative...........will definitely do another river cruise later on.....Amanda, Kate, Les & Cathy October 2009 Read More...

My wife and I had a wonderful time on the "River Royale."  All of our expectations were exceeded. The service, food, tours and accommodations were of an exceptional quality.  Your commitment to customer service was fully demonstrated when I left ALL of my prescriptions on the taxi that took us to the airport at Marseilles. The help you provided in locating our taxi driver and having my medications delivered to me at the airport brought a perfect end to a grand experience.  

My words are inadequate and do not fully represent my appreciation.

Merci,
Irv Rollins

I wanted to tell you about the great experience we had on our recent Uniworld Cruise. It was the Grand France cruise that began for us in Paris on May 1. My wife had never been to France and I could think of no better way to thank her for thirty years of putting up with me than to try this river cruising experience. I admit it was a gamble. I did some research as a teacher would do and found your site. It contained a great combination of good scenery, relaxed yet informative locations, and an attention to details ... so I decided to book.

I must say the I was extremely pleased and satisfied with the experience. The cruise more than exceeded my expectations and my wife was absolutely enthralled by the entire experience. From the moment we landed in Paris to the departure from Marseille, the smile never left my face. The staff of both boats did their very best to make sure our stay was comfortable and friendly. I think you should continue the efforts you've made to keep the staff relaxed and friendly. On the cruise to Normandy our breakfasts and lunch were enhanced by the dining room "relaxed professionalism" of Miroslov who placed a turkey breast on my plate after I said I was hungry to which he responded "Not enough?"

On the "Epicurean" Cruise we were treated and pampered by waiters and waitresses like Zoltan, Anna, Daniella, and Luigi who who did a fantastic job day after day of providing impeccable service and enjoyable company. Zoltan and I (being the history teacher) quizzed each other daily on important historical events.
I'm sure I could go on and on ad nauseum but I wanted you to know that you and your staff provided a perfect anniversary to us and it was a five star hit. I'm sure you can't please everone but you sure did to us and our friends, the Sterns, the McGorrys, and Karen Deegan. We look forward to another cruise soon – we're now officially spoiled. Thank you so much and please convey our gratitude to the entire staff for a job well done.

Sincerely,

George and Bonnie O'Brien
Southport, North Carolina Read More...

My wife and I just completed the Provence/Burgundy river cruise on October 19th with an extension in Paris. I just wanted to write to let you know how much we enjoyed the cruise and your entire staff, from the cruise director to the housekeeping. Everyone was always courteous and friendly, providing the service for which Uniworld in known.

As much as I enjoyed this trip, I did however, start having some respiratory problems while in Lyon which worsened when I arrived in Paris. On Monday, October 20, I needed to go the hospital. Your local host, Betsy Dryer, was ... absolutely outstanding in the help the she provided. She took us to the American Hospital and stayed with us for several hours while I was being evaluated. Fortunately, after 5 hours in the emergency room, the problem was identified and resolved over the next few days with medication. Betsy in an excellent representative for Uniworld in Paris, and we can't say enough to truly indicate our appreciation for the help she provided. She is genuinely committed to assisting the Uniworld guests and you should be proud and honored to have such an employee.
– Sincerely, Richard Beauchemin Read More...

Dear Uniworld I recently took the Southern France cruise
(July 6-13, 2008 - River Royale) and had the time of my life. I would like to commend Emmanulle, our cruise director, as she made the trip very much more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined. She and I bonded on the bus trip from Marseille to Arles and the trip continued upward from there. This was my first trip to France after having dreamed of going for twenty years.
– Sincerely, Rudi J. Bertrand