I wonder who's in cabin 315 now.

On April 19, 2012 we departed Los Angeles International Airport for Budapest via Heathrow Airport in England. We were excited because this was to be our first river cruise, though we had enjoyed ocean cruising prior to this. My wife Rosalie was having a "big" birthday and always wanted a river cruise and loved a previous trip to Budapest. So naturally, a river cruise from Budapest to Passau on the Danube would be just the thing.

My Internet research indicated that the highest rated Danube river ... cruise was with a company called Uniworld so I booked a reservation on one of their highest rated ships, the River Beatrice. With great anticipation, we planned, packed and were on our way.

We arrived at the Budapest airport Friday evening, April 20th. Through Uniworld we had planned a pre-cruise day at the beginning of our trip but were unsure of our transportation needs at our arrival. We were pleasantly surprised to see Adam standing on the arrival ramp waiving a sign with our name on it after we cleared immigration. He gathered up our luggage, placed it in a modern van and we were on our way. Uniworld had made reservations for us at the Budapest Hilton. Upon arrival there, we signed in and were escorted to our room. The next two mornings we enjoyed complimentary breakfasts at the Hilton arranged by Uniworld.

The next day, Saturday the 21st, we chose to be on our own even though Romulus, the Uniworld local host in the hotel, had arranged a tour of the city for us and any others staying at the Hilton. We declined, not particularly caring for the 0815 tour departure, having arrived tired after approximately twelve hours enroute from Los Angeles.

We had a wonderful day wandering around Budapest, taking pictures and ending up for dinner at Fatal, a restaurant we remembered from our previous trip twelve years earlier. Returning to the Hilton, Romulus gave us the schedule for the next day, Sunday the 22nd; when to check out and how to leave our luggage in our rooms for the Uniworld crew to retrieve and place in the van that would take us to the River Beatrice. Rosalie and I thought this was a nice touch on the official start of our cruise.

On Sunday, April 22, we boarded the River Beatrice and were shown to our cabin, number 315 on the main deck. The River Beatrice registration procedure was flawless and pleasant and we were impressed by the beauty of the vessel. Our cabin, though "snug", was perfect with large sliding doors to a river view and a queen size bed that we found to be very comfortable. The cabin air conditioning was adjustable and the bathroom, " the head," was well appointed with ample counter space and a nice shower stall. Incidentally, the towels were monogrammed and luxurious. We had our first dinner aboard that evening.

We spent the next day in Budapest after our first night on the River Beatrice. Monday morning again we decided to do some touring on our own. Uniworld had arranged for a river shuttle boat to take any of us from our mooring on the Pest side of the Danube over to the Buda side. We took the shuttle, docked on the other side and walked a short distance to the famous Budapest Market, a very large two story building with food stalls on the main floor and gift stalls on the upper balcony. What fun. Rosalie bought Hungarian paprika in two decorative ceramic containers, our only purchase. She wanted these because we didn't purchase them on our last visit to Budapest. We walked back to the shuttle, which ran every hour, and rode back to the River Beatrice where we had lunch onboard.

Our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner were served in the beautifully appointed comfortable dining room. This main dining room had many tables, some round seating eight and some straight seating either eight or ten. Breakfast and lunch each day were buffet style with a wide selection of dishes both hot and cold and delicious. And, additionally, a wide selection of desserts, wickedly sweet and delicious. How tempting and, of course, we tried out many of them. Complimentary wine and beer was available at lunch and dinner. The dinner menu featured dishes of the areas we visited each day - goulash while in Budapest, etc. Coffee was served by the friendly, courteous and helpful staff and, caffeinated or decaffeinated, was served in insulated Bodum French coffee presses. What a nice touch and what a way to keep the coffee hot and delicious.

The Chief Steward must be complimented for his staff, all English speaking though mostly of Eastern European heritage. In particular I became infatuated with Sandra, one of our servers, a twenty-eight year old college graduate with a degree in hospitality management who soon will move to the reception desk in a new position on the vessel. Incidentally, only on two occasions did the dinner dress call for sport coats with or without a tie. Otherwise it was shipboard casual with many of us in jeans and sport shirts. Yes, I did pack a sport coat which immediately we hung in the spacious closet to hang out the wrinkles.

Once underway, we settled into a routine. Sumptuous breakfast buffet followed by either a bus or walking tour of the current city. Christine, the onboard excursion manager did a fantastic job of gathering us all up, sorted us into the correct buses or walking groups and assigning English speaking guides. We got used to following a guide holding up a large number sign that denoted our particular group. Lots of fun and we saw and learned a lot. Again, Uniworld is to be congratulated on how they conducted these various tours. The venues they chose were outstanding, many of unbelievable magnificence; churches and monasteries that appeared as if constructed of solid gold. Amazing. And while underway on the Danube we were treated to ever more amazing scenery as we sailed past story book village after story book village with castles and churches that looked out of the middle ages even though many were reconstructed and new.

In Vienna, Rosalie and I made a solitary pilgrimage to the Vienna Opera House, a magnificent structure and a dream visit for us as long time opera buffs. It literally brought tears to my eyes as we visited the inside lobby. I couldn't help but picture in my mind the tuxedoed burghers and bejeweled matrons of past decades ascending the formal stairway to hear the magnificent voices and spectacular music of past performances. Unfortunately that day the normal tour was not available but we were allowed by the Opera House ticket seller to take pictures even though ropes held us back from going up the stairs. We then visited the outside and around the corner Opera House bookstore. And we spent; a shoulder bag emblazoned with "Vienna Opera House" for Rosalie to flaunt back home to show we were there and some books, in German, picturing the insides of the Opera House and Natalie Dessau performing La Traviata there. We hated to leave this heart rending structure, but it became time to catch up with the tour bus and get back to the vessel.

I should mention that when leaving the vessel, we turned in our room keys and, for security, were given numbered shore passes. Upon returning, Jan, the vessel hotel manager, who is in charge of the hotel crew, would greet us, show us bowls of sweets, have us use a hand purifier that they use to keep outside viruses from coming aboard and guide us to the reception desk where Tanya or Martin would exchange the shore passes for our room keys. Additionally, this gave the desk a method to see if everyone had returned. We also were greeted with iced tea or soft drinks as we returned aboard from our excursions.

I also must say that the Reception Desk crew, Tanya, Martin and others, throughout our cruise, were extremely helpful. Martin, in particular, was the "go to person" for any wi-fi, iPad or laptop problem. The vessel had free wi-fi, mainly in the forward lounge, but, alas, was connected to the Internet via a satellite, after all, the vessel was cruising the Danube and not connected to shore. Vessel Satellite Internet is not configured for one-hundred plus people trying to connect at the same time on their iPads, laptops or assorted other devices. Usually we could download email but were unable to send messages. Such is life!

The River Beatrice also provided "low key" entertainment on occasion in the lounge. A piano player and local musicians presented short entertainment that was fun but not intrusive. This was a river cruise, not a large cruise ship with elaborate presentations. Very appropriate for us guests that spent each day on marvelous shore excursions and enjoyed a relaxing time in the lounge to meet with other passengers who became new friends.

Finally I must mention that our fellow cruisers were a nicely mixed lot and at no time did I feel out of place or uncomfortable. There was a nice mixture of gray and not yet gray hair with seniors like ourselves and younger people but no young children. Over all the experience was more than outstanding.

One unique experience I should mention was that as a retired officer in the United States Merchant Marine, I was allowed to visit the wheelhouse of the vessel while we were underway. I watched the Assistant Captain control the vessel with just slight hand movements on joy-stick like controls. Wonderfully modern on this vessel whose ships' bell indicated 2009 as the commissioning date.

If it were possible to rate Uniworld and the River Beatrice with more than five stars, definitely I would. And Rosalie and I hope to take another cruise with Uniworld in the future.









Read More...

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.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Cruise. The staff was very friendly and they covered a lot of locations. The food was simply marvelous!

We recently returned from Gems of Germany, Belgium & the Netherlands w/2012 Floriade. This being our 2nd cruise with Uniworld, we were generally pleased, especially with the ship's staff and the quality of the food. We just had a few issues:

Our flight arrived at 6:05 AM. We had requested early check-in, but were told when we boarded the ship that our cabin would not be available until 3PM. We were extremely tired, and I wasn't feeling well from the fatigue. After much pleading with the reception staff, they agreed to speak with the ... hotel manager, Celina. She agreed to make an exception to the rules and arranged to have our cabin available by 10:30 AM. This was greatly appreciated. My advice is if you have to arrive that early, arrive the previous day and book a hotel for 1 night. Hotels are more likely to have early check-in than the cruise ship.

Also, as I noted last year, some of the local guides did not allow sufficient free time. In Antwerp, our guide spent so much time in the cathedral that we had no free time to shop or enjoy this beautiful city. Uniworld should assure that guests have a minumum of 45 minutes of free time for all tours.

Finally, I am allergic to fish & seafood, and on this cruise, there was an abundance of fish on the menu. However, Zhivko, the restaurant manager, spoke to me personally about my allergy. The wait staff always made sure that suitable food was available.

In spite of these minor problems, I would still consider Uniworld for future river cruises. Read More...

Just returned from this cruise & tour and we miss everyone onboard already.
Everything was amazing...from the tours to the cruise, staff, food, ship and especially the new friends that we made.
We would highly recommend this trip to anyone especially with the extended 3 days in Lisbon.

I took my 88-year old mother, Millie, on her first trip to Europe last Spring on the River Beatrice. She had the time of her life. The staff and crew were amazing - they called her "Madame Amelia" which she loved to no end. Our fellow passengers were fascinating, and she made new friends and loved every minute of the trip.

Mom passed away last week, and I can honestly say that this trip was one of the highlights of her life. Thanks to Uniworld and the staff of the River Beatrice for giving her, and me, one of ... the most memorable trips ever. Read More...

this was our first river trip, we went with another couple and were pleased with everthing...the river beatrice was beautiful, the staff exceptional, the food was gourmet and the captain was a sweetheart. our husbands loved the fact that they could bike and my friend and I cuuld shop. we are planning on another trip since we so enjoyed our first.

April was beautiful and the tulips in bloom, had alot of fun. Wonderful service and food. Would take the same trip again just to see the windmills. Nice beautiful room upgraded to category 2 Room 312 was very nice, but expensive. Great big window to look out at the views while getting ready. I wasnt in my room much except to sleep and shower so i would pay less next time and go down a category like category 4 which has a water level view and smaller. Just make sure your room isnt next to an elevator or laundry or ... engine. Could be noisy, unless u bring a small fan or white noise device to drown out the noise. I would give the cruise an A+ everything went very smoothly never had to wait around for anything and the game room library we painted in watercolors, played scrabble, dominos, cards, great fun. Work out room gym great and for early risers coffee and croissants. Read More...

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

Having recently returned from another great holiday cruise aboard a Uniworld ship, we are compelled to express our delight and overly met expectations for the second year in a row. We very much appreciate the attention to detail and caring nature of the entire staff. We look forward to more river cruising in the years to come.

Gail and John Ogden