The Ultimate in River Cruising: Part I

Jittery about ocean cruising? Read on about river cruises.

I have taken over eighty cruises, and in December, I went for the first time on a river cruise down the Rhine River to visit Christmas Markets in Switzerland, France and Germany.  

After a wonderful eight days on Uniworld S.S. Antoinette, I am already planning my next river trip. I enjoyed it more than going on a big ship with thousands of passengers.

River cruising is very different from ocean cruising, which has been in the news due to the horrific grounding of the Costa Concordia off the Tuscan coast in Italy. 

There is no comparison between a river boat and a liner. On a river boat, there are 100 to 160 passengers max, versus up to 4,000 passengers on a cruise line. (Editor's note: The Costa Concordia was carrying 4,200 passengers and crew)

With many fewer passengers on board, and being so close to shore, evacuation is easy and instant. The river boats have flat hulls, so tipping over is not an issue. 

Uniworld has been voted Number 1 by readers of Conde Nast and Travel & Leisure magazines. It was also voted Number 1 for the best dining and cabins by Zagat.

They only market through travel agents, and what I liked was the wide range of ages on board. With people from  Australia, South Africa,  New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, it made a wonderful cosmopolitan group.

It was like staying in a lovely London hotel suite, since the Red Carnation Hotel group is a sister company and the same interior designer does all their vessels.   

I loved the heated mirrors and towel racks in the marble bathroom, and the glass-covered balcony with comfortable armchairs and a television was out of the ordinary.

There is no comparison between the other cruise lines I have been on, and Uniworld. It was luxury. It holds only 164 passengers, offers fantastic service, gourmet food, and wonderful entertainment and lectures. I was impressed with the movie theater, the pool, gym and spa.  

Choose from 12 different boutique vessels, and 37 wonderful itineraries in Europe, Russia, and Asia.  www.uniworld.com  Select from an 8-, l0-, 15-, 27 and 32-day cruise. Go from Amsterdam, Holland to Istanbul,  Turkey and see the best parts of Europe in style.

Normally, after a cruise no matter where it goes to, I come home exhausted. So much walking on the ship, miles of corridors, stairs, lifts, keeping a busy schedule with lectures, classes, shore excursions, movies, shows as I don’t like to miss anything. Plus, taking a tender ashore (if you have to anchor in the bay), and then board a bus to take what turns out to be an expensive excursion. Just planning on which restaurant you were going to eat at each night and making a reservation was an added task.

The river boat, however, was so compact it took a minute to leave your cabin and go into the dining room. No reserved seating. What I particularly liked was the buffet counters they had set up so no matter what time of day or night it was, you could get coffee, tea, hot chocolate, sandwiches, cookies and pastries.    

I was amazed that they had eleven chefs on board, and on the last night the captain introduced them all which I thought was a classy thing to do.

The wine, beer and soft drinks were all free with meals, and the menu was outstanding.   

This ship was the utmost in luxury. Magnificent art work, lamps, flowers, and the lounge was marvelous. I have never been on a vessel which had such comfortable couches and chairs you didn’t want to leave.  

It was such a pleasure to sit and listen to the wonderful artists and craftsmen they brought on board at various stops to entertain the passengers.   One chap was the most outstanding glass blower I have ever seen.  The vases and jewelry he made was top quality and very reasonably priced.   

We had everything from jazz, to opera, to a delightful German lady tell us about the history of Christmas family customs.      

They have cruises which are suitable for multi-generational families. The various itineraries are great value, when you consider what items are free, such as excursions, use of laundry room, wine and beer, free internet and Wi-Fi, and a very important item, free transportation to and from the airport.  On a cruise last summer I had to pay $125.00 each to take us to Rome airport.

Next week in Part 2,  I will go over the places we stopped at on this wonderful experience. It was bliss.