The Glorious Danube - Epilogue

Looking back at a wonderful 11-day voyage along the Danube with Uniworld Boutique River Cruises...

So, we finally had to say farewell to our water-borne 'home' for the best part of the last two weeks. The flight connection from Vienna back to London on the final morning went extremely well and the return home wasn't too severe (it wasn't raining, for a change!).

It was our first full river-cruise, and it couldn't have been any smoother or more memorable. Uniworld (with arrangements by UK tour experts Titan Travel) were ideal hosts and we were hugely impressed by the gracious onboard style, service and cuisine.

Nothing was ever rushed but everything was accomplished with ease, and the overall feeling of travelling in such elegant fashion with a large number of new-found friends was almost overwhelming. 

And, while the River Duchess didn't boast anything overtly flashy in terms of the onboard entertainment, there was always something to enjoy, from good conversation at the 24-hour coffee station to some amazing musical and folkloric shows in the main lounge.

Every meal was memorable and every crew member seemed to go out of their way to make things as seamless and enjoyable as possible. And, if the weather wasn't quite ideal at this time of year (just a bit too much rain, notably in Bulgaria and on our transit of the Iron Gates), it was certainly never cold and unpleasant (as it was back in the UK!).

If there was one mild criticism, perhaps we did spent a bit too long on the coaches on some days as we toured Bulgaria and Croatia, while more time in the surprise Hungarian city of Pecs would probably have been a good idea.

But, overall, the itinerary was extremely well balanced, superbly organised and highly educational, and we never lacked for information, history or just a good place to stop for a coffee!

Of the countries we visited, we probably saw enough of Romania and Bulgaria, but all of Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia proved surprisingly beguiling and worthy of a return trip at some stage, while the journey through the Iron Gates gorge (below) was a real visual highlight.

Food-wise, we were wowed by the big Captain's Gala dinners at the start and end of the cruise; by the wonderful al fresco dining experience one evening; and by the superb array of fresh, local produce and signature national dishes offered throughout.

Complimentary wine or beer with lunch and dinner is an excellent selling point and we never had to think about what we might like at any given point, as our needs and wishes always seemed to be met as soon as we thought of them - right down to the wonderful late-night snacks that awaited us when we returned from evening excursions.

And, while we were impressed by every aspect of the service on board, we also need to single out several real stars, who all helped to make the whole cruise go with that perfect combination of personable and efficient:

Captain Michael Hofmann: the German master, now resident in Romania (and owner of his own watermelon farm!), was a huge hit with all concerned, especially for his rare sense of humour and ability to convey the real sense of fun in sailing along the Danube. I have rarely encountered a ship's captain with more natural bonhomie.

Cruise Manager Christine Bremberger: every river-cruise clearly needs a Master Planner to make sure all the shoreside arrangement go off without a hitch, as the importance of good daily excursions is paramount here. Christine must be one of the hardest-working people in the company as she was always either organising, conducting, narrating or explaining what we were seeing and doing at any given point. No request was too small or too complicated for her to handle.

Hotel Manager Jaroslav Veselka: our Slovakian cruise host was a master of quiet organisation, smooth efficiency and genuine friendliness. Once again, no request was ever met with a negative and everything seemed right at his fingertips in terms of ensuring the onboard operation ran like amiable clockwork. Our surprise wedding anniversary celebration was a great case in point, but, again, it was handled with effortless aplomb.

Maitre D' Dimitar and his restaurant team were always spot on with their service and ability to provide a great dining experience, and no meal went by without one highlight or another - although the soups were an amazingly consistent highlight and dessert was always a rare pleasure.

All in all, it is hard to imagine what more the Duchess could have done to make our cruise more enjoyable - except, perhaps, to have halted the space-time continuum, allowing us to stay on board for a lot longer. Perhaps next time...!

Oh, and after our wonderful trip to the Croatian school in Laslovo, I need to do a quick shout-out to my youngest 'follower,' Dalton from Plainfield Elementary School, Illinois, and my big Super Bowl pen-pal from earlier this year. Study hard, Dalton!

This ‘Imperial Capitals of Europe’ voyage can be booked at www.uniworldrivercruises.co.uk, with Titan Travel (in the UK only) at www.titantravel.co.uk or, for more on river-cruising in general, seek out the luxury cruise-agent specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd on this link.

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Titan Expands No-Fly Cruise Tours

Titan Travel has expanded its no-fly cruising to Norway’s Fjords, Cape Verde Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, the Black Sea and France’s River Seine and Oise.  

Each tour begins and ends with the unique Titan VIP Home Departure Service ensuring passengers arrive at their destination relaxed and ready to enjoy the tour. In the UK, guests are driven directly to the hotel in which their holiday starts, bringing the holiday feeling right to their front door.   

Examples include the Taste of the Cape Verde Islands cruise, which takes in breathtaking landscapes from West Africa to the Southern Mediterranean, including Casablanca, Lanzarote, Madeira, Dakar in Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. It’s a chance to experience colourful African markets, fascinating islands and a diverse range of cultures by sea. This 22-day no-fly cruise starts from £1,995 per person.  

Alternatively, the 29-day Voyage to the Black Sea sets sail in early Autumn for some of the Mediterranean’s classic treasures, including Gibraltar, Palma, Malta, Crete, Athens, Istanbul and then on through the Bosphorus to Varna in Bulgaria, Odessa, Sevastapol and Yalta – the Pearl of the Crimea. This 29 day no-fly cruise starts from £2,995 per person.  

Leaving Dover in early September, the 8-day Fjordland Splendour explores Norway’s fjords and the chance to cruise along deep-water inlets of mirror-glass water, looking up at high-waterfalls, colourful villages and mountain peaks all from the comfort of cruise ship the Black Watch. Eight-day itineraries start from £995 per person. 

For more information, look up www.titantravel.co.uk and for more on ex-UK cruising, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK’s leading cruise-agent specialists.

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The Glorious Danube - Travelling The River

Continuing our epic river-cruise along the Danube on the River Duchess of Uniworld, travelling through eastern Europe...

Romania to Serbia, Part 1

Having detailed much so far about life on board, I thought I would take some time to provide a look at the destinations we are travelling through.

This is Uniworld’s ‘Imperial Capitals of Europe’ cruise, an 11-day glide through the heart of eastern Europe, from Romania to Austria, and taking in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Slovakia in between, a huge slice of European history, culture, geography and architecture (plus food and wine!).

The basic idea is to use the riverboat as your ‘mobile home’ along the way, providing a comfortable and elegant mode of transport through these many different areas (like the old-fashioned coach tour but much more leisurely and relaxing).

Having flown in to Bucharest (the majority of he rest of the passengers arrived via Istanbul, where Uniworld had arranged a 3-day pre-cruise stay), we were immediately afforded a literal taste of Romanian culture with a healthy lunch at a big local restaurant.

That was followed by a full coach tour of the city, stopping en route to marvel at some of the architectural gems of the city, like Nicola Ceausescu’s massive Parliament building and the central square where the local people finally stood up to the vicious dictator in 1989.

From Buharest, we were whisked south to the town of Girgiu – and the River Duchess, the beautifully remodelled 132-passenger vessel that operates this voyage west to Vienna. Our first view of the mighty Danube – Europe’s second-longest river after the Volga in Russia – was also a memorable occasion, a huge stretch of inexorable east-flowing water, with Bulgaria on the south bank.

Our ‘welcome aboard’ was the first sign that this was to be a truly stylish and memorable journey, with the crew providing fresh fruit juice and cold towels to wash away any traces of the road, and a quick escort to our cabin.

That evening g we ‘set sail’ – all the way across the river to Ruse! OK, so not the biggest journey in the world but an introduction to another new country to us. Dinner that night was a pure delight, a genuine taste of Uniworld’s graceful cuisine, featuring local tastes but delivered in best continental style from an amazingly efficient galley. Portions are (happily) not large, but with a starter, soup course, main course and dessert, it is certainly sufficient for most appetites.

Next morning, it was up bright and early for breakfast and then off on an all-day coach excursion into the hinterland, destination the 16^th and 17^th century towns of Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi (the latter being a UNESCO World heritage site).

The weather was unremittingly grim, sadly, but the ship provided umbrellas and we were still able to enjoy some eye-catching sight-seeing, a walking tour of Arbanassi (including the 17^th century merchant’s villa), a traditional lunch and a little shopping in Veliko Tarnovo with its array of local crafts.

Our longish journey back to the ship (which had moved up-river to Nikopol) took us through some of the poorest countryside in Bulgaria, and it was sobering to see such levels of near poverty  in this big rural area.

We sailed again that night – a bit further this time! – and awoke next day on one of the most evocative sections of the Danube between Romania and Bulgaria. Two mighty locks needed to be negotiated (the second, a double lock that took a full 90 minutes to pass through), providing plenty of visual stimulation, along with commentary from our Cruise Manager Christine.

The highlight, though, was saved for the final hour before dusk as we navigated the Iron Gates, the immense Danube gorge where the granite river walls soar more than 300ft above each side and narrow to just 160ft at one point. It makes for a stunning visual panorama, with our Duchess the only thing on the river in the fading brooding light and the sheer cliffs soaring on either side.

To be continued...

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The Glorious Danube - Part 4

Continuing the story of our big Danube River voyage from east to west aboard the classic River Duchess of Uniworld…

A Cruise-Tour

With this cruise, we started in Bucharest and already had one full city tour under our belts before even setting foot on the boat.

That’s because Uniworld like you to really SEE the places you travel through rather than skim over or around them. This is immersion travelling in the best possible sense.

Arriving in the Romanian capital city, behind the old Iron Curtain, we were whisked off for a typical Romanian lunch – including wine – before our feet had barely touched the ground. Then it was off on a fully-guided tour of the city, stopping at key points to get an understanding of the architecture, history – and politics.

Having got a feel for this surprising, vibrant city, it was then time to head for our home base for the next 12 days, the 132-passenger River Duchess, newly refurbished for this particular voyage and a genuine haven of warmth and comfort.

With only 82 in this group, there is plenty of space in which to stretch out, relax and let the onboard service cosset you with friendly, attentive courtesy that is a joy to be around.

A warm ‘welcome aboard’ was swiftly followed by a remarkably humorous reception from Captain Michael Hofmann and his largely east European crew. The feel, though, is more Viennese boutique charm than anything else.

The food also matches it, and our Cruise Manager, Christine, adds to the feeling by ensuring we know everything in store for the next morning’s full-day excursion into the Bulgarian hinterland, to the former capital city of Veliko Tarnovo and the UNESCO World heritage site of Arbanassi village, a 16^th century settlement of enormous beauty.

However, there is always an alternative with Uniworld, hence we were also offered a trip to a local nature reserve or the option of simply staying aboard at leisure to enjoy the Duchess’s slow progress along the river, meeting the inland excursion further upstream.

As it turned out, the weather was pretty miserable, it rained much of the day, but Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi were an absolute delight, a glimpse of both modern and historical Bulgarian life that veered from near-poverty levels in the rural areas to breathtaking architecture in the 12^th century fortress of Tsarevets.

In arbanassi, we were also treated to a classic Bulgarian meal (see pic above) of Shopska salad (cucumber, tomato, peppers, onion and parsley), vegetable soup and chicken stew, washed down with a rather good Bulgarian merlot that gave everything a certain glow. We could definitely get to like this Uniworld style…!

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The Glorious Danube - Part 2

Continuing our epic Danube voyage in the company of Uniworld and Titan Travel, from Girgiu in Romania to Vienna in Austria...

Early Impressions – The Cabin

Being more familiar with ocean-going ships than river vessels, I was curious as to how our cabin would compare with the larger-scale version, even with a company as upmarket as Uniworld.

While the River Duchess is a sleek, classic riverboat, it isn’t the largest prospect in the world, hence it was hard to imagine the accommodations being especially spacious. I needn’t have worried.

The standard cabins measure a healthy 151sq ft and only the four suites are significantly different in any material way, providing all guests with a thoroughly cosseted experience.

The two single beds can be combined into a comfortable double, along with continental duvets and a choice of pillows. Individual air-conditioning ensures you can find your optimum temperature, and the compact, marbled bathroom is a mini-haven of creature comforts, with the power-shower a real blessing.

A basket of fresh fruit and bottle of Gleichenstein Spatburgunder awaited our arrival and we were able to toast our good fortune with a glass of Germany’s finest red win as we set sail.

A flatscreen TV, bottle of fresh filtered water, robes, slipper and free in-room wi-fi completed a truly elegant picture and we were instantly transported to a new realm of travelling comfort.

Double cupboards provide ample storage space for 11 days and, after unpacking, we were definitely ready for a new water-borne adventure.

Next stop, Bulgaria…

NB: Uniworld is the American-owned river-boat operator but their cruises are sold in the UK via Titan Travel, so you can look up www.uniworld.co.uk or www.titantravel.com.

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Danube - The Beginning

Beginning  a series of blog posts 'live' from the River Duchess of Uniworld and Titan Travel on a voyage from Romania to Austria

Day One: Arrival and embarkation

After a fairly exhausting near-two days of travel (Florida-London, London-Bucharest, Bucharest-Girgiu), we have arrived on board the beautiful River Duchess at the Danube port of Girgiu, the official start of our journey.

First impressions are of a very elegant, sleek vessel - very different from any of my previous cruises, even the small-ship versions.

This is more like travelling with a group of friends, but in quite elegant style.

The riverboat holds only 130 passengers, and there are only 82 on this voyage, hence it is definitely small-scale, personal and quite laid-back.

Our 'welcome aboard' made us feel like checking in at a top-class boutique European hotel, and the general look and ambience are similar.

We are getting ready for our first dinner aboard and also setting sail this evening - for the Bulgarian port across the river!

More soon...

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