Grand Circle & Uniworld cruises

Guest · Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2003 3:46 pm Post subject:

Just got back from river cruise, Budapest to Amsterdam, wonderful in every respect. Did it on Uniworld, would go again in a heatbeat!

M. Olson · Guest

I had my own travel agent book my last tour with Grand Cirlcle..I asked what the fee would be and was very satisfied with the small charge for them handling all the details.....The river tour was from Munich, Germany to Budapest, Hungary and I recommend it....the food on the ship was excellent. The guides and staff most helpful........I recommend Grand Circle and they take very good care of singles and seniors.......

Guest

Bonobobertha · Guest

A secondhand comment, if you will allow: friends from church have chosen Grand Circle both for value ("Best bang for the buck," were his words) and for the smaller, more intimate travel experience. They are people in their early 70s and they have taken several river cruise tours and have not been disappointed. The only time they were disappointed was when they tried a larger cruise vessel and said, "Never again."

Alex Mac · Guest

Have done river cruises in France and Germany with both companies and found them pretty equivalent in most respects, ie., boats, food, entertainment, tour director competence, overall efficiency and organization of events, and pricing, etc.. Have recently found Grand Circle to be unresponsive at top management level to customer's dissatisfaction with a European tour where a post trip extension was advertised (as an added enticement for the primary tour package), offered, accepted and paid for and then cancelled by the company due to probable low profit margin from a smaller number of participants than THEY desired. Their actual minimum headcount requirement is not defined in any of their publications nor will the company reveal it even after the fact. Company has been totally unsympathetic regarding customer's disappointment with the tour schedule modification (post payment and commitment on the customer's part) and the customer is still locked in to the primary tour per Grand Circle's one-sided terms and conditions which protect only them. Caveat Emptor and read the fine print before sending this outfit your money. Be advised that talking to the front line folks who answer the phone on anything out of the ordinary is a frustrating and unproductive waste of time. This customer will not use them again and neither will dozens of others because of their go-to-Hell attitude toward a repeat customer who wanted only what the company had originally offered and accepted payment for-from folks who signed up and paid the bill in full, in good faith.

neb · Guest

We traveled with gct last year and were so satisfied, we decided to do it again
Were we disappointed to now find out they will raise the price of the trip and will have the right to do so until departure
We have never booked with a company who would not lock in your price---even when you pay the balance---they have clauses to allow them to raise prices at will
Last year we did not encounter this
This year we are finding out we are at their mercy
BEWARE

Armando from San Diego · Guest

I and my wife have traveled with Grand Circle on three trips, Copper Canyon in Mexico, Trans-Canada Railway (Vancouver to Toronto) and the National Parks Tour. We have also traveled with Uniworld on a Prague, Budapest & Vienna tour. All of these trips were very succesful and a rewarding experience. The hotels are first class and the tour guides, except for the fellow in Budapest, well informed and charming. (Note: the Budpest fellow was a bit nationalistic but otherwise fine) I very much recommend Uniworld...and the price is right!

Virginia Lipp · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 1

My sister and I are planning to do the Uniworld Amsterdam to Vienna cruise. We want to leave late Sept. or early October. Does anyone know what the weather is like. Is it rough on the water? Windy? Raining? I'm not too concerned about land, mostly on board. Will we need sea sick pills? Is there a big difference in movement on the boat based on what level your cabin is on?
Thanks. Virginia

Guest · Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 2:06 pm Post subject:

You will not need sea sick pills; rivers don’t generally have large waves so it’s very smooth. Sometimes a barge will pass and there will be a little rocking for a very short time. Cabin location should not be effected much by ship motion, however choose mid-ship to be on the safe side, we had a cabin in the very front and had no problem. I have not been on these rivers, just on the Seine, so maybe someone will confirm my thoughts on this. My wife bought one of those electronic wrist things for motion sickness, but never used it on our cruise.

Late Sept. and early Oct. are good times to cruise. It will be cool enough to wear a light jacket in the morning and while on deck cruising. Rain can come anytime, but the weather will change as you move across Europe, so it would be unlikely that it would rain on the entire trip. The ship will cruise around 15 mph so there can be a breeze up on the deck.

As far as cabin location, the lowest level may make you feel like you are underwater and the highest level you can hear people walking on the deck. Look for a cabin with rooms on each side and above and below. Have fun, it will be a great ride.