The first ship built for Uniworld, and it shows
Before 2011, Uniworld bought existing hulls and reworked them. S.S.
Antoinette is the first ship drawn and built for the line, at the De Hoop yard
in the Netherlands. The difference shows in choices you do not make during a
refit: a two-storey lobby, a twenty-two-seat cinema, an indoor pool placed aft
to keep vibration away from the cabins.
The lobby chandelier came from Tavern on the Green in New York. Three metres
of blue crystal. You can find that excessive, and many travellers do for the
first minute, then grow fond of it. It is the signature of a line that owns a
loaded decorative taste rather than the Scandinavian restraint of its
competitors.
The hull
One hundred and thirty-five metres, 152 guests, 56 crew. Four decks named
Countess, Duchess, Princess and Sun. The ship works the Rhine, most often
between Basel and Amsterdam.
On the Princess deck, full-height windows drop and turn the balcony into an
enclosed veranda. That is an honest answer to the Rhine climate: a true balcony
on the Rhine in April earns little, a veranda earns its keep daily.
Choosing between the large hulls
S.S. Catherine shares the same 135 metres on the Rhone and the Saone, and S.S. Maria Theresa on the
Danube. On the Rhine itself, S.S. Victoria and S.S. Elisabeth carry 110 guests, forty-two fewer than this
ship on a hull of the same length, which produces markedly larger
accommodation. That is where the choice
sits: more personal space, or more life aboard.
What is included, and what is not
Start with the part that surprises people: shipboard gratuities are already
covered. You do not end the cruise with a list of envelopes to prepare. Meals
follow, with a selection of wines, beers and spirits available through the day.
Scheduled excursions and the transfers in your file are included.
Wi-Fi is provided aboard as a courtesy. Uniworld guarantees neither
availability nor speed, and losing the signal in a lock is normal rather than
exceptional.
You pay separately for airfare, visas, travel insurance, laundry, spa,
communications and optional excursions.
Moving around aboard and ashore
The line promises reasonable efforts without guaranteeing accessibility. No
mobility equipment is provided aboard. A traveller who needs assistance must
sail with someone who can genuinely provide it, not merely in principle.
Ashore, historic centres are cobbled and not every quay is fitted out. Have the
exact configuration of your chosen ship confirmed.
Leaving from Quebec
The time difference works against you outbound and for you on the way home.
An evening departure from Montreal lands you in Europe in the morning, with a
full day ahead and a broken night behind. Advisors who know these itineraries
book a hotel night before embarkation almost every time.
Voyages AquaTerra is licensed by Quebec's Office de la protection du
consommateur. Your payments pass through the trust account Quebec law requires,
and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents applies to your file.
Ask for the paperwork. You are entitled to it.
