This was my 42nd cruise, so I've had a bit of experience. Mostly on big ships, but I've previously sailed Viking and Avalon in Europe. I was onboard the River Countess for a week for their Venice/Northern Italy tour. I really can't imagine seeing Venice and surroundings any other way. The ship carries a max of 132 (or so) guests; our week was quiet, with just 45 on board, and 38 crew. It felt like a private yacht.

EMBARKATION

Our flight arrived around 9am, and Uniworld was there to greet us as soon as we cleared immigration. We only waited about 30 minutes to assemble the group before going to the bus to take us to the ship. The rooms weren't ready when we arrived, so they held our luggage, showed us to the lounge, where we were offered drinks, tea, snacks, and a chance to chat with other new arrivals until the rooms were ready at 2pm. Read more