Queen Isabel Review

Uniworld Queen Isabel disappoints

Review for Europe River Cruise on Queen Isabel
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love2read
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Nov 2019
Cabin: Outside Stateroom with Window

I have sailed with Uniworld twice before and with Viking a few times. I chose this sailing because of the beauty of Portugal and the friendliness of its people.

Although the scenery was lovely, people do need to understand that the regulations on the Douro only allow for sailing during daylight hours. This means very limited time in port and a lot of time on the ship. Also, except for Porto, the ship docks in the middle of nowhere. Thus, one of the joys of walking off a river cruise and into a city or town is nonexistent. There was a lot of bus travel. I believe this applies to all Douro River Cruises and none of that was a problem specific to Uniworld.

Uniworld promotes itself as a luxury boutique line. It’s motto is “Nothing but the best for you” and you pay for that level of attention.

Cabin Review

Outside Stateroom with Window

We were awakened each morning as people began to rise for the day. We heard an average of four flushes a minute. One morning, I actually recorded this on my iPad. We reported this noise to the manager and he said that he knows and added that “We hate this ship.” He asked me to please report it to Uniworld as he has already done so many times. He held out his hands crossed in front of him and added, “My hands are tied.”

I contacted my travel agent while on board as well and she tried her best to try to remedy the situation. The best she could get was shipboard credit of 100€/pp. I said thanks, but no thanks. I sent a long letter to Uniworld Customer Service on my last day aboard. As I lay there listening to the constant sound of flushing toilets, I told them how unhappy I was. I even included the recording of the repeated sound of toilets.

Two weeks later, I heard back from them. They were sorry and offering 350€ future cruise credit and a little shipboard credit. I will not use it.

I am very disappointed in the ship and the way in which Uniworld handled this. Not only have they lost my business, but six friends were booked with Uniworld in the spring and they have canceled.

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