Luxury cruising on the River Rhine

As you may have read in my last blog, I was very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to sample 3 nights on the SS Antoinette, which belongs to Uniworld. All I knew was that the ships were luxurious and this was the top river cruise line to sail on, so expectations were high and I was not disappointed.

Upon arrival in Amsterdam, I was met by my own chauffeur – which is when I knew then the trip was going to a be a fabulous few days. The car I was driven in was almost like a limousine and I did feel like a celebrity pulling up to the ship in Amsterdam, where we were greeted on the quayside by a crew member and my bag was whisked away, and I was shown into the atrium.

Walking onto the ship – the first thing that I saw was the beautiful blue and white chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the atrium of the ship. Checking in at reception I was advised that lunch was being served and to make my way when ready, and that our cabins would be available from 2pm. As we still had 3 more colleagues to arrive we waited in the main bar with a prosecco. The lounge itself could seat all 145  guests on board and this was where the cruise director did a daily talk before dinner to advise about the following days port of call, the excursions and any other tips. It was also where late breakfast, lunch snacks and afternoon tea would take place, and after dinner was where the entertainment would be which was a couple of singers. Within the lounge was also games/jigsaws available to play.

After a late lunch we headed back to reception to obtain our room keys and were then each taken by a member of the crew to our cabins. We all had river view cabins and on our floor was the guest laundry, the cinema which hold 20 guests and if you asked at reception Popcorn would be provided. There was a tea/coffee station as our cabins did not have facilities within them.

Walking into my cabin you could see how much Uni World had gone in the way of making you feel at home and in luxury. The products in the bathroom were L’Occitane, there were bathrobes and slippers to use, on the side was a jar of sweets, flasks to fill with water to take on the excursions, the wardrobes had lights, and there was also on the side your guides to take with you on the tours so you listen to the guides. My cabin was made as a double and the bed was so comfortable, with the duvet snuggling around you and a pillow menu to help you get a good nights sleep.

We set sail from Amsterdam around 3.30pm and muster drill was held in the bar. This where we were then welcomed on board by the crew.

Dinner was served at 7pm every evening and is on an open dining – where you can choose to sit where and who you would like to. River cruising is more sociable than Ocean cruising and you are encouraged to dine more with the other guests as I did notice there was no tables for 2, only tables for 4-8 guests. another observation I noticed and not sure if this is an Ocean cruise thing but our waiter didn’t seem to operate on the ladies first policy, and in the end one of my colleagues pointed out that the ladies should be served first and to come back to him.

After dinner we proceeded to the bar for a drink and as it was the first night did seem very quiet, assuming everyone else like us had the early starts and we stayed for one drink before heading off to our cabins.

First impressions was all the staff seemed very friendly and helpful (despite the ladies first policy not being operated on our table at dinner), cabins were very comfortable and our floating boutique hotel for the next 3 nights would look after us well.

Next time I will tell you about our days in Cologne and Koblenz.

Have a good couple of weeks

Kerry

xx