Enjoyed Portugal and Spain, but service disappointed

Queen Isabel Cruise Review to Europe

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 95

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Queen Isabel

Jewels of Spain, Portugal &Douro River From Lisbon

Sail date: April 17, 2015

Ship: Queen Isabel

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 205

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

We would recommend this tour/cruise for those who want to learn more about Portugal, Spain and Port wine.  Lisbon and Portugal were the highlights as the Lisbon tour director/Uniworld rep. was the best.  She gave us suggestions of local restaurants and things to do in our free time in Lisbon.  We spent 4 hours enjoying a museum she recommended near the hotel.  The Intercontinental Hotel in Lisbon exceeded our expectations but we cannot say the same about the Palace Hotel.  The only great thing about the Palace was the location and door staff.   It did not live up to the 5 star rating, beds and pillows were too soft, quite a few on the tour complained and were told they were in the "cheap" rooms, what did they expect so the staff put a board under the mattress.  The beds were soft in the higher priced rooms too.  The Uniworld staff and tour guides in Spain did not measure up to the high bar set by the Portugal staff and guides.  The River part of the trip was very interesting, the boat staff was trying but service and quality of the food was just not there.   The cruise did not live up to what we expected from  Uniworld , maybe it was because we had just been spoiled by excellent service on a 14 day Seabourn cruise before arriving in Lisbon to begin this adventure.  We had been told that Uniworld was equal to Seabourn in service and accommodations, but we did not find that to be the case.  The food and service was equal to a previous Viking tour we had taken at lesser price.  We enjoyed the Douro River but spent too much time of buses for the time spent touring.  If we book another river cruise, we would try another all inclusive company before returning to Uniworld.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

wasn't any

Entertainment

really wasn't any

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Staff was trying hard but not trained up to Uniworld standards

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

This "cruise" is really a tour with a cruise built in.

Was this review helpful? 95

1 Comment

glomarrone    9 years ago

I have only been on one Uniworld cruise and it was this one.  We were on a brand new ship, the Duoro Spirit and I had a very different experience.  Right now I am on a River cruise with Vantage through France.  It is just as much fun as my river cruise through the Duoro Valley.  This ship isn't as new but the staff is wonderful and the food is good.