River Cruise or floating hotel?

Item: River Countess
Rating: 3.3
Author: NJcruisers

River Countess Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe

NJcruisers

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

3.3 out of 5

9 Night Gems Of Northern Italy (Milan To Venice)

Sail date: April 13, 2018

Ship: River Countess

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 411

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

It was not a cruise. Minimal cruising with inconvenient parking spots. Food was a disappointment and totally not memorable. The highlight was the Art Historian who was spectacular. This was our second visit to Venice and she pointed out things that we did not notice before. Venice is made up of 8 or 9 islands which I did not realize before the trip. A few of the islands were again not memorable so I don't know if visitation there was worth it. If this is your first trip to Venice I think there is probably better ways of seeing it without visiting all of the islands. Our opinion!

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Not many dinner selections, no memorable meals and no pasta dishes. Nice dinner presentations but.... Breakfast and Lunch buffets were ok.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Just the lounge. Tours were week. two or three memorable tours

Entertainment

3 out of 5

One female singer was quite good. Piano player was ok but it wasn't much of a dance crowd

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Small but not unexpected. The Maria Teresa was better but that was a newer ship. Bathroom was good.

Ship tip

This is not a traditional river cruise. We cruised maybe twice. Ship docking locations were not convenient. 15 -20 minute walks to get into towns. There were two mandatory tours where we were forced off the ship because the ship was going into the Adriactic Sea and passengers were not allowed on board.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

HOTEL IN MILAN

3 out of 5

Very small rooms and expensive. Convenient location.

Thumbs Up 0

MOTORCOACH TRANSFER MILAN TO VENICE

4 out of 5

we do not like all day bus trips but we did stop at a winery and had an excellent meal and excellent wines. Surprise, (not), they had a wine store.

Thumbs Up 0

Venice, Italy

2 out of 5

Again docking locations were not convenient. There was a private visitation to St Mark's cathedral with an Art Historian and that was one of the highlights of the trip. Magical. The other Venice tours we went on were weak.

Thumbs Up 1

CHIOGGIA (PADUA), ITALY

3 out of 5

Yes, we took two tours. One past the mussel farms which was weak and one during market day which was just ok. Meal of mussels and Pasta was ok.

Thumbs Up 0

Polesella, Italy

2 out of 5

Visited Ferrara, not much there.

Thumbs Up 0

Taglio Di Po, Italy

4 out of 5

good tour, a couple of tourist traps, lace manufacturer and "golden wine".