My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the River Countess in July 2011. The food was fabulous. We enjoyed trying new dishes. The fruit was plentiful and fresh. The sauces were wonderful. The meats cooked to perfection. The cruise director - Mirela Varga - was outstanding. She genuinely cared about each guest and did her utmost to accomodate every need. When an optional tour didn't have enough requests to be viable, she found a way for the interested people to get to the destination on their own. When we ... couldn't find a particular store we were looking for, she walked us down the street to the location. The rooms were comfortable. The showers were more than adequate with good water flow and plenty of hot water. We were particularly impressed with the fact that the ship was not looking for extra ways to charge us fees. We had all the water we wanted in our room for free. We had snacks between meals for free. We had soft drinks at lunch and dinner for free. They even handed out umbrellas for us to use for free when it rained. The crew went out of their way to make every guest feel welcome and cared about. The daily tours were well planned. We particularly enjoyed the wine tasting in the wine cellars of Wurzburg, the gondola ride in Rudesheim, the organ concert in Passua, the castle ruins in Heidelberg, and the Document Center in Nuremberg. The only disappointing day was in Deggendorf. The ride through the Black Forest was not a "carriage"; it was a wagon and the ride went mostly through some farm fields with only a few minutes in the forest. And the glass factory was not in operation.

All in all, it was a restful, interesting, and enjoyable vacation. Read More...

We recently concluded the Nov. 9 Grand European Discovery cruise aboard River Countess. It was marvelous! But I do want to comment on one thing very important to us. The cruise or tour manager, Heiner is of the utmost in professionalism. He, simply put, is a "walking encyclopedia" of European history and culture. He was enjoyable, courteous, kind and helpful. This man's service to Uniworld is nothing short of "gold & sterling". Uniworld is extremely fortunate to have him aboard! Thank you for the wonderful experience.
– Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Anderson