Uniworld will be chartering the River Victoria from a Russian company, starting in May. The design team from Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld’s sister company, will be working together with its Russian partners on the refurbishment plans, according to Guy Young, president of Uniworld.

Young would not disclose how much is being invested in the refurbishment of the ship, which is being stripped down to its hull.

Series of three cabins are being combined into two, which will create cabins ranging in size between 135 square feet and 210 square feet. The majority of cabins, category 1-3, will be 210 square feet, with 70% of all cabins featuring balconies. Category 4-5 cabins will be 135 square feet and category 6 cabins will be 161 square feet.

There will also be 10 suites: two junior suites at 334 square feet each; six deluxe suites at 269 square feet each; and two presidential suites at 409 square feet each. As part of the refurbishment an elevator will be added and all public areas will be renovated.

The 423 foot-long, 55 foot-wide River Victoria will be a 206-passenger vessel. It has four decks and features a restaurant, bar, library and fitness room.

In 2011, the River Victoria will sail the 13-day Imperial Waterways of Russia itinerary along the Volga River between St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as the reverse itinerary. Uniworld will operate 12 departures between May 20 and September 29, 2011.

Cruise-only prices range from $3,299 to $3,699, based on double occupancy and not including port charges.

The news comes on the heels of AMAWATERAYS announcing that it is signing a five-year lease on the newly renovated river cruise ship, the 212-passenger Amakatarina, which will set sail on the Volga River on May 10, 2011.

The Amakatarina will replace the company’s existing leased vessel in Russia, the 160-passenger Tolstoy, which will sail through the remaining 2010 season. ”We are overseeing every detail of the ship’s renovation,” said Rudi Schreiner, president of AMAWATERWAYS. “This will allow us to make sure the vessel is perfectly tailored to the high standards that Ama Waterways passengers expect.”

In addition to lending capital, Schreiner said that AMA would consult on the ship’s redesign and interior renovations. The ship is going to be stripped entirely and is being converted from a 400-passenger to a 212-passenger vessel, Schreiner said.

Of the 106 cabins, 76 will feature balconies. There will be 10 cabin categories, including four suite categories, with suites ranging from 280 to 432 square feet.

The ship will have a total of 24,025 square feet of interior space. The public areas will include a restaurant, panorama lounge, conference hall, sauna, bar and nightclub and solarium.

AMAWATERWAYS is offering 11-day itineraries on the Amakatarina along the Volga-Baltic Waterway, including three days in St. Petersburg and two days in Moscow. The cruise also includes visits to Uglich and Yaroslavl, then transit across the two lakes of Onega and Ladoga. The Amakatarina will sail 14 departures for the 2011 season.

Viking River Cruises also plans on completely refurbishing the Viking Pakhomov in Russia, which will undergo a bow-to-stern renovation like those of its sister ships, Viking Surkov and Viking Kirov, relaunched in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

The Pakhomov will feature hotel-style beds and flat-panel televisions. Public areas such as the restaurant, lounges, library and bar will be completely remodeled.

Avalon Waterways Panorama Suite

When Avalon Waterways unveiled plans in late May to launch what it called a “Suite Ship” — the Avalon Panorama with 64 suites (pictured) at 200 square feet each — the very definition of what constitutes a river cruise suite was put into question.

“We took a page from the hotel and big ship areas. From the hotel area, they define a suite as having a separate living area, sofa, chairs, some kind of area that can accommodate space beyond the bed,” said Steve Born, vice president of marketing for the Globus Family of Brands, which owns Avalon Waterways.

“For Avalon, anything 200 square feet and above is a suite, and the reason is we use that extra space for a living area … Size does matter, but it’s not just size but how you use it. It’s how you manipulate that space to have the extra living area.”

Indeed, river cruising takes its notes from the hotel and cruise industries, where the lines are also becoming increasingly blurred between what defines a suite, compared to a regular room or cabin.

But some feel that the term “suite” should really be reserved for cabins with two separate rooms, while others feel the term suite is about a certain level of comfort and luxury.

“In an ideal situation, a suite should be a two-room situation,” said Ron Santangelo, who served as president of Deilmann’s North America operations for 13 years, and is now vice president of business development at AMAWATERWAYS. “The word has been used and abused.” If a cabin just has a sitting area, said Santangelo, it should be called a “junior suite.”

“If you wanted to be a purist, that’s the game,” he added. “That said, no one’s a purist anymore.”

Part of what’s at play is that there is no single definition of a suite in river cruising, so river cruise lines define the word themselves based on how they want to market and sell certain cabins.

“In river cruising there is no governing body that defines what a suite is,” said Guy Young, president of Uniworld River Cruises. “This does leave the door open for different interpretation. In the case of Uniworld there is a clear difference between our standard staterooms and suites.”

According to Young, suites on Uniworld ships are typically 50% larger than regular staterooms and include a separate seating area. Suites are also defined with additional amenities such as free laundry service, shoe shine, bottle of wine on arrival, daily fruit and cookie plate, continental breakfast delivered to the room (er, suite) upon request and DVD players.

On Uniworld’s River Beatrice, launched last year, and the River Antoinette, launching next year, Uniworld offers butler service in the suites as well.

Looking at size, there will be eight suites on Uniworld’s newest ship, Antoinette, at 294 square feet each and one owner’s suite at 391 square feet.

As for whether the wide-ranging definitions in the river cruise marketplace could water down the implication of luxury, the word suite is meant to imply, or create confusion, Santangelo didn’t seem to think so.

“The word suite implies luxury without boundaries. The fact that everyone uses it in different ways, is really not a liability,” said Santangelo, adding that on AMAWATERWAYS’ new Amabella ship the suites are 350 square feet, and are called suites despite not having two separate rooms.

The bottom line, said Santangelo, is that “on the newer ships there are a lot more of them” — regardless of what you want to call them.

The 2010 results, released on July 8, ranked river cruise lines as follows:

1. Abercrombie & Kent, Score: 91.72
2. Avalon Waterways, Score: 90.09
3. Tauck World Discovery: 89.83
4. Viking River Cruises: 85.33
5. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection: 85.14

Readers were asked to rank river cruise lines based on these six characteristics: cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities and value, with an optional category for families.

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is introducing a new ship in Portugal next year, the 128-passenger Duoro Spirit, which will replace the 126-passenger Duoro Queen on Uniworld’s Portugal, Spain and Duoro River Valley itinerary.

All the staterooms and suites onboard the Duoro Spirit will have French balconies, hotel beds with fine linens, built-in closets, flat-screen satellite televisions, and complimentary bottled water; each bathroom will be stocked with L’Occitane body products and waffle bathrobes.

The Douro Spirit’s common areas will include a main lounge with full-service bar and dance floor, sun deck with Jacuzzi and a small swimming pool, a restaurant with open seating, fitness room, massage room, beauty salon, and a boutique.

The itinerary includes three nights in Lisbon in a deluxe hotel, and a seven-night cruise from Porto, Portugal to Salamanca, Spain.

Prices start from $2,999 per person, not including airfare, and include all meals with complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks served with dinner onboard; ten shore excursions by English-speaking local guides; and transfers on arrival and departure days.

There will be 24 departures on the Duoro Spirit next year between April 28 and Oct. 27.

Dear Editor:

Last month, we had 57 people booked on a 14-night Viking River cruise from Antwerp to Basil departing on April 18. Our group was to fly on April 17, but the flights were cancelled due to the volcanic ash.

On Monday, April 19, we contacted Viking River Cruises personnel and were told that our group would not be able to catch up with the cruise, as flights were still uncertain, and that the group members would need to go to their insurance companies for claims. What was striking about this was that other companies did the “right thing” and rebooked passengers for future cruises (Avalon, Uniworld, AMA Waterways, Collette Vacations to name a few).

We worked our way up the ladder and ended up talking with Milton Hugh, Sr. VP of Sales. He said they couldn’t get us out and wouldn’t reaccommodate us. He told us that the ship sailed and that it was not Viking’s fault that our group couldn’t get there, even though we purchased air through Viking’s air department.

We appealed, and Mr. Hugh told us that we would have an answer on Friday, April 23, a week after the flight cancellations. Of course, April 23 came and went with no answer, so I called and e-mailed on Monday April 26.

Mr. Hugh returned the call and left a message telling us that our clients were going to get their airfare back (actually coming from the airline) and a voucher for 50 percent off what they paid that could be used for a future 2010 cruise only. Not 2011, as some of our people were willing to do the same trip in 2011 that they missed in 2010.

I sent a letter and e-mails to the President (Tor Hagen ) and never had the courtesy of a return call or e-mail. I find the approach of Viking to be extremely poor. They have lost my company as a customer for the future. I would not recommend them for any future trips. If our clients choose to rebook them with the voucher, that is their decision.

Now for a completely different response: we had excellent communication and response from Travelex Insurance. Mike Ambrose was very responsive and worked with his people to do the “right thing.”

We will continue to use Travelex as a preferred partner. Also, to assist us with our group, AMAWATERWAYS and Kristin Karst stepped up to take care of our clients. AMA offered some great values on three future cruises as an option for our clients.

The point was not the fact that there was a problem with flying that made people miss their trip, but how a vendor handle the situation afterward. In that regard, I give thumbs up to Travelex and AMAWATERWAYS. I give thumbs down to Viking River Cruises.

Paul Seiferth

Terra Travel

The newbuild River Antoinette, sister ship to the River Beatrice, will be the largest ship in Uniworld’s fleet at 443 feet in length and 37.5 feet wide. Most of the 73 staterooms will be 196 square feet, and 20 staterooms will be 163 square feet. There will be eight junior suites measuring 294 square feet each and one owner’s suite at 391 square feet.

The ship will have a 20-by-13-foot heated swimming pool, not a very common feature on river cruise ships in Europe, on the top deck at the aft of the ship as well as a sky lounge. All the upper deck staterooms, including eight junior suites and the owner’s suite, will have sliding glass doors and balconies. Another glass window on the balcony that can be electronically moved up and down will give passengers the option to either have an open-air balcony or an enclosed balcony in cooler weather.

The River Antoinette will sail Uniworld’s Castles Along the Rhine itinerary.

Beatrice Tollman, founder and president of Uniworld’s sister company, the Red Carnation Hotel Collection, will lead the design project together with her daughter, Antoinette Tollman, godmother and namesake of the River Antoinette.

They plan on incorporating cream and blue toile fabrics in the junior suites and top deck staterooms; and crewel fabric in cream with a floral design in soft green, powder blue, baby pink, and dark green colors in mid-deck staterooms. All suites and staterooms will have custom English Savoir beds, and marble bathrooms with L’Occitane bath products and Christies of Manchester towels.

Said Uniworld President Guy Young, “The announcement of the River Antoinette is the beginning of exciting plans Uniworld has in store for 2011.” Young did not say how much Uniworld was investing in the vessel, but did say it would be the company’s most expensive newbuild to date.

Uniworld River Cruises’ Nile ship, the River Tosca, is ready for its second unveiling.

The Tosca entered back into service on March 22, after a seven-week dry dock to repair initial workmanship problems the ship had when it launched in October.

“As a company, we saw the need and opportunity to provide travelers to Egypt with a Nile River cruise ship that would incorporate the same high standards as our ships in Europe,” Uniworld President Guy Young said in a statement. “Uniworld commissioned the River Tosca with the goal that it would be one of the most luxurious ships to sail the Nile.”

However, the Tosca, which was built and then fixed by Uniworld’s partners in Egypt, Spring Tours, did not initially meet the company’s standards.

When the Tosca launched in October, the wood floors in the staterooms, main stairwell, and corridors had been scratched and damaged during installation; the mosaic tiles in the restaurant were loose; the paint and woodwork in the staterooms was imprecise; and the choice of fabrics in the staterooms was predominantly white, lending them to easy staining.

Consequently, the Tosca was dry docked from Feb. 1 until March 22 to make all the necessary repairs and adjustments to those areas.

“Dry docking the ship — in the height of the season — was a very difficult and humbling decision for the company,” Young stated. “It was the right decision to make, however, both for the long term success of Uniworld in Egypt and, most importantly, for our customers.”

Young, who recently returned from inspecting the ship, said that all the floors in staterooms, corridors, stairwells, and restaurant have been replaced. And that there are new wall coverings in the staterooms and the furniture has been reupholstered.

Indeed, photos from his visit show that the wood floors in the staterooms have been replaced with marble floors, the once-white fabric walls are now wallpapered and the furniture in the staterooms has been changed from stark white pieces to soft neutral shades. Additionall, the mosaic tiles in the restaurant have been replaced with wood flooring.

“I can now proudly say after visiting the Tosca that all the noted deficiencies have been resolved,” Young stated.

The Tosca has 30 remaining departures scheduled for 2010, and 42 departures scheduled for 2011. Uniworld’s Nile itineraries range from $2,249 for an eight-day itinerary during May and June up to $4,495 for a 12-day itinerary during December.

Over the past couple of years, river cruise companies have begun to put greater emphasis on their culinary programs, introducing new dining areas, hiring new chefs and even creating entire itineraries around food and wine, such as with Uniworld River Cruises’ Epicurean Adventures program, which includes cooking demonstrations (like the one pictured above).

“Food is an absolutely integral part of the entire river cruise experience,” said Joost Ouendag, vice president of product marketing for Viking River Cruises. “We don’t see it as detached from the rest of the cruise. It is connected with the landscape, the traditions and the people along the rivers.”

At the end of January, Viking invested $48,000 to bring its European food and beverage team to Southern California for nine days of wining and dining to get a better sense of the evolving American culinary experience.

“The most important thing we came away with is that the American palate is not a monolithic thing, there are many American palates,” said Ouendag. “It was a good refresher to see just how diverse the offerings are in a city like Los Angeles … it offers a great opportunity to introduce people to Europe’s diverse cuisine in a playful, educational way.”

For instance, Ouendag noted Americans’ evolved taste and knowledge of wines, as well as the growing culinary trend of fresh and locally grown produce.

Consequently, some enhancements for 2010 that emerged following the trip, is that for 2010 Viking is introducing organic choices for breakfast and organic wines. It will also be increasing the number of cooking demonstrations on board. Depending on where guests sail, they can learn how to make Alsatian flammkuchen (a flat bread that looks somewhat like a pizza topped with ham and onions), French fondant au chocolat, or Austrian apple strudel.

And something Viking started in 2009 that it will increase in 2010 is chef visits to local markets with passengers in tow.

More dining options onboard

At this point, almost all new and refurbished river cruise ships have at least one, if not two, alternative dining areas to the main restaurant, including dining in the bar and lounge area, or increasingly in a smaller aft lounge that many new ships are having built in. There is also a new trend toward offering and marketing a more casual lunch grill on the outdoor sun deck when weather permits.

Avalon Waterways was one of the company’s to embrace the sky deck grill, available on four of it ships — the Avalon Scenery, Creativity, Affinity and Luminary — and will be available on the Avalon Felicity when it launches this month. At the grill, up to 40 diners can enjoy an open-air lunch.

Also, Avalon’s Royal Deck passengers can order a continental breakfast for their room (room service is not traditionally available on river cruises yet).

Fresh talent

This past fall, Uniworld River Cruises too decided to put greater emphasis on its food and beverage program by hiring a new culinary director, Bernhard Zorn, who has worked on Crystal Cruises and Silverseas Cruises, and has been tasked with enhancing the on board culinary experience.

The move comes on the tail of Uniworld having introduced a new Epicurean Adventurer program last year, which is available on 11 of its Europe itineraries, and includes wine pairings with dinner and cooking demonstrations. And this year Uniworld also added a Travelling Lite program, food options for calorie-conscious guests.

Uniworld also hosts an extensive annual cooking summit for senior kitchen and restaurant staff, which includes visiting local markets, cooking demonstrations and workshops, menu engineering and planning, baking and pastry classes.

New Italian-theme restaurants

Yet another dining alternative is being introduced on at least two river cruise lines: an additional Italian-theme restaurant. Already, the Australian-based company Scenic Tours, which has four river cruise ships — the Scenic Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond and Ruby — has in addition to its main dining room (which has a capacity of between 182 and 184 passengers, depending on the ship), an alternative Italian-theme restaurant called Portobello’s (pictured), which can sit up to 28 passengers on a reservation basis.

AMAWATERWAYS, too, is planning on introducing an Italian-theme restaurant on its two newbuilds, the Amabella and Amaverde, slated for 2010 and 2011 delivery, respectively. Both ships will be devoted entirely to the Australian market, so AMAWATERWAYS isn’t marketing the developments too heavily in the U.S.

On the Amabella and Amaverda,AMAWATERWAYS’ President Rudi Schreiner said the restaurant will be divided into two sides — on one side will be a regular restaurant, and on the other an Italian-theme restaurant.

And the alternative dining restaurant at the aft of the ships “is going to be a special experience restaurant,” said Schreiner. “It’s something that people might do once or twice doing the cruise. It’s not like in the front, where you have a choice of three or four entrees. The chef will be cooking something different [every night].”

“Attention ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching a very low bridge, and we kindly ask that you vacate the Sun Deck until we have passed.” Floating down Moselle River, Peter Deilmann River Cruises’ Heidelberg is passing under a bridge — a low bridge.

The crew removes not only all tables and deck chairs from the Sun Deck but also the side railings. Even the captain’s pilot house must be lowered so that it is flush with the upper deck.

Welcome to river cruising in Europe, where the experience is unlike any other. With the ability to cruise through the heartland of Europe, river cruises have all the advantages of a bus tour, but without the hassle of having to change hotels or deal with your luggage – or, let’s face it, endure the long bus rides.

River cruises have resonated so well with travelers, in fact, that 2010 will represent a record year for the number of ships offering river cruises.

“River cruising continues to be an in-demand product, as veteran ocean cruisers look for something different,” says Ana Figueroa, director of business development for AMAWaterways. Her company introduces two new ships in 2010.

Joining the parade of ships, Cruise West, a Seattle-based small ship operator, that introduced a new vessel on the Danube River this year. President Dietmar Wertanzl calls his company’s foray into Europe “a natural progression as we continue to provide intimate, up-close experiences not available on larger vessels.”

It’s hard to imagine a more up-close experience. Back on the Moselle, Heidelberg passes under the bridge — with only two inches to spare.

Uniworld River Cruises will be taking the River Tosca, its new 82-passenger Nile River vessel, out of service for seven weeks starting Feb. 1 to “correct the current deficiencies” on the ship.

In a letter to Uniworld clients, Guy Young, president of Uniworld, wrote “we experienced some unexpected challenges in introducing the River Tosca and we are not happy with the current quality of workmanship finishes in several areas of the ship.”

The River Tosca sailed its maiden voyage on Egypt’s Nile River in October. According to Young, the “most obvious example” of problems onboard “are the floors in the staterooms, main stairwell and corridors, which were damaged and scratched during the installation; the mosaic tiles in the restaurant; and the paint and woodwork in the staterooms.”

Consequently, Uniworld is dry docking the ship from Feb. 1 to March 19, 2010. In its place, Uniworld will be using the Miriam, a 110-passenger ship that entered service in 1997. Uniworld has used the Miriam in the past, including in September and October in place of the Tosca, which was delayed by four weeks.

Young wrote that the Tosca’s staff, including the hotel manager, executive chef and executive housekeeper would be onboard the Miriam during the Tosca’s dry dock, as well as special amenities on the Tosca, such as bed linens, robes, slippers and bath products. Young wrote that a “compensation package” will be offered to guests reassigned to the Miriam during the Tosca’s dry dock, but did not expand on what that package would entail.

“After several years of successfully launching ships in Europe, the experience in Egypt has been a humbling one for me and the entire Uniworld team,” wrote Young. “I want to personally apologize to any of our guests who we may have let down and please know that we are working hard to achieve our stated goal of operating a luxury product in Egypt.”

The River Tosca is Uniworld’s first company-owned ship outside of Europe. It is also the first Nile ship owned by a U.S.-based river cruise company — currently, the only other U.S. operator with its own ships on the Nile is Abercrombie & Kent.

The Tosca is an all-suite ship, with a restaurant, Arabesque-style lounge and enclosed smoking room. There is a rooftop bar and swimming pool, a fitness room, massage rooms and services.

“Uniworld has built our very good reputation today on being a very reliable river cruise operator and we are committed to providing our guests with a fantastic vacation experience and value — in every region where we operate,” wrote Young. “When we re-launch the River Tosca in March, we are confident that we will achieve this commitment in Egypt.”