Joanna Booth and Hollie-Rae Merrick test two very different new river ships from Uniworld and CroisiEurope
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Maria Theresa
From the outside, you’d never know the Maria Theresa was a castle. River cruise ships, with the height limits imposed by bridges, tend to look pretty similar from the outside – long, low, and white.
But the minute you step inside Uniworld’s newest river cruiser, it’s immediately obvious that this is something very different. Even the Antoinette, Uniworld’s first Super Ship, isn’t quite as ornate as the Maria Theresa.
Cruising on the Rhine, Main and Danube, the ship plies its way along a superhighway of Baroque castles, and though there are no turrets on board – and I’m guessing Leopard Lounges were thin on the ground in the Baroque period – this ornate look was very much the inspiration for designers Bea and Toni Tollman.
Guests are greeted in the lobby by a three-metre high portrait of Maria Theresa, the Habsburg Archduchess of Austria, flanked by a double marble staircase and topped by an ornate chandelier.
The ship was christened in March by Princess Anita von Hohenberg, a direct descendant of Maria Theresa, who commented: “It really is a floating castle.”
This is emphatically not a ship for minimalists. Every corner is mirrored, gilded, painted with trompe l’oeils, upholstered in brocaded fabric or adorned with ruffles – even the corridors.
The craftsmanship is truly spectacular, with the designers seeking out artisans from all over Europe to recreate their historical vision with original techniques.
Public areas include the Habsburg Salon, which has a lounge area and bar with a small dancefloor, where we watched dancers perform a Viennese waltz, and the Leopard Bar, a Uniworld signature reinterpreted with a Baroque twist.
Designer Toni describes the palette as ‘snow leopard’, and alongside there is a small plunge pool with elaborate murals on the walls, and an interior glass wall that can be frosted over at the touch of a button – much to the relief of guests both in the pool and in the bar.
All meals are served in the equally opulent Baroque restaurant, and on the lower deck there’s the small Viennese Cafe serving coffee, wurst sausages and delicious Sachertorte-style cakes. Alongside is a small fitness centre with two treadmills, two exercise bikes and a TRX system, plus a 10 seat cinema.
The 64 staterooms and 11 suites are all decorated in the same grand style. The look may be historical but the facilities are modern, with flatscreen TVs either hidden in the mirrors or dropping down so as not to mar the Baroque feel.
Category 1, 2 and 3 staterooms, on the Hofburg and Schonbrunn decks, feel really spacious, with a good-sized bathroom fitted in marble with L’Occitane toiletries, and a table and chairs either on an outside balcony or inside with a drop-down French balcony giving an indoor-outdoor feel. Category 4 and 5 staterooms on the Bavarian deck have a high window instead.
The ship sails eight to 15-day cruises on the Rhine, Main and Danube, with Christmas Markets and Tulips and Windmills focuses as well as the full Budapest to Amsterdam itineraries.
Book it: Uniworld offers the eight-day European Holiday Markets cruise from Nuremberg to Vienna from £2,039 in a category 5 stateroom.
Report by Joanna Booth
Loire Princesse
You’d be forgiven for thinking that river cruise lines already had Europe’s waterways covered, but when CroisiEurope launched the Loire Princesse earlier this year it became the first vessel with cabins to sail on France’s longest river, the picturesque Loire.
And this launch signals an exciting new era for the river cruise industry in France, with many other lines likely to follow CroisiEurope on to the Loire.
The Loire Princesse has a paddlewheel, without which the ship wouldn’t be able to navigate the shallow waters of the river. The three-deck vessel has 48 spacious cabins, 30 of which are on the upper deck and come with balconies with enough room to fit a couple of chairs.
My balcony overlooked one of the paddlewheels, and I never grew tired of sitting there with a glass of wine in hand watching the water whirling around the wheel as the sun set during my short sailing between Nantes and Saint Nazaire and back.
The Loire Princesse has one main restaurant, on the lower deck, which serves up typical French cuisine. Breakfast is served buffet style, and you’ll never need to worry about how you like your eggs in the morning as there is a huge choice. The 94-passenger ship also has a bar and lounge area which opens up on to the back of the ship.
Aside from the sense of space, I was most impressed with the ship’s design. The Loire Princesse is the most stylish in the CroisiEurope fleet, with all of the soft furnishings from Italian fashion house Missoni, providing a real sense of sophistication.
Guests are treated to unbroken views of the banks of the Loire, with panoramic windows in all public areas and a spacious sun deck on top of the vessel. And a spectacular view it is, as you sail past pretty towns and villages.
The ship, which joined CroisiEurope’s fleet of 30 ships in April, operates six to eight-day cruises on the Loire, with ports of call including Saint-Nazaire, Ancenis, Angers, the Chateaux of the Loire Valley, Saumur, Bouchemaine and Nantes.
Book it: CroisiEurope offers its six-day Loire cruise from £1,078. The price is based on a round trip from Nantes departing in July and August.
Report by Hollie-Rae Merrick
