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Along Aquitaine’s
Rivers with Uniworld’s River Royale
Part 1 By Nancy & Eric Anderson Photography by Authors
The other lessons on this river cruise were easier to swallow: History lessons about castles and fortresses and vineyards and farmers’ markets. It was all there on our river cruise around Bordeaux in southwest France. River cruising as a European phenomenon shows no signs of letting up. Companies in the field (or rather in the river) report extraordinary loyalty amongst their clientele. This form of cruising is the perfect choice for those with a sense of history and small town living who enjoy the comfort of the typical cruise where passengers travel but unpack only once. It was our seventh river cruise with Uniworld.
The baggage carousel reminded us Bordeaux was Big in the world of wine. We had sailed on the River Royale before and here it is waiting for us in the twilight in Pauillac on the west bank of the Gironne estuary.
Aquitaine is bounded on the south by the Pyrenees Mountain and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Two rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne form the Gironde estuary which drains into the Atlantic. The largest sand dunes in Europe are found here. The land mass near Bordeaux is flat and in some parts the ground surface is not solid enough for high rise buildings. Thus most of the buildings have been undisturbed for a long time; nobody wanted to disturb the status quo. But if the buildings are old, Uniworld’s impressive coaches are not, they are new and state of the art with wide viewing windows and great acoustics and sound systems -- and big comfortable seats. Uniworld ordered them with fewer seats than most touring companies thought necessary because it knew the preferences of upscale tourists.
Surely the river boat was more important than any coach but it was surprising how welcome the coaches became in our shore excursions. They would turn up at the end of a shore tour like a homing pigeon – constantly on time. There was always plenty of room, the air-conditioning would already be in effect and coming back to our boat, our home for the week, to receive a cool wet towel and a cold drink made us all feel almost paternalistic to the Uniworld staff.
Uniworld’s River Royale is 361 feet long and 37.5 feet wide. Cabins have both 110 and 220 voltage. It carries 130 passengers. We check out the sundeck which now has, we notice, bicycles and Nordic walking poles but we pass on the monster chess board. We meet the captain, Ludovic Mercier. It’s a warm day and a cabin attendant comes up to ask what we’d like to drink.
The River Royale has white orchids everywhere – and they are always fresh. The boat is very handsome. We sailed on her in 2008 two years after her inauguration but she has been remodeled this year and looks very elegant. New to us on this boat, but not to the industry, is what it calls Signature Dining. This began on ocean liners as a market response to passengers’ wishes for open dining and their dislike of two seating times for dinner at sea. When cruise lines tried to spread the load around the ship by creating new fancy restaurants (which brought in more revenue) wait staff found it had lost its bonding with diners who formerly ate always at the same table and even same seats. And when the special relationship guests had with staff was lost their tipping shrank also. The answer: include gratuities in the total price. Uniworld realized before other river boat cruise lines that older guests resented the nickel and diming some lines imposed to increase their bottom line. Its cruises are truly all-inclusive. The one price includes all gratuities onboard and onshore, all scheduled airport transfers, all shore excursions, all beverages including specialty coffees, alcohol including wine at lunch and dinner. We were curious about this. Would passengers ruin a good idea by over-consuming? Actually no. And we were curious about staff, too. Cocktails were supposedly covered; would a Uniworld waiter weasel in with a request for a cabin number for a gin and tonic in the lounge because it was not drunk during the meal itself but before it. No. No tricks, it’s genuine. And internet and Wi-Fi access is complimentary, too. Those who never ocean-cruised in the not-so-old days may not have experienced the times when the captain threw a welcoming event for the opportunity to wave to pier observers as a ship headed out to sea and stewards came by with their pink drinks and little umbrellas and an assistant to get signatures and cabin numbers. And quite recently, we’ve been on board a ship where all we can remember was, as passengers headed out into a steaming humid shore excursion, we had to exchange our cabin number for a large $5 bottle of Perrier. So a genuine all-inclusive cruise fare is really, really huge news. One evening Adrian the cruise manager plays an interesting game of Hands Up Those Who have Sailed with Uniworld Before! Fascinating! About three quarters of the room raise their hands. Uniworld really retains its customers! Adrian then becomes methodical: Who has sailed twice before? A lot of hands go up. Three, four…five? Six, seven; we’re not sure which we are. Seven, we raise our hands. That’s it. He goes to eight. Nobody. Nine? No. Adrian knows something. He gets to 15 and pauses and a couple from, it turns out Orlando, raise their hands. That was tops on this cruise. After dinner we approach them tentatively; “Yes, we’re on a cruise but we are, at heart, travel writers.” We ask the couple, “Fifteen cruises with Uniworld. Why?” and get the earnest answer, “Uniworld service. They can’t do enough for passengers.” “Because they know you have done 15 cruises with them? we suggest. “Not at all,” they emphatically reply. “They are constant, it’s been like that from the beginning.” They had tried the competition but never went back. “So many of its river boats are being built every year that we notice their staff is not as well trained as Uniworld’s. How could it be?” We ask if we might photograph them and quote their names. We are rebuffed. “Hey!” he says with a grin, “You may be taking a trip but we are on vacation.”
On our initial shore excursions we visit Bourg, a medieval village; historic windmills and Blaye Fortress itself built in the 17th century by the famous military engineer Vauban. The fortress is a UNESCO monument.
St. Emilion created great interest among the passengers who knew more about its history than we did. Its history is indeed involved. The Benedictine monk Emilian was the financial advisor to a French count. A Breton, he apparently chose to give some of his owner’s bread to hungry poor people and lost his position. Bread was guarded like gold in medieval homes and actually locked up to prevent theft by servants. (That’s maybe why Jean Valjean was considered such a criminal in Les Miserables: he stole bread for his family). Emilian came to this town perched on a limestone hill in the 8th century and carved space for his home into a cave. Other Benedictine monks joined him and when he died in 787 the group stayed and for 300 years dug into the limestone to create one of the largest monolithic churches in France. The rock church of Saint Emilion is dark and gloomy and photography almost impossible which may be how the town fathers want it to continue. In other respects the town, about 22 miles northeast of Bordeaux, is a photographer’s delight. Here in the 2nd century was the first vineyard planted by the Romans. The monks who followed Emilian continued winemaking and even made it a commercial success. Visitors seemingly come with two interests, Bordeaux wine making – interest in wine may be at an all-time high. Others come with little interest in wine but out of personal devotion to or interest in the Saint, Emilian. However, guide after guide in Europe remarks how church attendance is the opposite of wine interest, it’s at an all-time low. Those are not just travel guides in Protestant Germany but guides in Catholic France. One told us in Provence that in some areas the only time young people are in church is when they get married! Saint Emilion, indeed, got headlines in November 2011 when the mayor sold the 14th century Cordeliers Cloisters for 750.000 euros to a sparkling wine company.
Bergerac was different: we knew the story about Cyrano – and the town was more than ready to tell us about him if we needed more information! Bergerac, a wine producing town lies just outside the line of the Bordeaux appellation so it is not at first glance recognized for the quality of its wines. On the river Dordogne, Bergerac was most photogenic from its farmers market and its canting and half-timbered buildings to its portrayals of Cyrano.
Cadillac came as a surprising delight. We had not heard much about this walled, river-port town even though it’s been around since 1280 – and a local boy gave its name to one of America’s most prestigious automobiles and even founded the city of Detroit. This is the place to learn about Sauternes, a sweet wine because it has been affected “and improved” by the fungus, Botrytis cinerea, or noble rot. We chose an alternative option and visited the rather stark castle or palace. Construction started in 1599 but it was turned into a women’s prison in 1820 through 1952. The apartments when it was a residence are now essentially unfurnished but have superlative hanging tapestries and magnificent French fireplaces.
Entertainment on board includes lectures and house entertainment. The chefs all have their specialty interests; ours was the one in the center who made all the deserts! Our question now after all those great shore excursions is will the city of Bordeaux itself be as interesting – and that’s our next story. Part 2 follows. Related Articles: Thoughts
About Les Hommes Français; Provence:
As Much a Mood, a Spirit as a Destination; The
Ideal Cruise? A River Runs Through It; Art
Ancient and Contemporary In Southwestern France; Rouen,
the Port of Paris; In
the Footsteps of the Dukes of Burgundy |
niworld’s cruise from Bordeaux had already started when we arrived
a day late at Bordeaux airport. We were flying Vueling Air to Bordeaux
through Barcelona the same day the river cruise was due to begin. Our
problem was a learning experience: Vueling, a low-cost European airline
– for mechanical reasons – canceled its flight (the last one
of the day out of Barcelona) leaving us with a taxi fare of 150 euros
the next day. The boat had sailed.
Tell Eric what you think of his article. In the meantime, here are some of the feedback we have already received:
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