A Uniworld River Countess on Italy’s Po from Venice delivers you front and centre to Italy’s myriad cultural delights. It’s one of the reasons the view from the river draws guests in droves.
River Countess is as aristocratic as her name implies; elegant and white-trimmed, so polite there’s barely a tremor to disturb our wine glasses as we set sail over dinner.
Diners swivel their heads towards the restaurant windows. Venice floats past: bridges and wave-washed palaces, marble promenades, and church domes burnished in the dying sun. This sinking city that flourished on sea trade should be admired from the water. And we have grandstand seats.
I’ve been to Venice twice before. I’ve hauled suitcases, gotten lost, and endured awful tourist food. And I have even elbowed my way through photo-snapping crowds. Venice by land is magnificent and frustrating. Venice by water from a luxury ship is just magnificent. How many people in Venice have rooms with full-on lagoon views, the best local cuisine, and nary a traveller’s worry?
The following morning we moor at Riva Sette Martiri. It’s a scenic 15-minute waterfront walk to St Mark’s Square for our guided tour of the Doge’s Palace, yet we’re right by Castello, one of Venice’s least-visited quarters, where I find washing strung across buildings and locals prodding market stall fruit. I take an afternoon stroll and am back in time for dinner. The waiter, Valentin, remembers my name and my wine preferences. I have veal with truffles in a cream sauce, easily the best meal I’ve ever had here.
The onboard experience
But every subsequent night on Uniworld’s River Countess, I tell myself I’ve had the best food in Venice! Savoy Restaurant is the main dining venue, with buffet breakfasts and lunches (soups, sandwiches, salads, pasta and wall-to-wall desserts) and fine à la carte, Italian-influenced delights for dinner. The cheeses are a particular education: taleggio, asiago, stracchino, gorgonzola. For a more informal meal, Osteria Siena is a glass-enclosed cafe on the sundeck serving salads and pizza.
Next day, we sail away across a misty lagoon. As we slip past the island of Pallestrina, the sun illuminates multi-coloured houses. Church spires wobble in watery reflections. By lunchtime, we dock at Chiogga for our afternoon excursion to Padua. It’s a lively old university town whose art-hung basilica houses the tomb of St Anthony. The town’s squares are busy with markets, its shops hung with salami. Students slurp gelato and strum on guitars beneath Gothic arches.
Our genial captain Thijs van der Lee is always at the gangplank to welcome guests back. Returning to the ship is a pleasure. The stylish decor is more subdued than on some Uniworld ships; cream, brown and blue predominate, with splashes of colour from Venetian carnival masks. A forward lounge and bar is the only real public space, but the vast deck provides the best views. Cabins are small even by river-cruise standards (the en-suite is particularly cramped), yet luxuriously presented with attentive details such as anti-steam mirrors, reading lights and a pillow menu.
The shore excursions
That evening we’re nosing up the Po River but, in truth, we never sail far. River Countess isn’t so much a cruise ship as a floating hotel, puttering short distances. The next day we’ are back on the coach and head to Bologna. It’s a city of red-hued towers and streets crammed with delicatessens for which the city is renowned. In a local cantina chef Louisa gives us a demonstration of pasta making, pulling ribbons of angel-hair and tagliatelle from her dough like a magician.
Uniworld’s shore excursions are nicely varied. Next day in Ravenna, it’s all about church mosaics that gleam in gold and green. In Verona it’s a plunge into history thanks to its Roman coliseum, Renaissance squares and, of course, the house and balcony where Romeo is said to have wooed Juliet.
Our ship makes up for its short runs by ensuring they’re spectacular. On the final day, we’re sailing the lagoon towards the islands of Torcello, Burano and Murano, a collection of churches and houses afloat on pale water. The cruise provides an overview of the lagoon that most visitors to Venice never get, and numerous times we ply the waterway past St Mark’s Square and Venice’s most iconic buildings. I sit and tuck into spaghetti with clams and mussels, sprinkled with parsley we bought that morning on our Rialto market tour with the ship’s executive chef. I’ve never seen Venice quite like this before, and I think I’m in love.
Fact file on the River Countess
CRUISE LINE: Uniworld Grand River Cruises
VESSEL: River Countess
STAR RATING: 3.5
PASSENGER CAPACITY: 130
TOTAL CREW: 41
PASSENGER DECKS: 3
ENTERED SERVICE: 2003
LENGTH: 361 feet
FACILITIES: Open-seating restaurant, cafe, bar/lounge, sun deck, fitness area, cabins with French balconies or window, lift.
BOOKINGS: For bookings visit: uniworld.com
The verdict on River Countess
HIGH: Seeing Venice and its lagoon from the water, and the ship’s exceptional dining.
LOW: Those who like being on the move along a river may be disappointed by this more sedate and circular float.
BEST SUITED TO: Culture-vulture couples of all ages. There are no amenities specifically for children.
The writer travelled as a guest of Uniworld.
