Sabrage salute for Beatrice

UNIWORLD Boutique River Cruise Collection held a sabrage ceremony on the Danube in front of the Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest to officially mark the change over of River

Beatrice to Super Ship Beatrice. The event on Fri, which sees the neck of a bottle of champagne removed with a sabre ( pictured), was used to recognise Beatrice’s coming of age.

Uniworld injected millions of dollars into the 20-week facelift of Beatrice, which has seen broad changes across the vessel.

Enhancements include a yacht- style light wood complemented with blue and white finishes used throughout the ship, along with marble floors and a white Murano chandelier with blue shades and a grand staircase in the ship’s lobby.

The redesigned lounge features new furniture with hand-made upholstery, a parquet floor and upholstered ceilings, solar shades and USB ports throughout.

The renovation saw a nose fitted up front, enabling the addition of a new 18-seat cafe (located in front of the bar) called Schubert’s.

SS Beatrice’s main restaurant - and keeping with the theme of Austrian composers - is Mozart’s, while down the stern of the ship is Max’s - a new immersive culinary experience.

CEO Ellen Bettridge, pictured on the right (at back) with guests for the “Kodak moment”, told Travel

Daily the overhaul also saw more suites added, driven by feedback from customers.

“Across the fleet we’ve seen high demand for suites. We’ve heard from past guests over, and over again, so we’ve delivered with Super Ship Beatrice”.