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Uniworld cancelled our cruise!

By atcken , July 31, 2022 in River Cruising

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My wife and I along with 3 other couples had fully paid for the Uniworld cruise on the S.S. Catherine departing on 6/4/23 from Lyon, France.  We have also purchased flights to coincide with this trip.  Our T.A. was notified the other day that our entire cruise had been chartered and that we needed to rebook on a different date.  All of us specifically had picked these cruise dates due to other conflicts later in the summer.  We were all obviously very disappointed and to add insult, Uniworld only offered a $200 credit to rebook on another date.  We paid over $12000 for our cabin and this is the only compensation they can offer us?  Needless to say, all 8 of us are extremely disappointed in Uniworld and will never cruise with them again.  Luckily, our T.A. was able to secure us all cabins on a Viking cruise for the same dates (last cabins Viking had and one of the cabins is bottom deck at water level).

Has this ever happened to anyone?  We have cruised on many ocean and river cruises and this is our first experience with a cruise line chattering out a previously scheduled and booked sailing.

No longer a Uniworld fan!

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Gourmet Gal

Never happened to me but I’ve read here of other instances where cruises have been chartered and booked pax had to scramble.  You have good reason to be disappointed but other cruise lines have done this so I wouldn’t avoid Uniworld for this reason as they are a more premium, luxury experience than Viking.  Fortunately, this wasn’t last minute so you had plenty of time to adjust and you had a great TA who was able to accommodate you.  Hopefully,  you have insurance to shield any major issues.

I've had it happen to me on an ocean cruise.  An insurance co. chartered the ship as a reward for their top producing agents.  It's common throughout the industry, but definitely disappointing.  I'm glad you had time to make other arrangements, and hope your cruise with Viking goes smoothly with no hiccups.  

I'm a big fan of Uniworld but I would be very disappointed if this happened to me. I think they should have offered you a larger credit. I'm sure you'll love the Rhone cruise. All the ports are beautiful!

CastleCritic

Yes, one of the reasons I still haven't done Budapest to Bucharest is that Amawaterways pulled my scheduled cruise last October due to needing the ship to charter.  I think this happened in June or July so not ANYWHERE near the lead time you had.

I was offered a rebooking the following week on the trip back up the river and a room upgrade.  I don't remember why but I didnt have airfare booked at that point so it wasnt that big of a deal and I took it. (that ended up being a debacle, I DID then book AA/BA airfare for the rebooked dates only to have BA cancel THAT and getting a refund for the airfare)

In the end it didnt matter Romania turned into covids highest rate last fall, and having no plane tickets anyway  I changed to the rhine/Main the same basic time (and now I have the Romania tripped booked for next May on the Amamagna...try #4)

Several years ago we were booked on a Uniworld cruise on the Rhine and Moselle.  Two weeks before the cruise, the ship had engine problems and the trip was cancelled.  Uniworld offered us several alternative options, and were very accommodating in working with us to salvage our vacation plans.  We ended up taking a much longer (and more expensive) cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam around the same dates that we had originally planned, at no extra cost to us.  We have always had a great experience dealing with Uniworld.  Sorry that the company hasn't offered you acceptable alternatives to your cancelled trip.  In our experience our one (and only) trip with Viking did not compare with the cruises we've taken with Uniworld. 

3 hours ago, Babcia7 said: Several years ago we were booked on a Uniworld cruise on the Rhine and Moselle.  Two weeks before the cruise, the ship had engine problems and the trip was cancelled....

We were on the River Queen when the engine blew. (a connecting rod right through the side of the engine block!) I always wondered what happened to the passengers on subsequent trips. 

My guess would be that your sailing still  had a number of cabins available, and Uniworld took the opportunity to take the charter as it was a guaranteed full booking.   I do agree that a $200 compensation fee isn't much - especially when they run the risk of losing you as customers.   The credit wasn't large enough to make it worth your while to choose an alternate date - and you booked with Viking, so they lost 8 passengers.

It was good that your TA was able to find another cruise for you.  And, I wouldn't worry about one cabin being on the lower level (aka Aquarium Class) --> we always book that deck as we don't spend much time in our cabin.   The money we save goes towards the next trip!!

sharkster77

9 hours ago, franski said: My guess would be that your sailing still  had a number of cabins available, and Uniworld took the opportunity to take the charter as it was a guaranteed full booking.   I do agree that a $200 compensation fee isn't much - especially when they run the risk of losing you as customers.   The credit wasn't large enough to make it worth your while to choose an alternate date - and you booked with Viking, so they lost 8 passengers.   It was good that your TA was able to find another cruise for you.  And, I wouldn't worry about one cabin being on the lower level (aka Aquarium Class) --> we always book that deck as we don't spend much time in our cabin.   The money we save goes towards the next trip!!   Fran

@franski , I wish you could talk to my wife.  She insists that if we river cruise again, that we would have to spend $$ for at least a french balcony, as she could not see out of the windows in aquarium class.  I remind her constantly how LITTLE time we spent in our cabin, yet she is adamant.

River cruising again is going to be a more expensive proposition...........happy wife happy wife I guess.

Canal archive

I’m with your wife on that one!

1 hour ago, Canal archive said: I’m with your wife on that one!

Me too. I'm often accused of being 'thrifty' but when it comes to cabins, I'll splurge on a balcony.  🤷‍♂️

Having had that discussion both with myself and my mother (who is the one usually going with me) we've never paid for a "better cabin" in 5 cruises.  And having gotten a French balcony for free last fall(ship was 25% full so they were rewarding everyone who DID come I guess) .I still don't put the same amount of $ benefit to that that the cruise lines do.

Cabin usually ends up being a place to rest and sleep, not one to sightsee from.

But it really depends a lot on the cruise.  If the ship is moving a lot during the day its certainly more useful to have a balcony than if the ship moves at night (or without you on it) and sometimes the real estate for the balcony comes out of the  "living space"

1 hour ago, CastleCritic said: Having had that discussion both with myself and my mother (who is the one usually going with me) we've never paid for a "better cabin" in 5 cruises.  And having gotten a French balcony for free last fall(ship was 25% full so they were rewarding everyone who DID come I guess) .I still don't put the same amount of $ benefit to that that the cruise lines do.   Cabin usually ends up being a place to rest and sleep, not one to sightsee from.   But it really depends a lot on the cruise.  If the ship is moving a lot during the day its certainly more useful to have a balcony than if the ship moves at night (or without you on it) and sometimes the real estate for the balcony comes out of the  "living space"  

YES---we would probably sail again with Viking, where aquarium class cabins are 150sf while french balcony cabins are 135 sf!  I point that out but get no traction from it!  All we did was change our clothes and sleep in the cabin---all sightseeing was from either the lounge or top deck.  

Oh well, gotta pick your battles.....................!

On 8/2/2022 at 1:41 PM, sharkster77 said: YES---we would probably sail again with Viking, where aquarium class cabins are 150sf while french balcony cabins are 135 sf!  I point that out but get no traction from it!  All we did was change our clothes and sleep in the cabin---all sightseeing was from either the lounge or top deck.     Oh well, gotta pick your battles.....................!

We have friends that will not cruise unless they have at least a french balcony cabin.  The wife says she is too claustrophobic to stay in a cabin with a window you cannot see out of.  Each to his own... 

I agree... pick your battles.  Luckily my DH and I are on the same page with cabins.  And - we agree that if we have a few extra dollars to spend, it goes toward making the flight "better" (ie: premium economy seating, no budget airlines etc).

I don’t look at it being a ‘splurge’ on a balcony more not being ‘frugal’ on an aquarium class for my, every time, ‘oh so special’ holiday. Although we don’t have the flight costs to and from North America. When we do fly the pond we now stay in good hotels but in our youth with our girls touring it was motels all the way. We now have a couple of well traveled daughters who are gradually dragging their other halves around Canada and the States.

9 hours ago, franski said: We have friends that will not cruise unless they have at least a french balcony cabin.  The wife says she is too claustrophobic to stay in a cabin with a window you cannot see out of.  Each to his own...    I agree... pick your battles.  Luckily my DH and I are on the same page with cabins.  And - we agree that if we have a few extra dollars to spend, it goes toward making the flight "better" (ie: premium economy seating, no budget airlines etc).

The ONE thing I would probably appreciate about a french balcony is NOT being in the lowest deck, hearing the noise of the water against the ship's hull.  It took one restless night to get used to that.  Perhaps this noise was louder because we were sailing upstream, against the current???

1 hour ago, sharkster77 said: The ONE thing I would probably appreciate about a french balcony is NOT being in the lowest deck, hearing the noise of the water against the ship's hull.  It took one restless night to get used to that.  Perhaps this noise was louder because we were sailing upstream, against the current???

We have chosen a cabin on deck 1 several times when we knew there wouldn't be any real veiw to miss. I feel this is the case with any of the Bordeaux wine country cruises.

Maybe it is because I'm an ex-sailor and my berthing was always below the water line... but the various water noises have never been a bother. I've always found that sound of moving water soothing.  😌   The DW could sleep any where! 

We enjoy our level 2 french balcony cabin (Avalon, not Viking), and I don't think I would like the lower level one. There is no seating area other than the bed, and I would be to shot to see much other than sky. We loved hanging out over the balcony looking at the swans and also seeing the scenery as we are waiting for the other to get ready. Yes, we don't spend much time in the cabin, but what we do, I want to enjoy. That being said, we do go for the most affordable (ok cheapest) ones towards the stern, saves us some $$$.

5 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said: We have chosen a cabin on deck 1 several times when we knew there wouldn't be any real veiw to miss. I feel this is the case with any of the Bordeaux wine country cruises. Maybe it is because I'm an ex-sailor and my berthing was always below the water line... but the various water noises have never been a bother. I've always found that sound of moving water soothing.  😌   The DW could sleep any where! 

I am not an ex-sailor, but I enjoy the sound of the water against the sides...  A bit of white noise that helps me sleep!!

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• River Cruising

Uniworld Excursions

By RiverCruiseKim , October 1, 2018 in River Cruising

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RiverCruiseKim

Hi Everyone,

We are taking our first river cruise on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam in October 2018 with Uniworld aboard the SS Antoinette. We are so excited and have been trying to research everything we can, but I can't seem to find an answer for a question I have about excursions. I am unsure of how the procedure works for the included excursions. Do you sign up for them once aboard? Is there a limit to the number of people for the included excursions so that if you don't sign up for your pick quick enough you may have to just take what is left? I saw there could be limits for the optional ones you pay extra for but not sure about the included excursions.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help with this!

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You do sign up once onboard, mainly so they know how many people will be going on each excursion. There is no limit on the included excursions. There were only a few optional excursions, and only the cooking/tasting ones had a small number, that you could get shut out of (12 pax) I don't think that was an issue on our cruise, and don't know if anyone even did these. Both the Black Forest and Heidelburg optionals had plenty of participation, and plenty of space for everyone.

Here's a link to my trip report. We had a great time!

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2479562

We just returned from the Uniworld cruise (Castles of the Rhine) and had a wonderful time! The cruise director describes the excursions before dinner the first night, but it's probably a good idea to do some research before hand (read the reviews of the S.S. Antoinette on Cruise Critic). Then they give you a form to complete regarding your desired excursions. There might be capacity limits on some excursions - bike tours (limited number on board) and some of the excursions with an extra fee, however, it did not seem to be an issue on our trip.

Thanks so much Robin! That is what I thought that there was no limit to included excursions, but I couldn't find confirmation on that anywhere. I read your trip report a few months ago - thank you for such wonderful pictures and detail - it made me that much more excited to go!!

Thanks skinnylegs, I'm so glad to hear you had a wonderful time on Castles on the Rhine! We leave October 14 and can't wait! We have done research on the excursions and have already decided what we would like to do, but it is very helpful to know the procedure on board so thanks. :)

Most of the time they just need to know how many guides or busses are needed. In the case of bike rides or similar events there could a limited number of bikes or spaces available.

On the first evening when your cruise director goes over the list, and you know what you want to do, stop by the front desk on your way to dinner and let them know. That way you'll be organized and at the top of the list.

Have a great time. The Antoinette is beautiful. Not my taste, but maybe my great aunt Nettie used to to have a chalet decorated like it. 😉

Just one more validation on the excursion question. I was on the Antoinette Sept. 9th and we signed up for the excursions as soon as the CD described them. I think everyone was able to take their desired excursion. I have done many ocean cruises ,but this was my first river cruise. I absolutely loved the whole experience. Was surprised how much I enjoyed my cabin as I thought the decor would be over the top. Boy was I wrong...... so cozy and different enough from my home to make it a true holiday experience. The food was good and all the excursions top notch. Enjoy your cruise .

The Antoinette was our first river cruise and still our favorite. I just wanted to mention to not miss the Vinegar tasting excursion. I almost talked myself out of it because it didn't sound that great to me. But it was probably one of our favorite excursion. Everyone I talked with felt the same and quite a few people who didn't take it were quite sad they didn't as they heard us rave about it.

So glad you enjoyed your first river cruise and the Uniworld decor:D I assume you were able to sail the entire route? Was Daniela still the hotel manager on board during your cruise?

I couldn't agree more! I still have some bottles to use, and the vinegar glass I bought. Warning to others though......expect your spouse/s.o. to smell like vinegar....even after a shower. The "fragrance" seemed to last about 24 hours!

I had read about the vinegar tasting excursion and that is on our list of excursions we want to do so glad to hear it is great! Sounded very unique from the description.

So glad you enjoyed your first river cruise and the Uniworld decor:D I assume you were able to sail the entire route? Was Daniela still the hotel manager on board during your cruise?   Robin

Yes, we were able to sail the entire route. The swimming pool was emptied one day to make the ship lighter , but refilled the next day. I think our hotel manager was a gentleman. Can’t remember his name , but I enjoyed him as well as Ingrid the excursion manager.

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