Experience booking your next Uniworld cruise while on board?

[beesKate]

Has anyone ever booked their next cruise while they are onboard? They mention discounts, but I wonder how much more of a discount it might be. We'll be on Uniworld, but I am curious about other experiences too.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Do you have an Amex Platinum card? Uniworld is the only river cruise line that participates in their Platinum Travel rewards program. You get $300 per cabin OBC (hard to use on an all-inclusive cruise...) plus champagne and chocolates. You must use the Platinum card for all payments, from initial deposit through final payment.

[AttilaTheFun]

I remembered they mentioned this on our cruise, but I feel like the discount wasn't that great or might have just been their loyalty club standard discount:

http://uniworld.com/river-heritage-club

 

For 2014, it's a savings of $150 pp for 7-12 night cruises and $250 pp for 13+ night cruises. Check it out and let us know!

 

The Amex Platinum benefits are called Cruise Privileges and are combinable with Uniworld's loyalty club benefits too.

Edited August 27, 2013 by AttilaTheFun

[Host Jazzbeau]

But as someone clarified on another thread, the Delta Platinum card doesn't count. This promotion is only for the genuine American Express Platinum Card. It costs $450 a year -- but you get most of it back with just the one booking on a participating cruise line, and there are many other benefits.

[Ship's Wake]

Do you have an Amex Platinum card? Uniworld is the only river cruise line that participates in their Platinum Travel rewards program. You get $300 per cabin OBC (hard to use on an all-inclusive cruise...) plus champagne and chocolates. You must use the Platinum card for all payments, from initial deposit through final payment.

 

Agreed, but the onboard spa, premium wines and spirits, laundry service, and optional excursions are not included in the all-inclusive price. I guess that means it's almost all-inclusive. ;)

Edited August 27, 2013 by oysterdam

[Ship's Wake]

Has anyone ever booked their next cruise while they are onboard? They mention discounts, but I wonder how much more of a discount it might be. We'll be on Uniworld, but I am curious about other experiences too.

 

For Uniworld (at least for our Dec 2012 cruise) you fill out a form requesting your next cruise. You don't put any money down at that time - either your travel agent or Uniworld direct (depending how you booked your current cruise) contacts you upon your return and then assigns a booking confirmation number and requires a deposit.

 

Make sure you look for this form or ask the reception for one - ours seemed to get hidden in other paperwork and we didn't notice it until the last day. There are plenty of brochures to look through but there is not an onboard booking consultant. If you have a future itinerary you are interested in, do your research ahead of time before your cruise.

 

Once you have been issued a booking number you have 30 days to cancel or change your itinerary.

 

Discounts are as follows when booking the following itineraries (keep in mind these amounts may have changed since 12/12):

$100 pp on 8-10 day Europe cruises

$200 pp on 11-17 day Europe cruises

$300 pp on 18+ day Europe cruises

 

$100 pp on 8-10 day Egypt

$200 pp on 11-17 day Egypt

 

$100 pp for China

 

$200 pp for Russia

 

$100 pp for Vietnam/Cambodia/Mekong

 

This onboard booking discount is combinable with your past passenger River Heritage Club discount you are eligible for after your first cruise, which for 2014 bookings amounts to $150pp/7-10 day or $250pp/13+days.

 

So yes, if you want to book your next cruise while onboard, you can get additional discounts. :)

Edited August 27, 2013 by oysterdam

[beesKate]

Thanks oysterdam! I guess they also let you add on the pay-in-full by a certain date too (presuming they'll continue to have those type of discounts).

I'm not so interested in the AMEX deals, jazzbeau. We have certain cards we use (where we don't have to pay for them) -- but thanks for the information.

[beesKate]

Since I've been back for a while, just in case someone else has this question, you don't actually book your next cruise aboard the ship. You do fill out a form indicating which cruise you're interested in and the dates. They take this back and work with your travel agent to get you the discount. Since we were interested in 2015, and Uniworld has not published those dates yet, we let our travel agent know to be on the lookout for it.

 

It's not really booking your next cruise, but expressing interest in a specific next cruise. The next cruise needs to be within the next 2 years (at least for our Oct 2013 cruise, it could be applied to any 2014 or 2015 cruise). When they contact you, you have (I think) 30 days to decide and put down a $200 deposit. You do need to turn in your form before you leave the ship.

[Lphs35]

In addition to book on board discount you can also get past customer discount and early prepay discount as well as whatever discount you can get from your travel agent. You also have time to look for discounts til uniworld confirms you.

 

 

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