Cruise cancelled, Uniworld not forth coming with truthful information, and only concerned about $$$

[capriccio]

This was covered on an active thread on this board at the time: 

and another passenger said in post #4

 

There was no mention of when they thought it would be repaired although one of the options was to take the same trip later in the year. Another option was to take a different cruise in similar cabin category up to 2 weeks with $500 for airfare change with documentation or reimbursement of cruise with no airfare compensation. 

 

 

[Casey12]

I would expect a quality line such as Uniworld to cover change fees for airlines. By not paying it - they seem to be acting like I would expect Viking River cruises to. The more I read about Uniworld and their cut backs -- the more I don't think I will sail them. That and their awful decorating.

[Robinkh]

I called Uniworld and was told “the damage was not as bad as was originally thought, go ahead and make your travel plans,” in addition, the people on the phone at Uniworld assured me that the boat “would be fine in time for our departure date.”  I checked the website daily, but the information was vague,  so I called them directly.  That way I thought that the information I received would be more accurate and specific.

[Robinkh]

Also, we could not take another cruise as there were no others offered through Uniworld  on the specific dates we had set aside.  Some work places are not as flexible as others, so those were the only dates we had.

[Hoyaheel]

I wouldn't ever expect a travel company to cover anything they don't have to. If you get it, it's nice. But also an expensive precedent for them to set. If I were in charge, I wouldn't do it. As a traveler, when I make bookings, I'm always aware of what it could cost me of things change, and I either buy insurance or am prepared to eat the costs.

[Babcia7]

Sorry you are having issues with Uniworld.  When we took our first river cruise, our TA suggested Uniworld, partly because their customer service was exemplary, especially if problems arose.  In 2017, we had booked a cruise on the River Queen.  Within 2 weeks of our sailing date, we were notified that the trip was cancelled due to engine problems.  After contacting Uniworld, we were given several options and were told that if they didn't appeal to us, the company would work something out with us.  As it turned out, we accepted Uniworld's offer of a different cruise during approximately the same dates as our initial booking.  Instead of the 10 day cruise that we originally booked (the Rhine and Moselle),  we were offered a 15 day cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam, a cruise that cost substantially more than the cruise we had booked, and giving us several additional days of exploring Europe.  On our original trip we had booked our own airfare using frequent flyer miles, but Uniworld still reimbursed us for the change fees.  We are booked on our 6th cruise with Uniworld this spring, and I hope that our experience will be as wonderful as our previous cruises.

[acwmom]

My experience is similar to Babcia7's. In 2018, our Rhone cruise was canceled, due to lock repairs which took longer than expected. My TA called us and said Uniworld was offering 2 options. One, cancel and get a full refund, or two, take the following week's trip (in which case they would cover the airline change fees). I presented option 3, which was to keep the same week, but move to a different itinerary....and have them cover the change fees. Uniworld accepted, covered our airline change fees, as well as our premium economy $$ lost. They also gave us $100/person OBC. 

 

Had I taken the cancelation option, they wouldn't have covered the airline change fees, nor would I have expected them to. We, too, were fixed with our dates. Given this option, we could have used the same dates, and traveled elsewhere (land trip, for example).

 

Given Capriccio's post above, it looks like you were treated consistently with what their terms were.

 

Robin