Uniworld River Cruise Line Confirms May Restart – Or Not...

[GoesBoom]

56 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I can't find this website.  Is the URL correct?

So sorry, I messed up, what is new.  AFAR.COM

 

[CUTTERSAM]

56 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I can't find this website.  Is the URL correct?

AFAR.com. I had the same ?

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, GoesBoom said:

So sorry, I messed up, what is new.  AFAR.COM

 

No problem.  There is an IFAR.org but it really didn't seem relevant [International Foundation for Art Research] .  So yes, I know about Afar magazine and Afar.com – a friend gave me a subscription.  The sad thing about all travel magazines is how every year the authors and editors get younger while I get older.  Afar has the youngest vibe of all [sigh]

[steamboats]

14 hours ago, notamermaid said:

And Uniworld started marketing and selling to Germans through an agent late last year. There definitely is a customer base, old and new, for Douro river cruises apart from the North Americans.

 

I doubt that there is a big customer base here in Germany... did you have a look on their prices on the Douro river?

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

I doubt that there is a big customer base here in Germany... did you have a look on their prices on the Douro river?

 

steamboats

No, I have not looked at prices in detail. Seeing that some people fond of luxury are also desperate to get out I just reckon Uniworld will be able to half-fill a relatively small Douro ship with German-speaking passengers of Europe. But with A-ROSA offering a very good product (as you showed in your review last year) as the competition I could be mistaken...

 

Crystal have certainly priced themselves out of the standard German market.

 

notamermaid

 

[CUTTERSAM]

13 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

I do hope that you can go. Portugal is beautiful and a lovely place to spend a week. But I can't imagine the stress you must be going through, wondering whether you can actually go there, or not!

 

The only remotely similar thing that happened to us was in 2013. We were supposed to sail on the Danube but that June there was a massive flood, so our trip was canceled less than a week before we were scheduled to fly to Germany! We went anyway, with only half of the trip planned, and a big blank spot in the middle, which we made up on the fly after we arrived. It turned out to be amazing. But your situation is even more out of your control. Good luck; we are all cheering for you!

https://www.danflyingsolo.com/travel-portugal-coronavirus-2020/ 

 

Looks like no decision on usa/canada has been made and the date they are floating for this green certificate is June 1

[steamboats]

@notamermaid I think the main problem is that they are selling the US product on the German market. But the German customer is different. Even in the luxury segement the Germans do want different stuff (and I did cruise the only luxury German river cruise line - Deilmann).

 

I´d say especially on the Douro river the sights and shore tours are limited. So you get more or less the same with all cruise lines. Prices start with a little less than 5K Euro (no flight included).

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

I agree - this US product on the German market is not a straight forward, no brainer seller. And the ports on the Douro do not vary much between companies. The sailing times hardly differ either with there being no sailing at night.

 

I read that the Uniworld agent offers 7-day-cruises from 4.1k euros. My goodness, a similar itinerary is offered by a German company for 55 percent of that.

 

You sailed with Deilmann? What a memory treasure of an experience. Would have loved to have been on the "old" Mozart.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by notamermaid
Added info

[Daisi]

@CUTTERSAM, I have been following your woe's and really feel for you.  I can understand cancelling a cruise due to flood/drought at last minute, as you never know from day to day what is going to happen.  However with all going on with Covid, I think Uniworld should be able to make it's mind up fairly easily.  I really hope Steamboats and Notamermaid are correct that they wouldn't have a large enough number of EU cruisers (German, French and other nations that are almost ready to open up) booked and go ahead with the cruise leaving the Americans out in the cold because they can't get into the country.

 

I wish you the best of luck, and hope you get an answer soon.

[notamermaid]

For the company it is certainly a plus if they can get some money in from Europeans if they can do the itinerary as soon as the rules allow. Running the cruise with US passengers having booked, i.e. "the cruise is a go - but without our US passengers (who have paid in full)" but not being allowed into the country is a fine line to walk that I fully understand would make people angry.

 

Is Uniworld aiming for the marketing prize "The first US company back on European rivers"? The customer service is not to my liking in this matter, I agree with you lot. @CUTTERSAM I really hope you get an answer soon.

 

notamermaid

 

[GoesBoom]

CUTTERSAM , sailing in 2 weeks.  No cruise documents?

 

[CUTTERSAM]

2 hours ago, GoesBoom said:

CUTTERSAM , sailing in 2 weeks.  No cruise documents?

 

NADA. "being processed"

[steamboats]

13 hours ago, notamermaid said:

You sailed with Deilmann? What a memory treasure of an experience. Would have loved to have been on the "old" Mozart.

 

Actually it was the "old" Mozart and the Dresden on the Elbe river. Both cruises were... let´s say adventurous. The Mozart cruise sort of ended 23 hours after departure from Passau with a stop in Dürnstein in Vienna - everything else was by bus due to high water. But anyway excellent service! MS Dresden was cut short due to low water (no way to go upriver of Dresden) but we had a marvellous nightly cruise into Hamburg with Champagne on the top deck plus the Cap San Diego coming in. And the adventure was that my window broke in the middle of the night when we docked at Marburg. Had to move into another cabin.

 

Sorry for being off topic!

 

steamboats

[GoesBoom]

18 minutes ago, CUTTERSAM said:

The latest news is no news yet.  My TA called Uniworld this morning and was on hold over an hour. the said they would have an answer for her later today or tomorrow about 5/30 Douro.

Interesting, given that the “Condition of Calamity” in Portugal has been extended until May 30th.  This morning Uniworld took down all French cruises prior to June 20th.  My Grand France cruise is June 20th.  Given France plans to open on June 9th to non EU tourists, I expect my cruise to be a go.

[Lance88]

I emailed them this morning about the June 6, 2021 cruise. Still no response. If Uniworld decides to go forward, will they be providing the required Covid testing necessary to get back into the US. Most resorts in Mexico and Jamaica are providing that service. We also won't know what type of testing Portugal may require for entry prior to May 30. What a mess.

[notamermaid]

BBC says British tourists need a negative PCR test prior to boarding. You can read about the situation right now here: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57138371

 

notamermaid

 

[CUTTERSAM]

1 hour ago, Lance88 said:

I emailed them this morning about the June 6, 2021 cruise. Still no response. If Uniworld decides to go forward, will they be providing the required Covid testing necessary to get back into the US. Most resorts in Mexico and Jamaica are providing that service. We also won't know what type of testing Portugal may require for entry prior to May 30. What a mess.

binax now test kits from Walmart (two test kit about 25.00) approved for international travel. Take it with you in case they screw that up too.

[CUTTERSAM]

2 hours ago, GoesBoom said:

Interesting, given that the “Condition of Calamity” in Portugal has been extended until May 30th.  This morning Uniworld took down all French cruises prior to June 20th.  My Grand France cruise is June 20th.  Given France plans to open on June 9th to non EU tourists, I expect my cruise to be a go.

To include May 30 or ends midnight May 29. That's what I think is the problem here!

[Lance88]

Just received a total non response from Uniworld to my email about the June 6 cruise. They refused to respond in any way nor would provide any time line for a decision. They indicated that they would reach out to me if the cruise was impacted by the virus. What does this even mean. I am beyond irritated at this point.

[CUTTERSAM]

5 minutes ago, Lance88 said:

Just received a total non response from Uniworld to my email about the June 6 cruise. They refused to respond in any way nor would provide any time line for a decision. They indicated that they would reach out to me if the cruise was impacted by the virus. What does this even mean. I am beyond irritated at this point.

It means they are reading from a script as I got the same answer as did my travel agent.   Maddening!

[Lance88]

In response to an email I received last night , Uniworld advised that they are hopeful that the restrictions will be lifted and that our June 6 cruise is moving forward. No indication when a final decision will be made. Since Portugal is not expected to readdress the restrictions until the end of the month, this leaves us with less than a week before the cruise. We now have no choice other than to finalize plans even though they very well could still be cancelled.

     Does anyone have any recommendations on a hotel in Porto where we can stay before the cruise departs.

[jpalbny]

10 minutes ago, Lance88 said:

Does anyone have any recommendations on a hotel in Porto where we can stay before the cruise departs.

 

We stayed at the Pestana Vintage Porto when we traveled through here on our own. Nice riverfront location, and nice hotel.

[Lance88]

Thank you.

[GoesBoom]

22 hours ago, CUTTERSAM said:

To include May 30 or ends midnight May 29. That's what I think is the problem here!

So do you have a verdict from Uniworld yet?  I have a saying, you judge a person/company on how they respond during the emergencies, not on what they do during normal times.  I understand that during normal times Uniworld has a great product and is 6 star.  But, they show their true colors now, when things aren’t so good.  Given their recent performance, I have serious doubt on how they will perform in the future.  If I’m on a Uniworld cruise and a crisis occurs, will I be told, sorry the cruise is terminated, we hope you have insurance (I did get that email from Uniworld), good luck getting home.  So sad.

[Host Jazzbeau]

@CUTTERSAM you can't mention TAs by name