Uniworld Upgrade Program

[ak1004]

52 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Deluxe has bigger windows than classic, and the windows will be lower down the wall. Both classic and deluxe have fixed windows. A French balcony has full height windows that can open to get fresh air into the cabin. I have no idea what it would take to get an upgrade (my Uniworld cruises were 12 and 13 years ago and they didn’t offer such things). Personally, I wouldn’t expect those minimum bids to be dropped. 

 

12 minutes ago, tulok said:

I usually sail on Uniworld and have been in the “swan view”  and french balcony cabins.

The amount of time you spend in your cabin is so minimal, I would just see what you want to do with the money. I much prefer drinks in the lounge or on top deck. I just use the cabin to change and sleep. We usually book so late we get what is left, which is fine with me. 

If you are one that would sit in your cabin and look out the window, then you want to upgrade. Otherwise, service is all the same, cabins are close to the same, and all decks have easy access to everything.

(I am a shopper, so I can find something to do with the $$$)

 

 

Thank you very much for replying!

 

@tulok we share the same sentiment about spending very little time in the cabin. My concern is not the window, but mostly the location, specifically, the potential level of noise.

 

Someone mentioned that on lower deck you hear the noise from the kitchen and/or the engines. On the other hand, someone mentioned here that they were on the at the front on the second level (deluxe cabin) and they had "hellish noise from the engines at the front". So maybe we should stick with our cabin 106 which is in the middle of the cabins on the lower deck?

 

[tulok]

@ak1004 That looks about where we were on the deck and I don’t remember it being any noisier.  We have stay on the bottom deck twice and I never regretted staying there. In fact the first cruise, we laugh saying a swan could look in our window and the next morning we woke up with a swan looking in our window. I also like the laundry on my deck. I took half the clothes the second trip. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

If there's low water during your cruise, cabins on the lowest deck will hear/feel the hull scraping the bottom on occasion; and they will always have more noise going through locks.  Cabins on the top deck will have some noise from the sun deck above.  IMHO the ideal cabin would be the one directly above yours:  cabins above and below, midship [although that is much less important on a river cruise where there are never high seas]

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

 

Thank you very much for replying!

 

@tulok we share the same sentiment about spending very little time in the cabin. My concern is not the window, but mostly the location, specifically, the potential level of noise.

 

Someone mentioned that on lower deck you hear the noise from the kitchen and/or the engines. On the other hand, someone mentioned here that they were on the at the front on the second level (deluxe cabin) and they had "hellish noise from the engines at the front". So maybe we should stick with our cabin 106 which is in the middle of the cabins on the lower deck?

 

I stayed in a forward cabin on my second cruise. The bow thrusters were very noisy as the ship maneuvered into the many locks during the night. I was awakened on multiple occasions. 

[Ritabob]

We got off the River Princess two weeks ago. Stayed in cabin 103, lowest deck.  On past cruises on the 300 deck as well as the 400 deck on what is now the Joie de vivre.  Other than the size of the window there has not been any noticeable difference.

I will avoid the deck that has the dining room at the end of it.  Elephants start  marching by at 7:30 in the morning. 😉

RB 

[CastleCritic]

I can’t speak for uniworld directly. But from my experiences with every ship design amawaterways runs on the Danube/Rhine/seine….

 

front engine noise should only be an issue during docking and locks. They shouldn’t be running those just going down the river. You definitely know they are on if you are in a lower cabin but it’s not loud, just unusual. 
 

lower cabins you generally will hear water going by the hull and if you scrape something, you’ll know. You generally get used to this pretty quick.

 

midships I wouldn’t have much concern, there can be other factors like my room last year was near the vacuum toilet system pump This wasn’t great at times…

 

the noisiest room I had was third floor all the way at the back. Both above the machine spaces and  near the exhaust.   On your diagram the restaurant is back there too so that’s going to be a lot of traffic. Also you have the sun deck above you and if people are running you might hear it. 
 

sweet spot is 2nd deck dead center if you can get it. 
 

However I’ve never paid for anything other than a 1st floor room both times I’ve been upstairs were free upgrades. The return for a big window or French balcony isn’t there. As been said I don’t really like to spent time in the room if I can avoid it. For a real balcony…yes it can be nice but still not worth what they generally want. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by CastleCritic

[UDChE89]

OP here.  I did get the upgrade but not sure I’d do it again.  I felt I got a better value out of the suite cabin I bought on Viva last year than I did on Uniworld.  Actually, the decor on Viva suited me better than Uniworld.  We had not so great weather and I found the furniture in the public areas to be slightly uncomfortable so I spent a little more time in my cabin.  I did not avail myself of all the amenities but I do have to say the bed, linens, and shower were all fantastic.

[PNFL]

9 hours ago, UDChE89 said:

OP here.  I did get the upgrade but not sure I’d do it again.  I felt I got a better value out of the suite cabin I bought on Viva last year than I did on Uniworld.  Actually, the decor on Viva suited me better than Uniworld.  We had not so great weather and I found the furniture in the public areas to be slightly uncomfortable so I spent a little more time in my cabin.  I did not avail myself of all the amenities but I do have to say the bed, linens, and shower were all fantastic.

Well I did not get my upgrade and now I do not feel so bad about not getting it.  Even if the weather is not great I would probably be in the lounge.

[Canal archive]

I absolutely love the expression ‘SwansView’ for the lower deck cabins on narrowboats we have a Swans Hatch usually opposite the galley, so washing up, turn round and there’s a swan watching you. Usually wanting to be fed.

[mozfoz]

Our first cruise with UW was in a Classic cabin on the MT. We had no issue with engine or water noises. However we had a great deal of noise that was initiated by the crew. We were in Cabin 205, close to the separation door.  Apparently the crew is housed in the aft at this level and used the main stairs, rather than the staff only stairs, located mid ship. The constant opening and closing of the hall separation door was very noisy and bothersome. The staff used the hall for coming and going to their stations. They were always in the hall. Never heard of this issue before, and hopefully it was a one-off occurrence. 

[CastleCritic]

3 hours ago, mozfoz said:

Our first cruise with UW was in a Classic cabin on the MT. We had no issue with engine or water noises. However we had a great deal of noise that was initiated by the crew. We were in Cabin 205, close to the separation door.  Apparently the crew is housed in the aft at this level and used the main stairs, rather than the staff only stairs, located mid ship. The constant opening and closing of the hall separation door was very noisy and bothersome. The staff used the hall for coming and going to their stations. They were always in the hall. Never heard of this issue before, and hopefully it was a one-off occurrence. 

That's not good, as far as I know there is no midship stairs on the ships Ive been on (could have been one at the stern), meaning the crew was always using that hall.  This seems more like a discipline/respect thing than anything else.  Having been near that door a few times on AMA it was never a problem.  I would have said something for sure.

[mozfoz]

Based on the deck plans the stairs are midship, behind staff doors, and not intended for passenger use. Ocean ships have multiple stairs behind  hallway walls. They are not indicated on deck plans since they are not intended for use by the public. Sometimes on largeocean ships you get to see them as the quickest exit route during a life boat drill. Staff could never be expected to constantly transverse the length of a ship all day long. Food  for room service and housekeeping would never work. Were you ever curious why some doors on ships are not labeled or unlabeled areas on a deck plan.