Guide817483 wrote a review Dec 2024

1 contribution1 helpful vote

Past experience: Sept/Oct 2022. Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam. Found out the day of embarkation that a large group reservation was on board 80 out of 120 total guests. They booked all of the excursions which left each of us with 2 out of 12 included choices. They dominated all of the venues and impacted our trip. Uniworld was unapologetic and did not care even after their corporate office was contacted. Was offered a small $650 per person as a future cruise credit. Not acceptable. We paid for six (6) guests and received nothing comparable. Onboard Cruise Director did not assist us with Curated Excursions as we asked and as promotional materials promised. BEWARE future cruisers. Uniworld will not offer to rebook you if this impacts your trip, nor let you know of a group reservation as a courtesy (we booked a year in advance so could have picked another time). You will be left with Uniworld pretty much blaming you, the guest, and that it is YOUR fault. By the way, this was our 4th cruise with them so we were not strangers. This particular cruise was a disaster for us; but of course, they had our money (6 passengers) so they did not care. Never again.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

1 Helpful vote

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Suzi S wrote a review Nov 2024

Littleton, Colorado18 contributions1 helpful vote

SKIP UNIWORLD THEY ARE HORRID

Made a reservation for 4 cabins for a multi-generational family trip and all was going well until we embarked to find that our family was separated all over the boat, some with upgrades and some in actual crap tiny cabins in rough shape, like mine. They did nothing to assist when it was brought to their attention that this was unacceptable, particularly having my 83 year old mother separated from us entirely on another floor. Trying to get help is like trying to pull teeth and while the boat is nice enough, the food is mid and the service is non existent. Room service is a ham sandwich or cheese plate - nothing else. Try Avalon. We used them many times and had no issues at all Photo is off scuffed up and dirty cabin wall.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

1 Helpful vote

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Jim N wrote a review Aug 2024

Cary, NC176 contributions116 helpful votes

uneven mix, boat malfunctions, delays and no credit offered. Not for me

Excellent staff and decent food. Ship lost power on night one and they couldn't fix it, some had power, others didn't. We sat in an industrial park waiting for a tech from shore who could fix it. Wow! I was hoping to sit on my balcony and watch Amsterdam go by at night. Nope! Also lost an engine later in the trip, also couldn't get to Basel due to water level at the end of the trip. NO ONE offered a credit or ANYTHING ELSE to compensate us for not having power or an engine or missing an entire stop. When you are on a ship for 7 days, 2 of which they have major issues, that sucks. Also very little or no local entertainers or local food which I had heard from every site, these river cruises do that to give a you a feel for the culture, etc. We had a 70's night but no cultural stuff on board that I can remember. My first cruise on uniworld and likely my last as I can't believe I'd have a similar experience on Tauck or Scenic. One of the ladies from the front desk, can't remember her name, gave us a very hard time verifying that we paid for a side excursion towards the end of the trip. We went through a travel agency who works with uniworld and paid uniworld directly. They had no record of it! It hit my card, it said uniworld, etc. so they had this somewhere on one of their systems certainly had it and I showed them that. After spending $25k on a cruise and flight, the ship not functioning, etc. they were hassling me over $180 for a one off trip. Why would you hassle someone and cause that anxiety on what is supposed to be a luxury cruise where you don't have to worry about anything? If I had a client that payed me 20k, I'd not be so anxious to point out my company's incompetence by insisting they didn't pay me $180 of a $20k fee. Exactly the opposite of what I experienced. Even though I showed that lady the charge account with $180 on there to uniworld, which was the exact price, she made us go through their CRAPPY on board internet and wade through 200 emails between us, the travel person and uniworld on my little phone screen, to find that particular one. Her, I would fire. ALSO, maybe this is my mistake as were looking at so many cruises before booking, but I read multiple times that with a suite (we had a deluxe balcony suite) you'd have a minibar or at a minimum, a carafe refilled with your favorite booze or a bottle of wine. When we got there, nope. Not terrible and the bartenders were great and made us extra drinks to take back to the room. Also you could literally get a drink or food 24 hrs a day, delivered to your room. However isn't it just easier on everyone to drop a bottle of wine off or fill an ice bucket at night and a few bottles of soda water, etc. I didn't want people knocking on the door at 2 am waking my wife. Also had to tip guides, not the tour director and on board staff, but the guides for other places. Every major place we went required multiple guides to accommodate slower people, etc. in multiple groups so we all were tipping, not much, it's just a bone of contention. When you say all tips covered etc. you just expect that its true. We had trouble getting proper cash in amounts for tipping and the ship ran out quickly to only have 50's I think. So, if the staff wasn't truly spectacular, I wouldn't have even bothered with the review. They salvaged a not great experience and made it decent. The tour guide was fantastic, Daniel, the bartender and that staff, Augustine, excellent, although I'd have someone waiting at the bar when the tours came back as there were always 10-15 people waiting for a drink. The cleaning staff was spectacular and did a great job. The tours themselves, other than some odd, one off asian thing with a garden, were excellent.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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DeeTeacher wrote a review Jun 2024

Rancho Cucamonga, California5 contributions2 helpful votes

UniWorld's Customer Service very disappointing

UniWorld Cruise, as a company, was a disappointment. Unfortunately because of flooding conditions on the Rhine River, we missed out on the first four days of our sailing cruise and three cities. UniWorld was well aware before the trip started that we would not be able to sail to some of our locations. They should have given us the option of canceling and rebooking, we would have chosen to reschedule. They refused to offer us any compensation for our loss. We spent four days staring at a warehouse covered in graffiti. The cruise manager was evasive when confronted with questions. Instead, the next day, they arranged for a "passenger" to declare to all of us that she had been on 23 cruises with UniWorld and how wonderful they were. There were only 85 people on our cruise and none of us had ever seen her before. We suspect she was a UniWorld “plant” who was brought in to try to pacify us. We talked to passengers from Avalon Cruises (docked next to us), who were given cash discounts for days they missed sailing. The Avalon passengers were much happier than we were. We feel that UniWorld was not acting in good faith. They gave us one tour for free, but that was it. We missed out on wine tasting and vinegar tasting, so they offered us a small wine tasting at $40/person - aboard the boat. Ridiculous! They should have offered that for free as a small compensation! Also, very inconvenient, we had to pack up all of our things and get bused to a new boat four hours away, then unpack again. Most of us received smaller staterooms than we paid for because the new ship was smaller. Again, no compensation was offered for this inconvenience or smaller accommodations. What we participated in was a bus tour for four days, not a cruise. We specifically did not pick a bus tour for our vacation because we didn’t want to travel by bus (my husband gets motion sickness on a bus) and didn’t want to keep packing up and moving every day. Another disappointment was the lack of entertainment on the ship. We only received entertainment 2 times – a 70’s party DJ, and a violinist. If you were not a drinker, there was nothing to do in the evening except watch an old movie in the theater. The best thing about UniWorld Cruises is that the ship employees were excellent! They were helpful, professional, and fun to talk to. The food was excellent! We had four-course meals every night that were great! The employees were the one saving grace of our cruise. Unless we receive some sort of acceptable compensation, we will not be using UniWorld again. I expected much more from a “boutique” cruise, especially one that is family-owned, not corporately owned. Very disappointing.…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

1 Helpful vote

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RoyBean wrote a review Jun 2024

NC6 contributions9 helpful votes

Lied to and very disappointed in Uniworld

My wife and I were on the June 1 cruise from Amsterdam to Basel. Unfortunately, the Rhine flooded and we were unable to sail more then 2 nights. This was handles well by the crew and we were transported after 3 nights to another ship that was docked in Strasbourg via bus. Again, the crew was excellent under trying circumstances. The problem was on the day of departure, my suitcase was knocked into the river by a negligent Uniworld employee and was in the water for 3-4 minutes. When I walked off the boat to the bus, I was told by Martin, the cruise manager that the suitcase was only in the water for 3-4 seconds. I was not concerned over a few seconds, but when I got on the bus, I was told 3-4 minutes and they had to go onboard and find a hook so they could retrieve the suitcase. I went back outside and looked at one side of the suitcase and it was damp. Martin said Uniworld would take care of any damages and to send photos of the clothes. We were running a little late so I did not fully open the other side of the suitcase until we arrived in our hotel in Zurich. Those clothes were either damp or soaked. I was able to have a laundry clean most of the items, but 2 pair of very nice shoes and a blue blazer were damaged or destroyed (blazer) Upon contacting Uniworld customer service, no assumption of negligence or responsibility on their part. Basically I was told, because I did not have travel insurance, I was on my own or could work through my credit card companies. No offering of their insurance for their negligence. Amazing. That was our 2nd Uniworld cruise this year and I have been a very loyal Red Carnation guest for over 10 years. We will look elsewhere now…

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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