Cruises, founded in 1976, was the first company to introduce to North America the Europe river-cruising concept. In 2005, Uniworld was acquired by the Travel Corporation, parent company of such popular travel companies as Trafalgar, Insight, Brendan and Contiki, as well as Red Carnation Hotels—the award-winning, five-star luxury hotel collection. Collaborating closely with Red Carnation, Uniworld has positioned its brand as a boutique hotel-style experience. Its intimate, luxurious ships are on par with some of the world’s finest small boutique hotels, each boasting its own individual décor.
Uniworld offers 9- to 32-day voyages on 11 rivers, with more than 500 departures and more than 30 itineraries. In Europe, Uniworld sails on the Rhine, Main, Danube, Moselle, Rhone, Saone, Seine, and Douro; in China it sails the Yangtze; and in Egypt it sails the Nile. Each hotel-style cruise ship boasts an average capacity of 134 guests; an award-winning staff, with a ratio of one staff member for every three guests; world-class cuisine; and expertly planned itineraries with custom-blended shore excursions.
One of Uniworld’s trademarks is exceptional customer service. Its English-speaking staff includes the most experienced captains, managers, chefs, and onboard and onshore crew members in the river cruise industry. As a result, Uniworld boasts guest service satisfaction rates of over 98%. Its accolades include being named one of Travel+Leisure’s World’s Best Top 10 Small Cruise Lines; and being included on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 and
2009 Gold Lists; their Readers’ Poll for Top 50 Small Ships, and their Readers’ Choice Awards for World's Top 10 Small Ship Cruise Lines. In addition, Uniworld recently was awarded by Cruise Critic as the best river cruise company, and with the best new river cruise ship, River Beatrice.
Uniworld introduced two new ultra-luxurious ships in 2009: the River Beatrice, along the enchanting Danube, and the 41-suite River Tosca, along the historic Nile River. All of Uniworld’s ships have been completely refurbished since 2005, and the company has a capital investment improvement plan to refurbish its ships every three years. All of Uniworld’s staterooms and suites are lavishly appointed to offer the ultimate in comfort and elegance.
Rates for Uniworld’s all-inclusive river cruises start at $1,599 per person, cruise only (based on a category 5, March 27, 2010, departure on Springtime Along the Rhine, a seven-night program). Cruise rates include all meals, prepared fresh daily using the finest ingredients from the local ports of call; fine wine, beer and soft drinks during dinner; captivating shore excursions fully hosted by English-speaking local guides; use of bicycles on company-owned ships in Europe; onboard local entertainment and insightful lectures; all transfers on arrival and departure days; and much more.
Uniworld dedicates 100% of its sales and marketing support to the travel agent community and does not market directly to the consumer.Uniworld pays travel agents a base commission of 10% to 17%. Its River Cruise Specialist Program provides travel agents with the knowledge and sales tools necessary to promote and sell Uniworld river cruises. For more information on the program, and on Uniworld’s travel agent incentives, fams and travel agent rates, log on to the company’s travel professional website,
https://uniworld.com/agency/login.asp.