Uniworld Boutique River Cruise CollectionReviews of uniworld.com

My fiance and I just returned (like within the last 24 hours) from our first river cruise and it was dreamy. We traveled on the Burgundy & Provence itinerary starting in Lyon and ending in Arles. The staff onboard were phenomenal and took such great care of everyone. We met several other couples during our meals and excursions that we really bonded with. Food exceeded expectations and how nice for it to be all-inclusive. The French Balcony rooms were beautiful and had lots of storage space. Although I think the next category up has bigger bathrooms with tubs, so that might be worth the splurge. Cities/villages visited each had their own 'personality' and we spent a lot of time exploring. Most of the docking locations were within easy walking distance of the city center. They had umbrellas for use on rainy days, plus hiking sticks and bikes that you could check-out for the day. Probably should have used the bike in Arles, but live and learn! We'd absolutely book another one and now understand why others we met had done 5+ before this trip. Only regret is not booking the pre-cruise option in Paris, but that's on me.

Despite the way this review probably sounds like a lot of complaints, we really did have a wonderful time and Uniworld staff did a great job!!! Except for the issues I will discuss in what I hope is a helpful manner to future cruisers, everything was awesome! Food was fresh, plentiful, creative and delicious. Ship was very comfortable and kept very clean. Staff was kind, courteous, patient and very hard working. I would highly recommend Leaving the dinner clothes and any attempt at European fashion at home, Everyone everywhere just looks like a very casual American with logos and ball caps etc. Dinner was casual, just wear your respectable regular clothes. I could have saved a lot of space in my suitcase as I had a lot of fun anticipating our trip and planning and reading a lot of articles and maybe fake reviews that talked about dress code…especially Uniworld being dressier than other ship lines and how to blend in in Europe and not look like a tourist. (I think I am very naïve, we have not traveled in quite awhile) I was happy to anticipate "dressing up". The first night at dinner my view was of a hairy guy in a tank top! Thank goodness I did not have to see that again I should have listened to the reviews that said DO NOT OVERPACK! Again Staff, food, ship, room all excellent!. Too many excursions were centered on always ending up in shops and shopping areas. Now don’t get me wrong, we are shoppers and shopped so much we had to buy an extra suitcase for the way home. Needless to say our family loves us . With so little time though we wanted more time spent on local culture and less on making sure we had plenty of time for shops. We had a much better time looking up local things to do and also asking the staff what they recommended and then going out on our own. This is what happened on one of the only excursions we did go on: this is the description of one stop on the (extra fee) Black Forest Trip: “stop at the family-owned House of Black Forest Clocks, where you will learn how cuckoo clocks are made-and savor a slice of Black Forest cake, too.” The reality: This is a shop with a restaurant upstairs. Just a shop, not a museum, there is no presentation or explanation of the process of making the admittedly beautiful clocks. A shop filled with cuckoo clocks and aisles of the same touristy items we saw everywhere else, INLCUDING the next stop. The very adorable and charming owner and clock maker mingles a little and has a table where he does a little (just for show) carving while there are people in the shop. I expected more. Possibly to learn how cuckoo clocks are made per the description?????? The whole point of us going was to learn how they are made and then buy our clock. Maybe it’s us and we read more into the excursion explanations than is actually there? We did buy a Cuckoo Clock as we had planned, we both wanted one badly and we did find a gorgeous one along with a very rushed employee to sell it to us. The Black Forest Cake was delicious. At the next stop there was a shop with the same clocks and same aisles full of touristy items Now to the big tip! Watch out for sick people!!!!! We were placed in close quarters (excursion bus for example) with people who were obviously ill. Severe wet sounding constant cough (all day on 7 hour excursion) with no attempt at covering the mouth, they also couldn't stay awake. It was disgusting. Two men in particular, their wives refused to sit with them. The group of 4 all took separate seats. I am not sure why these people did not stay in their room as they looked extremely miserable. I can only speculate maybe because the extra excursions had a no refund policy? Also at what point does staff intervene when someone obviously ill is constantly in public areas? To be fair I understand this can be a very touchy issue. We ended up eating dinner in our room each night (the staff was wonderful about our repeated room service!!! We gave no explanation and they just smiled and did a great job) and staying away from organized excursions and onboard activities. We did end up with a pretty hefty case of covid, feels like a bad flu. (didn't know it was covid until we got home, and I know no one makes a big deal out of it anymore). We are still quite ill and are just staying home and resting. I am sure a tremendous amount of people that were on board our cruise are ill. One last thing, get the biggest cabin you can afford. We had the largest except for the suite. With the amount of time we spent in it trying to keep away from the sickies it was just big enough. The cabin was very nice, kept very clean by sweet staff. We would like to go on another Uniworld cruise, specifically Egypt. I will book differently as we paid full price and then kept getting offers for our same cruise with up to half off! I will take THAT as a learning experience!!!!!!!

After a bike accident on my first day of a Uniworld 22 day Ultimate France River Cruise I was virtually confined to my cabin and, my life was in serious jeopardy, mainly from the cellulitis that developed in my knee a few days after the incident with Uniworld’s faulty bicycle. I was attended by three doctors and had three hospital visits during the 21 days. But had it not been for my own doctor in Australia, it was conceivable I may not have survived. Immediately on my return I briefed specialist Personal Injury Lawyers to make a claim on Uniworld for pain, suffering and medical expenses. I can only say that Uniworld’s response was appalling beyond belief. Apparently all the staff who had seen me three times a day, struggling to 50 or so metres to the dining room on my crutches had developed amnesia! I have since had to have a total knee replacement. Uniworld's ducking & weaving was astonishing. Here’s one quote from Marcelle Heimdal, Manager of Guest Relations & Reservation Services from Uniworld’s headquarters in Los Angeles: "The waiver also stipulates that guests assume all responsibility for any accidents or injury, and advises (in bold text) that Uniworld cannot be held responsible for any mechanical defects, and that the guest releases Uniworld for all liability. This is the same waiver you signed on board." Uniworld not only relied on the waver but on some of the dismissive fine print of our actual ‘Tickets’. They have many ways of fending off legal action, ultimately stipulating that, if you were crazy enough to initiate legal action against them, the claim could only be lodged in a Swiss court. These are not honest people to deal with. Let alone nice! If you do decide to book a trip with Uniworld, read the fine print on your ticket. And don’t borrow any of their equipment. It maybe safest not to eat any prawns or anything that could give you food poisoning. And, for God’s sake, don’t trip & fall. It could cost you your house (or your life).

Been on 17 Uniworld cruises now and they are all absolutely perfect. The boat are lovely, the staff are great and the trips out everyday are very very enjoyable. Sophie, who works in the Guernsey office, is especially helpful and knows a great deal about the cruises if you want any help. I can not recommend these cruises enough. The only downside I feel is their pricing structure as the prices change a lot and so it feels a little bit like a lottery when you book as you might find 2 weeks later the same cruise is lots cheaper and that can be a bit frustrating especially when your budget is quite tight as mine is.

I booked a cruise to travel this November, for my birthday. I booked my airfare thru Uniworld also. Thinking it would be best, just in case anything happens one stop to better help me to the cruise and back home. My flight got canceled/changed going to paris. I saw this as a Hiccup at first. I reach out to Uniworld, hoping they could help. Much to my surprise they have had attitude: we have no control on the air. I will not go in details. its sad I was very excited a week ago to go, and now i still going because its paid for and I will hope the for the best on getting there. Their customer service before were great, of course that was before I paid them, now they are awful. If looking for River Cruise Company look for another one. I wish I had.

Top quality river cruises. We have done the Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Rhine and Danube cruises - all different but of excellent standard. Met some great people to share unique travel experiences with. Nothing too much trouble! Highly recommended

Outstanding top-of-the-line river cruises internationally. They set the standard! The food, tours, and accommodations are truly superb!

Be very cautious in using this Travel Company. Booked a cruise through AAA during the pandemic with every intention of going on the trip. Just before travel date our doctor advised not to travel based on our age and the US State Department had travel warnings out for travel to Europe. Consequently we were forced to cancel. When AAA and I both tried to get back the one half cost of the trip penalty, Uniworld basically told us that 's too bad. Meanwhile our agent at AAA said she had used other travel companies and were able to attain full refunds for her customers during the Pandemic. I still might consider travel abroad but I definitely will not be using Uniworld.