Uniworld River cruise cancellation

[pacmom]

We were scheduled on a barge trip with Road Scholar next month.  They canceled with full refund.  They then sent out news about the same trip next year.  So we booked that one.  We had done our own air with United.  Yesterday they cancelled that trip, full refund of our money.

We started river cruising almost 20 years ago with Uniworld, loved everyone we took. The last on the Joi D'Vivre. It was wonderful.  They have priced themselves out of our cruising budget.  So that was probably out last trip with them.

Good luck to all who are still trying to get cruise "stuff" straightened out.  Pat

[Host Jazzbeau]

Uniworld has now cancelled all cruises through June 30:

Uniworld Suspends All River Cruises through June 30

[OrmBeaRee]

Yes, I was just informed yesterday.  We have been holding off cancelling our 24 May Uniworld to Bordeaux. So, now we will just wait until our TA notifies us of options.  Our Insurance will be transferrable.  We lost our $400 dep on our Pre trip Paris hotel and our flight - (cancelled before balance was due), but that is not bad in our eyes compared to the trip itself.  

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

The first North America-oriented cruise line to announce new health measures, Princess, is not requiring a health letter for older cruisers:

Princess Cruises Details New Health Guidelines

[agidor63]

On 4/18/2020 at 5:07 PM, radioman said:

We booked the travel insurance when we made our reservation with Uniworld.  Uniworld told us to file the claim.  We are waiting for numbers from Uniworld.  We have a claim number from the insurance company and will file once we have numbers.

 

Please explain how you are using your travel insurance?  Did you book your insurance via Uniworld?   Thanks

 

[OrmBeaRee]

We did not purchase the Uniwold Travel Insurance.  We purchased Cancel for any reason policy- Alianz.  However, we are not going to use it, we will be able to apply it to our next trip.  If Uniworld had not cancelled by the 50% FCC/Refund date of 29 days, we were going to take their 50/50 offer.  We had no intention filing  insurance claim for the $400 deposit on Airfare through a charter flight.  (Again, not Uniworld).  Since the insurance would only pay 80%, makes most sense for us to lose the $400 and even if we get FCC until 2022, we are good, especially since it can be used for their sister companies.  Our ins policy is transferrable even if we don't have a date. If Uniworld offers full cash since they cancelled, all the better.  We eventually plan to take that trip.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Allianz is being very nice about moving policies.  When my Ponant cruise was cancelled, my TA was planning to do a domino game to move that policy to our next cruise and the policy from the next cruise to the rebooked Ponant cruise – because the new Ponant cruise was outside the window that Allianz normally allows for rollovers.  But they told her 'no problem,' and moved the policy right over.  [They also paid 100% with no hassles when we had to cancel for medical reasons a few years ago.]  Kudos to Allianz.

[Ride-The-Waves]

21 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The first North America-oriented cruise line to announce new health measures, Princess, is not requiring a health letter for older cruisers:

Princess Cruises Details New Health Guidelines

Doesn't say that.  What it does say:

 

"We are working closely with public health officials, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), to define and implement best practices to protect the health of our guests and crew as it relates to COVID-19."

 

and

 

"The line will also maintain its policy of refusing boarding to booked travelers who meet a variety of criteria including anyone who has been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19; anyone suffering from a fever or flu-like symptoms prior to embarkation; and anyone with underlying severe chronic medical conditions."

 

Note that CDC and CLIA list the age related screening requirements, specifically as it relates to "chronic" (long term) health issues, to include diabetes, high blood pressure, COPD, etc.

[islanderssc]

We were booked on a Uniworld June 29 trip on the Danube(Prague and Budapest) which has been cancelled. Our TA worked with them to rebook same cruise June 2021 with price protection. Our problem is British Airlines which we booked on our own in January.we are willing to accept a voucher and apply it to our June 2021 trip. British Airlines will only give us a voucher for 12 months from time of purchase not time of flight. This means we have to use it before January 2021.We have no need nor desire to travel to Europe by the end of 2020. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem trying to cancel with British Airlines?

[TFree]

28 minutes ago, islanderssc said:

We were booked on a Uniworld June 29 trip on the Danube(Prague and Budapest) which has been cancelled. Our TA worked with them to rebook same cruise June 2021 with price protection. Our problem is British Airlines which we booked on our own in January.we are willing to accept a voucher and apply it to our June 2021 trip. British Airlines will only give us a voucher for 12 months from time of purchase not time of flight. This means we have to use it before January 2021.We have no need nor desire to travel to Europe by the end of 2020. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem trying to cancel with British Airlines?

No, but two data points on this.  First, I have the same issue with Delta/KLM on a June 7 Danube cruise.  So far, the KLM connecting flights (AMS to PRG, BUD to AMS) have been cancelled, but they have been able to rebook us on other flights that don't violate the "90 minute" rule.  The transatlantic flights (BOS to AMS, AMS to LAX) have not been cancelled yet, and my airline buddy says they will probably resist cancelling them until the last minute since they are major routes.  So I am just waiting to see what happens, and if nothing changes we will have to cancel and take the cancellation fee hit (since we also can't rebook at the moment because the new cruise is more than 12 months out).  Second data point is that the airline buddy reports that he has had some intra-Europe BA flights cancelled (I think these were in May, though).  So it would appear that BA is cancelling the short intra-Europe flights before cancelling the transatlantic flights, too.  Is BA the carrier on the short legs for you?  If so have those flights been cancelled?

 

Tom & Judy

[Babato2boys]

On 4/14/2020 at 8:23 PM, S Calif cruiser said:

We have 2-leg France Uniworld cruises embarking May 10. France is shut down until at least May 11th. Our Air France Flight leaving May 3 has been cancelled but return flight on May 27 is not. We have heard nothing from Uniworld or our travel agent. Uniworld also booked our flights but only found out about the cancelled flight by logging into Air France website. We are so disappointed in the lack of communication from Uniworld. My guess is that they want us to be the ones to cancel. We have never sailed with Uniworld before but our opinion of them has gone downhill fast. If we don’t get a refund we will fight it. 

We were booked for our first Uniworld cruise for May 3rd Normandy. They recently cancelled our cruise but we are not getting a refund. Only options are to book another cruise now or take the future cruise credit. I don't see how they can do that and keep our money. Friend were booked with Viking for around the same time. Theirs was cancelled with a full refund. Looks like we all booked with the wrong cruise line!!   

[iMarco46]

3 minutes ago, Babato2boys said:

We were booked for our first Uniworld cruise for May 3rd Normandy. They recently cancelled our cruise but we are not getting a refund. Only options are to book another cruise now or take the future cruise credit. I don't see how they can do that and keep our money. Friend were booked with Viking for around the same time. Theirs was cancelled with a full refund. Looks like we all booked with the wrong cruise line!!   

 

When did you book your cruise? 

Date of final payment?

 

 

[Babato2boys]

30 minutes ago, iMarco46 said:

 

When did you book your cruise? 

Date of final payment?

 

 

We booked in July 2019 and paid in full so we would get a discount. We never saw this cancellation policy from Uniworld. Our TA should have informed us about this. 

[iMarco46]

16 minutes ago, Babato2boys said:

We booked in July 2019 and paid in full so we would get a discount. We never saw this cancellation policy from Uniworld. Our TA should have informed us about this. 

 

I don't know if Uniworld ever communicated the Feb 25 policy "update" directly to their clients or to their TAs (or any of the subsequent head-spinning "updates du jour").  

 

It might be worthwhile to gently insist that your TA work extra hard to improve your eligibility for a refund.

 

If a client is all paid up as of Feb 25, 2020, how can one party to the transaction just willy-nilly amend the deal -- especially via a quiet little web page revision?

 

Sorry to hear of your dilemma - it's not likely you are alone.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2020 by iMarco46
grammar

[TikiIslandGirl]

24 minutes ago, Babato2boys said:

We were booked for our first Uniworld cruise for May 3rd Normandy. They recently cancelled our cruise but we are not getting a refund. Only options are to book another cruise now or take the future cruise credit. I don't see how they can do that and keep our money. Friend were booked with Viking for around the same time. Theirs was cancelled with a full refund. Looks like we all booked with the wrong cruise line!!   

I was supposed to sail with Uniworld on 3/31 so I was to be on a early season cruise. For a 2-3 week period when all of this started their policies changed every few days.  They first came out with you can cancel for a FCC and the $450 airline penalty (this was before any cruise had been cancelled by any cruise company)-. I did this since I was going with my parents on 3/9.  On 3/11  Uniworld canceled all cruises into sometime is April (don't remember exact date).  I thought since I already cancelled with a FCC I didn't think I could get a refund. 

 

 So a few days later someone on these boards said they were getting a refund.  On 3/14  I called Uniworld (I booked via a TA but since I already cancelled the cruise and was told after 3 days I can directly talk with Uniworld)-the agent said since the FCC hasn't been issued that I can get a refund and not be charged the $450 airline penalty and my parents would get the cost of the uniworld insurance back. So my "official" date of cancellation was 3/17 per Uniworld.  Now I put in these dates because since this was a moving target and Uniworld didn't have a grip on things. I think once they saw how this was evolving that they put the breaks on refunds (which I don't see how they can legally do).   It's been 5 1/2 weeks and have yet to see a refund and have been told 4 different time frames-but every time I call to get a update I'm told I'm getting a refund. I asked the last time the exact amount and it lines up with what I paid.  I did that because they are on a recorded line and if I have any trouble it's recorded. So, in my opinion-I don't see legally how they can keep anyones money if Uniworld cancels the cruise.  

 

[texasstar]

TFREE, Call Delta.  They are very accommodating.  They will take care of you.

[Ride-The-Waves]

Its just not the financial machinations Uniworld is using, but we are also bumping up against their stated (on the website) policy of following CLIA and CDC guidance.  We are both over 65/70 and will now be required to produce a "fit for sailing" certificate.  Which if viewed strictly, will mean no cruising since I have, under control, several of the medical afflictions mentioned by CLIA and CDC.  Uniworld offered (and its offers are vary dependent on date) FCCs at the same price.  Now they say FCC but send us $1,200 to hold the cabins you selected despite that fact they are "holding" over $16,000 in cruise fare, already paid.  FCC is essentially useless if we cannot meet CLIA and CDC guidance today, much less a year from now.  Additionally, I am finding that travel agents, dependent of monies from cruise fares, are now functioning less as advocates of the passenger and more as advocates of the cruise line.  In our case, the TA wants us to take the FCC and they will then "give us" half of their commission as FCC as well.  

 

Bottom line is that cruise lines and TAs are now in the "so sue us" mode of operating.  Despicable.  The rest of their commission to be paid later...

[Ride-The-Waves]

18 hours ago, TikiIslandGirl said:

I was supposed to sail with Uniworld on 3/31 so I was to be on a early season cruise. For a 2-3 week period when all of this started their policies changed every few days.  They first came out with you can cancel for a FCC and the $450 airline penalty (this was before any cruise had been cancelled by any cruise company)-. I did this since I was going with my parents on 3/9.  On 3/11  Uniworld canceled all cruises into sometime is April (don't remember exact date).  I thought since I already cancelled with a FCC I didn't think I could get a refund. 

 

 So a few days later someone on these boards said they were getting a refund.  On 3/14  I called Uniworld (I booked via a TA but since I already cancelled the cruise and was told after 3 days I can directly talk with Uniworld)-the agent said since the FCC hasn't been issued that I can get a refund and not be charged the $450 airline penalty and my parents would get the cost of the uniworld insurance back. So my "official" date of cancellation was 3/17 per Uniworld.  Now I put in these dates because since this was a moving target and Uniworld didn't have a grip on things. I think once they saw how this was evolving that they put the breaks on refunds (which I don't see how they can legally do).   It's been 5 1/2 weeks and have yet to see a refund and have been told 4 different time frames-but every time I call to get a update I'm told I'm getting a refund. I asked the last time the exact amount and it lines up with what I paid.  I did that because they are on a recorded line and if I have any trouble it's recorded. So, in my opinion-I don't see legally how they can keep anyones money if Uniworld cancels the cruise.  

 

Uniworld is part of The Travel Corporation which is owns numerous travel agencies, hotels and tour operators.  Likely the privately held company is hemorrhaging money at the moment and Uniworld may be its only "cash cow" left with the possibility of generating income.  Sad to see what is a good company dragged down like this.  

[TFree]

18 hours ago, texasstar said:

TFREE, Call Delta.  They are very accommodating.  They will take care of you.

TexasStar: I will, I am just waiting to see if they cancel one of the transatlantic flights, which would make things easier, because then I will be entitled to a cash refund, and I can shop for new flights when the time comes.  If they don't cancel, then I believe my option will be to cancel the itinerary (without cancellation fee) if I am willing to take a future flight credit.  As I have explained elsewhere, the option of price matching on future flights won't work in this case because (a) the new flights would be in May, 2021, and not yet bookable; and (b) the itinerary would not be identical next year, so price matching won't work anyway.  If you think I am missing some other point or option here, please feel free to contact me at the link below, in my signature block.

 

Tom & Judy

[KathyK13]

I read the cancellation policy listed above.  I understood it to apply to passengers that cancelled their cruise, not to Uniworld cancellation.  I don't see how they can legally keep the money if they cancel the cruise.  The alternatives listed don't work for everyone.

[iMarco46]

Well, this certainly is not good news:

 

https://www.france24.com/en/20200502-france-extends-covid-19-health-emergency-until-july-24

 

Travellers to France, including French citizens returning home, will face a compulsory two-week quarantine and possible isolation when they arrive in the country to help slow the spread of coronavirus, the health minister told a news conference.

 

As of May 2, Uniworld has not cancelled itineraries with stops in France.

It's interesting to note that the previously offered discounts on cruises that include destinations in France have returned to the "non-special" pricing - for example:

https://www.uniworld.com/en/river-cruise/europe/rhine/rhine-moselle-and-blissful-baden-baden/2020-baden-baden-to-frankfurt/pricing/

https://www.uniworld.com/en/river-cruise/europe/france/paris-and-normandy/2020-paris-to-paris/pricing/

 

 

 

[Arizona]

On 4/29/2020 at 2:52 PM, KathyK13 said:

I read the cancellation policy listed above.  I understood it to apply to passengers that cancelled their cruise, not to Uniworld cancellation.  I don't see how they can legally keep the money if they cancel the cruise.  The alternatives listed don't work for everyone.

This is amazing. I called my TA today and was given our options which did not include getting a refund. And, the flights we purchased through Uniworld don't make it all the way to Venice anymore. To cancel that, we have to pay the $450 cancellation fee - how's that work? - purchased a flight to Venice, can't deliver, and they charge you? Sounds like some class-action lawsuits are coming fairly soon. 

[kent9xxx1]

just curious, why do you let the cruise line book airline tickets for you?  Is it cheaper? For people who booked themselves directly, aa, delta all refunded them quickly for cancelling.  Not all airlines are that decent, but at least you won’t be hit another $450.

[TFree]

11 hours ago, kent9xxx1 said:

just curious, why do you let the cruise line book airline tickets for you?  Is it cheaper? For people who booked themselves directly, aa, delta all refunded them quickly for cancelling.  Not all airlines are that decent, but at least you won’t be hit another $450.

I am also interested in the answer to this question.  I have found that Celebrity sometimes has great airfares through its air arm (I assume the same might be true for other large ocean carriers), but in my more limited experience with Uniworld, it never made sense to book airfare with them.  If they sometimes have better than retail airfares available, it would be good to know that.  Otherwise, the benefit would probably just be that if your flight is delayed and U booked it, presumably they will have to get you to the ship.  But we usually arrive a day or two early, so that is not a meaningful feature for us.

 

Tom & Judy

[Arizona]

12 hours ago, kent9xxx1 said:

just curious, why do you let the cruise line book airline tickets for you?  Is it cheaper? For people who booked themselves directly, aa, delta all refunded them quickly for cancelling.  Not all airlines are that decent, but at least you won’t be hit another $450.

They were about 20% less than I could get direct or elsewhere online.