Uniworld Webinar DISASTER!

[cruzersky2]

OMG!!! This was the WORST presentation I have ever seen! I have been watching travel webinars to find a way to somewhat fill in that sense of loss of travel, and dream of what  might be possible in the future. I have cruised Viking 6 times, and have always enjoyed it,  but maybe I'm ready for a change. The idea of combining a cruise & luxury train trip through Italy seems like a dream come true. I get it that we are all having to figure out new technology. However, for a CEO to be so unprepared and unknowledgeable about the subject and the technology being used is mindblowing! If I put the glitches aside (on mike "what should I do?") the simple fact that the CEO, Ellen Bettridge, just (poorly) read the script , was insulting. The ships look beautiful ( 1930's Italy) and inspired by the Orient express, and I love "everything included" (yes, I was taking notes in anticipation). Unfortunately, if this is any indication of how Uniworld presents itself ("in  these difficult times" - blechhh) I'm out. (PS. I'm a 6th Grade public school teacher doing in class and remote teaching and I'm held to a much higher standard.)

[sharkster77]

I remember WAY back when email became acceptable business communication, and there were teachers in my building who refused to communicate by email (phone or nothing) and they were told in no uncertain terms, that the world has changed, and they MUST also change, or think about another career.

 

Because of COVID, the world has changed (albeit rapidly) yet again, and Zoom or any of its analogs have very quickly become standard and appropriate methods of business communication.  This CEO should have had IT people hand to be sure this event ran smoothly.

 

I agree with @cruzersky2  ---this would reflect very poorly on Uniworld if I had to endure this.  Not professional.

[gnome12]

9 hours ago, cruzersky2 said:

OMG!!! This was the WORST presentation I have ever seen! I have been watching travel webinars to find a way to somewhat fill in that sense of loss of travel, and dream of what  might be possible in the future. I have cruised Viking 6 times, and have always enjoyed it,  but maybe I'm ready for a change. The idea of combining a cruise & luxury train trip through Italy seems like a dream come true. I get it that we are all having to figure out new technology. However, for a CEO to be so unprepared and unknowledgeable about the subject and the technology being used is mindblowing! If I put the glitches aside (on mike "what should I do?") the simple fact that the CEO, Ellen Bettridge, just (poorly) read the script , was insulting. The ships look beautiful ( 1930's Italy) and inspired by the Orient express, and I love "everything included" (yes, I was taking notes in anticipation). Unfortunately, if this is any indication of how Uniworld presents itself ("in  these difficult times" - blechhh) I'm out. (PS. I'm a 6th Grade public school teacher doing in class and remote teaching and I'm held to a much higher standard.)

It was REALLY bad. I wonder whether they did better on the second show, at 7 PT?

Edited October 2, 2020 by gnome12

[acwmom]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You also have a lot more experience with remote teaching.  A cruise line CEO should be judged on all aspects of her job performance, of which this is a very minor part.

As a Uniworld regular, I have not been impressed with how she has led the company. More "additional charge" excursions, the adding back of port charges (ie, not inclusive), the taking away of RHC benefits, to name a few. My favorite though was Mother's Day 2019, when she did a video in honor of mothers. It featured her daughter (who works in the accounting department at Uniworld) boasting about how wonderful her mom was. Never a mention of Happy Mother's Day to loyal guests, it was all about her.

As to last night's webinar.....OMG, there was no excuse. It was a cluster. I heard nothing other than her. None of the special guest comments, nothing from the bartender. And, the worst thing of all. SHE COULDN'T PRONOUNCE THE NAME OF THE SHIP CORRECTLY!!!!! No, Venezia does NOT have a second "N" in it.....it is not the SS Venenzia. The renovations are beautiful, but as I've already done this itinerary, I don't see doing it again.

Robin

 

 

[need2travel1]

Holy Mama!  That was the worst video presentation I have ever seen, it was a hot mess.  I crafted a whole "Date Night at Home" for Hubby & I-homemade pizza & wine in front of the laptop to watch the presentation & we sat thru it in hopes it would eventually get better but it never did.  Why they didn't do a dry run to make sure there were no glitches is beyond me  How could they not have?  Congratulations to the winner of the free trip though!

[gnome12]

Holy Mama!  That was the worst video presentation I have ever seen, it was a hot mess.  I crafted a whole "Date Night at Home" for Hubby & I-homemade pizza & wine in front of the laptop to watch the presentation & we sat thru it in hopes it would eventually get better but it never did.  Why they didn't do a dry run to make sure there were no glitches is beyond me  How could they not have?  Congratulations to the winner of the free trip though!

The free trip was the only reason I hung around.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Host Jazzbeau]

OK, I'm convinced!  Deleted earlier post...

[need2travel1]

2 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The free trip was the only reason I hung around.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You're not kidding!  I was even more disappointed about not winning because we sat thru that mess.  There goes an hour of all our lives that we'll never get back.😝

[bubbulz]

As another Uniworld regular I can only echo what’s already been said. What an embarrassing  failure all around.  

[Babcia7]

Yes, this was an embarrassing attempt.  Actually, this whole week has been fraught with embarrassing moments. I have always been more than satisfied with Uniworld's cruises in the past (6 cruises), and am booked for one more, but may explore other options in the future. Too bad that they didn't do a dry run to work out the bugs.  Sure didn't leave a good impression, especially for those who haven't experienced the usually wonderful product that Uniworld provides.

 

[cruzersky2]

As the  OP, I really thought I was the only one who saw this mess. I was amused by the Host Jazzbeau saying " You also have a lot more experience with remote teaching.  A cruise line CEO should be judged on all aspects of her job performance, of which this is a very minor part." HAHA!  My point was that I am a public school teacher (with on the fly Zoom etc. learning) held to a much higher standard than a CEO of a mulit-million dollar company. Maybe I missed it, but did Ellen Bettridge issue any apology or explanation ( excuse) to those of us who took the time to watch this Uniworld commercial? A "webinar/commercial" designed to get us to buy her product...

 

[Farang]

11 hours ago, acwmom said:

As a Uniworld regular, I have not been impressed with how she has led the company. More "additional charge" excursions, the adding back of port charges (ie, not inclusive), the taking away of RHC benefits, to name a few. My favorite though was Mother's Day 2019, when she did a video in honor of mothers. It featured her daughter (who works in the accounting department at Uniworld) boasting about how wonderful her mom was. Never a mention of Happy Mother's Day to loyal guests, it was all about her.

 

 

 

We WERE Uniworld regulars and proponents; four cruises 2015 through 2019.  2015 (pre- Bettridge) was wonderful.  Sent several customers their way after our first experience in 2015.  Did France (Rhone) next - 2017, beginning of Bettridge regime. Noticed cut back of staff and services.  Also noted added dining "opportunity" at stern that affected passenger common areas- code "additional revenue source".  Several sudden itinerary changes not positive for passengers and reduced quality in excursions and tour leaders.  Next year Eastern Europe.  Food and beverage quality poor and ship understaffed.  More obvious was that the design of the ship (a new SS) did not consider food server flow, causing glitches that were ship design issues, not staff performance issues.  Staff frustration was obvious.  In addition, maitre d" was title only as he was also a waiter-server with an obvious seating area of responsibility.  I mention this because on our first Uniworld cruise the maitre d' was excellent at seating passengers to enable casual interaction with your fellow passengers.  Last trip, and our final one with Uniworld was Budapest to Prague.  Better than half of the excursions were seriously altered or cancel - BMW plant in particular - highlight of the itinerary for us.  Excursions - planned and altered were mediocre at best.  Bartenders were absent all afternoons and no beverage service on sun deck - good way to limit "all-inclusive" costs.  Hotel in Prague was dismal, so bad we left the Uniworld trip early and went to Croatia for an unplanned week, returning to Prague for a few days, staying at the Best Western hotel in a better location in Prague Old Town.  Best western was a 4+, Uniworld hotel was a 2+ with inconvenient location.  Our first trip with Uniworld also included a Prague pre-stay.  On that trip we were lodged at the Boscolo Hotel - a delightful experience, but obviously more expensive to Uniworld.

 

Finally, since Bettridge has taken helm of Uniworld, we are bombarded with "deal" emails with deadlines, only to be followed with deadline extensions.  Guess that is what happens when a "Sales and Marketing" exec. takes over operations.  In any event we now caution friends about considering Uniworld.  Only thing missing from their current pitch is "but wait!  If you send your money in the next XX days we will include, at no cost, to you ..."

[Ride-The-Waves]

UNIWORLD is one of 40 travel and hotel related brands owned by The Travel Corporation which is wholly owned by the Tollman family originally from South Africa.  The family is know for placing its family members and close friends in "leadership" positions across the corporation.  

 

We, too, are dismayed by the degradation of UNIWORLD.  We have traveled with UNIWORLD for a decade to include the acclaimed Tulips and Windmills, numerous holiday markets and three years ago China and Tibet.  Latest planned trip, "Grand France," has turned into a disaster with UNIWORLD refusing to refund monies from their cancellation and only offering FCC, which is useless to us as we are in the age and pre-existing conditions group making us 5-times (per CDC) as susceptible to COVID-19 than the average person.  Travel is out for us.  UNIWORLD doesn't care.  We have had to initiate a chargeback which is pending and which UNIWORLD refuses to cooperate.  A once great river cruise company with excellent leadership and wonderful crews  has really deteriorated to rock bottom.

[bubbulz]

9 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

UNIWORLD is one of 40 travel and hotel related brands owned by The Travel Corporation which is wholly owned by the Tollman family originally from South Africa.  The family is know for placing its family members and close friends in "leadership" positions across the corporation.  

 

We, too, are dismayed by the degradation of UNIWORLD.  We have traveled with UNIWORLD for a decade to include the acclaimed Tulips and Windmills, numerous holiday markets and three years ago China and Tibet.  Latest planned trip, "Grand France," has turned into a disaster with UNIWORLD refusing to refund monies from their cancellation and only offering FCC, which is useless to us as we are in the age and pre-existing conditions group making us 5-times (per CDC) as susceptible to COVID-19 than the average person.  Travel is out for us.  UNIWORLD doesn't care.  We have had to initiate a chargeback which is pending and which UNIWORLD refuses to cooperate.  A once great river cruise company with excellent leadership and wonderful crews  has really deteriorated to rock bottom.

Do you have trip insurance? If so all you should need is a note from your doctor stating that you are medically unable to travel and will be for the foreseeable future.

[Ride-The-Waves]

Yes.  Had to do that several years ago after a kidney stone "attack" just prior to sailing.  Going the insurance route is the next step.  CC company is currently engaged with UNIWORLD.  Additionally, that would let UNIWORLD profit from their horrible anti-customer policies.