Uniworld Mystery trips will keep clients guessing, right up to departure

[101939]

Anyone intrigued by Uniworld's June 2022 Mystery 10 day cruise announcement!!??  I have never cruised on Uniworld, but a river cruise has always been on my bucket list.  The Uniworld CEO plans to be onboard this cruise, so I think this may be something special.  The only information provided is that it will be within Europe.  I have a cabin on hold right now.  Anyone else think this may be a special adventure!!??

[GoesBoom]

With Uniworld it could be another kind of Special Adventure.  Good Luck.

[Host Jazzbeau]

New article about Uniworld on Travel Weekley:

Mystery trips will keep clients guessing, right up to departure

[Bookishcruiser]

Sounds like fun! Expensive fun. But still fun. 

[Lois R]

Good morning, it does sound fun.....my big question is about flights and you have to know where you are flying in and out of....that would have to be taken care of at least 60 days in advance (one would think) so you would know your port of embarkation. And I suppose if it ended up going to places you are not interested in visiting, that would be a BIG (and yes, pricey) disappointment. 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Good morning, it does sound fun.....my big question is about flights and you have to know where you are flying in and out of....that would have to be taken care of at least 60 days in advance (one would think) so you would know your port of embarkation. And I suppose if it ended up going to places you are not interested in visiting, that would be a BIG (and yes, pricey) disappointment. 

If you read the article it says you will get bits of information before you go. As to flights, while Uniworld probably books them when final payment is made, they don’t have to let you know until shortly before you need to leave. Also, I’m not sure if flying to Frankfurt, for example, gives you that much information as to port of embarkation.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

The only thing I could think of was that during the severe low water situation lots of passengers ended up on 'mystery cruises,' and few of them were happy about it...

[Lois R]

46 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

If you read the article it says you will get bits of information before you go. As to flights, while Uniworld probably books them when final payment is made, they don’t have to let you know until shortly before you need to leave. Also, I’m not sure if flying to Frankfurt, for example, gives you that much information as to port of embarkation.  

I must have missed that......thanks for the clarification.

[jpalbny]

Darn it; if this were 2 weeks earlier we'd be all over it. Just not the right timing...

[acwmom]

I'm definitely intrigued, but fear it will be filled with travel agents/bloggers/vloggers since Ellen will be on board. That's a negative for me. Otherwise, I'd be calling my TA. This sounds like a lot of fun.

[F19810]

I'd love to see a review of this trip.  If it wasn't so expensive I would consider it but as a solo traveler, the cost is too much.    It does sound like fun.

Judy

[Lois R]

I have sailed with Uniworld once and loved it😃....food, service, staff, excursions, everything about it...ambiance......If I can figure out some future plans I would definitely sail with them again.👍

[Host Jazzbeau]

Got kind of complicated thanks to Cruise Critic's website limitations, but I think I got all three threads on this topic merged and de-duped. 

 

So we have someone who is booked on this mystery cruise @101939 – welcome to River Cruising and my hat's off to your sense of adventure to do this as your first river cruise!  If you do a search of this forum for Uniworld you should find lots of threads that will give you input on how they were pre-pandemic.  As with all cruising, nobody really knows how things will be when they restart.  Bon voyage!

[101939]

6 hours ago, acwmom said:

I'm definitely intrigued, but fear it will be filled with travel agents/bloggers/vloggers since Ellen will be on board. That's a negative for me. Otherwise, I'd be calling my TA. This sounds like a lot of fun.

Never thought of Ellen onboard having that affect!  Rather, I thought that everything would be top notch as the CEO was onboard.  I worked for an airline for 40 years and whenever the CEO traveled, everyone went above and beyond to make sure that trip was top notch.  You have given me something to think about!

[Ritabob]

We'd be on a mystery cruise with Uniworld in a heartbeat except  for the date of sailing. Bummer.

RB 

[atcmike]

I actually came across an article an hour after it was published describing the “Mystery cruise” by a boutique river cruise line. Upon reading further I found it was being offered by UniWorld which we have traveled on them 3 times in the last few years. I was surprised that this wasn’t published or advertised anywhere I could find. No emails went to previous customers and there is no mention of it at all on their webpage. But there is a webpage for it, just not easily located without a link from the article. I actually feel this is going to be an “over the top” cruise with clients that aren’t all specialized as TA’s, bloggers, etc. But even if there are some, it adds more mystery to who is sailing. I will say after 30 minutes on hold, I finally got to speak for about 15 minutes with the UniWorld representative. This was the only way to even book a reservation. All he had were the dates of sailing and the costs for different categories. I made a reservation and booked a room for the sailing. Having 72 hours to make the deposit was an easy decision. One thing that was certain when talking with the rep, UniWorld is offering NO discounts for Heritage members or for booking now and paying in full. Usually it is 10% off. I’m expecting this is going to be a one-of-a kind trip since the President and CEO is hosting. No rooms are assigned and might be randomly assigned later on. Another mystery. I asked how many reserved in the cabin class I selected, and he told me there was only 1 left and it went as we were talking. I asked about the air logistics. I live in a hub city and would be able to fly direct to Europe with certain carriers. He said they UniWorld will make contact as it gets closer to ask each room their departure city they want to use. @101939, I would say if you haven’t paid the deposit, do it now. When I called this morning to pay mine, I asked how many cabins were left. I wanted to let another couple know. She told me this morning that the ship SOLD OUT late that night or early the next morning. So your place is desired. Of course no one knows what will happen next month and certainly 14 months from now, but seeing that I can get a refund up to 120 days out, I’m not feeling like it is a risk. But there is much upside to having it all fall into place and find out where you are going as one drives to the airport the day before. I hope you do book @101939. I’ll buy you a drink in the lounge and look back at the day they announced this.

I actually have an idea of the ship they are going to use. My wife doesn’t want to hear anything. She wants the total surprise package. Lol

[Ritabob]

Welcome to this board atcmike.  You will have to keep us updated as the mystery unravels.  I originally saw the announcement on Facebook and then on 2 or 3 different cruising vacation sites that popped up. 

It's too bad  Heritage Club members seem to have less perks every year.  I guess with everyone anxious to get on with travel Uniworld knows they can charge full price.

RB 

[atcmike]

We have a Christmas markets cruise in Dec with UniWorld. All the discounts and perks are still there. It was just this one time, unique, cruise that was at retail. Heritage club member still receive on board extras that they receive elsewhere, just not the $300 savings. We have seen that in automotive industry with preordering high demand cars or even electronics. I’m feeling that after the cruise, I would have gladly passed on any discounts for the over-the-top experiences and excursions.

I feel I narrowed down the ship to one in the River line. The SS line have more cabins in the category I selected and the river had the exact number. That was all I told my wife as I sleuth more. Going through the 2022 schedule, it looks like the only one possible would be the River Queen. Of course, they could also be building something in a shipyard too, lol. Guess this is just part of the fun and “Mystery”

[Ritabob]

Ooo, the Queen, my favourite ship in the line. We were supposed to be on her last cruise in 2020 before she was to be refurbished and become an SS. I wonder if the company will spend the money to upgrade her up before the Mystery Tour? The Queen was getting a bit worn.

Years ago the Heritage Club discount was calculated differently  and you also got a level upgrade if cabins were available. Suites were not part of that perk. The dedicated phone line doesn't seem to work anymore. 

Happy sailing! 

RB 

[atcmike]

RB,

If it is the Queen from what I have read in other articles, it will be SS this year. Looking at it from UniWorlds  view, I would expect a lot of attention and publicity on this cruise as the time gets closer. They definitely don’t put out an average product and with this being a one-of-a kind cruise as they have said, I expect the passengers to be the one benefitting as they put even a better foot forward to attract more travelers and cement their brand even further. Only time will tell. Hopefully we will start getting a few clues towards the end of 2021. I expect they have many working on the logistics to get this just right. Of course, they can always add and change anything up to the week prior to departure and no one would know any different. Ahh, the mystery!

[Coral]

It reminds me of cruising during hurricane season in the Caribbean - you have no clue what ports you will go to. We had one cruise that didn't hit any of the original ports.

[Ritabob]

I hope the Queen will be SS'd  this year, but there is nothing on the Uniworld website that mentions it for the cruises it is going to do listed for 2022. 😥

RB 

[101939]

We just paid our deposit!!  So, looking forward to meeting you and your wife onboard atcmike.  Your comments really confirmed that this is going to be a very special cruise!  We very much appreciate the time you took to respond to our post.

The Uniworld rep indicated that the cruise is sold out with a long waiting list.  This is the fastest any Uniworld Cruise has ever sold out in their company history.

So now the fun begins!  I hope you are right about the Queen.  It looks like a beautiful ship!

 

[Coral]

Who would have thought a cruise to places unknown would be sold out so quickly..... I hope it lives up to the hype!

[atcmike]

I feel it will be a lot of fun. Looking forward to the small hints along the way. With a company as credible as Uniworld, I feel it should be a slam dunk. We have a trip with them in December. Maybe some more information around that time on the Mystery cruise. I’ll be glad to post updates as they forward them this way.