Uniworld's River Tosca?

[jperkin1]

We have also made our plane reservations, so it does indeed seem way more real! Have not, of course, paid the credit card bill yet, that will make it even more realistic... I was worried about waiting much longer, as I didn't think the prices were awful. We'll have a stop in London (leaving from Houston) and arrive in Cairo, 4:30 p.m. the day before the cruise starts.

 

Another fun thing is that I was discussing this trip with some friends of ours and they decided to book the trip also! We're so excited that they're going to come along, they're a lot of fun so we'll have a great time. Am in the process of looking at travel insurance. I don't always purchase it for trips, but feel like I probably should for this one. Do you usually buy it? We booked this trip through AAA, so I may just add their insurance.

 

I, too, will be anxious to hear the trip reports when you return next trip?! How did we ever manage without trip advisor and these boards? I planned our trip to Italy entirely from advice on TA! What a wealth of information.

 

49er, have a wonderful trip this weekend! Perhaps you could send some of that cooler weather to us here in Houston also. Love the warm weather, but, really.... enough already!

[49er]

 

Another fun thing is that I was discussing this trip with some friends of ours and they decided to book the trip also! We're so excited that they're going to come along, they're a lot of fun so we'll have a great time. Am in the process of looking at travel insurance. I don't always purchase it for trips, but feel like I probably should for this one. Do you usually buy it? We booked this trip through AAA, so I may just add their insurance.

 

49er, have a wonderful trip this weekend! Perhaps you could send some of that cooler weather to us here in Houston also. Love the warm weather, but, really.... enough already!

We have buying trip insurance for our cruises (through our travel agent) but for this one we went with AccessAmerica. When we enter AAA's code the cost actually went up! We booked it through AccessAmerica's website. Cheaper then what Uniworld was selling and it covers air. You just never know.

We are keeping our fingers crossed about our Alaska cruise. Our daughter, who is coming with us, developed a bad case of Sciatica this morning. We took her to Emergency and they prescribed some medication and home care. Hopefully she will be well enough by tomorrow afternoon for our flight to Seattle. We do have insurance for that trip but sure hope we don't have to use it. BTW, it was 103 in Seattle yesterday and near 80 in Juneau. Has been a hard trip to pack for:-)

 

49er

[jperkin1]

Oh no... do so hope your daughter bounces back and that you all will be able to make the trip!! Life does have a tendency to throw a curve into things now and then, doesn't it?

 

Our daughters (22 & 24) are still a bit unhappy with us that we didn't include them in our Egypt trip (we have always traveled with them). I just smile and tell them the joys of their being grown ups now!

 

Did find that the Access America web site is a bit cheaper than going through AAA (even though Access is their insurance..) Guess you never know..

 

Also heard that Seattle was having crazy hot weather. We are, somewhat, used to 103 degree temps here, but they really are not used to it there.

 

Good luck with your travel plans, and I'll be sending good vibes through the air waves that all will go well!

[next trip?]

Thank you for the tip about Trip Insurance. Yes, we always take it and I have been pricing around. I will check out Access America.

49er--I sure hope you get to go on your trip to Alaska. I,too, will be sending well wishes your way! Let us know how things are going. Good Luck

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[usavvy2]

... Our daughter, who is coming with us, developed a bad case of Sciatica this morning. We took her to Emergency and they prescribed some medication and home care. Hopefully she will be well enough by tomorrow afternoon for our flight to Seattle. 49er

 

If you haven't already left yet...

 

I've had sciatica pain too many times to count. When I fly, as soon as that seat belt light goes off, I pop up like done toast in the toaster! I stand in the galley area (typically near a lavatory) and stand most of the flight - until the seat belt sign lights again or until my legs won't hold me up any longer. It's better than sitting - sitting is the worst for me. When I do sit, I roll a blanket throw and place it in the small of my back (I take my own but you can use the airline's blanket).

 

I'd recommend you take a heating pad along as well as some type of topical pain relief (I use Voltarene which is Rx in the USA but OTC in other countries). And, if the gym onboard has a big fitness ball (e.g., 55cm or larger), she can do some gentle stretching exercises by lying across the ball (if her dr. allows it).

 

Good luck!

[49er]

We are back from our Alaska cruise and our daughter survived. It was a rough first few days for her but with the help of a rented wheel chair she managed. By day 3 of the cruise she was able to walk without too much pain and got progressively better day by day. The cruise was wonderful although the temps were pretty warm for Alaska. Not a drop of rain.

We received a call from Uniworld yesterday notifing us of a price drop for our Feb 27 cruise on the River Tosca:-) That was a nice homecoming surprise.

 

49er

[next trip?]

I am so glad your Alaskan trip worked out and that your daughter got better. That is such a beautiful area of the world and we certainely enjoyed our Alaskan Cruise several years ago.

What a nice surprise to get a little bit of a reduced price on your river Tosca Cruise.

We just paid our final payment this week (UGH!) and didn't have that luck. Oh well, I am just thrilled to be going! I called Uniworld yesterday and the first voyage of the river Tosca is Sept. 18th. I hope that is correct because we are getting close to our trip in Nov. and the only reason we booked Uniworld was because of the new ship and the size of the cabins! I would be a most unhappy camper if we were told that we were on another ship!

Glad you had a good time!

I will make sure I post a review of our Egypt trip!

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[jperkin1]

We also got the same notification about a price drop!! Almost makes up for the fact that I booked the air, and the price of that went down the following week:( Booked it through Orbitz and tried to get it at the lower fare, but it was a no-go. Oh well, guess you can't have everything....

[next trip?]

Would you mind telling me how much of a price drop you received. We are going in Nov. and have not received any notice of a drop in prices. We did receive the $200.00 pp for past river criusers with Uniworld and the $100.00 for the early booking. I would be very interested in hearing more about the price drop since this was a very expensive vacation! Every little bit helps!

Thanks,

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[49er]

Ours dropped $270pp. What was unusual was that the original booking was replaced with a new booking number and the individual cost breakdowns were different (our cabin upgrade was $200pp now $100pp)

I have not gone back and looked to see if our air has dropped. We booked directly with United.com and in times past you could receive a credit for a future flight if the price dropped. Now there is a $150 charge for the "credit":-( BTW, We have had 3 schedule changes so far. We will be leaving Cairo very early now (4:30am!) and will have a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt on flight over from Chicago. There will probably be a dozen or more changes between now and February. I just hope United will still be flying.

 

49er

[next trip?]

Hi 49er,

Thank you for your reply. That is very interesting. Our cabin upgrade was $200pp also but haven't heard a word about a price reduction. our trip is in Nov.--we fly to Cairo on Nov. 10th and have 3 free days and then meet Uniworld for the tirp on the 15th. I have hired a private guide for 2 of the 3 days to see some of the things Uniworld doesn't cover.

so far our flights have stayed the same. Fly out of St. Louis on Delta to NY and the Egyptair to Cairo. The times are pretty decent. I think we leave Cairo on a 10:30AM flight for home on the 25th of Nov.

Sure would love to get a reduction. I have added onto the price of the trip ( much to my DH's dismay) by hiring the private guide and then we are staying at the Mena House for the 3 nights before moving to the Marriott. Just had to stay at the Mena House because we may never go back.

I may call Uniworld tomorrow and check to see if our particular tour is reduced. I know it is 80% full so probably no reduction DARN! Anyway, it is the trip of a lifetime and I am getting so excited about it! Thanks for the information.

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[Wineart]

For the people who are going next February, did you book directly with Uniworld? I asked my TA for pricing for Jan/Feb 2010, and she told me it hasn't been published yet.

[49er]

We booked through a "large warehouse chain based in Kirkland WA" who then connected us to Uniworld directly. I do see that the February rates are not posted on Uniworld's website anymore but still show up on the warehouse store's (C****o) travel website. Not sure what to make of that??

 

49er

[next trip?]

Hi 49er

I did call Uniworld and their 'story' on the reduction in pricing is that all cruises for 2010 are reduced. There is a substantial reduction but according to them our cruise is NOT reduced since it is in 2009. The agent I spoke to said they of course have different prices for each year. I told her I realize this but usually the prices go up and not down. She was a little bit snippy and said they had to stay competitive with the competition! Too bad for us but wonderful for all you cruisers for 2010!

This is a trip of a lifetime for us so I will just be happy with what we have. Thanks for you information anyway!

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[jperkin1]

We booked our trip through AAA in mid July. They had given us AAA discounts to begin with, then sent us a new statement with $200/pp off the original invoice. They just referred to it as "more reduced discounts", so I'm not sure where they came from. Was sure nice to hear though, one doesn't see that happen very often!

[49er]

This is a trip of a lifetime for us so I will just be happy with what we have.

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Too bad that Uniworld would not lower your price but you have the right atitude. Money saved today will be spent somewhere else tomorrow and it is the trip itself that counts. This will be a trip of a lifetime for us too and we are so looking forward to it.

 

49er

[next trip?]

Thanks 49er for your kind words. I figure in the grand scheme of things a few hundred dollars won't matter. It would have been very nice, but I am not going to get upset about it. You're right, I would have found another place to spend it.

I have been planning this trip since last Oct. and it is finally getting close. I think the river Tosca is going to be great --brand new and lovely big rooms. Hopefully the food will be delicious too. We have been on several Uniworld river Cruises and they have all been wonderful. I hope this one meets all of our expectations. You will be able to see our review before you leave. I wish there was someone on this CC forum that was going before us that would post a review!

The first sailing of the River Tosca is Sept. 18th so it really will be almost brand new when we sail in Nov. Maybe it will just have enough sailings by Nov. to iron out all of the kinks!

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[jperkin1]

You are certainly right about spending the money elsewhere! We are flying in a day early (feel like that's the safest thing to do!!), and are being quoted $318 total (including "free" transfers....) if we book it through Uniworld. I know I can get the room for $80 less on the Marriott's website, but really don't want to have to worry about working out a transfer on my own. It would probably cost that much anyway....

 

Next trip? We'll be anxiously waiting to hear your review! Know it will be a wonderful trip, how could it not be???

[49er]

You are certainly right about spending the money elsewhere! We are flying in a day early (feel like that's the safest thing to do!!), and are being quoted $318 total (including "free" transfers....) if we book it through Uniworld. I know I can get the room for $80 less on the Marriott's website, but really don't want to have to worry about working out a transfer on my own. It would probably cost that much anyway....

 

Next trip? We'll be anxiously waiting to hear your review! Know it will be a wonderful trip, how could it not be???

 

We are also flying in a day early and when we talked to Uniworld this past Monday and inquired about an extra day at the Marriott, the rep said she didn't have the price yet and would get back to us. $318 is quite a bit more then what Marriott shows on their website but if includes breakfast and that airport transfer it will probably be worth it , headache wise.

 

49er

 

PS There must be other CC folks out there that will be on one these Uniworld tours to Egypt, Come on in, the water's fine:-)

[jperkin1]

49er - Our rep said that she couldn't get a price yesterday, but got one today... Maybe they're busy trying to make up their minds what price they'll charge. Would be interested to hear if you're quoted the same price!

[next trip?]

We are also flying in early ( 3 days) and staying at the Mena House since I wanted to experience it and then also the Marriott. The Mena House provides transfers from the airport to the Hotel for $30.00 , so may I suggest that you see if the Marriott will provide the same service and then book with them directly. It has to be less than $318.00 to book directly. Do you have any Marriott reward points? You could also redeem them.

I didn't inquire about the Marriott for the extra nights, since I had my heart set on the Mena House. It is 210 Euro per night with breakfast. with the falling dollar that is going to be a bundle, but as we said--I would spend it somewhere else!

I will provide a trip report as soon as we get home and settle in. I have found so much help on these forums that I want to " pay it forward."

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[49er]

We had a call yesterday from our Uniworld rep to tell us the extra day at the Marriott Pre Cruise would be $318. jperkin1, at least we are getting the same numbers. We will probably bite the bullet and go with Uniworld on this one instead of booking directly with Marriott. It includes breakfast and the transfer from CAI to the hotel. Also we will have the same room for all three nights (sometimes when you book independent the hotel will make you move the tour operators rooms).

Haven't heard any news from other travelers booking the River Tosca. She should be making her Maiden Voyage this weekend I believe and will be anxious to read a review or two.

 

Next trip? Won't be long now?

 

We are off to Hawaii next week on the Golden Princess for a 2 RT from LA. Can almost taste those Mai Tais already:-)

 

49er

[next trip?]

Yes, the time is getting closer for us!!!! YIPPEE. When I booked last year it seemed like forever, but now it is only about 8 weeks away.

I am anxiously awaiting to hear if the River Tosca is actually sailing on Sept. 18th. I was told so many dates that I won't believe it until I hear it!!!

I was able, just last week, to get a better price at the Mena House by booking with 1800hotels.com. I had made my reservations directly with the Mena House months and months ago and then just happened to see a much lower price quoted on the 1800 site.It included brk. and all taxes so hopefully it will work out.--but as you say--I will certainely spend the savings on something else---maybe a beautiful cartouche!!!!

Have fun in Hawaii. We are going to Desert Springs, CA Oct. 20th. They have a beautiful Marriott there. We will be home 6 days from that trip and then fly to Egypt. A little closer together than what I wanted, but it just worked out that way. One nice thing about being retired---you can go when you want!!!!

I am taking a journal with us so I will give you a detailed report upon our return!

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[mallison44]

We booked through Uniworld for the inaugural cruise of River Tosca next week. They called us yesterday saying it is not ready and that we will be placed on another ship (MS Miriam). Very disappointing. They did, however, offer a substantial refund and assurance that we will have similar accomodations aboard the Miriam. We'll see. I'll post upon return with how everything went.

[49er]

We booked through Uniworld for the inaugural cruise of River Tosca next week. They called us yesterday saying it is not ready and that we will be placed on another ship (MS Miriam). Very disappointing. They did, however, offer a substantial refund and assurance that we will have similar accomodations aboard the Miriam. We'll see. I'll post upon return with how everything went.

 

mallison44, sorry to hear about the ship substitution and certainally hope UniWorld gave you a good discount. From what I have been able to find out, Trafalagar operates the Miriam and they have a cruise scheduled for Sept 18.

Hope you have a wonderful trip regardless and will be looking forward to hearing your comments upon your return

 

49er