Uniworld hails shift to land and rail extensions
Ella Sagar On board SS Victoria on the Rhine
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has pledged to continue its “evolution” into a luxury operator offering land and rail add-ons to its river itineraries. The line shared the plans with 50
agents it hosted on a two-night fam trip from Frankfurt to Amsterdam on its newest ship, SS Victoria. The sailing was a shortened
version of Uniworld’s Castles along the Rhine itinerary and agents had the chance to sample some of the onboard experiences, including an apple strudel-making class led by the head pastry chef and a yoga session. The fam followed the operator’s
launch of its Ultimate European Journeys progamme in July. Speaking to agents on board,
UK national account manager Lee Evanson said the company was “now so much more than a river cruise operator” and wanted to give guests “holidays of a lifetime”. He told Travel Weekly: “One of
the biggest movements for us is evolving from a boutique, ultra- luxury river cruise company to a curator of boutique, ultra-luxury holidays across land, river and rail.” Evanson revealed sales for
Uniworld’s SS Victoria
Uniworld’s Spectacular Journeys of the World collection, which offers sailings in India, Peru, Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia, had doubled for next year and now accounted for 25% of all sales. These longer itineraries inspired
its Ultimate European Journeys portfolio, which includes options to book back-to-back cruises and add hotel, rail and excursion extensions. Itineraries include Grande Italia;
Castles along the Rhine; Brilliant Bordeaux; Highlights of Eastern Europe; Wine Roads of France and Portugal; and Ultimate France. Evanson said: “If we get these
itineraries out to our guests, and if we
Rise in August spending fuelled by cut-price late deals – Barclays
The travel sector had a “particularly strong month” in August thanks to “cut-price deals”, according to Barclays figures. In its monthly consumer card spending report, the bank said spending in the sector was up year on year after “several low-cost airlines offered last-minute holiday deals in order to tempt Brits abroad”. Spending was up 7.2% with travel agents and 8.3% with airlines.
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market and bring them to life, then our trade partners will see the benefits. They are getting the enquiries and the bookings are flying in already.” Evanson said sales for next
year were “already looking really strong” and urged agents to book their customers early, especially for long-haul destinations. Last week’s fam trip was the third
in Europe that Uniworld has hosted in partnership with luxury ocean cruise lines Regent and Silversea. Uniworld also hosted its first
long-haul fam trip in June, to India, and launched an incentive scheme for 2025 bookings giving agents the chance to win cruises.
Cathay Pacific cancels flights in Asia after engine problem
Cathay Pacific cancelled dozens of flights across Asia this week in order to inspect its Airbus A350 aircraft. The inspections were triggered after a failure on a Rolls-Royce engine component shortly after take-off from Hong Kong to Zurich on Monday. Disruption to services was expected to last all week.
Ambassador says joining Clia is ‘a natural step’
Ambassador Cruise Line has joined Clia to boost awareness of the brand across the industry. The Essex-based operator now
benefits from full access to Clia’s cruise community, its in-person and virtual events, learning programmes and the opportunity to share cruise line and ship information and resources online. It can also participate in
flagship events such as the annual Clia Conference in May and Clia Cruise Week (September 16-22). Membership also means
Ambassador meets or exceeds the high standards to which all Clia members must adhere. Andy Harmer, Clia UK and
Ireland director, said: “Ambassador has gone from strength to strength in the domestic market and we’re very pleased to welcome them as a member. The line has become a well-established brand in a short period of time, and we look forward to supporting their team as they further develop and build relationships with the trade across the UK and Ireland.” Christian Verhounig, chief
executive at Ambassador, said: “Joining Clia is a natural step for us as we grow ever more established, with membership of the world’s largest cruise trade association offering the mark of trust associated with travel brands in the sector.”
The Cruise Room to open second store with new agency in Belfast
Specialist agency The Cruise Room is expanding by opening new premises in Belfast, in addition to its existing branch in the Wirral. Directors Robbie O’Grady and Jonathan Howitt, who opened their Hoylake shop in June 2021, will launch their second store this month. Located in the former headquarters of Harland & Wolff, the new shop will operate on an appointment-only basis.
travelweekly.co.uk
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