Uniworld hails shift to land and rail extensions

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 programme 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 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 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.