Guests can go from sail to rail in Venice with Uniworld’s new train add-on for guests aboard S.S. La Venezia
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection has announced a new luxury train journey available as an extension on select sailings of its Venice & The Gems of Northern Italy itinerary. Guests can now complete their voyage on the S.S. La Venezia and continue onboard the Golden Eagle Danube Express train to Zurich, with three nights onboard the locomotive and one night accommodation in Zurich on arrival.
Uniworld has further announced that it will introduce two additional itineraries that incorporate cruise, land and train travel for 2021. In partnership with Golden Eagle Luxury Trains, the two packages will travel through Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia.
“Like river cruising, luxury train travel is an opportunity to bring our guests to the heart of Europe and with a view that changes daily,” says Ellen Bettridge, President & CEO of Uniworld.
The 2021 itineraries include the 14-day Cruise & Rail: Milan, Venice & the Swiss Alps and the 12-day Cruise & Rail: Venice & the Swiss Alps. Both itineraries provide guests with the opportunity to travel onboard the luxury train as it runs along the Lake of Zurich stopping in destinations such as the medieval town of Lienz, Lake Bled with a Pletna rowing trip to Bled Island and Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Excursion highlights on the train journey include a visit to Gutenberg Castle in Balzers, Liechtenstein and enjoying an evening with a private concert in the caves of Postojna.
The itineraries were created with sustainable tourism in mind, seeking to positively impact the destinations by bringing guests to eat at local restaurants and experience hidden-gem villages in addition to the popular cities.
New Itineraries, New Ships
Uniworld has also added two river cruise itineraries to its product line up for 2021: the 8-day Classic Germany & Amsterdam journey aboard the River Princess, and the 15-day Rhine, Maine & Danube Discovery itinerary that will travel from Amsterdam to Vienna.
The new developments come at a time of rapid expansion for the cruise company, with four new super ships being added to Uniworld’s fleet, bringing the total to 20 by the end of 2020. “In finishing 2019, we’re proud of the growth of the Uniworld brand and in 2020 we’re striving to exceed that in both bookings and delivering for our guests,” said Bettridge.
In 2021, Uniworld will provide guests with two ships to choose from for the popular 12-day Splendours of Egypt & The Nile itinerary: the River Tosca or S.S. Sphinx, in response to increasing demand for Egypt sailings.
Uniworld will also set sail in South America for the first time with two new itineraries throughout the Peruvian Amazon aboard the Aria Amazon, set to debut in September 2020.
The new, popular itineraries include the 15-day Peruvian Amazon & Machu Picchu Exploration that starts off with a land portion in Lima staying at a 5-star hotel, followed by the seven-night cruise through the Amazon rainforest and ends in the heartland of the Inca Empire with trips to the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu and Cusco. The 11-day Peruvian Rivers & Rainforest Discovery takes guests to explore Lima, immerse in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve and sail through the Amazon River roundtrip from Iquitos. On all sailings, guests are joined by native born-and-raised naturalist guides that assist in getting up close to native wildlife and meeting village locals.
The Details
Uniworld’s new Cruise & Rail 2021 itineraries go on sale in late February 2020. Just like the Uniworld experience, the train journeys are all-inclusive.
Uniworld is currently offering guests a choice of three offers when booking a 2021 river cruise:
- Economy flights free, or
- Business Class from $3,999 per person, or
- No flights – save $1,000pp on a cruise
These offers are combinable with Uniworld’s River Heritage Club loyalty benefits, as well as available early payment discounts until 14 March.
Prices for the South American cruises start at $18,799 per person. Twin share and maiden voyages will depart on 23 September, 2020.