Uniworld Boutique River Cruises CEO Ellen Bettridge moved to reassure trade partners and guests that the latest updates by the Centre for Disease and Prevention (CDC) will have little impact on The Travel Corporation’s luxury cruise operator.
“I feel it is important to address the announcements the CDC recently made regarding travel on cruise ships – first recommending that people defer their travel on cruise ships, then modifying its Conditional Sailing Order. As these announcements were primarily based on ocean cruising and cruises in US waters, we can confirm that Uniworld guests will not be affected,” Bettridge said.
“We are operating our scheduled 2022 cruises as planned.”
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Bettridge explained that river cruising is “very different” to that of ocean cruising, saying with a guest capacity of only 120 passengers on Uniworld’s ships, passengers are able to maintain physical distancing and experience no lines of queues.
“A higher crew-to-guest ratio (1-to-2.3 on Uniworld) means it’s easier to care for our guests, provide small group and private activities for them to participate in and keep spaces clean and sanitised on a frequent basis,” Bettridge said.
The Uniworld CEO continued, saying river cruising is “very different to ocean cruise ships – river ships are constantly in close proximity to land and shoreside resources, meaning any medical issues occurring onboard can be quickly moved onshore and handled by a team of medical professionals.”
She added that of nearly 200 sailings in 2021, there were next to no incidents and that Uniworld’s crew is 100% vaccinated and all guests will be required to be fully vaccinated to travel with the brand in 2022.
“The health and well-being of our guests and crew have always been our top priority, and we plan to keep it that way,” Bettridge concluded.
