MEET MARY

HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT UNIWORLD? TELL US ABOUT YOUR VERY FIRST TRIP WITH US.

I learned about Uniworld from a friend who went on a Christmas cruise in 2005. She and her adult children enjoyed it and told me all about it. They planned to go on Rhine Holiday Markets in 2008. It sounded interesting, so I decided to go with them. That was the beginning.

WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK FOR MORE UNIWORLD EXPERIENCES?

I keep coming back for several reasons, whether with friends or traveling on my own. It started with the Solo Traveler Savings. That’s a great deal for single people. I think this is a very safe way for a single person to travel. I also enjoy the freedom to customize my activities. There’s always a new experience, even in a familiar city. After several years of booking a single cruise each time, I started booking back to back cruises to stay longer and minimize the number of flights each time. At first, I looked for cruises with an easy connection between, and now, if I don’t see that, I book the same cruise back to back.

WHAT DREW YOU TO OUR HOLIDAY MARKET ITINERARIES FOR YOUR 50TH CRUISE?

Ever since my first Christmas market cruise in 2008, I’ve booked Christmas market cruises. In 2014, I started booking two Christmas market cruises back to back. Since Uniworld only had 5 different itineraries, I repeated many of them and enjoyed every single one.

50 CRUISES IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL, HOW DID YOU CELEBRATE THE OCCASION ONBOARD?

Actually, we’ve been celebrating for the last 4 cruises! Cruises #47, #48, and #50 were all on the River Queen, so it really felt like I was celebrating with family. Cruise #49 was on the S.S. Beatrice with many more familiar crew members. Flowers, special gifts, and recognition of the number of cruises I’d taken were part of that celebration on all of those cruises. Upgraded staterooms, even a suite on my 50th cruise made me feel like royalty. Dinners with the Captains and Managers on two cruises were very special occasions. The best gift of all was to be given my own Uniworld name tag which I will always wear with pride.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SHIP?

I don’t actually have a favorite ship. For me, it’s all about the crews. I love seeing all of the familiar crew members, some of whom I’ve traveled with multiple times over the last 15 years. I am always happy to see that the people who were cleaning my room or serving in the restaurant years ago are the Hotel Managers and Restaurant Managers today. It was great to see so many crew members back after the two years without cruising.

WERE THERE ANY PARTICULAR DESTINATIONS OR EXCURSIONS THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU?

There are some excursions I will go on every time they are offered. I love the tasting tours during the Christmas market cruises. Among my other favorite excursions are the day in Rothenburg, the visit to the Doktorenhof Vinegar Estate, Siegfried’s Music Museum in Rüdesheim, and the art museums in Amsterdam. As I return to familiar cities, I often visit other museums on my own, such as the Nuremberg Toy Museum, the Lindt and Valrhona chocolate museums, historical museums in various cities, and the Mustard Museum in Cochem.

ARE THERE ANY EXPERIENCES YOU APPRECIATE DIFFERENTLY NOW THAN YOU MIGHT HAVE WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED TRAVELING?

Over the years I’ve become much more independent. I’ve been able to sample new excursions, or use my time in a city to visit other places I’ve read about. The Cruise Managers and front desk staff have always been very supportive in helping me to access my individual activities. Since I often book the same cruise up and back, I can choose to go on all of the excursions, or repeat the ones I really enjoy. I’ve learned a lot from guest speakers about the rivers and the history of the places we visit. I also enjoy just sailing on the river, watching the world go by.

SO… WHERE NEXT?

My friends and I have actually booked two of the new cruises for this year, the Rhine River Valley, and Belgian Holiday Markets, going up and back on each one.