Uniworld's River Tosca?

[pjtraveler]

We were on MS Giselle, sister ship to the Miriam in November 2007 and had a great trip. The ship will be older, but we found the cabin to be very spacious and comfortable. Food in Egypt will be different, just as the food on the river ships in China and Russia is different. But, even with that said, we found that we generally enjoyed the food.

 

The important thing about the trip to Egypt is not the ship itself but all of the truly marvelous things that you will be seeing at each stop and the spectacular views of life along the river. Trafalgar and Uniworld are both part of the same overall company, and Uniworld will provide top-notch guides for your trip, usually egyptologists.

 

Immerse youself in the culture, marvel each day at what you are seeing, pinch yourself to remember that you are actually there realizing one of your life-long dreams--my wish for you is for a wonderful experience in Egypt!:):)

[next trip?]

I just called Uniworld since we only booked with them to be on the River Tosca. Our trip is for Nov. 14th and they have assured me that the River Tosca will be sailing the week of Sept. 25th. We shall see--so far I have received dates from April, 2009 ( when we first booked last Nov.), then it was July, then it was early Sept., then definitely Sept. 18th! Supposedly the hold up ( according to our TA) is that some of the furnishings are not complete!!! He assured me that it is scheduled for Sept. 25th sailing. I will believe it when I see it announced!!.

I am sure there are other lovely ships out there, but it is disappointing when you do a lot of research and then select a company based on all of their advertisements. I thought it would be great to sail on a brand new ship with all suites! Hopefully it will all work out!

next trip?

[49er]

I just called Uniworld since we only booked with them to be on the River Tosca. Our trip is for Nov. 14th and they have assured me that the River Tosca will be sailing the week of Sept. 25th. We shall see--so far I have received dates from April, 2009 ( when we first booked last Nov.), then it was July, then it was early Sept., then definitely Sept. 18th! Supposedly the hold up ( according to our TA) is that some of the furnishings are not complete!!! He assured me that it is scheduled for Sept. 25th sailing. I will believe it when I see it announced!!.

I am sure there are other lovely ships out there, but it is disappointing when you do a lot of research and then select a company based on all of their advertisements. I thought it would be great to sail on a brand new ship with all suites! Hopefully it will all work out!

next trip?

We just booked our extra night at the Marriot today through UniWorld and got the same answer, "The Toska will be sailing this weekend" Any bets? In the meantime we will be heading down to LA in a few days for our Hawaiian cruise and next trip?, it won't be long before you will be able to say "We are going to Egypt next month!" :-) I also agree about what you said about being retired and being able to go when you like and for as long as you like (as long as the money holds out anyway:-) It's a great life.

 

 

49er

[next trip?]

49er

Have a great time on your Hawaiian trip! We are going to CA on Oct. 21st to stay at the Marriott in Desert Springs. One of our favorite Marriotts. My husband is a Retired engineer but does some consulting so this is a 2 fold trip--he has a meeting and then when that is over we are visiting our son in Redondo Beach, Ca. We will have a week back home before Egypt!!!!

I called Uniworld yesterday and didn't say I had a booking already, but asked when the River Tosca would be sailing. I was put on hold for a long time and then she came back and told me the 25th of Sept. I said that I find that hard to believe since there isn't a word of publicity about it, but didnt' get an answer to that. She again assured me the 25th would be the first sailing! That is coming soon so we will see!!!!

Have a wonderful trip.

next trip?

[jperkin1]

49er - I believe that I would like to have your travel schedule!! Alaska, Hawaii and Egypt all within a year:) Lovely! Perhaps we will be able to follow in your footsteps.. My husband retired in March (well, almost, he was retired for all of 3 weeks before he took a consulting job). Guess I will have to try and ease him into all my travel plans! So far so good though, we did manage a trip to London and Italy right after he retired. We are headed to New Mexico next week for the hot air balloon festival and then to Chicago for a few days! Fortunately, the consulting job is just a few days a week and he can work whenever he wants, so, it's all good!

 

Have a wonderful time on your cruise!!

[next trip?]

I just called Uniworld to see if they were sailing the River Tosca tomorrow, as I had been promised by 3 different agents! As you can probably guess it will not be sailing tomorrow ( the 25th), but will now begin the first week of Oct. Why do I feel like I am getting the run around? I think they just tell me anything to get me off the phone!

Our cruise is getting closer so this has me worried. Hopefully it will work out!

next trip?

[jperkin1]

Oh dear, that's very stressful! You'll really never know until the River Tosca hits the water. They will just keep telling you a different date:( We had contracted a place for my daughters wedding in October, they swore up and down it would be done by the end of December (her wedding was in May), so we thought we had plenty of time. They must have changed the date 15 different times. Three weeks before her wedding they told us it wouldn't be done (I kind of figured that out by then...). They did, however, pay for us to be moved elsewhere (the place they moved us to was probably twice the cost!). Sooo, it did really turn out, but it was pretty nerve wracking. None of my friends can believe I have actually scheduled anything that's not completely done!!

 

I'm sure it will all be fine!!! It will be a wonderful trip, no matter what:)

[next trip?]

Thank you Jperkin1 for your concern. I have my fingers (and toes too) crossed that it will sail the first week of Oct. Like you, for your daughters wedding, I thought we had plenty of time. We actually booked this trip last Oct. so figured if they said it would be finished in April, even if it was a few months late, we would still have plenty of time1 Not so, evidently!

How nerve wracking for you for the wedding. I think I can handle a mess up for a tirp but it would be tough for a daughters' wedding when you want everything perfect. Glad it worked out. I guess in the end everything does work out--I am trying to go with the flow! Easier said than done though.

Thanks for responding.

next tripl?

[jperkin1]

I, too, will keep my fingers and toes crossed...! Hope your trip to Calif will be wonderful and (perhaps!) ease a bit of your angst. Thanks for keeping us up to speed as to what is happening. Have a good weekend:)

[next trip?]

Thanks jperkins1. I will keep you posted. Hopefully all will work out!!

next trip?

[next trip?]

Just thought that I would update everyone on the status of the River Tosca---as I was told by Uniworld this afternoon.

The newest version is that the Tosca is completely finished, but needs a good cleaning up. The Nile River is too low to get the ship to Luxor, where it sails from, but it definitely will sail by the 2nd week of Oct.

This is about the 5th definite that I have received so I am getting just a bit skeptical of all of these stories. They probably are keeping notes of all the times I call and just give me a new date each time (ha,ha). I sort of find it hard to see why it needs a good cleaning up when it was supposed to sail in Apr(?), Sept.1(?), Sept. 18th(?), Sept. 25th(?), first week of Oct. (?) and now the 2nd week of Oct. . I will only believe it when i see it!!

next trip?

[Westlakeed]

I am a travel agent for the AAA in So. Cal. My wife and I are booked on the Tosca sailing on Nov. 3. We depart L.A. on Oct. 30. I have been in direct contact with the management of Uniworld since I booked this sailing in September of 2008. The current situation with the Tosca is as "next trip?" describes. When the ship finally reaches Luxor, if the Nile cooperates, it will undergo a "thorough cleaning" (2 or 3 days to complete) and then start sailing. It may not be the next week or two, but this will be only dictated by the level of the Nile. I will keep you informed as soon as I receive an update from Uniworld.

[next trip?]

Thank you Westlakeed for responding. It is reassuring to hear the same information from a TA. i was beginning to believe that I was getting a "song and dance" and that when I finally got the true story it would be too late to do anything about it!

You and your wife are on the sailing the week before us so I hope to hear that all is well and you get to go on the River Tosca. Please keep us informed and then if you have time when you return let us hear all the details about the new ship! We leave on Nov. 9th. You may not have returned by then.

Thanks,

next trip?

[Kellie Poodle]

I am very interested in doing the River Tosca "Splendors of Egypt & the Nile" cruise which leaves Cairo on 6/12/2010 (the brochure has the date as 6/11)

 

I am traveling without my husband and would not mind saving some money by sharing a cabin with another person who doesn't snore. I am 63, petite and very active. I don't snore.

 

please email me with "River Tosca" in the subject at kelliepoodle@yahoo.com

if interested.

[HDS]

Westlakeed, did Uniworld tell you where the River Tosca is berthed now?

Just wondering if the river beween Aswan and Luxor where most of the cruise shipe ply is subject to water level fluctuations, or is the low river downstream from Luxor?

 

HDS

[next trip?]

That is a good question. If Egypt has very little or almost no rain how is the river going to rise to get the ship to Luxor????

I, too, would be interested in knowing just where she is?????

Thanks,

next trip

[Westlakeed]

I'm not sure where the Tosca is currently berthed, although I was told by Uniworld(I forgot to write down the name) that it is not far from Luxor.

As of today the October 5 sailing is cancelled, but the Oct. 12 sailing is still pending. I check every day and get the information from Uniworld when they get it from Egypt. The Nile itself is running normally, but some of it's tributaries are a little low. It seems that the Tosca will be sailing this month, but the actual date is still undetermined

[next trip?]

Westlakeed,

Thanks for keeping us informed! Are you feeling pretty positive that you will be on the River Tosca for your Nov. 3rd sailing???? I am keeping my fingers ( and toes too) crossed that we are both that lucky!

Keep us infromed please whenever you hear anything from Uniworld.

next trip?

[next trip?]

YAHOO!!! Good news about the River Tosca. I called Uniworld several hours ago and they told me the River Tosca was now in Luxor and sailing. That is really good news since I especially want to sail on her.

I will write a trip review when we return in Nov. Hopefully all of the kinks will be ironed out before our cruise and it will truly be smooth sailing!!

next trip?

[Westlakeed]

Looks like you beat me to it "next trip?". When I spoke to Uniworld yesterday morning (their office is about 2 miles from mine) the Tosca was not ready to sail. This morning, however, the news is that the ship is in Luxor and will sail on Oct. 12. This is very good news for those of us sailing the rest of this month and beyond. I will not be able to report until Nov. 16 as we will be in Petra after the cruise. It's been a long wait but I'm sure it will be worth it.

[49er]

YAHOO!!! Good news about the River Tosca. I called Uniworld several hours ago and they told me the River Tosca was now in Luxor and sailing. That is really good news since I especially want to sail on her.

I will write a trip review when we return in Nov. Hopefully all of the kinks will be ironed out before our cruise and it will truly be smooth sailing!!

next trip?

 

That is good news for sure. Will be anxious to hear how your thoughts about the Tosca after you get home.

 

Hawaii was wonderful and we are now heading back home (via Ensenada) and will arrive back in LA on the 11th. The Pacific has been like a lake with fairly calm seas for the most part.

 

49er

[shoshona2]

Hi Westlakeed,

 

My DH and I will be in Egypt and Jordan around the same time as you on a Tauck tour and Nile River Cruise. We arrive in Cairo on October 25th. We are also going to Petra and will return to L.A. on the 10th of November. I would be interested in hearing about your Uniworld Cruise when you return.

 

Sheila

[Rosie01]

Next Trip:

Looks like we are on same trip as you. We arrive at Cairo Marriott on 10/17 for Tosca cruise on 10/19. It is our first experience with cruise of any type. Looks finally like it will be a go. Have been trying to find out information about River Tosca and hopefully there will be some publicity about its maiden voyage before we leave. Look forward to meeting you.

[next trip?]

Rosie,

I am sorry but we ar enot on the same trip as you. I would love to have met you, we are almost neighbors. We live in Missouri.

Our trip is Nov. 14th--we fly into Cairo on the 10th of Nov. and stay at the Mena House for 3 nights. I have hired a private guide for 2 of those days. We will hen transfer to the Marriott to met the Unworld group!

I am like you--wouldn't you think that Uniworld would give this ship some publicity on her maiden voyage?? supposedly she is set to sail on Oc.t 12th according to my phone calls to Uniworld. I guess you will be on one of the first trips. You should have a brand, spanking new ship!

If you have the time when you return would you please post a review telling those of us yet to go how the trip was and how Uniworld and the River Tosca were?

Sorry we won't be on the same trip! Have a wonderful time!!

next trip?

[Rosie01]

Next Trip?

My mistake, we are on your cruise. We leave here 11/13, arrive in Cairo 11/14. We were originally scheduled on October trip but had to postpone due to unanticipated surgery and I copied from the wrong reservation. We hope we can make this one and get to meet you.