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Uniworld scores peak year for charter sales

wesley bosnic, uniworld
'We saw an opportunity to expand in the market,' said Wesley Bosnic, VP charter & incentive sales for Uniworld and U
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection will close 2019 with a year-over-year increase of 225% in full ship charters, marking the company’s most successful year of charter sales in its history.

18 vessels available

Uniworld has enhanced its charter and incentive offerings in recent years, including the addition of two vessels from new brand U to 16 of Uniworld’s ships for a total of 18 throughout Europe and Asia available for charter.

A variety of charter options and the ability to choose a fully customized itinerary, executed by Uniworld’s in-house charters & incentives team, has helped drive the growth.

'We saw an opportunity to expand in the market and knew we could offer our guests more with Uniworld’s superior level of luxury and service, U’s unique persona unlike anything else in the industry and our dedicated charters team trained to exceed guests’ expectations,' said Wesley Bosnic, VP charter & incentive sales for Uniworld and U. 'We’re looking forward to continued growth and to offering our guests even more charter and incentive opportunities in the coming years.'

Fully customizable

Each vessel accommodates 116 to 159 passengers in Europe and 56 to 81 in Egypt, India and Vietnam/Cambodia. Charters are completely customizable, including special menus, on-board entertainment and activities, private shore excursions, corporate branding opportunities and more.

All ships include premier accommodations, meeting spaces in a variety of configurations, complimentary audiovisual equipment and ship-wide Wi-Fi. Itineraries can also incorporate themes such as food and wine, history or art, or emphasize events like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or family reunions.

Most popular charter destinations

Uniworld’s most popular charter destinations are Portugal, Paris/Normandy, Burgundy/Provence, Italy, the Bordeaux region and along the Rhine, with increasing interest in exotic itineraries and all-suite ships in Egypt, Vietnam/Cambodia and India. U sees the most demand for Danube itineraries.

Uniworld and U accommodate charter clients from a variety of industries and groups, including financial institutions, museums, university alumni, wineries and wine groups, military associations, music and entertainment, religious groups and more. Both brands have also been chartered by leisure groups interested in a private experiences on board and onshore.

Incentive upswing

Incentive groups are increasingly popular, ranging from 20 to 80 travelers, and charter and incentive clients span international markets, from the US, Canada, Asia, Australia and beyond.