Guest Spotlight

Linda, Guest Onboard First 2021 Sailing

Uniworld CEO, Ellen Bettridge spent a lovely few days sailing the Venice Lagoon with our guests onboard the first sailing of 2021—and the breathtaking new S.S. La Venezia’s maiden voyage. In this interview with River Heritage Club member Linda, they discuss this first cruise, service onboard and post-COVID-19 travel.

Ellen: Here I am, with my new friend Linda. Linda is one of our guests here on the S.S. La Venezia, our maiden voyage. So, Linda, I’m just curious, when did you decide to book this cruise? Linda: We booked this cruise, my husband booked it for a surprise for me, three weeks before it sailed. I was astounded, he walked in with round-trip plane tickets and the cruise tickets and laid it on my desk.

Oh, that’s amazing, how lucky are you? I’m so lucky, I’ve been on Uniworld three times, it’s been fabulous, the service is impeccable, from the way they turn your sheets down at night and leave a chocolate on your bed to the way they put your cup of coffee in front of you in the morning, it is impeccable.

The staff is incredibly special, and we’re very lucky because they’re our employees and we love them. You know, we show them love and therefore they take care of our guests in a beautiful way. Yeah, absolutely.

So what do you think of our new ship? Well, I was the luckiest person, practically ever, to be the first guest on this special ship. I was the first to walk onboard! I was practically crying when I got on, it was very special to us because we had been booked on the previous ship the year before. That was tragic, and then COVID hit, and so for us to be able to make it on this trip was remarkable and it was so special to us.

Linda, I want to thank you for being a past guest. Thank you for your loyalty and for coming with us. I know that you and George will join us again. It’s like being part of a new family. We’re very grateful for that experience—that there are people out there when we leave the ship, who are worried about us and that are interested in our safety and making sure that we have a good time. It’s incredible.

You bring up safety. Were you anxious about what the protocols would be and wearing masks and what that would feel like? I wasn’t anxious at all. George and I have been vaccinated, just like most of the people in the United States, and so we were going to roll with the punches and see what life brought us. And it has brought us to several COVID tests, which were fine because that’s what we have to do.

Fantastic. Can’t wait to see you again. I know our paths will cross again. Absolutely, sooner than you think!

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the new S.S. La Venezia with our chefs in this video!