RiverViews Newsletter June 2020

The Uniworld River Heritage Club E-Newsletter

SPECIAL CREW EDITION June 2020

In This Issue THE UNIWORLD CREW IS TAKING OVER FOR THIS SPECIAL ISSUE OF RIVERVIEWS! First, hear from our Corporate Captains Remco and Ludovic and see how our Captains are spending their time at home. Then, warm up with some push-up tips from our Well-being Coaches, take a virtual tour through Amsterdam with two of our Cruise Managers, picture yourself onboard as you enjoy songs performed by our musicians and more!

June 2020

#ExploreUniworld

MEET CORPORATE CAPTAIN LUDOVIC Greetings River Heritage Club members! Some of you might know me from the River Queen which I sailed for eight years from 2011-2019.

I’m now taking the next step in my career as a Corporate Captain, in charge of three ships in France and three on the Rhine River.

For ship captains, traveling is our way of life. For me personally it has been my whole life, as sailing was something I was born into and grew up doing, first sailing on my parents’ ships before going to sailors’ school, and then starting on passenger ships at the age of 16. This year was different as you all know. As we were getting ready to set sail for this season our plans were suddenly halted as the world was grounded due to a global pandemic.

At first it was hectic, we had to organize getting all our crew members home safely in a very short period of time. Once we were all home and safe, we made sure to stay in touch with everyone on a regular basis, keeping spirits up and staying positive. Everyone is looking forward to the day we can sail again and get back to doing what we love when the time is right.

For me, I’ve enjoyed this time staying at home with my wife and our two little ones. I’ve been able to watch our children grow—our youngest started walking for the first time—and take up new hobbies like cooking that I was too busy for before. I’ve personally learned a lot as we’ve all gone through this situation, with one of the biggest being to never take for granted the little things in life again.

I hope to see you again soon, in the meantime, make sure to keep in touch with your loved ones and stay positive.

Wishing you good health and best regards from Alsace, France.

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MEET CORPORATE CAPTAIN REMCO Hello dear guests! First, I want to introduce myself, I started working for Uniworld in 2011 as a relief 1st captain. After two seasons of jumping from ship to ship, I became a permanent 1st captain onboard the beautiful S.S. Antoinette. I became a Corporate Captain in 2018 and am now in charge of ships on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers plus our ship in Italy. I travel a lot from ship to ship to support and train the crew onboard and to make sure all our health and safety standards are in place.

We were ready and excited to start the 2020 season, but it quickly came to a pause as the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel around the world. We had to send our crew home, including ourselves, and our ships back to harbor across the Netherlands, Austria, France and Italy.

The crew has made the most of this time apart by staying connected and supporting each other virtually through apps like WhatsApp. We keep each other updated on the latest news in our countries, and most importantly keep up the positive energy by sharing fun things to do to pass the time at home. We also have weekly video calls with our Captains, Hotel Managers and corporate offices to keep us all posted on the latest updates in the different countries where we are living in. Our President & CEO Ellen Bettridge also hosts a fun virtual happy hour for us all every two weeks. These are just a few examples of the things that are keeping our team together during this time when we’re all physically apart.

During the lockdown I’ve spent my time with my loved ones in Holland at my home in Coevorden. I spend a lot of time with my youngest son and help with his homework—his school is closed, and he is having online lessons. During these lessons my respect for the teachers and their patience grew a lot. I’ve also caught up with the maintenance around the house.

For me this is the first time I have been home for this long and I miss traveling a lot. I am used to looking out the window of the wheelhouse each day to see the sun rise in a new place. But most of all I miss seeing the crew and meeting different people every day. I miss seeing our guests’ happy faces, enjoying the excursions, food, service, and making unforgettable memories with our crew on our ships.

Uniworld Captains at Home Our Captains put together this great video about their lives at home right now.

I am looking forward to the day we can move our ships out of the harbors and back onto the rivers. It will be a great pleasure to see our teams back onboard having fun together and making unforgettable holidays for our beloved guests.

I hope to see you back onboard one of our Uniworld ships soon!

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OUR BUTLERS AT HOME See how our Uniworld Butlers are keeping their skills razor sharp while at home!

Also, one of our esteemed Butlers is sharing the secret Uniworld “Recipe.”

OUR CRUISE MANAGERS AT HOME See our Uniworld Cruise Managers in their home countries and learn about their favorite regional treats.

Rik and Anthony, two of our Cruise Managers living in Amsterdam, take you on a virtual day tour of their city.

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OUR HOTEL MANAGERS AT HOME

OUR WELL-BEING COACHES AT HOME

See how our Uniworld Hotel Managers are spending their time at home.

Our Uniworld Well-being Coaches are staying active at home. Learn tips from the experts!

OUR MUSICIANS AT HOME Transport yourself to the onboard lounge with these virtual music performances.

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Uniworld Chefs at Home Transport yourself to Italy with this delicious Ciabatta bread recipe that our very own Director of Culinary Operations and Development, Bernhard Zorn uses at home. Simply enjoy with olive oil or use it to make one of your favorite sandwiches!

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CIABATTA BREAD

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients For the sponge: 1 cup all-purpose flour teaspoon instant rapid-rise yeast ½ cup water (at room temperature) For the dough: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1½ teaspoons salt ½ teaspoon instant rapid-rise yeast ¾ cup water (at room temperature) ¼ cup whole or 2% milk (at room temperature)

Preparation 1.

Make the sponge: Combine the flour, yeast and water in a medium bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until a uniform mass forms. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

2.

Make the dough: Place the sponge and the dough ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, water and milk) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined and a shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and continue mixing until the dough becomes a uniform mass that collects on the paddle and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4 to 6 minutes.

3. Change to the dough hook and knead the bread on medium speed until smooth and shiny (the dough will be very sticky), about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

5. Spray a rubber spatula or bowl scraper with non-stick cooking spray. Fold the dough over itself by gently lifting and folding the edge of the dough toward the middle. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and fold again. Turn the bowl and fold the dough 6 more times (for a total of 8 times).

6. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

7. Repeat the folding as in step 5, replace the plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

8. One hour before baking, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a baking stone on the rack and preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

9. Cut two 12x6-inch pieces of parchment paper and dust liberally with flour. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface, being careful not to deflate it completely. Liberally flour the top of the dough and divide it in half with a bench scraper. Turn 1 piece of dough cut-side-up and dust with flour. With well-floured hands, press the dough into a rough 12x6-inch rectangle. Fold the shorter sides of the dough toward center, overlapping them like you would fold a letter in thirds, to form a 7x4-inch rectangle.

Repeat with the second piece of dough.

10. Gently transfer each loaf, seam-side-down, to the parchment sheets, dust with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the loaves sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (the surface of the loaves will develop small bubbles).

11. Slide the parchment pieces with the loaves onto a pizza peel.

Using floured fingertips, evenly poke the entire surface of each loaf to form a 10x6-inch rectangle; spray the loaves lightly with water. Slide the loaves and parchment onto the baking stone.

Bake for 22 to 27 minutes, spraying the loaves with water twice more during the first 5 minutes of baking time, until the crust is deep golden brown, and the loaves register 210°F (100°C).

12. Transfer the loaves to a wire rack, discard the parchment, and let cool to room temperature for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. The bread can be wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrapped with an additional layer of foil, the bread can be frozen for up to 1 month. To re-crisp the crust, thaw the bread at room temperature (if frozen), and place unwrapped bread in 450°F (230°C) oven for 6 to 8 minutes.

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New!

2021 GROUPS OFFER

Traveling in a group of 10 or more? Contact your preferred Travel Advisor or call Uniworld to learn about our group discounts and amenities. Plus, for every nine full-paying guests, the tenth guest sails for free!

An outstanding loyalty program for our exceptional guests After your first Uniworld cruise, you will be automatically enrolled in our River Heritage Club loyalty program and begin receiving benefits, savings and rewards reserved exclusively for our loyal guests.

EXCLUSIVE SAVINGS ON ALL CRUISES, COMBINABLE WITH ALL PROMOTIONS* plus An exclusive WELCOME GIFT to commemorate your membership

PRIORITY NOTIFICATION on new cruises and programs

Earn credit toward your next cruise with our REFERRAL PROGRAM

Special MEMBERS-ONLY OFFERS

Complimentary LAUNDRY service

Dedicated PHONE NUMBER

Exclusive RIVERVIEWS E-MAGAZINE

Complimentary IN-ROOM FRUIT PLATTER waiting onboard for you upon arrival

Join the Captain for a members-only COCKTAIL PARTY onboard

EXCLUSIVE TTC LOYALTY SAVINGS of 5% on select trips across our family of more than 40 award-winning brands

NOTE: Benefits in China may vary.

Can you name this ship?

Each ship in our fleet is a one-of-a-kind floating boutique hotel, designed to be an extension of the destinations it sails through. If you can name which Uniworld ship this is, email us at RHC@Uniworld.com. The first to answer correctly will be featured in our next issue of RiverViews.

LAST ISSUE’S VICTOR Congratulations to Juan Lopez-Campillo for being the first (for the second issue in a row) to correctly identify the April Mystery Photo, the pool onboard the S.S. Antoinette.

Visit Uniworld.com/River-Heritage-Club for more information.

River Heritage Club savings and amenities are available to guests after completing their first Uniworld cruise. Exclusive savings are based on the cruise or cruise/tour-only price (including any upgrades and single supplement) after other cash discounts are applied. Savings are combinable with all current Uniworld promotions. Restrictions may apply.

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