Home > Compare Tour Operators > APT vs Uniworld
APT vs Uniworld
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT and Uniworld.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
If you are looking for 5-star luxury with 6-star service then Uniworld river cruises should be at the top of your wish list. Uniworld's ships (while not the newest) are one-of-a-kind, exquisitely appointed, boutique floating hotels. Part of the Travel Corporation (which includes the sister brands of Trafalgar and Insight Vacations), Uniworld ships are slightly smaller with an average of about 130 guests, and are constantly being refurbished in their distinctive style. Half of the team at Global Journeys have embarked on a voyage with Uniworld and some us a few times! Uniworld pricing is now dynamic so can vary day by day, and the cruises aren't cheap, however you wont need to dip into your wallet once your trip begins and further savings are available if you were a past passenger on any of the aforementioned sister brands.
Stats
No. of Trips
407
No. of Departures
2,916
Avg. Trip Length
15 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$741
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
No. of Trips
82
No. of Departures
1,200
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$689
Fleet Size
17 Ships
Known For
Boutique River Cruising
Ship Styles River Cruises
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
Once you step onboard the world’s finest and most awarded river cruise line for the first time, we are quite sure the refined luxury onboard our fleet will sweep you off your feet.
We draw our inspiration for the design philosophy of every one of the 17 ships in our fleet directly from the destination in which they sail. The craftsmanship, the attention to detail, the art onboard, the handcrafted furniture and intricacy of the fabrics are lovingly assembled to be a masterpiece in and of itself. Stepping onboard is to step into a world of beautiful colours and one-of-a-kind details that truly bring your destination to life.
Crafting experiences you can’t find anywhere else, means continuing to elevate Uniworld to new heights year after year. From the addition of four new Super Ships in Egypt, Vietnam, Portugal and Italy, to the award winning service that comes from the heart, we’re putting even more emphasis on what’s onboard to enhancing several itineraries to accommodate guest’s diverse tastes for the future. We truly look forward to welcoming our Australian guests onboard.
Recent Reviews
4.7
We have done this trip previously, although in April. This time we went in November. Although the autumn colours were beautiful it was very cold most days (around 5 degrees during the day). As this was the last trip of the season we found many of the freedom of choice activities were limited and in many cases were only limited to a city walk. We were ...read more really looking forward to riding the e-bikes on a couple of occasions but were told once we boarded that they stop that by the end of October. Very disappointed! We did find we were sitting around a lot on the ship and once we did stop at each port we were time limited. Maybe more day-time activities whilst on board too would have been better. On the whole we enjoyed our time away and couldn't fault the food and staff and their attention to detail.
Paris was very disappointing, the river cruise & Prague were excellent and met all expectations. Very knowledgeable & well organized tour guides. Perhaps this trip isn't geared to solo travelers. Accommodation on the cruise & Prague of high quality but were disappointing in Paris.
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
On the whole a great trip. The one let-down was the food, which would not pass muster in a Melbourne bistro. Restaurant staff were largely under-trained, which may be a hang-over from COVID.
Trip was very good. Karijini was below standard (very arrogant staff and canteen like food). Tour director Shay and husband who drove the bus were outstanding and went the extra mile to assist everyone. Visited many places that we had never heard of. The weather was lovely Exmouth and Broome excellent accommodation. Smaller towns accommodation was ...read more not as good but that had to be expected as there isn’t much to choose from.
APT provided an outstanding experiences and unforgettable memories for us in Kimberley. The foods are always good and our guides always ensure everyone's safety and comforts during the trip.
Our APT tour of tropical North Queensland to the tip of Australia and to Thursday and Horn Island was fantastic. Our tour guide Natasha and driver Grant were outstanding and everything went smoothly. The walk to the tip of Australia was the highlight and should be on everyone's bucket list. The walk was not too difficult and everyone in our group of ...read more predominantly over 70 year olds all got there with a big smile on their face. Accommodation was excellent overall considering the remoteness of some of our stops. APT tours are not cheap but they do represent good value and we would travel with them again. Georgie from Global Journeys was as usual very efficient and responsive with our travel arrangements.
4.6
Grand France , indeed, back to back wonderful river cruising. 0 Eileen & David, WA, Australia, Jul 2022
July 2022 we left Australia to join Uniworld's Grand France on S.S Catherine and S.S Joie de Vivre. Luxury boats with all amenities. Beautiful boats, excellent staff, lovely sites and food, all along the way. All transfers on arrival and departure days were spot on and even an escort came with 7 of us on the TGV train from Lyon to Paris and our luggage ...read more was already in our cabin when we got there.
I probably shouldn't comment on other passengers but on the first leg there was a large group of Americans 60-70 guests, belonging to "The Presidents Club". They do" good work " and travel around the world on holidays together at least once a year, very jolly etc. Next time I think I would be inclined to enquire if there was such a big group booked in and might choose a different date!
Enough said , it really is a marvelous way to see France from South to North and the guides are excellent so knowledgeable and fun too. And still at the helm of Global Journeys, Georgie was there to guide us with all her expertise and knowledge, Thanks again, Georgie.
I probably shouldn't comment on other passengers but on the first leg there was a large group of Americans 60-70 guests, belonging to "The Presidents Club". They do" good work " and travel around the world on holidays together at least once a year, very jolly etc. Next time I think I would be inclined to enquire if there was such a big group booked in and might choose a different date!
Enough said , it really is a marvelous way to see France from South to North and the guides are excellent so knowledgeable and fun too. And still at the helm of Global Journeys, Georgie was there to guide us with all her expertise and knowledge, Thanks again, Georgie.
What an amazing country Egypt is! We travelled in November, temperature averaged around 25C and no humidity, perfect for touring the temples, low crowds. The River Tosca is a beautiful older ship with lots of timber and a relaxed atmosphere. Staff were absolutely amazing, as with all Uniworld cruise staff, remembering drink preferences and names after ...read more the first day. The food fresh and lots of choice, including local flavours. Plenty of fresh bottled water each day.
With only 60 guests on board (mainly American, 2 Brits and 4 Aussies; ages 17-70s) we were split into groups of 20 each with our own Egyptologist, Sabaa, and own full sized coach. Wonderful stories and explanation of everything we visited was given, we never felt rushed. Luxor and Aswan were beautiful and clean after crazy polluted Cairo. Hotel in Cairo was excellent. Very busy tour schedule with some early starts and long days. Highlights were balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings/Queens at sunrise, high tea at sunset at Old Cataract Hotel, bird watching on the Nile in a small boat, flying to Abu Simbel temples and of course the Pyramids. The locals were very friendly and welcoming, we didn’t feel uncomfortable in any situation, except for very zealous stall holders in the markets! Excellent security on board and everywhere we visited. If Egypt is on your bucket list, don’t hesitate! Amazing to be able to touch history thousands of years old.
With only 60 guests on board (mainly American, 2 Brits and 4 Aussies; ages 17-70s) we were split into groups of 20 each with our own Egyptologist, Sabaa, and own full sized coach. Wonderful stories and explanation of everything we visited was given, we never felt rushed. Luxor and Aswan were beautiful and clean after crazy polluted Cairo. Hotel in Cairo was excellent. Very busy tour schedule with some early starts and long days. Highlights were balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings/Queens at sunrise, high tea at sunset at Old Cataract Hotel, bird watching on the Nile in a small boat, flying to Abu Simbel temples and of course the Pyramids. The locals were very friendly and welcoming, we didn’t feel uncomfortable in any situation, except for very zealous stall holders in the markets! Excellent security on board and everywhere we visited. If Egypt is on your bucket list, don’t hesitate! Amazing to be able to touch history thousands of years old.
Had an amazing time. Beautiful scenery along the Douro River. Global Journeys our travel agent Hannah Campbell did an amazing job organising our tour. Thank you Hannah. Uniworld who we travelled with were fabulous, staff were so obliging and friendly. Accommodation at hotel and on board were 1st class. Met some very friendly people. Overall a wonderful ...read more experience.
Fantastic crew with outstanding service. Great food and already looking at a follow up cruise. Very informative tours. Extensive variety of drinks and the embarkation was very relaxed. Definitely recommended.
This was a bit of an unusual trip compared to other river cruises we have undertaken. Most go from A to B (and maybe back again) along a river but this one seemed to go around in circles due to the nature of the river estuary being explored. This meant that even though we seemed to move a long way, in essence it was only ever a short distance from Bordeaux, ...read more and time and time again we passed the same landmarks. Despite that, it was still an excellent experience with several shore trips to visit small and very picturesque villages and wineries.
We have been on several UniWorld cruises previously and all have been exceptional. My sense is that Uniworld is slowly reducing their level of service and included options that made them a standout amongst river cruise operators. This may be a trend across all operators, which reflects the tough times they are going through. However, if you want to taste the wine growing region of France in a leisurely relaxed fashion then this is a great way to do it.
We have been on several UniWorld cruises previously and all have been exceptional. My sense is that Uniworld is slowly reducing their level of service and included options that made them a standout amongst river cruise operators. This may be a trend across all operators, which reflects the tough times they are going through. However, if you want to taste the wine growing region of France in a leisurely relaxed fashion then this is a great way to do it.
Should you be interested in visiting a less frequented part of Europe this is the one. The Uniworld experience was excellent. The crew was great, the food first class and the ship top rate. But watch cabin sizes as the SS Beatrice cabins come in two sizes. The French Balcony doors do not open very wide. This part of the Danube is now starting to be ...read more busy, so you are likely to find another ship docked alongside at most ports eliminating any views - a problem as this area becomes more popular.
We had two full days off ship touring into Croatia and Bulgaria and interesting excursions at other stops such as Belgrade with lectures on the history of the region including the genesis of the Balkan conflict in the 1990's. Bucharest was a pleasant surprise, an attractive city with its own interesting history. If you have an interest in learning more about this region and its history, this is a most pleasant way to do it.
We had two full days off ship touring into Croatia and Bulgaria and interesting excursions at other stops such as Belgrade with lectures on the history of the region including the genesis of the Balkan conflict in the 1990's. Bucharest was a pleasant surprise, an attractive city with its own interesting history. If you have an interest in learning more about this region and its history, this is a most pleasant way to do it.
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