Low Waters Divert Danube and Elbe Cruises

Hello steamboats,

already raining in Munich!? Rain is forecast for the South of Germany for today, that includes the Danube region, in this case.

The Viking Idi, still shone as being docked in Passau, appears a difficult case, I am afraid. She might be able to sail empty to Amsterdam. But even that might not be possible right now. I believe the low water problem is still the Regensburg - Passau stretch. I think it all hangs in the rain coming down today in the region. According to the itinerary on Viking' website the Idi does Passau to Budapest in a little less than nine days. Deduct the time spent in ports on the way and you roughly get the time needed to sail. I calculated it to be just under six. Perhaps someone else would like to check my calculation?

notamermaid

Hello steamboats,

 

already raining in Munich!? Rain is forecast for the South of Germany for today, that includes the Danube region, in this case.

 

The Viking Idi, still shone as being docked in Passau, appears a difficult case, I am afraid. She might be able to sail empty to Amsterdam. But even that might not be possible right now. I believe the low water problem is still the Regensburg - Passau stretch. I think it all hangs in the rain coming down today in the region. According to the itinerary on Viking' website the Idi does Passau to Budapest in a little less than nine days. Deduct the time spent in ports on the way and you roughly get the time needed to sail. I calculated it to be just under six. Perhaps someone else would like to check my calculation?

 

notamermaid

Thanks for the weather report. We're doing the "Danube Rain Dance". Maybe there will be enough rain to float the entire Viking fleet. As far as canceling a week ahead of our cruise, that is a hard decision to make. We had to book almost a year ago and even with the "Cancel For Any Reason" insurance, Viking will not do a full refund unless they cancel the cruise. All they will do is issue a voucher for another cruise to be taken within one year. We don't want to go in the winter because we love daylight for photography and in looking at the schedules, all cabins in the categories we can afford are sold out this year and many already sold for next summer. Who knows what the rivers will be like in two weeks when we actually arrive in Regensburg? And, who knows what the weather will be like next summer? We may have clear sailing all the way to Budapest or be bussed from Regensburg to Passau. Either way, this will be our first and last Viking cruise no matter what happens. We have over 1,000 sailing days on many cruise lines and none have given us the stress and grief this one has thus far.

Yes, this is the site I saw. The only problem is that it shows "lower than usual", but doesn't show what usual is.....so we can't determine HOW far from normal the river is up/down.

CaroleSS: The chart is based on a simple boxplot, where I defined the ranges as following:

Maximum value - Quartile 75: Higher than usual

Quartile75 - Median - Quartile 25: Comfort zone

Quartile25 - Minimum value: Lower than usual

actually the extreme values help me a lot, as I can now clearly define when navigation becomes impossible, so this site will improve a lot with more data :)

Hello,

the distance I calculated is of, course: Passau to Amsterdam. Sorry!

notamermaid

Thanks for the weather report. We're doing the "Danube Rain Dance". Maybe there will be enough rain to float the entire Viking fleet. As far as canceling a week ahead of our cruise, that is a hard decision to make. We had to book almost a year ago and even with the "Cancel For Any Reason" insurance, Viking will not do a full refund unless they cancel the cruise. All they will do is issue a voucher for another cruise to be taken within one year. We don't want to go in the winter because we love daylight for photography and in looking at the schedules, all cabins in the categories we can afford are sold out this year and many already sold for next summer. Who knows what the rivers will be like in two weeks when we actually arrive in Regensburg? And, who knows what the weather will be like next summer? We may have clear sailing all the way to Budapest or be bussed from Regensburg to Passau. Either way, this will be our first and last Viking cruise no matter what happens. We have over 1,000 sailing days on many cruise lines and none have given us the stress and grief this one has thus far.

No rain in Passau or our part of the Bavarian Forest.

The Inn is rising which will help traffic down stream from Passau, also the Isar is rsing (thanks to Steamboats in Munich doing her rain dance :) ) which will help the Danube between Deggendorf and Passau. The bottleneck is Straubing where the Danube has a level of 110 cm, normally it's around 250 cm.

To lighten the boats, I have heard that each passenger will only be allowed to bring on board a carryon with a maximum weight of 7 kg -15 pounds.;)

I have managed to obtain an exclusive photo of the new shallow draft longships.:D

new longship.pdf

Hello G.M.T.,

love the photo. :D Complete al fresco dining! With quite a bit of al fresco drinking as well, I am sure.

notamermaid

I realize that the cruise lines cannot control the river levels but that is one of the risks of their business. /quote]

 

Actually it´s also a common risk for the passengers.

 

Good for you that you are able to cancel for all reasons and getting your money back from travel insurance. Here in Europe there is nothing like "cancel for all reasons". No German travel insurance would cover this. So when I book a river cruise I have to take the weather risk. And I´ve done it - twice. My first Danube river cruise ended after 23 hours and I got from Passau to Vienna - high water. My Elbe river cruise was shortened and I missed the part upriver of Dresden (Saxonian Switzerland) due to low water. We also had to skip another port. Yes, I did get compensation but legally the river cruise company didn´t owe me anything. They did it to calm down the upset passengers.

 

notamermaid,

 

Sun is out again and it stopped raining by noon.

 

G.M.T.,

 

No no, liability!!! No rails!!! :D Not ADA compliant :D!

 

steamboats

I really feel sorry for everybody, we just got back one week ago from a cruise on the Viking Idi and had a wonderful cruise. We had minor impacts, stayed a little longer in some ports and a little less elsewhere but overall everything was handled by the wonderful staff. I did not realize how lucky we were, the ship did get stuck on sand twice but backed up and went thru.

I hope all will be resolve shortly!

As far as canceling a week ahead of our cruise, that is a hard decision to make. We had to book almost a year ago and even with the "Cancel For Any Reason" insurance, Viking will not do a full refund unless they cancel the cruise. All they will do is issue a voucher for another cruise to be taken within one year.

Another reason to never buy insurance from a cruise line or tour provider.

So sorry about your dilemma. I hope things work out for you.

We do have "cancel for any reason", no strings attached (including non-refundable hotel and air costs). We are in a similar "boat", but so far AMA seems to not be impacted. We realize this can change at any moment.

We have decided to go ahead with the trip. We are traveling with a group of friends and not everyone bought insurance.

Hoping for some rain.

No rain in Passau or our part of the Bavarian Forest.

 

 

 

I have managed to obtain an exclusive photo of the new shallow draft longships.:D

Love the Aquivit terrace !

p.s. my travel package from Avalon just arrived!

... ...

I have managed to obtain an exclusive photo of the new shallow draft longships.:D

O.M.G! :p

Another reason to never buy insurance from a cruise line or tour provider.

 

So sorry about your dilemma. I hope things work out for you.

We do have "cancel for any reason", no strings attached (including non-refundable hotel and air costs). We are in a similar "boat", but so far AMA seems to not be impacted. We realize this can change at any moment.

We have decided to go ahead with the trip. We are traveling with a group of friends and not everyone bought insurance.

Hoping for some rain.

Normally we don't buy trip insurance through the carrier but if we had taken out our regular travel insurance, nothing would be reimbursed for failure of the river to be at proper level. We could not have cancelled unless we met one of the insurance company's acceptable reasons for canceling. Turning a cruise into a bus trip because the ship could not sail would not be considered a legitimate reason for canceling. We did read all of the conditions and nothing fits. If I had a heart surgery or broke my leg...that would be a good reason. We will decide by tomorrow if we are going to cancel but most likely will go. My husband has Parkinson's Disease and this may well be the last year he can do the walking. He lived in Germany for 15 years while in the Air Force and even a bus ride won't convince him not to go. He wants to drink lots of German beer and rekindle old memories.

Normally we don't buy trip insurance through the carrier but if we had taken out our regular travel insurance, nothing would be reimbursed for failure of the river to be at proper level. We could not have cancelled unless we met one of the insurance company's acceptable reasons for canceling. Turning a cruise into a bus trip because the ship could not sail would not be considered a legitimate reason for canceling. We did read all of the conditions and nothing fits. If I had a heart surgery or broke my leg...that would be a good reason. We will decide by tomorrow if we are going to cancel but most likely will go. My husband has Parkinson's Disease and this may well be the last year he can do the walking. He lived in Germany for 15 years while in the Air Force and even a bus ride won't convince him not to go. He wants to drink lots of German beer and rekindle old memories.

Best of luck - and let us know what happens.

Unfortunately low water is not conducive to making up lost time, as the passable depths of the channel may be narrowed to only one ship in one direction to transit it at a time. Even when ships can pass each other in opposite directions, speed may have to be reduced to minimize the size of the wake, which might cause a ship to hit bottom. All deeper draft ships would have to queue up and wait their turn, while a shallower draft ship may be able to pass.

Bigger is not better, shallow draft vessels have fewer problems with low water. Also, the less the height above water line, the fewer problems with high water. The bigger ships may generate higher profits, but unless an ornate atrium and a swimming pool is more important to you than making the cruise, stick to the smaller, probably older, ships. That atrium does you no good while you are cruising on your bus.

We are currently on day 11 of the Grand European trip, Budapest to Amsterdam, sailing June 14, a Saturday. We made it to Passau, then learned about the low river situation around Regensberg. On Friday they bused us to and from Regensberg, the bus trip wasn't too bad but we were hearing from passengers on other ships about the planned transfers. Friday evening we were told we would be transferring from the Skadi to the Lif, everyone was told to pack up for a two hour bus ride. Saturday morning at 9 we boarded buses to Nuremberg where the Lif was, arriving at 12:15. Cabins were not ready but we had lunch on board, then reboarded buses for the scheduled tours. Cabins were ready when we returned at 6. Since then there have been no issues and everyone seems satisfied with how the situation was handled.

I could nitpick a little and tell you we received some "misinformation" about the length of the bus rides. We also were told point blank how lucky we were to be on a Viking longship, they have so many ships on the river and they perfected the transfer procedures last summer due to floods. We were told other cruise lines were moving their passengers to hotels, which Seems misleading if cruise critic information is correct, other lines apparently are having no problems.

I wish everyone luck with their travel plans but I must tell you we have had no rain in Germany.

I found this link while searching the internet this morning. Although the rivers are flooded, the passengers experienced much of the same thing as those traveling when the water is too low.

http://elliott.org/the-navigator/what-to-do-when-your-river-cruise-turns-into-a-bus-tour/

I'm trying to get info from Viking on our cruise July 26 from Budpest to Amsterdam. From what I am reading on this thread it will be a bus trip rather than a river cruise. I also understand that Viking will only provide vouchers for use on a future cruise rather than refund actual money. Also the cruise insurance we purchased through Viking does not allow cancellation for cash for low river conditions. I am also going to call my credit card company and tell them I am disagreeing with the charges because I feel Viking was committing fraud in selling us the cruise 20 days ago without informing us of the low water in the river and the possibility of what we were actually buying was an expensive bus trip.

Please keep information flowing into this thread as it has alerted me and probably will alert others about what is going on. Viking isn't doing it so CC needs to.

ingo_e,

Is the IPhone App working properly? I have not used it in several months and when I do now, it works for a minte and then locks up. I have to "kill" the app and start over but again, it locks up. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

I'm trying to get info from Viking on our cruise July 26 from Budpest to Amsterdam. From what I am reading on this thread it will be a bus trip rather than a river cruise

There is no way anyone can know what the river conditions will be a month from now. Neither Viking nor anyone on Cruise Critic can tell you if the water levels will be low, regular, or high, or whether you will be on the boat or a bus due to river issues.....

Unless you mean JUNE 26? Even then, what I read on CC tells me the conditions change quickly....

I just talked to Sharon in Viking's reservation department and got the information about our Travel Guard "Cancel For Any Reason" travel insurance. Reservations is 1-877-668-4546 (choose information about current cruise from options).

1. We have to contact Travel Guard and get their requirements for canceling the cruise and how to process their paperwork. Their phone number is 866-370-0414.

2. We have to cancel in writing by sending a fax to Viking River Cruises Supervisor at 818-227-1231 or send an email to Viking River Cruises Supervisor at vcmail@vikingcruises.com within the guidelines given to us by Travel Guard.

3. Once the paperwork is processed by Travel Guard and we receive the cancellation documents, we can re-schedule our cruise. It is up to Travel Guard whether they will authorize a full refund or a voucher to rebook.

4. Viking River Cruises will handle the cancelling of our air, cruise and post-stay in Budapest.

5. No available cruises are left in 2014 so we would be looking at May of 2015 should we rebook.

I questioned Sharon about our ship leaving from Amsterdam on 7-1-14 and she checked with her supervisor and said it still shows the Viking Idi. I informed her that the Viking Idi has been in Passau, Germany for 3 days and even if the Idi dead headed it to Amsterdam, she would not reach there in time for us to board her on 7-1-14. Viking has no other plans for a ship for the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise we are taking. She said they are monitoring it on an hourly basis and making decisions as required. She could not tell us how many days we should expect to be bussed and how many days we should expect to cruise. We will make a decision by tomorrow whether we want to proceed or cancel.

We just received this email from Viking River Cruises.

Thank you for choosing Viking Cruises for your upcoming European voyage. We would like to alert you of a necessary change that has been made to your itinerary due to the recent low river level between Regensburg and Passau on the Danube River.

Upon arriving in Amsterdam, you will be welcomed aboard sister ship Viking Kvasir, as Viking Idi is currently unable to reach the city in time for departure. Like Viking Idi, Viking Kvasir is a new, state-of-the-art Longship, featuring all the same comforts and style as the rest of the Viking Longship fleet. She also has a warm and welcoming staff who will be delighted to have you as our guest.

In the event you need to contact the ship, please call Viking Kvasir at +49 (0) 152 225 38 098.

Please accept our apologies for alerting you of these changes so close to your departure date. Our Switzerland-based nautical and operations teams monitor river levels very closely and make changes only if and when no feasible alternative can be found. At this time we do not anticipate any other significant adjustments to your schedule.

If you have any questions, please call Customer Relations at 1-877-668-4546, extension 4525, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., PDT.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard and wish you a wonderful journey.

Sincerely,

Joost Ouendag

Vice President, Customer Relations

Viking Cruises

worldcrzr-

once again the squeaky wheel gets the grease! It pays to complain. I wonder if the other passengers on your cruise got the same email already.

Let's hope Viking is more upfront with problems and issues warnings in a more timely manner.

worldcrzr-

once again the squeaky wheel gets the grease! It pays to complain. I wonder if the other passengers on your cruise got the same email already.

Let's hope Viking is more upfront with problems and issues warnings in a more timely manner.

A friend who lives on the east coast just let me know that he received the same email so I think they are sending out emails to everyone on that cruise. Of course, posting on CC and FB along with calling 3 times and sending at least 6 emails may have helped. This morning just half an hour before the email was sent, nobody in Viking's customer service or their reservations department knew about the ship substitution. The reservation clerk talked to a supervisor after I told her about the passengers stranded in Budapest with no ship in sight. I also told her that our ship was stranded in Passau, Germany and could not make it to Amsterdam by our cruise date. Maybe they were getting ready to send the email anyway but also maybe my persistence paid off. We are hoping for rain so we can sail all the way through to Budapest...we're doing the "Danube Rain Dance"...

Unfortunately the email is a total falsification of the situation since their cruise will not continue from Amsterdam to Budapest without bus trips and changing ships if what other posters on this thread are experiencing. See the post about having to be bused from Vienna to Regensburg instead of doing a river cruise for that 285 miles and then doing bus tours from there of some of the cities they missed.

I contacted my credit card company to dispute the charges based on Viking fraudulently selling me a river cruise when what I am actually getting is a bus tour with a few nights on a river ship. They said they will dispute the charges but unfortunately they believe Viking will state that the low rivers is an act of God and that they are doing everything they can to provide a vacation experience for their "guests" given the situation and that no fraud is involved.

The credit card company said that if we took the cruise and it turned into mainly bus excursions and hotel stays that I could then come home and claim that I did not receive the services I had paid for and they would then go after Viking for that.

I thought that was sort of strange that they would do more after the fact and less before the problem occurs.

What are other people doing? We are probably going to cancel using the process that was described in an earlier post on this thread but will still end up losing several thousand dollars in travel insurance costs and air seat upgrades we made.

Lets keep this thread going and active so others who are going on Viking this summer see it and hear about the problem.

Here's what Viking is saying on their web site.

DANUBE RIVER UPDATE - JUNE 22, 2014

The stretch of the Danube River between Regensburg and Passau, Germany, is currently experiencing water levels that are lower than usual. Viking’s Switzerland-based nautical and operations teams, along with a network of local partners and authorities, continue to monitor the situation closely.

The below sailings have been modified. Guests on these departures – along with their Travel Agent – should have received an email alerting them that they would embark on an identical sister ship. If a guest traveling on one of the impacted departures below did not receive notification, please contact your Travel Agent or Viking’s Customer Relations team 1.877.668.4546, extension 4525 or email customerrelations@vikingcruises.com.

ITINERARY MODIFICATIONS

June 22 - Romantic Danube (Budapest to Nuremberg) aboard Viking Idun — This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Freya (Longship, built 2013).

June 22 - Romantic Danube (Nuremberg to Budapest) aboard Viking Freya — This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Idun (Longship, built 2012).

June 24 - Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Atla — This itinerary will begin with a 2-night hotel stay at the Boscolo Budapest Hotel, as Viking Atla’s sailing schedule has been altered by the river conditions and the ship will not be able to reach Budapest in time for embarkation. Viking representatives will meet all guests at the airport—regardless of whether or not air/transfers were purchased from Viking—and transport them to the hotel. We will also have a representative at the normal dock of embarkation near the Chain Bridge in Budapest, along with transportation to the hotel.

June 26 - Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Bestla – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Eistla (Longship, built 2014).

June 26 - Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Eistla – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Bestla (Longship, built 2014).

June 28 - Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Skadi – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Lif (Longship, built 2014).

June 28 - Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Lif — This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Skadi (Longship, built 2013).

June 29 - Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Magni — This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Baldur (Longship, built 2013).

June 29 - Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Baldur — This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Magni (Longship, built 2013).

June 30 - Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) and European Sojourn (Amsterdam to Bucharest) aboard Viking Embla – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Aegir (Longship, built 2013).

June 29 - Passage to Eastern Europe (Bucharest to Budapest) and European Sojourn (Bucharest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Aegir – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Embla (Longship, built 2012).

UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION

Other guests scheduled to sail the Danube River between Regensburg and Passau in the coming week should assume that their cruise is still scheduled for regular departure. Should conditions change and additional alterations become necessary, we will continue to inform impacted guests as soon as we are aware of any itinerary fluctuations.

If you have any questions, please call Customer Relations at 1-877-668-4546, extension 4525, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., PDT.

Given what else has been posted it's obvious most of the cruisers boarding these ships are probably going to be boarding buses at some point and getting on a different ship somewhere along the way.