Lock strikes announced in Germany

[cruzemaven]

Friday July 26th

 

Ship Swap

 

We left the Scenic Jewel in Vienna this morning for our excursion in Melk and then to Durnstein to get to the Scenic Sapphire.

 

Generally a little confusing. Why the ship swap when we went from one place in Austria to another in Austria. We were told it was because of the lock strikes....but there are no strikes in Austria????? Only Scenic knows the true story.

 

We are on the Sapphire now waiting for our rooms to get ready.

 

Hopefully this will be the last ship swap. Only time will tell.

 

Linda

It's unfortunate....

Normally, we are eagerly looking forward to a great experience when we plan a cruise, but since the deluge in June and the strikes in July our August Danube cruise expectations are only ones of anxiety. There is always a chance that travel plans can go astray, but the thought of packing and unpacking to swap ships plus enduring long bus trips have deflated our optimistic anticipation of the river cruise we had envisioned. Only having cruised on ocean cruises, nothing could have prepared us for all the uncertainties that affect river cruising. It's difficult to get excited about an upcoming trip that may be a series of inconveniences and glitches. While we hope for the best, we realistically are braced for a less than acceptable situation . I blame nobody but myself for not realizing the vulnerabilities of river cruising and should have taken " cancel for any reason" when I purchased our trip insurance.

[ingo_e]

At the Moment it Looks as if the Bavarian wsa are Striking again. Quote of a lock Keeper at nuremberg Yesterday: 'this was the Last ship for today.'

[Arizonasunshine]

It's unfortunate....

Normally, we are eagerly looking forward to a great experience when we plan a cruise, but since the deluge in June and the strikes in July our August Danube cruise expectations are only ones of anxiety. There is always a chance that travel plans can go astray, but the thought of packing and unpacking to swap ships plus enduring long bus trips have deflated our optimistic anticipation of the river cruise we had envisioned. Only having cruised on ocean cruises, nothing could have prepared us for all the uncertainties that affect river cruising. It's difficult to get excited about an upcoming trip that may be a series of inconveniences and glitches. While we hope for the best, we realistically are braced for a less than acceptable situation . I blame nobody but myself for not realizing the vulnerabilities of river cruising and should have taken " cancel for any reason" when I purchased our trip insurance.

I totally agree, we are leaving this Thursday on a 15 day cruise (Budapest to Amsterdam) and have already been informed by Uniworld that we will have to change ships. What would normally be an exciting time is filled with doubt and apprehension, and we spent a lot of money to go through this. Never again will I purchase a river cruise without cancel for any reason trip insurance.

[newfirsttimer]

The Scenic Tours website posted on Friday, states that they were informed by the German Government that there would not be any more strikes until Aug 4th. so they have informed their customers that it is business as usual until that time. Hopefully there will be some travellers enroute that might post and let us know what is happening.

[lindaann]

Hello,

 

It's Monday July 29th at 7:30 am. We are cruising on the Scenic Sapphire approaching Nuremberg. We were told by our cruise director that the strike has been temporarily stopped, not to begin again before August 4th at the earliest.

 

We have passed through every lock so far with any problem or delay. We are inside the locks at Hipolstein as I type this post. So far so good. If the situation changes we will let you know.

 

Just to let you know that Scenic came clean about our ship swatch being part of their attempt to right their company's ships' schedules and not as a result of the strikes and apologized for not being more clear initially.

[jon1211]

So sorry to hear you are stuck at this point. I wish you well. Glad to hear you got to do Bamberg & Werzberg while in Nuremburg. Is the Werzberg you mention the same town as the Wurzburg on the itinerary or a different town? I ask because if it is, can I assume when you're unstuck you'll be sailing right on past Wurzburg to catch up and make Amsterdam on schedule?

 

I'm a little confused...... you have been stuck in Nuremberg since Sunday? It has been my understanding that these lock strikes have occurred in Tues-Thurs. time frame. I'm on the same itinerary in a few weeks(in reverse) & I show these 2 ports are 2 days in a row. Did you stay in Nuremberg Sunday because your ship could not make it to Bamberg by the scheduled Tues work stoppage? Or was it easier for them to operate bus tours out of Nuremberg, rather than the smaller Bamberg?

 

Are you going to switch ships at some point?

 

Thanks for sharing your updates with us. Glad to hear the Viking crew is treating you well. Sounds like everyone is making the best of it, but I've no doubt it's been frustrating for the passengers.

 

The cruise portion is over and we're finishing up our Amsterdam extension. We were, in fact, stuck in Nuremburg from Sunday to Wednesday. Once we got unstuck, we sailed straight through to Kitzingen Am Main, then left the ship on Friday and bused to Cologne. Spent Friday night at the Cologne Hilton, toured Cologne on Saturday morning, had lunch there, then bused to see the windmills in Kinderdijk, ending up very late in Amsterdam.

Viking tried to stick with the original stops, but did it mostly via bus trips -- very tiring and not why we signed up for a river cruise.

 

Viking gave us all a letter saying they'll be in touch with us when we get home. We're waiting to hear what, if anything, they'll offer in terms of compensation for losing the last week of our cruise.

 

Good luck to those leaving this week. The worry now is low river levels, and a possible resumption of the lock workers' strike next week.

[FinelyRetired]

The cruise portion is over and we're finishing up our Amsterdam extension. We were, in fact, stuck in Nuremburg from Sunday to Wednesday. Once we got unstuck, we sailed straight through to Kitzingen Am Main, then left the ship on Friday and bused to Cologne. Spent Friday night at the Cologne Hilton, toured Cologne on Saturday morning, had lunch there, then bused to see the windmills in Kinderdijk, ending up very late in Amsterdam.

Viking tried to stick with the original stops, but did it mostly via bus trips -- very tiring and not why we signed up for a river cruise.

 

Viking gave us all a letter saying they'll be in touch with us when we get home. We're waiting to hear what, if anything, they'll offer in terms of compensation for losing the last week of our cruise.

 

Good luck to those leaving this week. The worry now is low river levels, and a possible resumption of the lock workers' strike next week.

 

JK from CA:

 

There you are. You made it. What a week you had. Thought of you this weekend when Viking posted that the Skadi's 28th cruise would begin with a hotel overnite in Amsterdam on the 28th and a meet up with the ship in Kinderdijk today, 29th.

 

Can't imagine having to do both Cologne and Kinderdijk in one day...plus driving to Amsterdam. What were the temps that day?

 

You mention that: "the worry now is low river levels?" Where did you hear that? I do look at wetteronline.de but it's in German and I don't really understand it esp. since I don't know the draft of a Viking Longship. Perhaps, some of the locals will chime in on that.

 

Never thought the first two words I learned in German would be: "Ver.di" and "flusspegel."

 

Glad you made it and hope you reach a satisfactory resolution for your lost week.

[burrma]

The cruise portion is over and we're finishing up our Amsterdam extension. We were, in fact, stuck in Nuremburg from Sunday to Wednesday. Once we got unstuck, we sailed straight through to Kitzingen Am Main, then left the ship on Friday and bused to Cologne. Spent Friday night at the Cologne Hilton, toured Cologne on Saturday morning, had lunch there, then bused to see the windmills in Kinderdijk, ending up very late in Amsterdam.

Viking tried to stick with the original stops, but did it mostly via bus trips -- very tiring and not why we signed up for a river cruise.

 

Viking gave us all a letter saying they'll be in touch with us when we get home. We're waiting to hear what, if anything, they'll offer in terms of compensation for losing the last week of our cruise.

 

Good luck to those leaving this week. The worry now is low river levels, and a possible resumption of the lock workers' strike next week.

 

Sorry your river cruise wasn't what you expected. Do hope Viking compensates you nicely so you will cruise again. Keep us posted on their response.

[heathcharnock]

Sorry your river cruise wasn't what you expected. Do hope Viking compensates you nicely so you will cruise again. Keep us posted on their response.

 

Why should Viking offer compensation for something which was out of their control.

[Milligan]

Any updates on the lock strikes? We are in Amsterdam before a Rhine river cruise -- hopefully!

[ingo_e]

Every lock is Open - at least Until August 4th. If you cruise the rhine only there is just One lock that Might Affect your cruise: iffezheim (the day before strasbourg)

[burrma]

Why should Viking offer compensation for something which was out of their control.[/quote

Because one didn't sign up for a bus ride, hotel stay and to miss ports that you were looking forward to visiting. I feel if they can't deliver close to what they offered and they knew this in advance, then Viking should have given people the option to cancel at no charge. My friends were just on Avalon and they missed one port and had to stay in a hotel and be bussed and they received a large compensation in cash besides many additional extras. Reason they will travel Avalon again. They cared!

[heathcharnock]

Our friends just returned from a Viking Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest

which was very much affected by the lock strikes. Their view on return -Viking did their absolute utmost to give us the best holiday they could in the situation.

 

The current situation is caused entirely by the German workers who are on strike. Try claiming from them ??

 

You just can't hold cruise companies responsible for things outside their control as I'm sure their terms and conditions will state nor can you expect them to cancel entire cruises ( which would surely disappoint many ) when there is any sign of disruption. I presume that if they did cancel the cruise you would want compensation for the disappointment of a lost holiday and perhaps the waste of vacation time

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We leave this afternoon for our Vantage cruise from Budapest to Cologne. After reading these posts, I contacted Vantage. They say that none of their itineraries have been impacted and they do not expect them to be.

[little1880]

Poulsbo Cruisers, Please keep us posted on your journey as we embark on the MS River Splendor in Cologne for the southbound cruise to Budapest on August 16 right after you disembark. Interested in any strike impacts. Thanks!

[davidrw]

The union website says that the strikes are back on, however does not mention Bavaria:-

http://www.verdi.de/themen/nachrichten/++co++5d82cffc-fc6d-11e2-9663-52540059119e

 

Google Translation is:-

Strikes at the locks continue

 

4 August 2013 | On Germany's waterways and the locks will strike again this week. Still it comes to the collective agreement protection of employees in the course of the renovation of the Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV). According to the Federal plans should be about one quarter of around 12,000 jobs in the WSV eliminated.

 

So far it is a give in the ministries involved not recognizable. "We have still not received a binding commitment for collective bargaining," said ver.di board member Achim Meerkamp on Sunday. The workers would therefore continue printing. The content is about the exclusion of redundancies and business transfers conditional on the employees of the WSV and other affected agencies of the Federal Ministry of Transport.

 

From Monday 5 August to Friday morning, 9 August, all waterways to be on strike in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Lower Saxony and Bremen locks, depots and WSV administrations are included up Wednesday in the labor dispute. Verdi had already provided early warning of possible strikes in the affected areas, mid-week, to enable appropriate pre-planning company

[burrma]

The union website says that the strikes are back on, however does not mention Bavaria:-

http://www.verdi.de/themen/nachrichten/++co++5d82cffc-fc6d-11e2-9663-52540059119e

 

Thanks for keeping us posted plus the translation. Any news on Danube?

[davidrw]

The union website says that the strikes are back on, however does not mention Bavaria:-

http://www.verdi.de/themen/nachrichten/++co++5d82cffc-fc6d-11e2-9663-52540059119e

 

Thanks for keeping us posted plus the translation. Any news on Danube?

 

The German Danube, Main Canal and Main are all basically Bavaria- however Bavaria does not seem to be mentioned this time in the press release - we shall see !!

[burrma]

Thanks for educating me; you are always so helpful.

[FinelyRetired]

Thanks David for this update....as well as the translation. Hope all parties are talking today to avoid strikes this week.

 

Perhaps our helpful CC'ers from this region will post with news

on any actual lock closures tomorrow.

 

It looks like very high temps in that region. Hopeful as well that water levels are not becoming a concern.

[steamboats]

Yes, we do have pretty hot and dry weather currently with temps up to 100°F (which is more than unusual). We had some nice thunderstorms last night which are still going on in some areas. But that won´t help much regarding river levels. Anyway it´s not looking too bad right now. The river levels are low but along the Danube river we´re still in the first stage of low water (check here). When the dots turn to orange the first problems might occur.

 

As for the lock strike: I´ve checked the news (also local ones) but there is no word about Bavaria. So the Danube river, Main-Danube-Canal and Main river are fine for next week.

 

steamboats

[burrma]

Thanks for update; awesome map you included about water level; will continue to check this. CC is so fabulous because of the wonderful people that post here with news and updates.

[Cary Cruiser]

Yes, we do have pretty hot and dry weather currently with temps up to 100°F (which is more than unusual). We had some nice thunderstorms last night which are still going on in some areas. But that won´t help much regarding river levels. Anyway it´s not looking too bad right now. The river levels are low but along the Danube river we´re still in the first stage of low water (check here). When the dots turn to orange the first problems might occur.

 

As for the lock strike: I´ve checked the news (also local ones) but there is no word about Bavaria. So the Danube river, Main-Danube-Canal and Main river are fine for next week.

 

steamboats

 

steamboats - the map is very good. Does the red dot mean high water, and the grey dot mean low water?

 

Forget my question - I just did a Google translation of the page and I see what the various colors mean. Why do they not have dot colors for high water?

[steamboats]

steamboats - the map is very good. Does the red dot mean high water, and the grey dot mean low water?

 

Forget my question - I just did a Google translation of the page and I see what the various colors mean. Why do they not have dot colors for high water?

 

That´s the low water webpage only. Green is o.k.. Red is a new low record.

 

Here you got the same for high water with green being o.k. and purple being the worst case.

 

steamboats

[ingo_e]

Well they do not have to go on strike in Bavaria, the low water takes care of it. Since Saturday ships are rushing down the Main Danube canal in order to get past the Regensburg - Passau stretch. Though they are still cruising, it already affects passengers (less free time). Without much rain in sight, I would expect the situation to get critical from Wednesday on.