Low Waters Divert Danube and Elbe Cruises

[rudeman]

We are booked on Avalon's Impression, Budapest to Amsterdam, sailing July 2. Staying positive:D

[Worldcrzr]

We anticipate a bus trip from Regensburg to Passau and hopefully will pick up another ship in Passau. Should the water level change, we are hoping that we can sail all the way from Amsterdam to Budapest. What surprises me is that they haven't turned the two ships that are docked in Passau around and sailed back to Budapest unless they are waiting for passengers from Amsterdam.

 

We too have a lot of money invested in this trip. But, canceling now would only get us vouchers for another cruise which might also have water level troubles. We have decided to take the trip, make the most of what we can do and never sail Viking again.

 

If you look at the above sailing changes, none are for the July sailing. I'm just glad that there will be a ship to pick us up and hope that in two weeks, the water level will rise enough for us to sail on to Budapest.

[CaroleSS]

We are booked on Avalon's Impression, Budapest to Amsterdam, sailing July 2. Staying positive:D

 

We are on Avalon's Artistry(Munich then to) Passau to Basel on July 8. Doin' my best rain dance! A lot can happen in 2 weeks....especially when there is rain in the 10 day forecast!!

[KathyK13]

What is happening with other river cruise lines on the Danube? Just wondering why only Viking customers are posting comments. Are other cruise lines with smaller ships and lower draft able to make it through the low water conditions? It seems strange that others haven't commented...

[wwinfl91]

There is another thread which mentioned that many of the other cruise lines have older lower draft ships which haven't been significantly affected yet. But if the area doesn't get rain soon you may be seeing other threads from other river cruise line passengers.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[gentlemancruiser]

What is happening with other river cruise lines on the Danube? Just wondering why only Viking customers are posting comments. Are other cruise lines with smaller ships and lower draft able to make it through the low water conditions? It seems strange that others haven't commented...

 

At the moment only Viking has been impacted by the lower water levels. The issue stems from their newer 'long boats' which require a deeper draught.

[Avalon Waterways]

As many of you have noted here, due to the lack of rain in Europe, water levels between Regensburg and Passau are relatively low right now. So far, these water levels haven't caused a great deal of disruption for our travelers, but we have put contingency plans in place this week to allow for continued sightseeing if/when ships need to dock in Passau (or other ports), due to the low rivers.

 

Because the nature of rivers is to ebb and flow, much can change daily (even hourly). Should water levels change drastically (for the worse), we will provide additional posts on our Facebook page, and as needed, we will get in contact with agents and future travelers directly.

 

In the meantime, our fingers are crossed for more rain. Thanks for your understanding.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Avalon Waterways

[sippican]

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.

 

Not sure what youir regular trip insurance is but there are policies that would cover you regardles of why you choose not to travel. There are lots of conditions that go along with purchasing that type of coverage and they usually do not provide full reimbursement.

We find this site helpful when purchasing:

http://www.insuremytrip.com/learn/coverages/trip-cancellation-vs-cancel-for-any-reason.html

My comment regarding not purchasing from the cruise line was aimed at the conditions attached to that coverage - must travel with them within a specified period of time. So Viking has nothing to lose, no money out of their pocket.

 

We will not cancel either, even though we could. Have fun, we'll be drinking lots of beer too, whether it turns into a bus tour or not! :D

[CaroleSS]

Thank you Avalon for posting! Again, you have shown that you are a class act!

 

We look forward to "coming aboard" in 2 weeks!

[beverlyjack]

Unfortunately, according to marinetraffic.com, the Viking Kvasir seems to among the missing. The last position received by the AIS (Automatic Identification System) from the Kvasir was received on on 6/23 at 06:44, East of Schweinfurt on the Main and heading away from Amsterdam. Is it possible that they turned the transponder off? Do they have passengers aboard that the have to deliver someplace, before scrambling back to Amsterdam?

[Worldcrzr]

Unfortunately, according to marinetraffic.com, the Viking Kvasir seems to among the missing. The last position received by the AIS (Automatic Identification System) from the Kvasir was received on on 6/23 at 06:44, East of Schweinfurt on the Main and heading away from Amsterdam. Is it possible that they turned the transponder off? Do they have passengers aboard that the have to deliver someplace, before scrambling back to Amsterdam?

 

I'm not sure if they turned the transponder off or not. But, I did track the ship this morning at the same location you found. Their destination is Amsterdam. I'll keep checking to see if the ship turned around.

[Shmoo here]

In 2012 we made it without any busing

The river was a bit high but we got under the bridges

 

You just never know

 

I know, you can't guess the weather. You can only hope. I was just curious whether this sort of thing is really more typical than not.

 

Next year all the river cruises will be cancelled because the weather is too moderate... ;););)

 

Ha, ha. :D

[peterdkiwi]

Agree with CaroleSS

Avalon shows that they are a step above others in being very pro active when every there are any issues. We are counting down the days for our cruise with them in 4 weeks. We know that,what ever happen we will be looked after well and the $$$ will be there if the worst happens. I am sure it won't, but it is good not to have to worry about it.

[beverlyjack]

It looks like ships have started moving, all over the Danube.

[Shebely]

Thank you again Avalon for your update about the Danube. We are hoping that conditions change for the better for the Danube cruisers.

We are currently on the Avalon Visionary sailing toward Mainz, Germany on the Rhine. We are right on schedule, enjoying our journey and headed toward Basel.

Note: Wifi availability has been good even when sailing.

[ingo_e]

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!!

 

Uhm, interesting phenomenon.. I use it constantly, so I guess something might have to do with data update. Plus there was a major update inbetween. Best solution would be to delete the app, reload it from the store..

 

Keep me informed at ingo@rivercruiseinfo.com if anything does not work, so I can help you faster :)

[Worldcrzr]

Unfortunately, according to marinetraffic.com, the Viking Kvasir seems to among the missing. The last position received by the AIS (Automatic Identification System) from the Kvasir was received on on 6/23 at 06:44, East of Schweinfurt on the Main and heading away from Amsterdam. Is it possible that they turned the transponder off? Do they have passengers aboard that the have to deliver someplace, before scrambling back to Amsterdam?

 

Our Viking Kvasar has turned around and heading toward Amsterdam. Last track shows her location near Bamburg, Germany. The Viking Idi is still in Passar. I'm wondering why she is sitting in Passau.

[notamermaid]

Hello,

 

Our Viking Kvasar has turned around and heading toward Amsterdam. Last track shows her location near Bamburg, Germany. The Viking Idi is still in Passar. I'm wondering why she is sitting in Passau.

 

update on the Viking website! More swaps, including the Viking Idi:

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/about-my-cruise/current-sailings.html

 

notamermaid

[Worldcrzr]

Hello,

 

 

 

update on the Viking website! More swaps, including the Viking Idi:

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/about-my-cruise/current-sailings.html

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks for the update. I wonder what will happen when the two ships can't continue between Regensburg and Passau or Passau and Regensburg. Trade passengers?

[CPT Trips]

Trading pax would make sense . . .

[marazul]

Trading pax would make sense . . .

 

If you check previous posts, you'll see they have been doing that.

[wwinfl91]

I assume the swaps are necessary because there are areas of rivers being sailed on are too low for the ships to go. From what I can tell from other posts on this thread you travel part of the cruise on one ship and then are transferred by bus to another ship. One poster mentioned being driven by bus from Vienna to Regensberg about 285 miles and then doing bus tours to a couple of the towns they would have visited by ship if the river was deep enough. Unfortunately Viking doesn't seem to be explaining this to their customers before it happens to them.

 

IMHO Viking should have done more research on their longship design before they committed millions to build a whole fleet of them. Now they are stuck with this mess. Today I got another marketing email from Viking wanting me to sail on this route later this year and there was no mention of the bus trips that are having to be done to complete the route.

 

 

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[beverlyjack]

I am no fan of Viking, but I'm very sure that the majority of the departures do not involve bus trips. I agree that as a former marine engineer that the design of these ships are a disaster and that Viking's reputation and losses could be disastrous to their profits and future. The debt service on these loans must be horrendous. They will probably have to eat even more losses to satisfy irate customers. With climate change, extreme river conditions may will probably get worse rather than better.

[CPT Trips]

If you check previous posts, you'll see they have been doing that.

 

Must have missed those posts. I see that they are using ships other than the ones initially scheduled. Which ships were involved with pax swaps between Regensberg and Passau?

[nana541]

Must have missed those posts. I see that they are using ships other than the ones initially scheduled. Which ships were involved with pax swaps between Regensberg and Passau?

 

 

Passenger swaps are the way the Rivercruise lines do it... Two ships travel toward each other (ex Amersterdam to Budapest, &

Budapest to Amsterdam) when each of these boat reach as far as the can go... Due to low water or high wayfarer, they swap passengers and continue on the route in the new boat. Many times these are sister ships (identical) doing the same itinerary only in reverse.

 

This is a normal practice on the rivers when low or high waters cause ships to be unable due to water levels to proceed past a certain point.

 

Has been reported numerous times on this board and also happened a lot last summer.

 

Hope this helps to explain the practice.

 

 

 

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