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Danube Passau 7/9/16


VegasPier
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We have just canceled a Danube River cruise for next July due to the turmoil in Europe these days. The low water in the Danube help sway us in this direction.

 

Now I have to deal with the canceled insurance. It was paid last July when we booked the cruise and our agent now says that insurance premium is not refundable. Is this normal? Any known options?

 

We have eleven sailings under our belt but have never canceled a cruise so I'm not up to speed on the canceled insurance issues.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

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Normally, the insurance premium itself is not refundable. However, any non-refundable deposits you have made should be covered by the insurance.

 

It looks like we will not get a refund of the insurance premium but will get a credit for a future policy premium.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

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It looks like we will not get a refund of the insurance premium but will get a credit for a future policy premium.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

 

Sounds like a good deal, and more generous than the terms of many policies.

 

Can I ask why you decided to cancel so early, given that so much can change both politically and in terms of weather? I'm just curious, given that I think many of us are watching the climate in Europe.

Edited by bubbulz
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Sounds like a good deal, and more generous than the terms of many policies.

 

Can I ask why you decided to cancel so early, given that so much can change both politically and in terms of weather? I'm just curious, given that I think many of us are watching the climate in Europe.

 

Hi bubbulz,

 

Please don't assume that I know anything that you don't know. I have expressed my concern of what is going on in Europe with my wife for the past few weeks and apparently it resonated with her. Out of the blue she said last night that she wanted to cancel the trip. I didn't stop her when she wanted to call the TA.

 

I have traveled the world in my life time work so it's no loss to me. I'd just as soon spend time exploring the areas of the good old USA. We may not have it much longer.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

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We have just canceled a Danube River cruise for next July due to the turmoil in Europe these days. The low water in the Danube help sway us in this direction.

 

Now I have to deal with the canceled insurance. It was paid last July when we booked the cruise and our agent now says that insurance premium is not refundable. Is this normal? Any known options?

 

We have eleven sailings under our belt but have never canceled a cruise so I'm not up to speed on the canceled insurance issues.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

Can you please tell me where there is turmoil in Europe, there is certainly no turmoil on the Danube or in Passau???

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Hi bubbulz,

 

Please don't assume that I know anything that you don't know. I have expressed my concern of what is going on in Europe with my wife for the past few weeks and apparently it resonated with her. Out of the blue she said last night that she wanted to cancel the trip. I didn't stop her when she wanted to call the TA.

 

I have traveled the world in my life time work so it's no loss to me. I'd just as soon spend time exploring the areas of the good old USA. We may not have it much longer.

 

Cheers, VegasPier

 

Thanks for the response. I really do understand, and have often felt the same. The world used to seem a much safer place, or maybe I was just younger and less aware all the years when I traveled solo to what are now considered dangerous places in obscure locations throughout places like Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, and Papua New Guinea. At some point, we all need to be comfortable with what we perceive as the potential ongoing risk. After all, travel is supposed to be fun, right? :)

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Don't slay the poster for cancelling....everybody has their own comfort level. We booked a Med cruise for next Sept. and my husband said don't choose one that goes to Turkey if you can as I don't want to go to that part of the world....he is just not comfortable going there. We had to cancel our Egyptian trip as we were supposed to be there when all that fighting started a couple of years ago in Cairo. I would love to go there but won't....that will have to wait until that area is more stable. There are lots of other places that are safer that I haven't seen so we will go to those and hope the others will become stable in the near future.

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Don't slay the poster for cancelling....everybody has their own comfort level. We booked a Med cruise for next Sept. and my husband said don't choose one that goes to Turkey if you can as I don't want to go to that part of the world....he is just not comfortable going there. We had to cancel our Egyptian trip as we were supposed to be there when all that fighting started a couple of years ago in Cairo. I would love to go there but won't....that will have to wait until that area is more stable. There are lots of other places that are safer that I haven't seen so we will go to those and hope the others will become stable in the near future.

 

I agree completely. I have traveled solo to many places in Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Indonesia, and Mexico since my husband preferred not to. Each individual has their own comfort level and there's no point in traveling to a place you don't want to. As I said in my earlier post, travel is supposed to be fun, right? :)

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There was no "turmoil" from Amsterdam to Budapest a couple of weeks ago when we cruised that route. There WAS a problem with low water in the Danube, which Scenic fixed with a short bus ride and an identical ship. But we saw no refugees or evidence of them. When we got home, the first thing everybody asked was "did you see any refugees"? Not questions about the castles and cathedrals, but about the refugees! But no, we saw none.

 

Nobody knows how the river level will be in ten months, but I am rather sure the refugee situation will be over. But the only place we saw them this month was on TV.

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The OP is of course free to do whatever they want and if they are not comfortable then cancellation was probably the right choice.

 

It would not however be helpful to others reading these posts to let a claim of 'turmoil in Europe' go unchallenged though as this just feeds an inaccurate message to other travelers.

 

I spend my life moving between Europe and the USA and there are places in both that I would not elect to travel to on vacation for safety reasons but that is hardly new and none of those places involve river cruise destinations in Europe...

 

So yes, if anyone is uncomfortable they should take the decision that is right for them, but hyperbole doesn't help anyone.

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I agree completely. I have traveled solo to many places in Papua New Guinea, Egypt, Indonesia, and Mexico since my husband preferred not to. Each individual has their own comfort level and there's no point in traveling to a place you don't want to. As I said in my earlier post, travel is supposed to be fun, right? :)

 

 

Absolutely.

 

We have recently altered our plans for a stay in Istanbul, partly at my wife's concern.

 

As you state, travel is supposed to be fun.

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Currently in Budapest! Have seen not a single sign in Germany, Austria or Hungary of hoards of refugees. In fact have not (to my knowledge) seen a single refugee in any port area, tourist area or anywhere.

 

This of course does not mean that tens of thousands are not making their way across Europe to safe haven in other countries. May God be with them and these people find peace soon!

 

JMHO

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Very true. When we were in Budapest on Sept 15, the only place we saw refugees was on TV! And from seeing them there, it did not look like they were doing anything wrong or harmful. They were just people lost in this world. I don't think there would have been any danger had we encountered them.

 

But on the subject of the low water in the Danube, I understand that the problem is worsening, resulting in a longer stretch of river that is not navigable. Nobody knows what that situation will be next spring, however.

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