Viking Riverboat Hits Bridge, Two Crewmembers Killed

[Balloon Man]

Let's end this sad thread. And please don't respond "I agree".

[G.M.T.]

Let's end this sad thread. And please don't respond "I agree".

Sad yes, but I do not agree to end this thread.

 

This is a serious incident and the more information that is shared the more it will help people to make up their minds wheather to participate in a highly popular holiday area.

 

It is the likes of this forum and this thread that will and has brought out much information.

[philw1776]

It is easy to Unsubscribe from a thread you're no longer interested in

I have found this useful

[notamermaid]

Hello philw1776,

 

Awful news. Condolences to family & friends of the deceased.

 

I sailed on the Freya back in 2014.

 

During the first few hours in a clear empty river, the ship drifted to port and actually struck the riverbank, albeit lightly. A ***? moment.

 

Later I went topside and noticed that the Freya's wheelhouse was a plywood shack. The cruise director told us that what had happened was that the wheelhouse had failed to lower when approaching a bridge and got sheared off.

 

I know ships have momentum and are hard to stop, but the V ships do have very powerful electric thrusters that seem to the layperson engineer able to do some remarkable changes in momentum.

 

I hope that the accident investigation results in new effective safety measures such that the awful events of this Sunday morning are far, far less likely to occur again.

 

I think I have found a photo of what you describe on a German forum. See the photos on post #24. The poster is wondering what happened to the wheelhouse: http://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?41862-Viking-Freya-KFGS-07001954/page3

 

It does look odd. In a later post you can read that the Freya was "auf Landurlaub", i.e. in a dry dock in August 2015! It was the ÖSWAG in Linz, Austria and that is the shipyard where the Viking Freya is now for repairs.

 

I read in an interesting post by a skipper sailing along Europe's rivers that such ships need 100 metres to stop, I think. Must have a look at that again.

 

So the Freya got her wheelhouse damaged in 2014 because it did not lower in time, was being repaired in Summer 2015 (when one expects a ship to be busy sailing) for a reason unknown to me and the wheelhouse was damaged with tragic consequences in 2016. That is not a good record.

 

notamermaid

[chengkp75]

Hello philw1776,

 

 

 

I think I have found a photo of what you describe on a German forum. See the photos on post #24. The poster is wondering what happened to the wheelhouse: http://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?41862-Viking-Freya-KFGS-07001954/page3

 

It does look odd. In a later post you can read that the Freya was "auf Landurlaub", i.e. in a dry dock in August 2015! It was the ÖSWAG in Linz, Austria and that is the shipyard where the Viking Freya is now for repairs.

 

I read in an interesting post by a skipper sailing along Europe's rivers that such ships need 100 metres to stop, I think. Must have a look at that again.

 

So the Freya got her wheelhouse damaged in 2014 because it did not lower in time, was being repaired in Summer 2015 (when one expects a ship to be busy sailing) for a reason unknown to me and the wheelhouse was damaged with tragic consequences in 2016. That is not a good record.

 

notamermaid

 

The figure of 100 meters sounds about right to me, given the vessel's size and the total propulsion of only 1.2Mw. That, of course, depends on how fast the vessel is going when trying to stop.

 

While repeated damage to the one ship's wheelhouse is interesting, the fact that few of the other ships in the fleet have had this problem leads me more towards operator error than any design or maintenance problem.

[burrma]

I agree; unsubscribe if you don't want to continue reading this thread!

Sincere thanks for many of your postings who have more knowledge than I .

I was leaning towards human error as well; until I read about past history of Freya wheelhouse.

Thoughts and prayers with the families of the deceased and Viking crew and staff.

 

Is there a thread that is better to subscribe to , re. compensation passengers have or will receive?

Edited September 22, 2016 by burrma
Added comments

[philw1776]

Hello philw1776,

 

 

 

I think I have found a photo of what you describe on a German forum. See the photos on post #24. The poster is wondering what happened to the wheelhouse: http://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?41862-Viking-Freya-KFGS-07001954/page3

 

It does look odd. In a later post you can read that the Freya was "auf Landurlaub", i.e. in a dry dock in August 2015! It was the ÖSWAG in Linz, Austria and that is the shipyard where the Viking Freya is now for repairs.

 

I read in an interesting post by a skipper sailing along Europe's rivers that such ships need 100 metres to stop, I think. Must have a look at that again.

 

So the Freya got her wheelhouse damaged in 2014 because it did not lower in time, was being repaired in Summer 2015 (when one expects a ship to be busy sailing) for a reason unknown to me and the wheelhouse was damaged with tragic consequences in 2016. That is not a good record.

 

notamermaid

 

Danke! Das ist sehr interessant!

 

Practicing my restaurant German for my cruise.

That contraption is what I saw. Nice detective work. And no, it is not a good record. When I saw the plywood wheelhouse September 2014 I thought, "Some Captain must have lost his job." The possibility of a low probability incurrance design flaw in the retraction mechanism remains. IF it happened twice with the same ship and not with others in the fleet, it does make an undetected mechanical problem a possibility.

 

Let's say it takes 100m to stop (river current would be a big factor in any #). One would hope that procedure calls for lowering the wheelhouse say >200m from any problematic bridge.

Edited September 22, 2016 by philw1776

[CPT Trips]

Did you mean

[Cairn Mom]

Sad yes, but I do not agree to end this thread.

 

This is a serious incident and the more information that is shared the more it will help people to make up their minds wheather to participate in a highly popular holiday area.

 

It is the likes of this forum and this thread that will and has brought out much information.

 

 

I agree with you. Viking monitors these threads. They will think we're not interested anymore. They need to understand that we care about what happened and we do not want it to happen again. If there is a fault or flaw in the design of the ship,or they are not resting their crews properly- I want to know,and they need to address the problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[suzyluvs2cruise]

I agree with you. Viking monitors these threads. They will think we're not interested anymore. They need to understand that we care about what happened and we do not want it to happen again. If there is a fault or flaw in the design of the ship,or they are not resting their crews properly- I want to know,and they need to address the problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Well said....

[RDVIK2016]

notamermaid, Did you notice in post #23 of your link http://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?41862-Viking-Freya-KFGS-07001954/page3 that FREYA is tied up 6 days prior to the photos in post #24 (30 Aug 2014 vs. 05 Sept 2014) at an industrial site at Haidhof bei Riedenburg along the Main-Danube Canal. It looks like the roof of the wheelhouse is just slightly proud of the deck and that there is a red canopy (work area?) just forward of he wheelhouse - unless my perspective is off. Why is the wheelhouse retracted while tied up at a dock at this spot unless it is stuck or undergoing some sort of unplanned maintenance/repair. The post says the passengers were taken off to go on a tour of the Altmühl river valley - that's not a normal tour. So six days later (post #24) Freya is proceeding south from Vienna with the wheelhouse only partially raised. That seems to kind of match the schedule for an eastbound Romantic Danube cruise. Nuremburg-Canal-Regensburg-Passau-Wachau/Melk- Vienna and on to Budapest.

[G.M.T.]

Danke! Das ist sehr interessant!

 

Practicing my restaurant German for my cruise.

That contraption is what I saw. Nice detective work. And no, it is not a good record. When I saw the plywood wheelhouse September 2014 I thought, "Some Captain must have lost his job." The possibility of a low probability incurrance design flaw in the retraction mechanism remains. IF it happened twice with the same ship and not with others in the fleet, it does make an undetected mechanical problem a possibility.

 

Let's say it takes 100m to stop (river current would be a big factor in any #). One would hope that procedure calls for lowering the wheelhouse say >200m from any problematic bridge.

 

Becareful, it's against CC rules to start a message in a foreign language.

[notamermaid]

Thank you for the reminder G.M.T.,

 

I remember now I once did that, but it was in context (just like philw1776's here) and I gave a translation in brackets.

 

RDVIK2016,

 

interesting that about the #23. I had not noticed! It certainly is some sort of canopy (looks a little like what beergardens put up around here in white colour) and it is not a normal stopping place. The Altmühltal is very pretty, but if the passengers indeed went there it is an unusal choice for a trip out. In the photo it looks to be the small industrial harbour on the Main-Danube-Canal at a place called Haidhof near Riedenburg just before (or after) the lock, as the poster has indicated. That is inbetween Nuremberg and Regensburg, not close enough to make it a worthwhile dock to stop at for either town.

 

notamermaid

[aleeoc]

Called Viking today 877-523-0579 at first it was 25% but now they will now give 50% refund and a 50% voucher toward a future cruise - but this does NOT mean half off a future cruise. This is apparently 50% of your paid cruise fare in the form of a credit that must be exercised within one year. The sailing can be 2018 but the booking has to be w/in 1 year. Actually what I wanted was a replacement cruise to make up for the one we did not have....but that "is not an option". So I looked for an ocean cruise, figuring no more gambling on a cruise vs. bus tour depending on water levels trip for me - guess what? Almost all sailings for 7-8 day trips in 2017 are booked out except for the 10-17K suites. And the voucher is not transferable and at the end of a year becomes worthless So I think they are calculating that most people will never be able to use the voucher and then it costs them nothing.

The final insult, when leaving the ship, we had 170.00 since our planned excursions never happened. Asked for refund or to use to tip the crew- nope, no go. The only option was to lose the money or spend it in the gift shop in the 10 minutes we had before leaving. Not wanting to waste the money, I got some Viking logo shirts and jackets. Wonder now if I should modify them to say "Viking" is a scam- ask me about my cruise! And wear them everywhere?

[Mark_T]

Called Viking today 877-523-0579 at first it was 25% but now they will now give 50% refund and a 50% voucher toward a future cruise - but this does NOT mean half off a future cruise. This is apparently 50% of your paid cruise fare in the form of a credit that must be exercised within one year.

 

... and if you take your 50% refund and the 50% voucher and apply it to a comparable river cruise, how much out of pocket would you be?

[burrma]

and what about the cost of your air that you paid for a terrible experience! Now you have to pay it again to go back so you can use your vouchers. Also think the $170. that you paid up front for excursions that never happened and had to spend in their tiny 2 shelf gift shop was a big rip off. Does this tell people: never to book excursions before hand? Not impressed with the way Viking is handling this and have been on 4 Viking cruises but maybe time to try another line.

[Mark_T]

Also think the $170. that you paid up front for excursions that never happened and had to spend in their tiny 2 shelf gift shop was a big rip off.

 

I think that may just have been an error in the last minute rush.

 

They are used to people asking for refunds of on-board credit, this does have to be spent and cannot be returned as cash or used for tips.

 

There is no good reason to refuse, and in fact a legal obligation, to return money paid in advance for excursions that were not delivered.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Mark_T

[Squigmond]

Just a cursory glance: Staterooms available on Viking Ocean today.

 

Feb 12, 2017..... Penthouse Jr Suite .... Secrets of the Mediterranean....$4,699

Feb 26, 2017..... DV 2....... Secrets of the Mediterranean......$3,199

April 7, 2018 .......DV5.......Italian Sojurn........$2,999

Feb 25, 2017......DV2......Mediterranean Getaway......$3,199

Oct 19, 2017.......DV4.......Venice, the Adriatic and Greece......$3,099

 

Do not know how much your vouchers are but they should cover most if not all of these cruises.

[Pyroforyou]

What does your trip insurance say about this?

[Got2Cruise]

Did you charge the excursions with a credit card? You can contact the bank and file a dispute.

[pully8]

the people who elected to leave after the incident and not stay for the bus trip, what were they offered if anything?

 

not sure travel insurance would cover expenses for such an event, but would check that prior to purchase.

 

it sounds as if any disruption that means a traveller needs to pursue other options, flights/accommodation/meals are self funded until claims are settled.

 

which means we would need to travel with that in mind. access to cash/credit. thankfully in this case except for the 2 fatalities everyone escaped with their lives and bodies intact. finances perhaps not so lucky.

[notamermaid]

aleeoc,

 

Thank you for reporting back. I understand your disappointment. You may want to read the Terms & Conditions again (if you have not done already) as available on the website: http://www.vikingcruises.com/terms-conditions/index.html

 

I had a look at the Terms & Conditions on the UK website assuming that the wording would differ a bit and was surprised to find the page being very different: http://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/terms-conditions/index.html

 

I know this does not help you in your situation, but I have mentioned before on CC that I have my doubts about customer relations of Viking in North America. The onboard credit issue is a good example of this.

 

I hope together with the others in your social media group you can sort this out to your satisfaction.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Just a little info. On the German "ship enthusiasts" forum, they are experienced skippers and laymen, with ship spotters from all over Germany, there is now a photo of the Freya in Linz. One cannot see much but here she is tide up next to the Viking Legend in post #32: http://www.binnenschifferforum.de/showthread.php?41862-Viking-Freya-KFGS-07001954&p=311525&highlight=Viking+FReya#post311525

 

No new info in the texts on the page.

 

Does anybody else prefer the old design, apart from me?

 

notamermaid

[Canal archive]

I agree Notamermaid the newer bow I always think looks a little threatening approaching on the rivers. The tarps at the sides of the bow may indicate a problem with the bow thrusters it does seem strange to leave them there. CA

[notamermaid]

Here is a news report from the US about a family who were on the Viking Freya:

 

http://hometownargus.com/2016/09/27/doering-family-on-board-german-cruise-ship-as-accident-kills-two/

 

notamermaid