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Crystal Low-Water-Level Schedule Changes/Cancellations


bizinsider
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Crystal is getting ahead of the curve. We received this today. (Thanks, Crystal!) We figure it will be a bus to those two ports, with an overnight in Budapest. Not ideal, but a great option.

 

<<Dear xxxxx,

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Crystal Mozart’s "Treasures of the Danube" river cruise departing on September 10, 2018.

 

Due to unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe, and a record heat wave, the Danube River, specifically the stretch of river between Bratislava and Budapest, is experiencing extremely low water levels.

 

Even though water levels may improve with just one hearty rainfall, at this time we are erring on the side of caution to prepare our guests for a possible change of itinerary on this upcoming cruise. We have well thought-out contingency plans prepared to ensure you enjoy a fabulous vacation with us.

 

The safety and comfort of our guests are of the utmost importance to Crystal, and current forecasts for water levels along the route are being monitored continuously. Any necessary updates to the itinerary will be provided as they are confirmed.

 

While this act of nature is beyond our control, all of us at Crystal apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are all committed to providing our guests with a memorable vacation experience.

 

 

Sincerely,

Crystal

Guest Services>>

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Any reports from the Debussey? We are scheduled to travel on her Sept 16, fingers crossed.

We have been in Lucerne for 3 days. Had a wonderful time and great weather until rain this evening. Flying from Zurich to Frankfurt tomorrow to start our revised Debussy cruise. Crystal paid for the flight. Boarding the ship in Lahnstein. Will try keep you posted on how it goes

Fran

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We have been in Lucerne for 3 days. Had a wonderful time and great weather until rain this evening. Flying from Zurich to Frankfurt tomorrow to start our revised Debussy cruise. Crystal paid for the flight. Boarding the ship in Lahnstein. Will try keep you posted on how it goes

Fran

Was your cruise supposed to begin in Basel? If so is the cruise rerouted due to low water levels in Basel? TIA.

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I am new to Cruise Critic postings so not sure exactly how to respond to threads, hoping I got this right....We are scheduled to join Crystal Debussy on the next leg and have not been told WHERE we are going...only that according to an email yesterday our itinerary may change and received this same sentence - "Due to unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe, the Rhine River, specifically in the area upstream of Koblenz, Germany, is experiencing extremely low water levels. . Seeing this post is so distressing as it appears they know that our cruise will end in Koplenz which is our third stop of eight on our ten day cruise....which obviously in a week will not change. This is unacceptable that they have given us NO more information than this.

 

 

 

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

Crystal’s River Operations team continues to monitor the unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe and we are implementing contingency plans across the fleet to deliver the best experience for our guests.

As we make these changes, we are communicating to guests and their travel agents as quickly as possible. I apologize if we have fallen short of your expectations.

For Crystal Ravel’s Majestic Europe voyage (noted in this thread) we offered the following options:

For guests who wished to sail the amended itinerary:

They received a refund of the difference in cruise fare between what they paid and the cost of the amended cruise;

For those with independent flight arrangements, they received up to $1,000 per guest reimbursement for the cost of amending their return flights from Basel/Zurichto Munich International or toward the purchase of a separate ticket from Munichto Basel/Zurich;

For those with flights arranged by Crystal, we worked on alternate flight options at no additional cost;

They received a Future Cruise Credit of $1,000 per guest, valid toward any Crystal Experience (Ocean, River or Yacht Expedition) embarking on or before December 31, 2020.

For guests who did not wish to travel on the amended itinerary they could either:

Switch their booking to any 2018 or 2019 Crystal River cruise (same suite category) and receive up to $1,000 per guest reimbursement toward the cost of amending their independent airline arrangements to match their new cruise itinerary and their original fare was protected; conversely, if the cruise fare was lower, we will refund the difference;

Cancel their reservation and receive a 100% refund of all items charged by Crystal.

While it is never our intention to change our itineraries, the safety of our guests and crew continues to be of the utmost importance. We thank all of you for your patience and understanding during these unfortunate weather conditions.

Sincerely,

 

Walter Littlejohn

Vice President & ManagingDirector

Crystal River Cruises

 

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Nice one!!! As a Californian I can say with certainty we will tell you after the next big one hits![emoji33]

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

bizinsider, have you decided what to do, cruise or cancel?

 

Fyi, (love it when someone still has a sense of humour even under such trying circumstances), it raining alone the Danube (rain expected for the next 5 days) and the Vienna - Budapest should improve in a couple of days.

 

Have a great cruise.

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We have been in Lucerne for 3 days. Had a wonderful time and great weather until rain this evening. Flying from Zurich to Frankfurt tomorrow to start our revised Debussy cruise. Crystal paid for the flight. Boarding the ship in Lahnstein. Will try keep you posted on how it goes

Fran

 

Thank you, Fran, for posting...we are on the Debussy out of Amsterdam on Sept. 6th and no one from Crystal has let us know what, if any, changes in our itinerary there will be except for an email saying - at this time we are erring on the side of caution to prepare our guests for a possible change of itinerary on this upcoming cruise -

Would so appreciate it if you could keep us posted on the changes in your itinerary and how it happened that Crystal paid for your flight.

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bizinsider, have you decided what to do, cruise or cancel?

 

Fyi, (love it when someone still has a sense of humour even under such trying circumstances), it raining alone the Danube (rain expected for the next 5 days) and the Vienna - Budapest should improve in a couple of days.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

 

This is such great news - thanks for the update. May it keep raining and raising the river levels.

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bizinsider, have you decided what to do, cruise or cancel?

 

Fyi, (love it when someone still has a sense of humour even under such trying circumstances), it raining alone the Danube (rain expected for the next 5 days) and the Vienna - Budapest should improve in a couple of days.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Thanks, GMT. Life's too short NOT to have a sense of humor! We were not given the option to cancel; it seems the only issue will be bus vs boat to Budapest and Bratislava. Our bags aren't yet packed but by the end of this weekend they will be. We fly out Monday from LAX to Prague, which we are doing on our own. Then on the train down to Vienna for a few days. Then, hopefully on the Danube for 10!

 

Herb

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Thanks, GMT. Life's too short NOT to have a sense of humor! We were not given the option to cancel; it seems the only issue will be bus vs boat to Budapest and Bratislava. Our bags aren't yet packed but by the end of this weekend they will be. We fly out Monday from LAX to Prague, which we are doing on our own. Then on the train down to Vienna for a few days. Then, hopefully on the Danube for 10!

 

Herb

Enjoy yourself.

 

Let us know how you get on.

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Two posts from early this a.m. on another board. Looks like things may be improving.

"We have had 12 hours of continuous heavy rain in and around Passau and along the Danube and more forecast for the next two days at least.

Yesterday, at the beer festival we were at, it rained so hard that water started to flow under under the beer tent, people were amazed when their sandaled feet became waterlogged. Walking home with squelching sandles was fun after some really good beers.

This morning the ex-lawn (now only grass and weeds) looked more green that brown."

=================

 

"Sailing along on the S.S. Beatrice up the Danube. We passed the Iron Gate this afternoon. Captain expecting no problems as we head to Budapest. We haven’t seen any rain yet, but welcome all that Germany can put into the river.

Up from Bucharest, on Wednesday, we had as little as 25 cm clearance between our hull and the river bed!"

River levels are rising. I have a feeling that the end is nigh.

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Could anyone who is on the September 10th Mozart sailing from Vienna please share what the status of the cruise is.is it sailing the normal itinerary or are parts of it being done by bus? We sail Sep 20 and as yet have not heard fro Crystal about conditions so wondering what is happening on the cruise before us. Any I formation we.d be greatly

appreciated.

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Could anyone who is on the September 10th Mozart sailing from Vienna please share what the status of the cruise is.is it sailing the normal itinerary or are parts of it being done by bus? We sail Sep 20 and as yet have not heard fro Crystal about conditions so wondering what is happening on the cruise before us. Any I formation we.d be greatly

appreciated.

We are on the Mahler two weeks later and are feeling discouraged about this trip. Any info you receive would be appreciated. We don’t want to fly into Amsterdam and discover the itinerary has been changed into one we’re not interested in

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Very interesting in learning about what is actually happening to the itinerary for the Sept 10th Treasures of the Danube cruise. What will be the itinerary and what has Crystal communicated to clients. We are on the Sept 20th cruise and we have heard NOTHING from Crystal - they need to learn to do better!

 

Crystal is getting ahead of the curve. We received this today. (Thanks, Crystal!) We figure it will be a bus to those two ports, with an overnight in Budapest. Not ideal, but a great option.

 

<<Dear xxxxx,

We look forward to welcoming you aboard Crystal Mozart’s "Treasures of the Danube" river cruise departing on September 10, 2018.

 

Due to unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe, and a record heat wave, the Danube River, specifically the stretch of river between Bratislava and Budapest, is experiencing extremely low water levels.

 

Even though water levels may improve with just one hearty rainfall, at this time we are erring on the side of caution to prepare our guests for a possible change of itinerary on this upcoming cruise. We have well thought-out contingency plans prepared to ensure you enjoy a fabulous vacation with us.

 

The safety and comfort of our guests are of the utmost importance to Crystal, and current forecasts for water levels along the route are being monitored continuously. Any necessary updates to the itinerary will be provided as they are confirmed.

 

While this act of nature is beyond our control, all of us at Crystal apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are all committed to providing our guests with a memorable vacation experience.

 

 

Sincerely,

Crystal

Guest Services>>

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