Kudos to River Princess Captain and Crew - Rolling on the Rhine

[Roz]

I sailed on Uniworld's River Princess from Amsterdam to Basel November 5 - 13.  We were supposed to sail on the River Empress, but a week or two beforehand we were notified our ship was being changed due to the low water levels on the Rhine.  We were one of the few, if not the only, ship to make it down the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel without having to overnight in a hotel at some point.  The itinerary had to be changed along the way in order for the ship to go ahead of us, but the passengers were flexible and grateful that we were able to stay on the ship.  The Captain and Cruise Director communicated with us every day and explained the challenges we were facing and their plan for dealing with them.  There were a few places where it looked like there was 2 inches of water between the bottom of the ship and the river bottom.  The joke onboard was that the Captain was going to ask all able bodied passengers to get out and push. 

 

In addition, there was a fire onboard our 2nd night on the ship.  We assembled at our muster stations in the lounge, and in the meantime the crew sprung into action and extinguished the fire in the area where the garbage is kept.  Apparently a lit cigarette butt was to blame.

 

Once I get caught up at home and work, I hope to write a review.  

 

Roz

Edited November 18, 2018 by Roz

[bubbulz]

4 hours ago, Roz said:

I sailed on Uniworld's River Princess from Amsterdam to Basel November 5 - 13.  We were supposed to sail on the River Empress, but a week or two beforehand we were notified our ship was being changed due to the low water levels on the Rhine.  We were one of the few, if not the only, ship to make it down the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel without having to overnight in a hotel at some point.  The itinerary had to be changed along the way in order for the ship to go ahead of us, but the passengers were flexible and grateful that we were able to stay on the ship.  The Captain and Cruise Director communicated with us every day and explained the challenges we were facing and their plan for dealing with them.  There were a few places where it looked like there was 2 inches of water between the bottom of the ship and the river bottom.  The joke onboard was that the Captain was going to ask all able bodied passengers to get out and push. 

 

In addition, there was a fire onboard our 2nd night on the ship.  We assembled at our muster stations in the lounge, and in the meantime the crew sprung into action and extinguished the fire in the area where the garbage is kept.  Apparently a lit cigarette butt was to blame.

 

Once I get caught up at home and work, I hope to write a review.  

 

Roz

Thanks for the update, Roz! You were indeed fortunate, based on all the reports of deviations and cancellations or other Rhine cruises.

 

That had to be scary with the fire, but it sounds like both the crew and the guests handled it by the book. I've always wished they would ban smoking completely on the ships.

[Jake40]

Thanks for the update - you were lucky to make it all the way through - we just finished the Rhine cruise with Viking the first wee of November and weren't so lucky - we had a ship swap to around Cologne due to the water levels in the middle Rhine. We docked next to the River Princess in Amsterdam - it looked like a beautiful ship.  Glad you had a good time - the fire must have been scary.