Problems on the Elbe?

Fellow cruisers: I just received an email from a friend who is sailing in France on Viking. She said that she met a couple who switched from cruising the Elbe because water levels were so low that they were advised that they would be bused from place to place. We are expecting to cruise the Elbe in less than two weeks and certainly didn't sign on to take a bus trip. Does anyone have any information about low water levels preventing river boats from cruising?

Thanks, so much!

According to the Viking website they are predicting potential problems with Elbe departures over the next 7 days.

Doesn't mean that cruises after that are OK, just that it is hard to predict much more than a week ahead...

Are you on Viking too? If another line, which?

Yes, we are on Viking for th Berlin to Prague trip and I am going to keep my fingers crossed that the trip won't be problematic due to the river level. I'm wondering what one does when one day is supposed to be cruising--does that mean a whole day on a bus--oh no!!

My experience with a non-cruise Elbe cruise was with a different line. I am pretty sure they handed things much differently than Viking, so I can't really help you.

Fellow cruisers: I just received an email from a friend who is sailing in France on Viking. She said that she met a couple who switched from cruising the Elbe because water levels were so low that they were advised that they would be bused from place to place. We are expecting to cruise the Elbe in less than two weeks and certainly didn't sign on to take a bus trip. Does anyone have any information about low water levels preventing river boats from cruising?

 

Thanks, so much!

Did you buy Travel Insurance with Cancel for any reason?

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The Elbe seems too unreliable lately. We are looking to visit this area soon, but we'll probably do it as a land-based independent trip. Maybe fly into Prague, take the train to Dresden, then rent a car and drive through some of the countryside (we really want to see Saxon Switzerland) before ending in Berlin.

The Elbe seems too unreliable lately. We are looking to visit this area soon, but we'll probably do it as a land-based independent trip. Maybe fly into Prague, take the train to Dresden, then rent a car and drive through some of the countryside (we really want to see Saxon Switzerland) before ending in Berlin.

JP,

Prague and Dresden were "Wow" cities for us. Dresden was a complete surprise as the only thing I knew about it was that it was flattened during WWII. We had a fabulous day in Dresden and wish we wish we could have spent much longer. The rebuilding of the inner city cathedrals and palaces is an incredible story and sight. Enjoy!

Mary

Low Water Levels Affecting Elbe River Cruises

New Article on Cruise Critic:

Low Water Levels Affecting Elbe River Cruises

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7125

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=50467230

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In terms of "recent" or "up-to-date" information this article is a little old. Since it was posted the Elbe has risen quite a bit. Official readings show the river level to be decreasing again a little. How this translates into possible problems for river cruises one needs to see on a daily basis as it is quite hot but rain forecast for tomorrow and the day after will give some much needed water to the river. The question is how much will reach the section important for river cruising...

notamermaid

Friends on Grand Circle mid July were not able to sail on the Elbe due to drought.

Friends on Grand Circle mid July were not able to sail on the Elbe due to drought.

Chances are it's even worse now :(

The Elbe seems too unreliable lately. We are looking to visit this area soon, but we'll probably do it as a land-based independent trip. Maybe fly into Prague, take the train to Dresden, then rent a car and drive through some of the countryside (we really want to see Saxon Switzerland) before ending in Berlin.

You can take one of the local day trip boats in Dresden. They all sail. I also recommend an excursion to Festung Koenigstein in the Elbsandsteingebirge between Dresden and the Czech border. Awesome history and views. I've just come back from the area. We rented a car.

Friends on Grand Circle mid July were not able to sail on the Elbe due to drought.

Do You know any details? We're scheduled with GCT on the Elbe in September. Wondering how bad it Is?

I just returned from Grand Circle's River Allegro last Monday. We began in Prague at a hotel for 2 days on 7/6 and embarked the Allegro in Dresden on 7/8. We never sailed. After using the ship as a hotel for 3 days, we repacked, disembarked and went to a hotel in Wittenberg. Instead of leisurely river cruising and lovely lunches and dinners aboard the ship, we had a non-air-conditioned hotel, a 15 Euro stipend for lunch on our own, and two hotel buffets and a mediocre dinner on land. I hear the cruise after us was affected, too, and I can't imagine the next few following will be any better unless there's some dramatic change. I am not happy.

Well there's your answer! Exactly what happened last year.

I just returned from Grand Circle's River Allegro last Monday. We began in Prague at a hotel for 2 days on 7/6 and embarked the Allegro in Dresden on 7/8. We never sailed. After using the ship as a hotel for 3 days, we repacked, disembarked and went to a hotel in Wittenberg. Instead of leisurely river cruising and lovely lunches and dinners aboard the ship, we had a non-air-conditioned hotel, a 15 Euro stipend for lunch on our own, and two hotel buffets and a mediocre dinner on land. I hear the cruise after us was affected, too, and I can't imagine the next few following will be any better unless there's some dramatic change. I am not happy.

I share your pain. We experienced a non-cruise with GCT on the Elbe last fall.. Grounded boat in Wittenberg and a hotel in Dresden. In our case, the adverse conditions had existed for weeks; I suspect they had time to prepare and make better arrangements based on their experiences With hotels and restaurants.

Has GCT offered future cruise credit and/or money back? They did that for the deviations last year and if not offered to you, get on their case.

There was enough advance notice of the problems that about ten days, two weeks in advance we were offered the opportunity to cancel with a refund, switch to another cruise or take the deviated trip knowing we would be in a hotel and on a grounded ship and that we would get compensation. And, thanks to Cruise Critic, we were expecting a deviation, although we did not know exactly what to expect. Was there enough notice that you had similar choices, or was it just dropped on you?

For us, the element of choice and the refund/credit went a long way towards making us happy.

I share your pain. We experienced a non-cruise with GCT on the Elbe last fall.. Grounded boat in Wittenberg and a hotel in Dresden. In our case, the adverse conditions had existed for weeks; I suspect they had time to prepare and make better arrangements based on their experiences With hotels and restaurants.

 

Has GCT offered future cruise credit and/or money back? They did that for the deviations last year and if not offered to you, get on their case.

 

There was enough advance notice of the problems that about ten days, two weeks in advance we were offered the opportunity to cancel with a refund, switch to another cruise or take the deviated trip knowing we would be in a hotel and on a grounded ship and that we would get compensation. And, thanks to Cruise Critic, we were expecting a deviation, although we did not know exactly what to expect. Was there enough notice that you had similar choices, or was it just dropped on you?

 

For us, the element of choice and the refund/credit went a long way towards making us happy.

Thanks for sharing your experience, CPT Trips.

I think they probably knew for quite a while that the situation was critical and that the sailing wouldn't happen, but they didn't share that with us. Had they offered to let me cancel, I would have done it in a heartbeat, because my main purpose was a nice river cruise, not a bus trip around Eastern Germany.

The only thing they've offered is a 25% refund on the days affected by the non-sailing, which is around $350 for me. To me, that's not enough to compensate for the difference in time spent on the bus, the inferior food, the lack of promised entertainment, lower quality room comfort and everything else. We'll see if they have anything else to say about this. I'm guessing they'll do the least they can; after all, it's a business and allowing us to cancel or offering a generous reimbursement would hurt their bottom line.

You're right, that isn't enough. And it is less than the compensation they provided us. I don't recall the details, 25% of the per diem refunded for each day we didn't cruise rings a bell. But there was more, I know it was an future cruise credit of $50 per person for each day we were in a hotel instead of the ship. They also threw in two optionals.

We're I in your shoes, I would contact Harriet Lewis directly and let her know you aren't satisfied with their compensation and you want the same compensation as they gave last year in that same situation.

Hopefully you have an email list for those that traveled with you . . . use it. Also GCT has a travel forum on their website . . . use it.

ETA: Best wishes in getting satisfaction

CPT Trips:

You made a lot of good points. I just mailed off a letter to Harriet Lewis but the problem is that, while I'm not happy with the compensation, I'm mostly unhappy that I even went on this trip at all. I feel like they knew that this was a very likely possibility and that were disingenuous in not keeping us informed or giving us options. While a more generous compensation would show real remorse on their part, I'm not sure a future cruise credit would do me much good--I don't know if I'd ever want to deal with this particular agency/line again, for a variety of reasons. I was not even able to use my accumulated past-trip monetary credits on this trip, because they have a rule that the trip must be booked more than 60 days in advance to apply the cruise credit. Kind of a Catch-22, since I usually book last minute because I can be flexible and can get better fares that way. But I'll keep you informed of what the outcome is.

BTW, the cruise after us was doing the reverse itinerary, from Berlin to Prague, like you. Our Tour Director told us they got the boat to Wittenberg and it would stay grounded there, where the next group would use it as a hotel, then bused to Dresden because there are more hotel options in Dresden than Wittenberg. I suspect the tour before us might have done the same thing.

Does anyone know if Crosieurope's new Elbe Princesse has been able to navigate the river. It's a paddlewheeler built specifically for the Elbe and normally sails all the way from Prague to Berlin. Rather than Magdeburg to Melnik or something similar.

FuelScience

Post on GCT's site . . . travel forum and ask about others experiences. Maybe wait until you get a reply.

Never say never about credits. They have some good deals, money off and category upgrades, for 2017 cruises and I'll bet there will be 2016 cruises offered that won't be "last minute that you can use credits on.

For others considering the Elbe, it has proven to be risky the last couple years.

I just got a letter from GCT. The line "reached out" to me and "apologized" for the fact that the "trip was not what you signed up for." They noted that they offered "the addition of the steamboat ride from Bastei to Dresden and the optional tour" to the Allies museum.

Their offer: "To acknowledge the missed sailing time, we will issue a 25% pro-rated refund for five nights of the cruise-only cost of your tour."

So, to make up for--and this quote is mine--the "time spent on the bus, the inferior food, the lack of promised entertainment, lower-quality room comfort, do-it-yourself service, and everything else" for five days of my life, GCT is offering me the grand sum of $273.51. Not sure how they came up exactly with this figure, but I'm too disinterested to inquire.

That's a bummer.

5 nights only added up to $273? That's got to be a misunderstanding! Was it a 25% plus $273?

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