Rhine Lock Repair

There was a message on the Roll Call that the Viking passengers had received a notice from their company that there were going to be repairs done on the lock between Basel and Strasbourg that might cause an adjustment in the length of time to travel between these two ports. Has anyone got any information about this that they might share?

Cole

Viking website says....RHINE RIVER

KEMBS LOCK MAINTENAINCE

Due to the scheduled repair work on the lock at Kembs on the Rhine, we anticipate that there may be some delays in sailing between Strasbourg, France, and Basel, Switzerland. Please be advised that prolonged delays may result in slight changes in your itinerary. This situation affects all 2016 sailings on the following itineraries:

Rhine Getaway

Rhineland Discovery

Rhine Rhapsody

Guests on affected departures will be contacted individually with further details.

Interesting that I haven't heard from Avalon Waterways about this.

Our Uniworld cruise in June was supposed to end in Basel. We are now disembarking in Breisach due to the lock maintenance. We'll still fly home from the Basel airport.

We are on Scenic in June embarking in Basel. Haven't heard anything but will have travel agent contact them.

Thanks to Cole for the heads up!

According to a company information sheet from the area the situation is as follows: Kembs has got two lock chambers. The East chamber will be closed during 2016 for repairs. The West chamber is minimally smaller but can nevertheless accommodate the same size of ships the East chamber can.

That means for river cruise ships: Due to the high amount of river traffic these days there could well be delays. Depending on your itinerary you might be affected by short closures of another lock due to maintenance this year which could explain the fact that you use a different port of embarkation. Or, if you are only affected by the Kembs closure, your operator has decided to move the ship to avoid a delay.

Viking might have notified you due to the fact that there might be a delay, nobody can say beforehand how much each river cruise might be affected.

I would not worry too much about it. It comes with the nature of travel on the rivers of Europe. After all, those locks ensure large ships can actually sail!

notamermaid

Thanks!!

Scheduled for Viking Rhine getaway in July from Amsterdam to Basel. Just saw the update about the potential delays. Customer service would not say much more than possible delays which might cancel any and all excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach....stuck on boat waiting in line for lock.....that seems totally unacceptable....ANYONE out there hear anything back from most recent cruises on this stretch of river.

Hey Viking! Tell us what you plan to do.

Scheduled for Viking Rhine getaway in July from Amsterdam to Basel. Just saw the update about the potential delays. Customer service would not say much more than possible delays which might cancel any and all excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach....stuck on boat waiting in line for lock.....that seems totally unacceptable....ANYONE out there hear anything back from most recent cruises on this stretch of river.

 

Hey Viking! Tell us what you plan to do.

Ditto - Avalon!

Cole

The lock repairs started about a month ago. As there have not been any river cruises (completed) yet, one must assume that the river cruise companies cannot say yet how long delays might be. They will need time.

I am sure the respective operator that you are going with will tell you more in the upcoming months.

I have not read any news reports about delays.

notamermaid

Scheduled for Viking Rhine getaway in July from Amsterdam to Basel. Just saw the update about the potential delays. Customer service would not say much more than possible delays which might cancel any and all excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach....stuck on boat waiting in line for lock.....that seems totally unacceptable....ANYONE out there hear anything back from most recent cruises on this stretch of river.

 

Hey Viking! Tell us what you plan to do.

Are you on the Rhine Getaway 2016 roll call group? There are people sailing earlier who promised to report back

How do I get on the Rhine getaway roll call?

How do I get on the Rhine getaway roll call?

Looks like you found your way there. There usually aren't enough people to do individual ones, so we just made one for the year. Wandb will add you to the list when she's around, but you're on the right page over there.

I received an mail from our travel agent who represents Avalon and other companies regarding my question about any delays, etc. and she said that if there were to be an impact, it would be on the larger river cruise ships - but at this time Avalon sees no problem. Thought I would share this with the group.

Cole

Dear cruizer56,

Thank you for reaching out.

While the exact impact of the Kembs lock closure is still unclear, as our email suggests, we do not anticipate a significant disruption to the scheduled itinerary. Should delays, if any, occur, we will still continue with all shore excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach.

Our first Rhine Getaway cruise departed from Amsterdam earlier this week, so we do not yet have any information to report.

Cruizer56, we appreciate the opportunity to respond and look forward to welcoming you aboard in July!

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

Scheduled for Viking Rhine getaway in July from Amsterdam to Basel. Just saw the update about the potential delays. Customer service would not say much more than possible delays which might cancel any and all excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach....stuck on boat waiting in line for lock.....that seems totally unacceptable....ANYONE out there hear anything back from most recent cruises on this stretch of river.

 

Hey Viking! Tell us what you plan to do.

I just called Viking and spoke with a supervisor regarding the email I received on the Rhine lock repairs. They won't say much other than there may be some Slight changes but will not say what they are doing.

They said i can't make changes because I am to close to my departure 5/1/16. I said I will not except that because I am sure they knew about the repairs earlier than they are saying. I have insurance and asked that they email me all my options on what I can do. He said they could offer a travel voucher good for one year. I will post what options they give me.

Has anyone just returned or know of someone who was on a recent cruse and what they may have encountered? Would love to hear about that.

What happened to Viking's "Money-Back Risk-Free Cancellation Waiver" for all 2016 European sailings?

We're not going until August and as long as it doesn't interfere with the Middle Rhine portion - I'm okay with whatever happens. We're doing 2 days in Lucerne with Viking so if there's a delay, it's really not an issue for us.

I can understand it being a problem if you have independent plans or an early departure. I would think if you're doing Viking Air they will make other arrangements for you - one would hope :)

What happened to Viking's "Money-Back Risk-Free Cancellation Waiver" for all 2016 European sailings?

That only applied to new bookings made in January according to http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48700275&postcount=31

I still have not read about major delays at Kembs. The closure is something one just lives with and is vital for future navigation on the Upper Rhine into Basel. Seriously, I would trust all river cruise companies to do a great job of informing you if there will be major delays.

It is far enough, by the way, from the castle section of the Middle Rhine, for cruise ships to make up for a delay of a few hours.

I do not think it is worth considering cancelling a cruise for that or a company offering compensation.

Relax, at least until you are actually notified of major delays.

notamermaid

If Marine Traffic is to be accurate, the Kara left Basel two days ago and is still on the wrong side of the Kembs Loch....http://www.cruisemapper.com/Viking-Kara-location?mmsi=269057477

Hmm, let's wait and see if anybody comments on facebook or get's back to us here on CC. I am a no-facebook-er, so I leave it to others to look up if they feel like it...

By the way, there is a river section up there where marinetraffic stops getting signals. I am not a member, I just use the free version, it might be different if you have got access to the complete website.

I did not mention in my previous posts that the lock is actually on the Rhine side canal, the real river is called the "Restrhein" or occasionally "Altrhein". Here are some photos: https://structurae.net/structures/kembs-locks

notamermaid

I still have not read about major delays at Kembs. The closure is something one just lives with and is vital for future navigation on the Upper Rhine into Basel. Seriously, I would trust all river cruise companies to do a great job of informing you if there will be major delays.

 

It is far enough, by the way, from the castle section of the Middle Rhine, for cruise ships to make up for a delay of a few hours.

 

I do not think it is worth considering cancelling a cruise for that or a company offering compensation.

 

Relax, at least until you are actually notified of major delays.

 

notamermaid

I don't know about anyone else, but I have no intentions of cancelling. This is going to be an adventure, and the lock situation is all part of the adventure! :)

I have no intentions to cancel either...but still curious as to the flow of travel. We are embarking in Basel on the 16th.

I have no intentions to cancel either...but still curious as to the flow of travel. We are embarking in Basel on the 16th.

We embark this Saturday (10th) woo hoo and are so excited. We are traveling with Avalon and any time there has been a blip of any kind when traveling with this company, they are great to make adjustments and accommodating their guests. Will report back when we return.

Cole

Hello Cole,

I am happy to confirm that the Imagery II has been christened. Everything went well and it stopped raining during the speeches, I have been told.

The Imagery II is currently docked in Rüdesheim.

Hope you have a great time.

notamermaid