Memsahib27

I would be very wary of using Haimark Line - they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Colorado on 30th October, the day our cruise was supposed to arrive in Portland - instead they blamed the weather for missing four scheduled ports on our itinerary (Montreal-Portland) and again blamed weather for delaying the trip from Halifax to Portland which meant 90% of passengers opted for a 12 hour coach trip so they could meet the next part of their booked and paid-for plans. They must have known about their financial problems well before they sailed from Montreal - a company doesn't decide it is having a problem and file for Chapter 11 in a couple of days. They must have been preparing the request before we even sailed on 21st October. By blaming bad weather, they didn't have to refund us but it also means we can get very little from our insurance companies. There was remnants of Hurricane Patricia and we did have one bad day at sea when we were supposed to be in port, but otherwise the weather was as one would expect at that time of year. The standard of food and service also deteriorated as the cruise continued - obviously trying to reduce costs. Haimark Ltd,the owners of which are partners in and the major creditor of Haimark Line, has had a good reputation in Asia but obviously couldn't translate the river cruise experience to an ocean going small ship. A pity, the cruise promised much and the ports of call that we did make were fun and very interesting. The St Laurent was beautifully refurbished and the concept excellent - and possibly would have been a success if they hadn't crashed into a lock on the St Lawrence Seaway in July and had problems with their insurance company to pay for the damages and cancelled cruises. Perhaps they should have had more money in the kitty for emergencies? They may sort out the insurance and reorganise their business but I think it will be a long time before their brand recovers. There is a long discussion on TripAdvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k8868107-o40-Saint_Laurent_Haimark_Line_Montreal_to_Portland_Maine-Cruises.html#70510602

You will see many suggestions, complaints and news about possible bankruptcy!

My personal report will be here soon.

Having been one of the passengers on the Montreal to Portland cruise ( have also posted on TA) I can confirm that extremely bad weather was predicted and passengers were given the option of staying with the ship, which may be 48 hours or longer late into Portland and very rough sailing conditions - or be coached to Portland. As we had forward plans we, along with 90% of passengers aborted the cruise in Halifax. Some flew home from there - most took the coaches provided by Haimark Line. ( ALL other expenses to be covered by passengers with advice to contact our insurers!) Only 10 stayed with the ship. 12 hours later we arrived in Portland to be told that the onward cruise from Portland had BEEN CANCELLED. This was confirmed by Haimark Travel HO who explained that they had not responded to our emails because they had been busy contacting everyone booked from Portland onwards to inform them of the cancellation. I feel for all the people let down by Haimark Line. We travelled from Australia for this dream cruise which obviously should never have been scheduled so late in the season. Bad weather meant the itinerary was changed several times and although we were given alternative ports disappointed that the only compensation offered is a $500 cruise voucher that expires Dec 2016. Will we trust this company again? Probably not. River cruises affected by weather, flooding or insufficient water can also cause problems but as far as I have heard, all expenses in hotels, on buses etc are met by the company. There are many comments on TA. I will also give a full report on conditions on the ship when we were sailing when more time available - both here and TA.

Hello all - we will board the St Laurent tomorrow in Montreal - disembarking in Portland on 30th. I am sure I noted somewhere that there is a small area where smoking is permitted. (We don't smoke so were glad that it is mostly smoke free!) I will confirm that as and when internet connection allows. Will also post other info and happy to answer any questions after the cruise. Cheers Viv :)

Wonderful to get so many unbiased points of view - we are so looking forward to seeing Autumn colour and history so different from that in Australia - we hope we will not get wet moving from our cabin to the rest of the ship. Still hoping someone else booked to do the Montreal to Portland cruise will join in the conversation so we at least know someone when we climb aboard in October. Will report here how it all goes.

Happy Cruising

Viv

Thanks, Debbie - too late now about the promenade deck - will just have to make the most of it - we are used to river cruising with a balcony as I like to take photos as we pass interesting places and ship windows are notoriously dirty from water splashes, so that is why we wanted an exit from our cabin. I hadn't realised that there would not be a passageway exit as well - will have to check on that! Again we chose this ship because we prefer smaller ones so happy to accept a more limited menu - but what has been described so far sounds great.

Viv

Thanks Emmy - I hadn't checked Debbie's blog and have now done so - sounds like good and bad - hopefully they will "deploy stabilizers" when we are in open sea - don't like the sound of the rolling ship. Hopefully by the time we climb aboard they have got their act together - so often new cruises take a while to do this. Would love to know if the two hours of Internet is per day or per trip. Seems very little if for the whole trip. I will keep reading - Viv

Ps great to see the slideshows as well even though we aren't on that route - have been to a few of the places before.

Hi Ladies,

Been following your chatter!! Lovely to see the photos of smiling passengers. Would love to know more about the ship. The meals and tours and also if you have had a chance to explore the ship. We have booked on the promenade deck that allows one to exit from the cabin and I would love to know if the deck space is a bit squeezy and if one's privacy is compromised with people walking past. Booked to go Montreal to Portland leaving 21st October!

Hello - I was concerned about our 21st October booking and received this from the Haimark Line passenger services manager when I queried it:

"The MS St. Laurent was involved in an accident in the Eisenhower locks a little over 2 weeks ago. She sustained damage to the front part of her hull and we expected her to be repaired in-time for our July 5th sailing. The repairs though, had taken a bit longer than expected and we had to cancel our July 5th sailing. Our next sailing is the July 14th sailing and repairs are expected to be complete for this cruise. We do not anticipate this accident affecting any further sailings, including the October 21st cruise that you are confirmed on.

Their email address is info@haimarktravel.com

best of luck!

Will let you know how we go - from what I have discovered the ship was most recently the MV Sea Voyager and used as an accommodation ship for a college or similar - and it was built in 2001 and was called Cape May Light (sister to Cape Cod Light) and it seems someone went broke either before it became Sea Voyager or soon after. http://www.cybercruises.com/camaficrcrmay01.htm

There is probably more info if you search for it!

Thanks, I guess I'll start packing, we fly to Montreal on July 4th. Keeping fingers crossed just in case.;)

I just spoke on the phone to the Haimark Travel booking office and the lady said that St Laurent will be ready for the 5th July sailing!:D

Just received this email:

Thank you for your email.

All passengers from the current sailing have returned home and the MS St. Laurent is on her way to the shipyard in Montreal for repair. Our June 26th sailing (a European charter) has been canceled so that she can get repaired. However, we do anticipate that the July 5th and all subsequent sailings will operate.

Sound positive so far!

Great to get all this news - keep it coming as we get nothing about it on our TV or Radio. :) It does sound as though by October, when we are planning to sail, all should be back to normal! Still not heard from Haimark Travel but will post here when we do.

Thanks so much for letting us know - we were just about to book and pay for special deal Airfares and if the cruise is off, we won't need to go! The value of these forums! If there is any more news would really appreciate updates as we are not likely to even have the accident reported in our Aussie news. Hopefully it is minor damage and can be fixed very soon - very sad after just being renovated and so many people booking the special deals they are offering! We haven't paid for the cruise yet so have emailed them - if I hear anything will post it here.

Really looking forward to hearing what onboard life is like - we are about to book to be sure of getting the Special offer and hope that your report here is a positive one! Have a great time! I will report here after our experience!

Haimark Line is offering '2 for the price of one' cruises in October 2015 and we are considering doing one and would love to know if there have been any teething problems since St Laurent was renamed and schedules launched. Also would love to know if anyone else has booked to go!

Day Five on the cruise from Amsterdam and thoroughly enjoying everything. The weather wasn't so good on the first part and the scenery not so good from Amsterdam to Koblenz but since then it has been really beautiful. So glad we did it with the best part last rather than ending in Amsterdam and having that boring stretch of river on the last few days. We did have 3 days in Amsterdam before the cruise and that was also very worth doing. The Mosel River is spectacular - the towns and villages so quaint, those we pass and those we have visited so far. The Artistry 2 and Avalon staff have been wonderful. The cabins are spacious with full size showers and having the panorama window that opens is fantastic. Food and excellent wines with dinner couldn't be better and tours and talks excellent. We are not quite half way but I did say I would try and report as we go along. The high banks covered in grapevines, many growing on terraces built in Roman times adds something so special. It would be beautiful to travel in their Autumn and see the colours. :)

In response to your questions - we booked through a local travel agent as that gives you protection ( actually I see that that changed two days ago and will come into effect in 2015 ... .........( http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/StatementDetails.aspx?listName=StatementsBarnett&StatId=82910 )

I am not sure if this is still the case - but when we did our last Avalon cruise we discovered that, as we Aussies are not good tippers, our fare includes gratuities - so much easier knowing what the total cost will be. Also the cruises booked from the USA usually include fares to and from the US - so not sure how it would work if you are leaving from Oz. We get 4 weeks annual holiday in Australia and most Aussies usually prefer to see more of Europe while there - US only usually get 2 weeks - so prefer a package that fits into that time. Of course there will be exceptions from US - retirees etc.

As we travel quite a bit within Australia and overseas we have a yearly travel insurance policy - we have found this is preferable as credit card insurance and many other online policies only go for about 37 days - as we often travel for longer, we have found an annual policy with a company that allows longer - especially as it also covers domestic travel. Email me at viv.m at outlook.com if you want more info.:)

We’re looking at doing the Rhine and Moselle with Avalon either 2015 May 28 (Ams to Basel) or September 20 (Basel to Ams). Any advice on preferred direction or month would really be appreciated. We are very flexible on dates.

 

I’ve read (in CC) that cruising through the Rhine Gorge is really beautiful. Does Avalon sail through the Rhine Gorge in the morning or afternoon? Does it make much difference if the Rhine Gorge cruising is in the morning or afternoon?

 

This is my first time posting but I’ve been reading CC reviews for a while. Also, we have done a few ocean cruises but first time looking at a river cruise.

 

Thanks

We are booked to go Amsterdam to Basel mid-June this year and will be happy to let you know how it goes. We have sailed with Avalon before and were very happy with our cruise - mind you we have also used other companies and they all seem very professional - we chose Avalon for this one because it had the 12 day cruise and we prefer not to drink wine at lunchtime and it is an optional extra with Avalon. Hate paying for it and so feeling we have to have it!!;) River cruising is wonderful!:D

We also live in WA!

We did the Russian River cruise last September and enjoyed it thoroughly. We went with Vantage, because they put you up in hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The traffic in both cities is horrendous! If you are on the ship the whole time, it cuts into your sightseeing time in both cities.

The 33 page trip story is on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions.

The main advantage of river cruising, as far as we are concerned, is not having to pack and unpack, and living in a hotel room in Moscow and St Petersburg would mean very few nights on the ship getting to know fellow cruisers. On our cruise,in Moscow tour guides on the coaches were very knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions and so the time spent in the coach getting to places was not "wasted". In St Petersburg Amawaterways arranged for us to use water transport as much as possible which minimised time on busy roads.

We have just started thinking about our first river cruise, and our hope is the St. Petersburg- Moscow itinerary. I've started studying the postings here, but have a couple of questions to help us get oriented.

 

I saw where AMA seems to have its own boat for Russia, but was under the impression that for this cruise Russia required its own boats - the refurbed East German ones - be used. True? And from some of the caveats in the promotional literature we've seen, what the various river cruise companies say about their European itineraries (in terms of amenities, accommodations, etc.) aren't necessarily true about the Russian Waterways trip.

 

For anyone with experience on this route, also wondering how Uniworld compares to AMA, or for that matter, any other line. Very much appreciate any thoughts.

We did the Moscow to St Petersburg in September 2012 on AmaKatarina and thoroughly enjoyed it even though we had been on several other river cruises and had been warned not to expect quite the same level of service and luxury because the ship and its staff are local. Most of the service staff were Russian university students who were given a few months leave to practise their English on river ships. They had very little training as far as table service goes,(filling wine glasses too full etc.) however as the days went by they relaxed and were lots of fun. And loved chatting. I believe the itineraries are all very similar but we found all our guides (except for one) were charming, knowledgeable and proud. We had a few days in Moscow before the cruise and very glad we did as the included tours there are a bit rushed because the traffic is so bad and the ship was moored a long way from the city. By staying right in the middle of Moscow in Arbat we were able to see much more at a leisurely pace and had no real trouble getting around on the wonderful, famous underground. On the whole, the levels of service was not as luxurious as on the other Europe river ships (we had been on Avalon and Uniworld and Amawaterways in Vietnam) but it didn't matter as the experience was so different - so interesting and beds were comfy, food was acceptable, wine was ok, tours well organised. It was September and supposed to be warm - but we were very cold much of the time - it was wet as well so I would suggest a scarf or two and light wind/rainproof jacket with a hood so you keep the wind off you and can take photos - impossible if holding an umbrella! Waterproof walking shoes also recommended as many villages have muddy "foot paths" so be prepared just in case you also get wet weather. BTW - The village near where the Amakatarina was moored outside Moscow was within walking distance across a park and we enjoyed a walk round the shops there - and picked up some great bargains. Enjoy!