River flooding

[Peacemkr59]

Well no, it wasn't me. No one called me back yesterday or today regarding my clients. However, I did call the number you left here and spoke to someone. Although she was very apologetic, she was unable to tell me just exactly how Avalon was going to compensate the group on this sailing. She said that the Cruise Manager on the ship will be giving each guest a letter explaining what, if any, the compensation will be. So I will wait until my clients get home to see what they are being offered and I really hope that Avalon does the right thing here and that my clients are satisfied with the offer, whatever it may be. But thank you for following up and giving me the number to Traveler's Services!

 

 

 

Peacemkr59 -

We wanted to follow-up with you. We have checked in with our guest services team and believe they have connected with you regarding your clients; we hope you feel confident in the resolution. If we have made an error and we have not yet connected, we hope you will call us immediately at 877.333.3920 to discuss your clients' situation. Best wishes, Avalon Waterways

[pbnjrockette]

We have friends on Vantage's Grand European River Cruise that was to sail from the Black Sea yesterday along the Danube thru Germany. No word if they sailed or have been cancelled.....

[Two from Virginia]

Does anyone know what Vantage is doing? We are scheduled to arrive in Cologne on June 29th.

[pgy]

Can anyone tell me what Avalon's position is (if they know yet) regarding cruises leaving in the next 5 weeks? I assume there is a good chance the waters levels will drop, but there has been heartbreaking damage to the ports on the Danube. Will they offer an option to cancel/rebook if the tours continue to be bus tours and/or the ports we want to see are not available and the tour becomes a different experience than what we originally paid a good amount of money for?

[mginfl]

Vantage has said it is not canceling any trip. I think many people are going to wind up on a bus trip, thanks to Vantage being too cheap to cancel. Check out the Viking site. They are great at saying exactly what is going on. So far it sounds as though the river levels are expected to be down by the time we get there. But I don't know if we will get to see all the places we were supposed to visit. I hear that Regensberg and Passau have been hit hard.

[pbnjrockette]

I can't even imagine that any stops that include Passau which is heavily under water will not be affected for several days to come.

 

from the Vantage FB page...

 

An Update on the High Water Situation in Europe:

 

Our operations and navigation team in Budapest is closely monitoring the situation, and remains in constant contact with local authorities. Based on current conditions we plan to operate all departures as scheduled. Since local conditions change by the hour from place to place, we are prepared to provide alternate activities should changes become necessary. Your safety is our number one priority, and we appreciate your flexibility as we continue to safeguard it.

 

For updates that might affect your departure, please sign in to My Portfolio https://www.vantagetravel.com/Login/Login

[editor@cruisecritic]

We definitely hear conditions are set to improve but there are places like Passau -- as noted here -- that are going to take time to recover.

 

Anyway, here's our latest take. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5379

 

Carolyn

 

PS If we're missing something, please let me know....

[Needzavacation]

The Amacello Adventurers just arrived at our new home, the Amalyra, in Frankfurt for the night - twin ship, so we're all in our same cabins. Just had a wonderful lunch, and then a sightseeing tour of Frankfurt about 30 minutes from now. Another early morning tomorrow toward Amsterdam, with a stop to tour Cologne followed by lunch. When we arrive in Amsterdam, a canal cruise is on the agenda, before checking into the Sheraton at the airport. Not what we planned, but everyone is having a great time and making the most of it.

 

A few passengers disembarked yesterday in Breisach - I know one couple caught a flight from Basel to Amsterdam to spend the rest of their time here, and another group arranged a van, but not sure where they went. Can't fault AMA for anything - they're keeping up the quality and not skipping a beat, which must not be easy, given that they're dealing with the same situation on other ships.

[Cary Cruiser]

I heard from my clients today who are cruising on the Avalon Visionary. They were fed up with Avalon by 3pm EST!! They felt that their Cruise Manager was overwhelmed

 

Oh my heavens, I can't imagine why the CM might feel even the slightest bit overwhelmed - maybe because this is the worst flooding in 500 years on the river.

 

The hotel they were staying in Bayreauh Germany was subpar

 

Oh, these poor, poor people were forced to suffer in a subpar hotel. I am just mortified at their treatment. Something must be done immediately about this.

[kristikae]

Oh my heavens, I can't imagine why the CM might feel even the slightest bit overwhelmed - maybe because this is the worst flooding in 500 years on the river.

 

 

 

Oh, these poor, poor people were forced to suffer in a subpar hotel. I am just mortified at their treatment. Something must be done immediately about this.

 

I don't think this TA was being unreasonable. It is her job to make sure her clients are happy and she's trying to do that. Avalon is a high $ cruise line and there are certain expectations that come with what you pay. She didn't bash Avalon, just reported what her clients had told her. Let's face it, if you paid for the Westin and got the Super 8 you'd be unhappy too. It appears that Avalon has reached out to her and are working to rectify this which is the desired outcome anyway.

[Cruzin Terri]

There are some very different situations at play here.

 

One, there are people who live in the area who are suffering greatly. They have lost their possessions, some of them their family members, homes, money and have a huge cleanup job ahead of them. This requires lots of time and money. I certainly don't envy them. My heart goes out to these people and I wish them well and hope they recover their losses quickly.

 

Two, there are the tourists, you and me who have plunked down a lot of money to take a riverboat cruise and don't want to lose that money. Who can blame us? We want what we paid for. The fact that many of the people who are now in hotels are in accommodations inferior to those on the riverboat means that they are getting less for their tourism dollar. However, they are safe and dry. They are being housed and fed, albeit not as well as on the riverboat. They may not be touring the same places and spending more time than they would have liked on buses, but the tour companies are taking care of them.

 

Three, the riverboat companies are losing big time. They cannot go anywhere. They are canceling cruises and refunding money. They are absorbing the costs of putting people up in hotels and feeding them. They did not cause this situation and for the most part have risen to the occasion. They should be commended. Not one of the companies have just abandoned their guests that I have read of.

 

In my opinion, no one is going to be made whole in this situation. We may all have to just live with it.

Terri

[Cary Cruiser]

There are some very different situations at play here.

 

One, there are people who live in the area who are suffering greatly. They have lost their possessions, some of them their family members, homes, money and have a huge cleanup job ahead of them. This requires lots of time and money. I certainly don't envy them. My heart goes out to these people and I wish them well and hope they recover their losses quickly.

 

Two, there are the tourists, you and me who have plunked down a lot of money to take a riverboat cruise and don't want to lose that money. Who can blame us? We want what we paid for. The fact that many of the people who are now in hotels are in accommodations inferior to those on the riverboat means that they are getting less for their tourism dollar. However, they are safe and dry. They are being housed and fed, albeit not as well as on the riverboat. They may not be touring the same places and spending more time than they would have liked on buses, but the tour companies are taking care of them.

 

Three, the riverboat companies are losing big time. They cannot go anywhere. They are canceling cruises and refunding money. They are absorbing the costs of putting people up in hotels and feeding them. They did not cause this situation and for the most part have risen to the occasion. They should be commended. Not one of the companies have just abandoned their guests that I have read of.

 

In my opinion, no one is going to be made whole in this situation. We may all have to just live with it.

Terri

 

Good analysis, but there is one group that you left out - the people who man and staff the river boat cruises. They apparently work mostly on tips. When the boats don't sale they don't make tips (and I imagine don't get salary as well). They have families to feed and bills to pay and this will certainly be a financial stress on them.

[Cruzin Terri]

Good analysis, but there is one group that you left out - the people who man and staff the river boat cruises. They apparently work mostly on tips. When the boats don't sale they don't make tips (and I imagine don't get salary as well). They have families to feed and bills to pay and this will certainly be a financial stress on them.

I probably left out more than one group but felt that those who staff the ships were included in the companies. I realize that when the ships don't sail, the staff does not receive tips. I would hope that the corporate offices would take care of them in this situation as well. But then again, who knows.

Terri

[Peacemkr59]

This is so nice to hear. My clients did not have the same experience on the Danube with Avalon. Sure wish they had!

 

The Amacello Adventurers just arrived at our new home, the Amalyra, in Frankfurt for the night - twin ship, so we're all in our same cabins. Just had a wonderful lunch, and then a sightseeing tour of Frankfurt about 30 minutes from now. Another early morning tomorrow toward Amsterdam, with a stop to tour Cologne followed by lunch. When we arrive in Amsterdam, a canal cruise is on the agenda, before checking into the Sheraton at the airport. Not what we planned, but everyone is having a great time and making the most of it.

 

A few passengers disembarked yesterday in Breisach - I know one couple caught a flight from Basel to Amsterdam to spend the rest of their time here, and another group arranged a van, but not sure where they went. Can't fault AMA for anything - they're keeping up the quality and not skipping a beat, which must not be easy, given that they're dealing with the same situation on other ships.

[Peacemkr59]

Cary Cruiser, I really don't think there's any reason to be nasty and sarcastic. I did mention in my post that I understood that these were the worst floods they have seen. I also posted that I understood that Avalon must be swamped with calls. I was simple relating what my clients were telling me. And as kristikae stated so well, if you paid for the Westin and got the Super 8 Motel, I think you might be upset as well! But who knows, maybe I'm wrong.

 

Oh my heavens, I can't imagine why the CM might feel even the slightest bit overwhelmed - maybe because this is the worst flooding in 500 years on the river.

 

 

 

Oh, these poor, poor people were forced to suffer in a subpar hotel. I am just mortified at their treatment. Something must be done immediately about this.

[atlasali]

We were on, then off, then back on Vantage's ms River Venture which sailed from Amsterdam to Basel May 15 - May 29.

 

We have never had "the weather" so negatively impact a trip before. The rain started the day the cruise began. Some precipitation fell every day. Areas above us were deluged by the rain. The river rose 6 - 9 feet over night. The turbulence was awesome to see. Consequently, we were stuck on the Moselle/Mosel river upstream of a bridge in Trier that the Romans built in 16BC. For 3 days we bussed to our locations, then back to the ship. The river never went down. The Saar River upstream just kept gushing water. Bussing was more physically grueling (at least for me), but we got to return to our gorgeous ship, enjoy the fabulous food and be taken care of by the most attentive staff and crew I have ever experienced. Then the decision was made to pack up and go by bus to a hotel in Strasbourg for 3 nights. Me, in my rookie ignorance, assumed we would be getting back onboard the riverboat. Until dinner, which was treated as if it was our "last supper". Nooooo! I did not want to get off. I loved my cabin: seeing the swans, hearing the birds. I paid my tips for the entire two weeks of the cruise. It was not the workers fault; they should not be financially punished. We were put up at a Hilton. Okay but not as wonderful as the River Venture. Our Program Managers worked hard and Vantage paid a lot of money for our trip to remain as normal as possible. They hired a day Riverboat so we could cruise through the Lorelei part of the Rhine...it was raining. They even took on a 3rd Captain to race the River Venture to catch up to us. Thankfully it did, and we were able to spend the last 2 nights on board. Our last day, cruising to Basel, the sun was shining. However, we could not sit up on the top deck. The headroom clearance at the locks was too low. By the time we got to Basel, it was raining again. Typical, for this trip.

 

I had wanted to recreate a memory. 43 years ago, while bicycling through Europe, I spent one magical day onboard a Rhine riverboat cruising through the Lorelei area. Sitting on the top deck watching the castles go by. This was going to be our one-and-only riverboat trip. We just do not have the financial resources of our fellow cruisers. So I was devastated that we had to get off, and thrilled that we got back on. Would I do it again? I would love to. IF, we can afford it.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Wow! Thanks for sharing, I'd feel the same about having to leave the ship early :)

 

Carolyn

 

 

We were on, then off, then back on Vantage's ms River Venture which sailed from Amsterdam to Basel May 15 - May 29.

 

We have never had "the weather" so negatively impact a trip before. The rain started the day the cruise began. Some precipitation fell every day. Areas above us were deluged by the rain. The river rose 6 - 9 feet over night. The turbulence was awesome to see. Consequently, we were stuck on the Moselle/Mosel river upstream of a bridge in Trier that the Romans built in 16BC. For 3 days we bussed to our locations, then back to the ship. The river never went down. The Saar River upstream just kept gushing water. Bussing was more physically grueling (at least for me), but we got to return to our gorgeous ship, enjoy the fabulous food and be taken care of by the most attentive staff and crew I have ever experienced. Then the decision was made to pack up and go by bus to a hotel in Strasbourg for 3 nights. Me, in my rookie ignorance, assumed we would be getting back onboard the riverboat. Until dinner, which was treated as if it was our "last supper". Nooooo! I did not want to get off. I loved my cabin: seeing the swans, hearing the birds. I paid my tips for the entire two weeks of the cruise. It was not the workers fault; they should not be financially punished. We were put up at a Hilton. Okay but not as wonderful as the River Venture. Our Program Managers worked hard and Vantage paid a lot of money for our trip to remain as normal as possible. They hired a day Riverboat so we could cruise through the Lorelei part of the Rhine...it was raining. They even took on a 3rd Captain to race the River Venture to catch up to us. Thankfully it did, and we were able to spend the last 2 nights on board. Our last day, cruising to Basel, the sun was shining. However, we could not sit up on the top deck. The headroom clearance at the locks was too low. By the time we got to Basel, it was raining again. Typical, for this trip.

 

I had wanted to recreate a memory. 43 years ago, while bicycling through Europe, I spent one magical day onboard a Rhine riverboat cruising through the Lorelei area. Sitting on the top deck watching the castles go by. This was going to be our one-and-only riverboat trip. We just do not have the financial resources of our fellow cruisers. So I was devastated that we had to get off, and thrilled that we got back on. Would I do it again? I would love to. IF, we can afford it.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks!

 

Carolyn

 

Just added more press & updates on rivers: http://www.rivercruiseinfo.com/content/high-water-situation-may-june-2013

 

Short summary: While Rhine is dropping (and maybe open for ships again tomorrow) and the Danube gets better the Elbe still rises.

[Cruzin Terri]

Cary Cruiser, I really don't think there's any reason to be nasty and sarcastic. I did mention in my post that I understood that these were the worst floods they have seen. I also posted that I understood that Avalon must be swamped with calls. I was simple relating what my clients were telling me. And as kristikae stated so well, if you paid for the Westin and got the Super 8 Motel, I think you might be upset as well! But who knows, maybe I'm wrong.

 

I tend to agree with you. Everyone is dealing with this the best they know how. No need for sarcasm.

Terri

[jeckstein]

We started our cruise a week ago in Budapest. The plan was to travel on the Avalon Visionary from Budapest to Nurenberg and then take a coach to Prague for a 3-day extension. On the second day, the captain told us the cruise had to be aborted due to flooding.We spent a total of 4 nights on the Visionary, and, since then we've been bussed from Durnstein to Strassberg to Regensberg to a small town outside Nurenberg where we were informed we couldn't go to Prague, but would go to Munich instead. We have spent two nights at one hotel in Munich but have to switch to another hotel tomorrow. Everywhere we have gone, we have seen flooding, but we have never been in danger. Now we have been told we will take a bus to Prague 5 hours away on Friday in time to fly out on Saturday.

Our cruise director Sabine has been wonderful and has done her best to satisfy 124 unhappy cruisers. Avalon is giving everyone a substantial refund, but who knows if it is enough to make up for the change from a river cruise to a coach tour with a heavy emphasis on coach. One day we did nothing but ride a bus and stop for meals. Granted it was raining heavily at the time.

I personally will think long and hard before taking another river cruise because this experience has been far from what we expected.

[Peacemkr59]

This is certainly not what you paid for and I'm sure you paid quite a bit for this cruise. And its unfortunate that this experience has left you with a bad taste for river cruising. I think its very rare when things like this happen. I personally do not think that the compensation that they are giving you is near enough for the disruption to your cruise!

 

We started our cruise a week ago in Budapest. The plan was to travel on the Avalon Visionary from Budapest to Nurenberg and then take a coach to Prague for a 3-day extension. On the second day, the captain told us the cruise had to be aborted due to flooding.We spent a total of 4 nights on the Visionary, and, since then we've been bussed from Durnstein to Strassberg to Regensberg to a small town outside Nurenberg where we were informed we couldn't go to Prague, but would go to Munich instead. We have spent two nights at one hotel in Munich but have to switch to another hotel tomorrow. Everywhere we have gone, we have seen flooding, but we have never been in danger. Now we have been told we will take a bus to Prague 5 hours away on Friday in time to fly out on Saturday.

Our cruise director Sabine has been wonderful and has done her best to satisfy 124 unhappy cruisers. Avalon is giving everyone a substantial refund, but who knows if it is enough to make up for the change from a river cruise to a coach tour with a heavy emphasis on coach. One day we did nothing but ride a bus and stop for meals. Granted it was raining heavily at the time.

I personally will think long and hard before taking another river cruise because this experience has been far from what we expected.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Well said, Peacemkr59!

 

Carolyn

 

This is certainly not what you paid for and I'm sure you paid quite a bit for this cruise. And its unfortunate that this experience has left you with a bad taste for river cruising. I think its very rare when things like this happen. I personally do not think that the compensation that they are giving you is near enough for the disruption to your cruise!

[AngloAustin]

In a cruise forum topic, it is very inappropriate to criticize someone for not giving sufficient weight to locals suffering due to a disruption of the cruise. We come on here to make better decisions around cruising. There are other places to express sympathy and offer support to people afflicted.

 

It sounds like some of the cruise lines have responded generously. But the argument that they are losing money so no one should be made whole is weak. The cruise line is in a much better position to manage the risk and insure against the risk. As a consumer of a packaged tour experience, I am paying in part for the cruise company to manage the risks of the holiday logistics for me and deliver the experience or the financial equivalent. If I am supposed to suck up a significantly diminished experience due to unusual weather, then I would rather have the flexibility to bail on a holiday and make my own plans when things for wrong. And not pay the premium.

 

I am on a Danube cruise on Viking at the end of June, and have been impressed with Viking's response and communication during this difficult time

[pully8]

thanks to those who are sharing their personal experiences on the rivers to date.

 

the disappointment is palpable. for many travel is a dream and a much anticipated event. not everyone can fund a river cruise easily and invest hard earnt cash without the expectation of enjoying the product they paid for.

 

compensation is justified. we have done 6 river cruises and love it but we would not want to be on the rivers under these conditions.

 

the cruise companies must make commercial decisions and will have taken measures to mitigate their losses. issues around integrity and customer services and safety are also important and companies will be judged by those factors by consumers.

[Cruzin Terri]

In a cruise forum topic, it is very inappropriate to criticize someone for not giving sufficient weight to locals suffering due to a disruption of the cruise. We come on here to make better decisions around cruising. There are other places to express sympathy and offer support to people afflicted.

 

It sounds like some of the cruise lines have responded generously. But the argument that they are losing money so no one should be made whole is weak. The cruise line is in a much better position to manage the risk and insure against the risk. As a consumer of a packaged tour experience, I am paying in part for the cruise company to manage the risks of the holiday logistics for me and deliver the experience or the financial equivalent. If I am supposed to suck up a significantly diminished experience due to unusual weather, then I would rather have the flexibility to bail on a holiday and make my own plans when things for wrong. And not pay the premium.

 

I am on a Danube cruise on Viking at the end of June, and have been impressed with Viking's response and communication during this difficult time

I hope Viking does not disappoint you.