Viking River Cruise -Basel to Amsterdam

[Bus Rider Hater]

Our Viking cruise was to have initiated in Basel, Switzerland Saturday June 1. We flew in early to be able to see Lucerne, Switzerland. The locals in Lucerne said the Rhine was higher than they had seen in twenty years and it was still raining. This probably should have been a tip off for us that maybe there was a problem. My view is Viking should have given us the choice of canceling the river cruise at this point. Yes it probably would have been a mess to arrange flights back home but we should have been given a choice. Instead we were bused to our ship on Saturday which was now docked in Briesach, Germany. The Rhine River was so flooded that the boat couldn't make it up the river to Basel. Apparently there was an issue of navigation safety due to river flooding and low bridge clearance. Briesach was to have been the first stop on the cruise. The ship remained docked there from Saturday(6/1) through Wednesday(6/5). Each night, the ship's officers indicated that we were not able to sail due to river conditions. During these four days we were bused to the various stops that were supposed to have happened had the boat sailed. One of the excursions was an extremely long and uncomfortable bus trip. I mean from Briesach to Heidelberg and then back to the boat was a long miserable day.

During the four days we were in Briesach, the ship was parallel parked next to another ship so the view from our veranda (at additional cost) is into the stateroom of the adjacent ship. The ship was moved at the end and the view was actually quite nice in spite of the river being at flood stage.

On Wednesday, we were bused to Cologne to another ship. This boat is docked in an heavily industrial area with a very steep rope lined gangplank. Difficult to maneuver for us old guys but no one fell in. The normal docking downtown was of course precluded by the flood stage of the river. Finally on Friday(6/7) we were bused to Amsterdam for an over night hotel stay and flights in the morning.. The whole trip consisted of an evacuation from one end to the other. It's not a river cruise when the boat never leaves the dock. The trip was totally disrupted by the flood conditions that precluded the ship from ever leaving port. We were basically evacuated from the beginning to the end.

We felt that we didn't get anything resembling what we paid for. We requested a full refund for the cruise including airfare from Viking. We received a response from Viking acknowledging there were disruptions to the trip. However what they offered was 75% of the cruise cost applicable to a future Viking River Cruise. In my view, this is totally inadequate.

 

Happy Cruising by Bus Ride Hater

[Viking Cruises]

Dear Bus Ride Hater,

We recently posted this information on a few other threads, so we do apologize if you’ve already seen it, but just in case you haven’t we’ll share it with you here, too. We’d like to offer some input to some of the points made in your post, but most importantly, we’d like to ask that you contact us – even if you have already done so previously. We very much hope to hear from you soon at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Sincerely,

Viking Cruises

 

Timing and Making Assessments

Our Swiss nautical and operational teams rely on an extensive, established network of local authorities and port operators—along with decades of experience with past high and low water situations—to make assessments on navigability of all rivers on which we sail. Weather, soil conditions and water levels are routinely monitored and evaluated. This is particularly crucial under circumstances where a few hours or a few centimeters of difference can have an enormous impact on a ship’s sailing schedule.

 

Cancellations

Where conditions precluded us from being able to provide a modified itinerary that we believed would be worthwhile—we canceled those particular cruises.

 

Modified Itineraries

If we believed that we would be able to continue operating an itinerary with some modifications, we did. Each of these modified sailings was considered individually. As you mention, partial compensation in the form of a voucher was provided. In most cases we contacted guests ahead of departure to let them know the ways in which we anticipated their itinerary would proceed based on current conditions. In some cases, such as yours, the rapidly changing navigational conditions prompted additional modifications to the itinerary and as a result we have re-evaluated the compensation provided for these.

 

Departures in the First Week of June

We understand that when you arrived in Basel you were taken by surprise at the condition of the river; we were taken by surprise, too. Our Switzerland-based teams worked diligently and in good faith trying to make arrangements as needed and keep their guests informed. We hear your frustration over instances where a crew could not provide answers on contingency plans that were beyond the next day, and we apologize for this, to both you and our crew, as it was surely frustrating for both parties. With conditions changing quickly, we did the best we could to provide each crew with complete information as it became available. Again, a few hours or a few centimeters of difference can have an enormous impact on a ship’s sailing schedule.

 

Compensation for Impacted Sailings

We have extended compensation in the form of a credit voucher of 75% of the cruise fare paid for your impacted 2013 sailings. Sailings such as yours were provided alternative travel arrangements, dining, lodging, and excursions to destinations on the original itinerary (where possible) and substituted places of interest. However, based on sentiments expressed here and elsewhere online, as well as with our Customer Relations department, it is clear that some of those affected guests are unsatisfied with our attempts to make amends for a difficult and challenging situation. So, please do contact us directly if you would like to discuss your experience. Our Customer Relations team is starting to return to normal levels of incoming calls and emails after a few weeks of very high volume, and they would be happy to continue the conversation with any of our guests. We can be reached at TellUs@vikingcruises.com and will be pleased to put guests in touch with a member of our Customer Relations team.

 

Safety

The safety of our guests and crew is always our top priority; in every deliberation we had it was our primary focus. We are happy and grateful to report that no Viking guests were injured as a result of the flooding.

 

Updated Information

We understand that this may be of little reassurance to you, but for guests on upcoming sailings, we continue to update our website: http://www.vrc.com/weatherupdate. We began providing updates on June 3rd when the situation became apparent—including email updates to all affected guests and their travel agents—and we will continue to provide updates until sailing on the affected rivers no longer requires modifications that are known ahead of departure. Please note current modifications are no longer a result of water levels, but of the recently announced extended closure of the Altenwörth Lock in Austria.

 

Contact Us

Even if you have already done so previously we ask that you contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. We are re-doubling our efforts to address concerns with guests who may feel that they have not been adequately heard. We understand that there are members in this community who remain disappointed and we hope that each of you will contact us again so we may discuss your particular situation.