Iceland Volcano

[NanciEA]

Does anyone remember how the river cruise lines handled the chaos in air travel in 2010 because of the eruption of the volcano in Iceland? Did travelers already there stay on the ships or were they put up in hotels, or left to fend for themselves? I'm asking because we leave in two days for Prague and there is a distinct possibility of another eruption soon. I know there was little air travel in 2010 between the US and Europe for about six days, but I thought I read somewhere that because the airlines lost so much money, they had come up with contingency plans if there was an eruption in the future. Obviously, we have to go with the flow and this is all part of international travel, but it is also good to be knowledgable and prepared.

[janetcbl]

No idea what the cruise lines will do....but, if you want to keep track of the volcano yourself, check out mbl.is (there is "News in English") to get the latest, or check out http://www.livefromiceland.is and pull up the Webcam page...there is a cam on Barbarbunga (not the correct spelling; I don't have the Icelandic letters on my computer).

[jacksonnh]

We took a Seine river cruise in April 2010. We wanted to spend additional days before and after the cruise in Paris. The cruise started on a Sunday and we planned to arrived a few days early in Paris and when I booked the air and hotel I decided to spend 3 days instead of two in the city. We flew from Bos on a Wednesday night and arrived at CDG Thursday morning and found out we were one of the last planes to arrive from the US due to the volcano ash. I believe the air space was closed for 5 to 6 days.

On Sunday we arrived at the ship for the start of the cruise and ended up with around 35 people who made it to Paris for the cruise. Of course the folks who were on the cruise before us could not fly out so they were given the choice of hotel rooms in Paris or allowed to stay on the ship and redo the trip. About 40 stayed on the ship. The cruise company was in contact with the various airlines and took the remaining passengers to the airport as their flights became available and no, they were not left to fend for themselves unless they wanted to.

As for a contingency plans, there isn't much they can do if they can't get enough planes flying. That and trying to take care of the backlog of people has to be a huge problem. It's like last winter when Logan was closed due to snow and folks spent days in the airport trying to fly south.

[Stratheden]

We took a Seine river cruise in April 2010. We wanted to spend additional days before and after the cruise in Paris. The cruise started on a Sunday and we planned to arrived a few days early in Paris and when I booked the air and hotel I decided to spend 3 days instead of two in the city. We flew from Bos on a Wednesday night and arrived at CDG Thursday morning and found out we were one of the last planes to arrive from the US due to the volcano ash. I believe the air space was closed for 5 to 6 days.

On Sunday we arrived at the ship for the start of the cruise and ended up with around 35 people who made it to Paris for the cruise. Of course the folks who were on the cruise before us could not fly out so they were given the choice of hotel rooms in Paris or allowed to stay on the ship and redo the trip. About 40 stayed on the ship. The cruise company was in contact with the various airlines and took the remaining passengers to the airport as their flights became available and no, they were not left to fend for themselves unless they wanted to.

As for a contingency plans, there isn't much they can do if they can't get enough planes flying. That and trying to take care of the backlog of people has to be a huge problem. It's like last winter when Logan was closed due to snow and folks spent days in the airport trying to fly south.

 

What river cruise line were you travelling on?

[Shmoo here]

We took a Seine river cruise in April 2010. We wanted to spend additional days before and after the cruise in Paris. The cruise started on a Sunday and we planned to arrived a few days early in Paris and when I booked the air and hotel I decided to spend 3 days instead of two in the city. We flew from Bos on a Wednesday night and arrived at CDG Thursday morning and found out we were one of the last planes to arrive from the US due to the volcano ash. I believe the air space was closed for 5 to 6 days.

On Sunday we arrived at the ship for the start of the cruise and ended up with around 35 people who made it to Paris for the cruise. Of course the folks who were on the cruise before us could not fly out so they were given the choice of hotel rooms in Paris or allowed to stay on the ship and redo the trip. About 40 stayed on the ship. The cruise company was in contact with the various airlines and took the remaining passengers to the airport as their flights became available and no, they were not left to fend for themselves unless they wanted to.

As for a contingency plans, there isn't much they can do if they can't get enough planes flying. That and trying to take care of the backlog of people has to be a huge problem. It's like last winter when Logan was closed due to snow and folks spent days in the airport trying to fly south.

 

Were these people who had their airflights booked through the cruise line? Were they charged for remaining onboard for the next cruise? Or, the ones who opted for the hotel stay - who paid for that?

[CPT Trips]

Maybe search the board for "Eyjafjallajökull"?

[jacksonnh]

Stratheden and Shmoo - The cruise line was Viking and we were told that any additional expenses were paid for by the cruise line. I'm sure some folks may have gone off on their own and would have to have paid their own way.

[Hydrokitty]

We were scheduled with Vantage for Holland and Belgium with pre-trip to Brussels and flying Lufthansa out of JFK to Brussels. Vantage stayed on top of everything but did not cancel. Lufthansa was the first airline to fly out of JFK and we were booked on that plane, but there was no guarantee we would be able to fly from Frankfort to Brussels. With the help of AAA I got an International Driver's License ($10 + valid license) and detailed road maps from Frankfort to Brussels and Vantage was busing us from Brussels to Amsterdm anyway. Luckily we did not have to use them, but we sweated it out for several days not knowing if we were going or not going and we were coordinating with friends flying from SFO on United. Fortunately things improved and everyone scheduled for the trip made it, but it's one of those situations where nobody can predict what's going to happen and you just have to be prepared for other options and maintain a sense of adventure (and humor)! PS: I really loved showing off my International Driver's License!!

[jpalbny]

Maybe search the board for "Eyjafjallajökull"?

 

True, but how many (other) posts actually spell it correctly? ;)

 

I usually forget the first "j" when I try...

[Hydrokitty]

True, but how many (other) posts actually spell it correctly? ;)

 

I usually forget the first "j" when I try...

 

Spelling it is one thing......but can you SAY it???:D

[jpalbny]

Spelling it is one thing......but can you SAY it???:D

 

Sure! It may not be recognizable to someone who actually speaks Icelandic, but we did tour there in early 2011 and our guide taught us how to say it...

 

BTW, looks like we're off to the races with this new one. Started erupting today and there is a small no-fly zone at this point. Nothing major - yet - but stay tuned: http://en.vedur.is/

 

Now of course, this one is also tricky to pronounce: it's spelled "Bardarbunga" which seems easy, except in Icelandic it's really spelled Bárðarbunga. The "ð" is pronounced as a soft "th" like in "this" and the "á" is also pronounced differently than you'd expect a regular a to sound - supposedly, like the o in "how". That's enough to make this another challenge!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Now of course, this one is also tricky to pronounce: it's spelled "Bardarbunga" which seems easy, except in Icelandic it's really spelled Bárðarbunga. The "ð" is pronounced as a soft "th" like in "this" and the "á" is also pronounced differently than you'd expect a regular a to sound - supposedly, like the o in "how". That's enough to make this another challenge!

 

If it interferes with our flight to Madrid next Sunday, it will be pronounced "Cowabunga!" [or something worse ;)]

[janetcbl]

"Bowtharbunga" maybe to pronounce it? I asked an Icelandic person, and even he wasn't totally sure. The earlier one was referred to as E-16 (I think, for the number of letters in the name. Much easier!).

Edited August 23, 2014 by janetcbl
spelling

[joanne2]

We fly out Wed. evening. Another thing to obsess about after low water, high water, and what to pack. If we get there, I wouldn't mind the scenario described by Jacksonnh (the poster above, forgot how to spell it) and stay on the boat for the reverse trip.

[whatnot]

We are flying to London on Wednesday evening. Getting a little concerned about what might develop in the next couple of days from the unpronounceable volcano!

[remydiva]

Found this on a Princess roll call as they were discussing this very situation since their cruise actually stops in Iceland...or maybe not.

 

Here is an earthquake-monitoring site that upgrades Bardarbunga every 60 seconds! http://baering.github.io/

[jc foster]

Uh OH, As of fourteen hours ago the AP reports the volcano has gone to code red alert and a major eruption maybe imminent. All air traffic has been banned from the area. I got this info. off Yahoo. Hopefully the airlines will have revised their routes and found a more effective way to deal with this situation.

[Host Jazzbeau]

As of 9:04am on Aug. 24, they have lowered the alert level to Orange and now say there was no eruption yesterday.

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ICELAND_VOLCANO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[jc foster]

As of 9:04am on Aug. 24, they have lowered the alert level to Orange and now say there was no eruption yesterday.

 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_ICELAND_VOLCANO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Also all air traffic restrictions have now been lifted. It looks like someone jumped the gun.

[rogerdawhip]

I was on GCT's Holland cruise in April 2010 when the volcano ash problem occurred. We stayed on the ship for an extra 3 days at no cost. GCT rescheduled our flights and made it home without an problems. They were able to do this because the arriving passengers could not fly into Europe. I'm do not know how GCT handled them.