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Danube River water levels

listaLolis

By listaLolis,
in River Cruising

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Ehohmann

Ehohmann

Posted
Posted
I am taking a Viking Romantic Danube River Cruise I n late Sept.and I am having a hard time finding out what the level of the River is. I understand that in June sailings were affected by low water levels and passengers were taken by bus to several stops. Anyone know what the status has been for late August and right now?

 

Returned last week from cruise ending on 9/5, water levels were too low to cruise.

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Ehohmann

Ehohmann

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Posted (edited)
We had very much the same experience on our Nuremberg to Budapest "cruise". Two days cruising, five days bussing. Calling customer service resulted in an offer for a discount on a future cruise...hah, I would never sail with Viking again!

 

We returned last week with the same issue and were never informed prior to cruise. I feel the situation was handled poorly and probably will never sail Viking again!

Edited by Ehohmann
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Viking Cruises

Viking Cruises

Posted
Posted

Dear kkbiker,

 

Welcome home! We regret to hear the itinerary changes and additional motor coach rides necessitated by low water levels has led to your disappointment. While the crew members are not able to offer compensation onboard, we are more than happy to discuss your experience as a whole and review any requests now that you have returned home. Please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so that we may put you in contact with a representative best suited to assist.

 

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

Came back from our Viking Nuremberg to Budapest cruise yesterday. We were supposed to board in Erlangen, cruise to Budapest, cruise to Regensburg, etc. Instead, we took a three hour bus ride from Nuremberg to the Viking ship in Volshofen. The next day, we took a three hour ride back to Nuremburg to do our tour and a three hour trip back to the boat. Next day, we took a hour and a half bus ride to Regensburg and a hour and a half ride back. We also could not cruise into Budapest and bused an hour an a half back and forth for our tour and an hour and a half back to fly out of the country. All told, we spend about 18 hours on the bus and only cruised to 2 of the 6 ports we were expecting. All during this time, Viking did NOTHING to compensate us for these difficulties. It was amazing how deaf they were to our complaints telling us to call customer service when we got home. Viking has a ship leaving Nuremberg and Budapest everyday so they are completely aware of the river situation but they didn't tell us anything until the last minute. :mad:
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Viking Cruises

Viking Cruises

Posted
Posted

Dear Palli8,

 

We regret to hear of your disappointment in the itinerary changes necessitated by low river conditions. Since we are a bit late in posting this reply, you have likely completed your trip and returned home. Please contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com so that we can review your experience as a whole and discuss the details of your concerns.

 

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

 

We're on Viking now Budapest to Nuremberg and tonight it became official we are not getting into Regensburg or Nuremberg by boat. This really stinks We're docking in Passau for the next 3 days and they are taking us to Regensburg by bus (90 min each way) tomorrow and then to Nuremberg (3 1/2 hrs each way) on Wed then if that isn't enough, they think people are going to go back to Nuremberg (another 3 1/2 hrs ) by bus on Thurs unless you have a flight from Nuremberg before 7:30 am at which case they will put you up in a hotel. We lost Budapest by river, now Regensburg and Nuremberg turning out to be more of a bus tour than a boat tour.
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Viking Cruises

Viking Cruises

Posted
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Dear Old Broad,

 

We are sorry to hear you remain disappointed after discussing your recent experience with our Customer Relations team. Low water is a force beyond Viking’s control and, when impacted, we do our very best to preserve your trip and provide an altered itinerary. Should you wish to discuss your experience with us once more, we would encourage you to contact us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

 

We had very much the same experience on our Nuremberg to Budapest "cruise". Two days cruising, five days bussing. Calling customer service resulted in an offer for a discount on a future cruise...hah, I would never sail with Viking again!
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BPCruiser

BPCruiser

Posted
Posted
Sounds like a standard auto reply from Viking

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

 

Totally agree. Very impersonal. Quite reflective of the prevailing poor customer service Viking delivers as seen by the many postings on this River Cruise Board from unhappy Viking Travelers.

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  • 2 weeks later...
cabinluvn

cabinluvn

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We are currently docked at Vilshofen, just past Regrnsburg. No ships are sailing north of this port due to low water levels. We boarded Sunday and were bussed to Nurenburg and Regensburg for sightseeing. We sail south tomorrow for Passau.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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CAL7

CAL7

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We are currently docked at Vilshofen, just past Regrnsburg. No ships are sailing north of this port due to low water levels. We boarded Sunday and were bussed to Nurenburg and Regensburg for sightseeing. We sail south tomorrow for Passau.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you very much for the report. Are they telling you that you will make it as far as Budapest?

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JVilleGal

JVilleGal

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That's a day by day and some times even minute by minute. They can't know until the captain has the info to make a decision about whether his particular boat, combined with water conditions at that point in time. Also the local authorities also can close a section of the river.

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ProFun1

ProFun1

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Posted
Yes. It appears it is clear sailing to Budapest

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Hi cabinluvn.

 

I'm glad to hear that you will actually get to experience a river cruise! Which ship are you on?

 

I've been monitoring the river levels, weather forecast, and our ship's position daily. We are set to sail on the Viking Atla (Romantic Danube, Nuremberg to Budapest), Oct. 25. I'm prepared to deal with the bussing/ship swap hoohah if the water levels are low. Thanks to this board, I have realistic expectations of how Viking handles these situations.

 

I hope you are having a marvelous time.

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