Rare notamermaid Posted May 2 Author #576 Share Posted May 2 1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said: Will 'she' have a companion, "The Lady"? This could be a terrific solution to snoring, which I'm told affects many people 'of a certain age' – including, it is alleged by an ear-witness, moi! That's good. But I dare not think this further. Are they supposed to start at either end of the Rhine? And in low water the ship swap, "never the twain shall meet"? Or "brief encounter" at Marksburg castle? Yes, a lady for the gentleman it should be, preferable I find happily rafting together in port where ever possible. notamermaid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canal archive Posted May 3 #577 Share Posted May 3 It would give the expression used by U.K. canal enthusiasts just a little more credence ‘breasting up’. Companies naming so far we seem to go for the realms of Norse Gods or Faye’s, European Royalty, Gems, so there must be more threads to be used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted May 3 Author #578 Share Posted May 3 Another theme is literary greats of Britain, as used by Riviera Travel. For the latests ship they have abandoned that. In the past, Latin names have been used, also by excursion boats, like Filia Rheni in Bonn for example. The barges in contrast have all sorts of names on the Rhine, anything goes on my river, as regards that. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted May 18 Author #579 Share Posted May 18 Here she is, the Porto Mirante of Scylla, mainly sailing for Riviera Travel. Unusual here is the fact that the ship was christened in Düsseldorf and will now be transferred to her future home, the Douro: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/river-cruising/rivieras-porto-mirante-named-dusseldorf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZCBJBAczf0 Save travels to her always. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted May 21 Author #580 Share Posted May 21 Catering for a health problem - here is a special gluten-free cruise offer from Amawaterways: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/AmaWaterways-partner-celiac-cruise-gluten-free-cruises?ct=river notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladyshopper23 Posted May 22 #581 Share Posted May 22 On 5/21/2024 at 1:03 AM, notamermaid said: Catering for a health problem - here is a special gluten-free cruise offer from Amawaterways: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/AmaWaterways-partner-celiac-cruise-gluten-free-cruises?ct=river notamermaid I've looked at these before, as someone who needs to be gluten free. The river cruises seem so expensive though, especially compared to offers we can get on them here in the UK. The ocean cruises seem a bit better priced, but then I've got to factor flights in, plus ones I've seen that I'm interested in have always clashed with something I've already got booked! Maybe one day I'll make one. I have to say that our gluten-free experience on Avalon last month was absolutely amazing (first ever river cruise, and the food was so much better than ocean cruises!). Loved river cruising as a whole, so much so we've booked another next month! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted June 8 Author #582 Share Posted June 8 AmaWaterways will add two ships to their fleet in 2026, one for the Mekong and one for the Rhine/Danube: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/amawaterways-to-add-two-ships-to-fleet-in-2026 notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted June 12 Author #583 Share Posted June 12 Announcement of name change for new Amawaterways ship: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/AmaWaterways-chooses-new-name-Asia-ship notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted June 16 Author #584 Share Posted June 16 A new double-width ship for Amawaterways: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/amawaterways-to-build-second-double-width-river-ship notamermaid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted June 30 Author #585 Share Posted June 30 Amawaterways sailings for 2026 (!) can now be booked: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/travel-agents/amawaterways-opens-sales-early-for-2026-river-cruises Interesting that they are adding Utrecht to the Rhine itinerary. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted July 19 Author #586 Share Posted July 19 The Amazon river cruise ship for Abercrombie & Kent: https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/ak-reveals-details-of-first-latin-america-riverboat notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare austinetc Posted July 19 #587 Share Posted July 19 Is there any pushback by governments or communities on the increase in cruise ships? Specifically cruise ships? I know about the cities that are discouraging tourists. Has there been an increase in boating accidents caused by cruise ships? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted July 20 #588 Share Posted July 20 Vacationing now with a German family visiting over here. He says their community on the Danube is going to reduce the number of cruise ships allowed to dock and ban tour buses in the Stadtmitte ( City Center). Bus Drop off/pick up points will be 3/4-1 kilometer from the Alt Stadt. He’s expecting this to spread to even more tourist concentrations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted July 31 #589 Share Posted July 31 New article on SeaTrade Cruise News: Concordia Damen secures new contract for the 135 river vessel "undisclosed Swiss luxury river cruise operator" – I only know of one [Scylla]? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canal archive Posted July 31 #590 Share Posted July 31 Sounds technically interesting. I think TUI is German. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted July 31 Author #591 Share Posted July 31 Hmmm, could be Swiss Excellence River Cruise GmbH, but it is more likely to be Scylla. My guess. Scylla are very busy and announced not long ago the building of more ships. Interesting that Concordia Damen has secured the contract. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted August 7 Author #592 Share Posted August 7 The favourite rivers this year according to the companies? The Rhine and the Douro: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Summer-2024-river-cruise-trends The reaction is of course more ships in the coming years... notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted August 7 #593 Share Posted August 7 Transcend Cruises inks newbuild contract with Den Breejen Shipyard A new build for the charter-only river cruise line specializing in affinity cruises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted August 23 #594 Share Posted August 23 Amadeus River Cruises will welcome the Amara next spring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canal archive Posted August 23 #595 Share Posted August 23 There is a million dollar question - unless the river cruise companies get rid of i.e. scrap (in a green way) some of their older vessels there will be no room to expand the river cruising system. To many boats! To many tourists! Already a challenge in some acknowledged heritage areas. To much effluent! Oh poo! Not enough availability across the board to keep all happy - traveler's, potential customers, potential suppliers, etc. When do the people of say Regensburg get a rest from for instance people not communicating in their language. It’s going to get worse and a balance has to be reached. But will the cruise companies come to an agreement or will the local authorities decide for them! I have a horrible feeling that the worst case scenario will win out. Across the world we are becoming more affluent and therefore able to afford these amazing trips so we must find a way of enjoying them without upsetting the local - as a saying goes ‘local yokel's’ well we all are, aren’t we? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MyriamS Posted August 23 #596 Share Posted August 23 1 hour ago, Canal archive said: There is a million dollar question - unless the river cruise companies get rid of i.e. scrap (in a green way) some of their older vessels there will be no room to expand the river cruising system. To many boats! To many tourists! Already a challenge in some acknowledged heritage areas. To much effluent! Oh poo! Not enough availability across the board to keep all happy - traveler's, potential customers, potential suppliers, etc. When do the people of say Regensburg get a rest from for instance people not communicating in their language. It’s going to get worse and a balance has to be reached. But will the cruise companies come to an agreement or will the local authorities decide for them! I have a horrible feeling that the worst case scenario will win out. Across the world we are becoming more affluent and therefore able to afford these amazing trips so we must find a way of enjoying them without upsetting the local - as a saying goes ‘local yokel's’ well we all are, aren’t we? As someone who lives 5 min away from the Oktoberfest, I'm not too worried. Germany and Austria are excellent at managing tourist flows. Austria receives more tourists per year than Japan. It's five times smaller by surface area and ten times smaller by number of inhabitants, yet it is Japan that constantly makes the news about overtourism! Also about not communicating in their language, the South of France is extremely popular with Germans during the summer and most of them do not speak the language besides "Bonjour" and "Merci". So if the good people of Regensburg cannot stand a few tourists then I dearly hope they stay home during the holidays and do not contribute to "overtourism" in the Med. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted August 23 Author #597 Share Posted August 23 Interesting take from a fellow citizen @MyriamS I tend to agree that tourism is managed well, awareness of balancing this has vastly improved, but the things that come with tourism, like a change of shop infrastructure and cheap "hotel" rooms is something to watch and potentially not accept. The first (shop) is not a direct result of river cruising but is fed by it of course as well while the latter (cheap accommodation) has nothing to do with river cruisers. Regensburg has always been a hub, the only thing that is a challenge is the amount of river cruisers coming at the same time and disappearing at the same time. As no buses are needed in that specific city to chauffeur passengers around this eases the problem but Bamberg for example faces it. Every city and town is a little different with its own challenges but most can cope with the ships. Mind you, having two Viking ships, one European ship and one German ship all touring their passengers through the old town of Melk at the same time is not the greatest sight for a local I should think... Some cope, some don't. Passau locals are not happy, due to noise and pollution. Rüdesheim for me is "gone", hit hard by too many people wanting to see "Old World Germany". The itinerary I am working on to present on CC for fun will avoid Rüdesheim at all costs.😉 In general, coastal towns have the greater challenge, as recently discussed about Bordeaux. It will be interesting to see if the plans to deal with the large cruise ships will extend to river cruising. notamermaid 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MyriamS Posted August 23 #598 Share Posted August 23 (edited) 2 hours ago, notamermaid said: Interesting take from a fellow citizen @MyriamS I tend to agree that tourism is managed well, awareness of balancing this has vastly improved, but the things that come with tourism, like a change of shop infrastructure and cheap "hotel" rooms is something to watch and potentially not accept. The first (shop) is not a direct result of river cruising but is fed by it of course as well while the latter (cheap accommodation) has nothing to do with river cruisers. Regensburg has always been a hub, the only thing that is a challenge is the amount of river cruisers coming at the same time and disappearing at the same time. As no buses are needed in that specific city to chauffeur passengers around this eases the problem but Bamberg for example faces it. Every city and town is a little different with its own challenges but most can cope with the ships. Mind you, having two Viking ships, one European ship and one German ship all touring their passengers through the old town of Melk at the same time is not the greatest sight for a local I should think... Some cope, some don't. Passau locals are not happy, due to noise and pollution. Rüdesheim for me is "gone", hit hard by too many people wanting to see "Old World Germany". The itinerary I am working on to present on CC for fun will avoid Rüdesheim at all costs.😉 In general, coastal towns have the greater challenge, as recently discussed about Bordeaux. It will be interesting to see if the plans to deal with the large cruise ships will extend to river cruising. notamermaid I am not a German citizen, I am a Frenchwoman living in Germany. Melk has about 5000 inhabitants. Let's say that 5 river cruises ships all visit on the same day, that is 200*5=1000 extra people. Ratio of cruisers to locals: 1/5 I could not find a total number of tourists per day for Melk. If you consider that river cruising is niche and, for every person coming on a river cruise there are nine more than visit by car/bus/train, that is 10 000 visitors a day or a ratio of tourists to locals of 2:1. Meanwhile Saint-Tropez has 4000 inhabitants and in peak season (July-August) receives 80 000 tourists a day. Yes, 80 000: ratio 20/1. About half of those tourists will be French, the other half foreigners, Germans chief amongst them. Personally, I am proud that so many people (including my German friends and colleagues) choose to visit my country for their holidays. France's tourism industry represents 10% of our GDP and 3 million jobs. Do I wish that tourists would be more evenly distributed in time and space? Of course. The Med is very hot and crowded in the summer month, so I would advise people to head somewhere else (like Brittany!) in the summer and visit the Med in the spring or autumn, but I understand not everyone can, especially parents of school-aged children. Overtourism is a serious problem that needs to be tackled with serious solutions, starting with investing tourism revenue in good infrastructure and affordable accommodation for locals. In the most drastic cases, visitors caps can be put in place. Using hyperboles ("my city is gone", "tourism is colonialism" both of which I've heard/read) or dousing people with water is frankly not helpful and is incredibly hypocritical coming from people who are tourists themselves! EDIT: I just realised my Rhine river cruise stops in Rüdesheim... in the middle of January. I'll let the Cruise Critic community know my impression while I walk through whatever remains of the city! 🙂 Edited August 23 by MyriamS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted August 23 Author #599 Share Posted August 23 5 hours ago, MyriamS said: I am not a German citizen, I am a Frenchwoman living in Germany. Thank you for the clarification. 5 hours ago, MyriamS said: dousing people with water Literally?! Who does that?? 5 hours ago, MyriamS said: EDIT: I just realised my Rhine river cruise stops in Rüdesheim... in the middle of January. I'll let the Cruise Critic community know my impression while I walk through whatever remains of the city! It is a small town, but I am nitpicking. You will find it quiet and probably really enjoyable. I just do not recommend visiting it April to September. "Gone" I mean gone down the path of relying on tourism in a way that I do not fancy seeing and that I think it will not come back from. Which does not mean that others may not enjoy it. All in all, I would say river cruisers are not the problem per se in towns and cities but contribute to the perceived problem. Again, it depends on the individual place and as you say the solution - counter measures - must be individual as well. About the new ship: https://www.amadeus-rivercruises.com/our-amadeus-fleet/detail/amadeus-amara.html Standard large size, hull for shallow waters. New itineraries or standard stuff as well? We will find out... notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now