Reflections on Danube Cruise during flooding with Uniworld

[papa B me]

We were on the SS Maria Teresa June 2-9 on the Danube sailing from Budapest to Passau.  I purposely delayed posting my thoughts as I've found with a little time and perspective my thoughts tend to change.  We left the ship a day early(I'll explain shortly) thinking that Uniworld did the best job possible in a very difficult situation.  I'm happy to say that 2 weeks later I still feel the same.

 

We left for Budapest on May 30th.  For the first time ever I had Uniworld book our flights.  Working with our travel agent and Uniworld on the phone we were able to get times/flights that were great at about $1000 a person cheaper then I had found looking on my own.  We booked with United leaving Knoxville but was shared with Swiss Air which we flew from Chicago to Zurich and then on to Budapest.  We were in business class which always makes the flights a bit easier.  These were the strangest flights I've been on.  Swiss Air was total chaos in Chicago and it appeared by the app our luggage was sitting on a Carousel in Chicago.  Swiss Air assured us that it was booked all the way through but the app never updated.  By the time we landed in Budapest we were ahead of schedule and luggage was there.  So out of the chaos all was well.

 

We had booked Uniworld's pre cruise trip.  I know most prefer to book their own pre cruise and you can definitely save money, but I really like the stress free aspect of letting Uniworld handle all the details.  Uniworld provided a private driver which got us to the hotel Uniworld uses which was the Kempinski Budapest Cornivus.  The hotel was in a perfect location that allowed us to walk everywhere we wanted to go.  Full breakfast was provided and a great tour was included.  Met a few couples that we would spend a great deal of time at meals and downtime on the ship.  Uniworld as in our past 3 cruises did an excellent job on the precruise.

 

On Sunday June 2 we were painlessly transferred to the ship which was docked upstream a little outside of town center.  We had a nice lunch and spent time up deck relaxing until the room was ready.  We had booked a suite but put a bid in for the minimum on the 1 grand suite which is 400 sq ft with a separate living/bed room and a wonderful bathroom with tub, shower, double sinks and bidet. Unbelievably we got it.  We quickly met the 2 butlers who made the week over the top as far as service.  We were staying overnight and about 9:00 we started the sail down river to see the Parliament bldg lit up in all its glory.  We docked closer to the Central Market.  The next morning an announcement was made that we would be leaving at around 2 instead of 6 as the captain was being told of the water issues coming and wanted to get to Bratislava early.  We skipped the morning tour so we could go to a thermal bath for a few hours and then to the Central Market for last minute shopping.  We were back on the ship by 1:30 and then on our way by 2.

 

We have sailed this itinerary at Christmas a few years ago on this exact ship and I was disappointed how little time we had in Bratislava.  So I was excited to know were going to get a few more hours there.  I didn't realize that night it would be 4 days.  By now the flood was at full force and the river was closed.  We did our normal tours the first day.  The second day they bussed us to Vienna for a full day of tours and a concert that afternoon and gave us 50 Euros for lunch and back to the ship about 6:00.  The third day we explored Bratislava and walked up to the castle.  After lunch they scheduled an unplanned tour of a castle/palace with magnificent gardens where we picked apples and cherries off the trees, wandered the gardens after the castle tour and had a wonderful afternoon.  That evening we a scheduled 70's party which was lots of fun and dancing.  Day 4 was the hardest as the captain decided to not let anyone off the ship as he was being told the river would open and he wanted to be prepared to head towards Linz.  About 2 pm he left the dock basically floating so that as soon as it opened we were on our way.  Due to the strong current and flooding upstream still a problem at Linz and Passau, this was effectively the end of the tours.  We knew at this point we weren't going to make Passau but was trying for Linz to disembark.

 

Friday the 7th would be all day making our way up river.  Our flights were 10 am out of Munich on Sunday the 9th.  We were told at the before dinner meeting that disembarkation info would be in the rooms later that night.  After dinner the cruise director came to our room and said that the way it looked we would have to leave the ship about 2 am Sunday Morning to safely get to Munich for our flights at 10 am.  Instead he said if we accept it that they were making a technical stop prior to Linz and that he would book a car to pick us up and take us the 2 1/2 hour drive to Munich and pay for us to stay at the Hilton at the airport and give us 100 Euros for dinner.  So we gladly accepted.  We had a nice morning of sailing and lunch on Saturday the 8th, and time up deck relaxing in the afternoon and docked about 5 pm at the technical stop.  The butlers came and got our luggage and within about 15 minutes we were on our way to Munich.  Hotel was great and literally a short walk underground to the check in at the airport.  Arrived on time home .

 

There is no doubt that it was disappointing missing 2/3 of the tours.  Many were angry equally at Uniworld which I really never understood.  Several left the ship at their own cost while in Bratislava to go to Vienna and fly home early.  But my wife and I and the people we enjoyed hanging out with all felt that it was an incredibly relaxing and luxurious week.  We felt Uniworld did all they could to make it enjoyable and memorable in a very difficult situation.

 

About a week ago we received an email with $1000 each credit towards a future cruise that can be booked through 12/31/2026.  We definitely plan on using them.  Sorry for the long report but I truly wanted to get across that with all the suffering that was going on for the residents of the Danube that getting stuck in a beautiful town and living in luxury for a week waited on hand and foot made my wife and I feel very grateful and blessed.  Hopefully all is now getting better for both sailing and peoples lives.

[Roz]

Great report. 👏  Glad you were able to make the best of a difficult situation beyond the cruise line's control. Like you,  I would have stuck it out.  No flying home early. 

[shank63]

Thank you for taking the time to report the event.  We had been on the SS Maria Teresa the previous week, disembarking in Budapest on June 2.  We stayed in Budapest for 2 additional nights and then 4 nights in Prague.  At some point, we learned of the flooding on the Danube.  Of course we were totally surprised and concerned.  We are relieved, thanks to your report, that Uniworld did whatever was possible to make the best of the situation and accommodate the needs of the passengers.  We have been ocean cruisers for years and this was our first river adventure, very pleased with Uniworld.

Bob & Beverly

[Rebel54]

Very nice report.  Sounds like you made the most out of a situation that was beyond their control.  More people should learn from you.