Low water levels in Europe have
disrupted river cruising in
several countries but recent
rainfall has helped.
AFTER weeks of swapping ships and bus
tours replacing some sections of Danube and
Rhine cruises, passengers have had their
Christmas wishes answered with most
itineraries back on track.
In November and early December, Europe’s
worst drought in 200 years have prevented
many vessels from sailing in some shallow
sections of the waterways.
Avalon Waterways had one cruise affected: a
nine-day itinerary from Prague to Vienna with
19 Australian and New Zealand passengers
onboard the new Avalon Panorama.
“Arrangements were made for all passengers
to continue on an adjusted itinerary for the
remainder of their holiday, travelling by coach
and staying at hotels,” Christian Schweitzer,
Avalon Waterways’ marketing manager for
Australasia, told Cruise Weekly.
Passengers were also offered a refund on the
affected two-night portion of their cruise.
“No further disruption is anticipated at this
time,” Schweitzer said.
APT reported limited impact because its ships
have “less draft than most” other vessels.
“All ships are operating normally with only
one small exception, that being that the
AmaLegro, AmaLyra and AmaDolce cruised
only as far as Komarom on their cruises
towards Budapest,” the spokesperson said.
A Budapest city tour was organised from
Komarom for all cruises ending and starting in
Budapest.
John Molinaro, general manager Australia,
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises said sailings
on the Rhine and Danube have primarily
operated as scheduled.
“In some instances the itinerary has been
slightly adjusted.
“Uniworld is fortunate to have the number of
ships that we do, which also helps when faced
with the challenge of modifying itineraries,” he
said.
Liz Glover, marketing manager, Scenic Tours,
said: “We are monitoring this situation daily,
and with our experienced operations team
based in Europe we have managed to keep any
disruptions to a minimum.
“One of the benefits to our guests is that we
have our own fleet of ships in Europe we have
been able to coordinate their availability so
that we can navigate most of the river sections.”
Teresia Fors, Viking River Cruises’ managing
director, Australia & New Zealand, said
conditions were improving after recent heavy
rain and snow.
“It is raining and snowing a lot in Europe at
the moment so all should be fine,” Fors
emailed from Viking’s London office where she
has been based this month.
“We are all back on schedule again,” Fors said.
The company is providing credit to
passengers affected by the earlier changes on
a case-by-case basis.
Other shipping has also been affected, with
around 80 cargo ships recently stranded near
the border of Hungary and Serbia.
Meanwhile, the Danube and Sava’s dry
riverbanks have exposed another surprise:
sunken German World War II-era warships and
unexploded bombs that fell during the 1940s.
