High Waters Force Danube River Cancellations, Ship Swaps

Though river levels have started to fall, and parts of the Danube in Austria are once again open to traffic, at least two sailings on the Danube River have been canceled due to unusually high waters, while other departures – on both the Danube and Rhine rivers – have required ship swaps.

Avalon Waterways
“The Danube is experiencing higher-than-average water levels, due to an unprecedented amount of rain in the last month,” said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways. “This week, we made the decision to cancel two cruises on the lower Danube, due to ship access and availability,”

The canceled sailings are the June 7 Balkan Discovery sailing and the June 13 Active & Discovery on the Lower Danube departure.

“For both, we provided cruisers – and their travel advisors – options, recognizing the inconvenience” Hoffee said. “Other cruises departing this week on the upper Danube are experiencing itinerary deviations. Our operations team is constantly monitoring the situation and making any necessary updates to accommodate the conditions while ensuring the best possible experience for our guests.”

Avalon isn’t the only cruise line impacted by the flooding.

AmaWaterways
“High water conditions are impacting access to certain upper Danube docking locations this week,” a spokesperson for AmaWaterways told TMR. “Our experienced operations team has been adjusting itineraries and using alternative docking facilities and arranging ships swaps to ensure guests are still able to enjoy the excursions planned. High water conditions tend to arrive and disappear very quickly and we always have back up plans in place to adapt and minimize any impact on our guests’ river cruise experience. We have not cancelled any cruises.”

Scenic & Emerald
“On the Danube, guests of Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours and Emerald Cruises are informed and aware a combination of ship swaps, changing embarkation/disembarkation locations, and alternating itineraries where necessary is occurring,” a Scenic spokesperson said.

Guests on upcoming sailings will be notified up to seven days before departure (as necessary) and offered the opportunity to move to an alternate date.

Ships affected include Scenic Amber, Scenic Jade, Scenic Jewel, Emerald Sky, and Emerald Star.

He added, “Where Scenic Group cannot deliver the vacation as promised, or changes to the itinerary are extensive, River Cruise Cover has been enacted.”

Scenic’s River Cruise Cover program provides compensation for significant itinerary changes and disrupted days.

Uniworld
A spokesperson for Uniworld said sailings along the Danube and Rhine rivers have been impacted, “temporarily affecting operations for all river cruise lines.”

“We are actively monitoring the situation and communicating with impacted Uniworld guests and their Travel Advisors as soon as changes to the embarkation point, sailing schedule, and/or tours are known and confirmed; with solutions being determined on a case-by-case basis. Due to the changing nature of the situation, we are not always able to provide specific details in advance. Guests can be assured that the operations team is working diligently to provide them with alternatives that meet Uniworld’s strict standards for quality and service, delivering the 5-star experience that they know and expect.”