Central Europe Floods: How River Cruise Companies Are Adapting
by Daniel McCarthy
Flooded Danube in Hungary.
The worst flooding that Europe has seen in two decades has killed at least 24 people in Central Europe.
According to reports, Europe is both starting to recover from the flooding, which began last week after torrential rain caused rivers in the region to overflow, bursting banks in several parts and killing at least 24 people, and preparing for it to potentially worsen.
The flooding is impacting parts of Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Hungary, including portions of the Danube River, a main artery for Europe’s river cruise industry. For those river cruise companies, the floods are impacting sailings along that river, and guests sailing itineraries there over the next week or so should expect disruptions.
What river cruise lines are doing
Viking River Cruises is changing “select itineraries” because of the flooding. A spokesperson told TMR that guests along the Danube could be forced to do a ship swap because of the water levels, but that the Viking team will do whatever it can to minimize those disruptions.
“Our Switzerland-based nautical team is continually monitoring the situation and will make any necessary adjustments to accommodate the conditions,” Viking’s sailing page says.
Avalon Waterways is changing two current sailings, communicating those changes directly with guests and travel advisors. It is also canceling two future sailings.
“While we do everything we can to create contingency plans that offer Avalon guests incredible experiences when Mother Nature intervenes with record rainfall in a short period of time, it becomes increasingly difficult to deliver an elevated cruising experience,” Avalon Waterways told TMR in a statement on Monday.
A spokesperson for AmaWaterways, for instance, told TMR on Monday that “the high water has caused some minor inconveniences.” Those include some ship swaps or adjustments in impacted areas to make itineraries work. No AmaWaterways itinerary has yet to be canceled by the floods.
Riviera Cruises has also been forced to make changes. A spokesperson said that “a small number of Riviera’s scheduled itineraries” have been affected. “In these situations, the line has an experienced team focusing on making itinerary and excursion amendments to ensure any guest disruption is minimized.”
Scenic Group told TMR that the ongoing flooding “will require modification of ship itineraries and schedules frequently and on short notice.”
“Where possible we will reschedule our fleet of Scenic Space-Ships and Emerald Cruises Star-Ships to allow us to enact ship swaps. However, we are restricted with the current rising water levels, specifically around the upper Danube River areas of Vienna and Budapest,” a spokesperson added.
“We are working closely with our team on the ground in Europe and are contacting as a priority all guests and their travel advisors if their river cruise is impacted. The Scenic Group management team are committed to doing everything we can and will provide further updates on this page as the situation progresses. Our thoughts are with our local teams, families, and all impacted by these devastating floods.”
Uniworld is also making changes.
“Due to unseasonably high water levels in Central Europe, various cities and stretches along Danube rivers have been impacted, temporarily affecting operations for river cruise lines. We are actively monitoring the situation and communicating any program adjustments with impacted Uniworld guests and their Travel Advisors,” a Uniworld spokesperson said.
“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.”
Riverside Luxury Cruises said it also has made some major changes. Riverside Mozart remains docked at Vienna, Austria, and will not continue to Passau, Germany, where the current voyage was scheduled to conclude on September 19.
“At the cruise line’s expense, Riverside is arranging transfers to Passau or Munich, Germany, for guests on disembarkation day to meet their flights or next scheduled engagement with minimum interruption,” a spokesperson said.
Riverside Mozart’s September 19th voyage has also been canceled.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
