Low water levels continue to affect sailings in Europe on the Danube and Elbe rivers. In an ironic twist, high water levels are necessitating changes along the Mississippi in America.
Viking River Cruises has (as of July 7) listed changes to 11 itineraries scheduled to depart in the next week:
- July 10 – Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Eistla – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Bestla.
- July 10 – Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Bestla – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Eistla.
- July 12 – Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Lif – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Skadi.
- July 12 – Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Skadi – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Lif.
- July 13 – Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Baldur – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Magni.
- July 13 – Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Magni – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Baldur.
- July 12 (hotel check-in) – Passage to Eastern Europe (Budapest to Bucharest) aboard Viking Embla – After beginning this cruisetour with the scheduled 2-night hotel stay in Budapest, guests will embark sister ship Viking Aegir.
- July 12 (hotel check-in) – Elegant Elbe (Prague to Berlin) aboard Viking Schumann – After beginning this cruisetour in Prague, guests will embark sister ship Viking Fontane in Melnik.
- July 12 (hotel check-in) – Elegant Elbe (Berlin to Prague) aboard Viking Fontane – After beginning this cruisetour in Berlin, guests will embark sister ship Viking Schumann in Magdeburg.
- July 15 – Grand European Tour (Amsterdam to Budapest) aboard Viking Kvasir – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Idi.
- July 15 – Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) aboard Viking Idi – This cruise will begin on sister ship Viking Kvasir.
Viking states that all guests on affected sailings – or their travel agent – should have received email notification stating they will embark an identical sister-ship and that stateroom assignments will remain the same. The line asks that those guests who did not receive an email to get in touch with their travel agent, or Viking on 1-877-668-4546 xt. 4525 or email [email protected].
At the time of this writing, no other river cruise lines had announced itinerary changes beyond what we’ve previously reported on.
In the United States, however, high waters on the Mississippi are toying with American Queen Steamboat Company’s American Queen. The line will move the elegant paddlewheeler to the Ohio River for three separate sailings in order to get away from water issues elsewhere.
Affected sailings are:
- July 9, 2014
- July 15, 2014
- July 23, 2014
Guests on the July 9 sailing will travel by bus to St. Louis, while guests on the July 15 departure will be transferred from their pre-cruise hotel stays in St. Louis to Paducah. Guests on the July 9 and 15 sailings can stay on the affected departure and receive up to $100 in onboard credit, per person, and a $500 future cruise credit per stateroom. They can also move their bookings to a late 2014 Upper Mississippi sailing and enjoy a one category upgrade where available.
American Cruise Lines, which also operates along the Mississippi, stated they would sail as planned, though some ports of call along the way might change due to the high water levels.
We’ll continue to update the water levels situation in both Europe and the United States as more information becomes available.
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