Earlier this month, we reported that German river cruise operator Nicko Tours was facing insolvency and had applied for bankruptcy protection. Now, the company has issued a press release stating that all cruises with departure dates up to and including June 15, 2015 will operate as planned.
The May 21 press release noted that insolvency administrator Michael Pluta, who was appointed on May 5, arranged the guarantee.
Departures beyond June 15, 2015 remain unknown at this point in time. Nicko Tours stated in its press release that passengers and contractors would be informed “as soon as possible” if the company intended to continue operations beyond June 15.
For the average traveller, the more likely question is how Stuttgart-based Nicko Tours could possibly be going bankrupt at a time when both European and North American-based river cruise lines are filling their ships with river cruisers faster than they can build them. Even Strasbourg-based CroisiEurope is mounting ambitious newbuild plans over the next few years that will increase the line’s passenger capacity and fleet substantially.
Since we initially ran the story of Nicko’s near-collapse, we’ve been contacted by several readers – most of whom reside in the UK – who have been left in the lurch by Nicko’s insolvency. Until sailings are formally cancelled (or the line becomes fully insolvent), many travel insurance providers won’t pay out cruise fare refunds. Likewise, customers already booked on Nicko Tours will find taking out trip interruption and cancellation insurance to be fairly useless: Once something is classified as a “known event,” most insurance providers will refuse to pay out if insurance was purchased after the fact.
Nicko Tours isn’t alone. On May 18, Travel Weekly’s Michelle Baran wrote that Newton, Massachusetts-based Tom Harper River Journeys had suddenly shut its doors the week prior, laying off staff and cancelling blocks of staterooms the company had on the books with CroisiEurope, Haimark, and AmaWaterways’ Zambezi Queen. Judging by Baran’s reports of bounced emails and pre-recorded phone messages, Tom Harper River Journeys didn’t see fit to inform its customers that the company was going under.
The lesson of Tom Harper River Journeys, which had been in business just shy of two years, is that the river cruise industry is a complex, multi-faceted industry where the company selling you the tour may not always necessarily be the one operating it. Such is the case with the three aforementioned companies, which now have large blocks of staterooms on their hands.
The question then becomes this: If Nicko does fold on June 15, what will happen to the companies that had chartered or even wet-leased their substantial fleet of river cruise vessels?
More updates on the issues facing Nicko Tours will be published here as they become available.
Carol says
We received a more recent press release directly from Nicko Tours. Anyone seen this in the news?
PRESS RELEASE
nicko cruises will continue until the end of the 2015 season
Stuttgart, Germany, 10 June 2015. nicko cruises, the Stuttgart-based specialist for river cruises, will ensure that their cruises will continue until the end of the 2015 season. The company’s temporary insolvency administrator, Mr. Michael Pluta, was able to arrange this.
At the same time Mr. Pluta also managed to optimise the use of the overall fleet’s capacity. This means that some of the trips starting on 17 June or later will be combined, which will result in an upgrade for most of the customers, involving a better ship or an increased cruise time for the same price. Passengers will not suffer any financial disadvantage.
The company will directly inform customers and contractual partners of the concrete changes to the cruises and their itinerary during the next two weeks. Priority will be given to the trips starting in the week from 17 June, which will receive the corresponding information this week.
Planning certainty for the customers
With this solution, the restructuring expert Michael Pluta and his team managed to ensure planning certainty for the customers until the end of the season. He explains: “In my capacity as the administrator I have to make sure that all ships are operated economically. For this reason we will combine some of the trips to optimise capacity utilisation. It is also important to us here that the customers may benefit to the extent that is possible.”
nicko cruises’ travel agencies will receive a one-off remuneration of 50 euros per person for each change in booking.
For questions about individual cruises, the company’s customer hotline can be contacted by calling +49 711 24 89 80-44 on Monday to Friday from 9 am to 8 pm (Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm). Moreover, the company will also publish information on their website (www.nicko-cruises.de).
About nicko cruises
nicko cruises is a river cruise specialist offering trips on numerous rivers in Europe and worldwide, e.g. on the Danube, the Rhine and the Ganges. The company based
in Stuttgart has a staff of about 100 employees and more than 20 years of
experience in this sector.
Press contact:
relatio PR
Patrick Sutter
Tel.: +49 89-210257-22
Email: [email protected]
Yvonne Horak says
River Cruises are RIDICULOUSLY overpriced!
Ralph Grizzle says
Check CroisiEurope. They are the price leaders for European river cruises.