Keil Canal

Hello - we are cruising on Aurora R722 - 6 Dec - on the P & O website the map of the route clearly shows the ship going through the Kiel Canal. I have asked the question if this is correct and someone said that Aurora was too big to go through the canal. I emailed P & O and they said 'subject to change'.

Does anyone know if it can in fact use the canal? It would be smoother sailing than the north sea!!

Aurora is too big for the Kiel canal.

Brian

If you accept the information on Wikapedia as being correct then Aurora is too long and has too deep a draught to navigate the canal. She may also be too high to go under the bridges (42m limit).

We navigated the canal on Balmoral some years ago and a most pleasant experience it was too but even Balmoral which is a much smaller ship than Aurora had too lower part of the mast to cruise the Kiel canal.

Bit naughty advertising it is going through then isn't it!!!

http://www.pocruises.com/r722/?search=true

Bit naughty advertising it is going through then isn't it!!!

 

http://www.pocruises.com/r722/?search=true

Perhaps they got a little confused as Adonia is apparently canal regulations compliant?

I believe that Adonia would be the only P and O ship able to transit the Kiel Canal.

A few years ago we did it on the sister ship Azamara Journey and really enjoyed it.

I believe that Adonia would be the only P and O ship able to transit the Kiel Canal.

A few years ago we did it on the sister ship Azamara Journey and really enjoyed it.

If so, how incompetent or careless that this mistake has been made - and moreover not yet corrected. Are these things not checked, read or critically assessed before being advertised? If board members recognise that Aurora cannot transit the Kiel Canal how come it's slipped through the planning, printing and sales stage? If P&O recognise that it's 'subject to correction' I wonder why, having had the error pointed out, that there isn't some urgency involved in correcting the website. Smacks of that totally unbelievable example last year when Geiranger and Flam had both been removed from a one week Fjords cruise and was still being advertised and sold as such some considerable time after the change. Mistakes do happen but what I can't understand is that they don't show their customers the courtesy of making immediate corrections to their website.

If so, how incompetent or careless that this mistake has been made - and moreover not yet corrected. Are these things not checked, read or critically assessed before being advertised? If board members recognise that Aurora cannot transit the Kiel Canal how come it's slipped through the planning, printing and sales stage? If P&O recognise that it's 'subject to correction' I wonder why, having had the error pointed out, that there isn't some urgency involved in correcting the website. Smacks of that totally unbelievable example last year when Geiranger and Flam had both been removed from a one week Fjords cruise and was still being advertised and sold as such some considerable time after the change. Mistakes do happen but what I can't understand is that they don't show their customers the courtesy of making immediate corrections to their website.

If it is true I do find this quite shocking. If I had booked this cruise and it was changed I would go to trading standards. Saying something is subject to change is not a reasonable 'get-out' for selling something which will never be deliverable and not reacting once aware.

I think half the problem is that the people who answer the phones aren't all very familiar with the product, so just read scripted guidance. This means questions asking will the ship sail/dock at XYZ receives the 'subject to change' response without further flagging.

I would call back and ask for it to be escalated.

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In 2001 we sailed the Keil canal on Norwegian Dream . At the time it was the largest ship to sail through and people lined the banks waving flags and bands played.There was a special ceremony to lower the funnel at one point to go under a bridge. It was a great experience.

We went through the Kiel canal on Adonia in December 2014 nd were told that she was the only P&O ship small enough to go through. We were also told that she had to be modified after her first trip through because there was something (I can't recall exactly what) that had to be taken down to enable her to go under all of the bridges.

It was something on my bucket list and was a great experience.

2 of the crew cycled along to raise money for Macmillan Cancer, we were encouraged to cheer them on when we saw them cycling and to sponsor them.

We have been through the Kiel Canal twice on Adonia at the end of a Baltic cruise. A wonderful experience. The captain announced that Adonia was the largest ship able to transit the canal. They had to lower the mast to clear the bridges and when we did go under there was very little clearance. The captain also made great use of the ship's hooter in reply to many small craft on the canal. On our second trip, four of the crew cycled the length of the canal to raise money for Macmillan. Lots of cheering and waving and more use of the ship's hooter. A superb day.

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I have been through the Kiel Canal twice, once on Adonia and once on a Fred ship. I wouldn't pay money to do it again, quite boring actually.

I have been through the Kiel Canal twice, once on Adonia and once on a Fred ship. I wouldn't pay money to do it again, quite boring actually.

We went through, both ways, in 2014 on the Fred Olsen ship Braemar. Surprisingly enough the captain informed us that it was the largest ship able to navigate the canal, maybe he meant without modification. I personally thought it was great, like a mini river cruise on an ocean going ship. A really pleasant and surprisingly enjoyable experience. I suppose it depends on what you enjoy about cruising, each to his own.

I personally thought it was great, like a mini river cruise on an ocean going ship. A really pleasant and surprisingly enjoyable experience. I suppose it depends on what you enjoy about cruising, each to his own.

Quite agree. We've been through the Panama and Suez Canals several times but, although completely different, we found the transit of the Kiel Canal aboard Black Watch very enjoyable. Granted, the weather was sunny and warm which always helps. The pastoral scenery on either side was delightful and a few glasses of bubbly completed a very pleasant transit.

I must say that I am not a fan of P&O Shoreside at the best of times. Having followed the link above, whilst the Map View of the itinerary does show the ship going 'cross-country', I can't find any mention of the Keil Canal and it does say that the day after Hamburg is a day "at sea". I have also looked at the 2016 - 2018 brochure and there is no mention of the canal there either.

We have done this cruise itinerary a few times on different ships and unfortunately it has always gone round the long way, even on Artemis.

The difference I can see this time however is the order of the ports. They usually head to Oslo before Copenhagen but that might have to do with who else is around and there are a couple of other ships doing a similar cruise on other lines at the same time.