DLCNF

We have been in Lucerne for 3 days. Had a wonderful time and great weather until rain this evening. Flying from Zurich to Frankfurt tomorrow to start our revised Debussy cruise. Crystal paid for the flight. Boarding the ship in Lahnstein. Will try keep you posted on how it goes

Fran

Thank you, Fran, for posting...we are on the Debussy out of Amsterdam on Sept. 6th and no one from Crystal has let us know what, if any, changes in our itinerary there will be except for an email saying - at this time we are erring on the side of caution to prepare our guests for a possible change of itinerary on this upcoming cruise -

Would so appreciate it if you could keep us posted on the changes in your itinerary and how it happened that Crystal paid for your flight.

I am new to Cruise Critic postings so not sure exactly how to respond to threads, hoping I got this right....We are scheduled to join Crystal Debussy on the next leg and have not been told WHERE we are going...only that according to an email yesterday our itinerary may change and received this same sentence - "Due to unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe, the Rhine River, specifically in the area upstream of Koblenz, Germany, is experiencing extremely low water levels. . Seeing this post is so distressing as it appears they know that our cruise will end in Koplenz which is our third stop of eight on our ten day cruise....which obviously in a week will not change. This is unacceptable that they have given us NO more information than this.

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

Crystal’s River Operations team continues to monitor the unseasonably dry conditions in central Europe and we are implementing contingency plans across the fleet to deliver the best experience for our guests.

As we make these changes, we are communicating to guests and their travel agents as quickly as possible. I apologize if we have fallen short of your expectations.

For Crystal Ravel’s Majestic Europe voyage (noted in this thread) we offered the following options:

For guests who wished to sail the amended itinerary:

They received a refund of the difference in cruise fare between what they paid and the cost of the amended cruise;

For those with independent flight arrangements, they received up to $1,000 per guest reimbursement for the cost of amending their return flights from Basel/Zurichto Munich International or toward the purchase of a separate ticket from Munichto Basel/Zurich;

For those with flights arranged by Crystal, we worked on alternate flight options at no additional cost;

They received a Future Cruise Credit of $1,000 per guest, valid toward any Crystal Experience (Ocean, River or Yacht Expedition) embarking on or before December 31, 2020.

For guests who did not wish to travel on the amended itinerary they could either:

Switch their booking to any 2018 or 2019 Crystal River cruise (same suite category) and receive up to $1,000 per guest reimbursement toward the cost of amending their independent airline arrangements to match their new cruise itinerary and their original fare was protected; conversely, if the cruise fare was lower, we will refund the difference;

Cancel their reservation and receive a 100% refund of all items charged by Crystal.

While it is never our intention to change our itineraries, the safety of our guests and crew continues to be of the utmost importance. We thank all of you for your patience and understanding during these unfortunate weather conditions.

Sincerely,

 

Walter Littlejohn

Vice President & ManagingDirector

Crystal River Cruises

 

Has anyone been on a Rhine River Cruise in the last month? We are scheduled to leave next week out of Amsterdam on Crystal's Debussy Riverboat and hear that the river is dried up and boats cannot complete the itinerary. Crystal is being less than forthcoming. Any info would be greatly appreciated!