Glen Lismore

1 hour ago, Canal archive said:

Trying to track vessels at the moment is interesting as more than a few have turned off their signals but it looks like Scenic Crystal is moored up with a couple of Viking vessels and just upstream of them are two (I think) of the ex Crystal vessels. I hope they all didn’t have passengers and I’m so surprised that Scenic could get into this debacle.

Yep that is accurate,  we are sitting on Scenic Crystal tied up behind Viking ships in Regensberg,  rumour on the ship today is Scenic have cancelled the return trip to Budapest due to uncertainty of vessels getting to Amsterdam on time. 

On 3/31/2023 at 9:49 PM, notamermaid said:

Thank you for getting back to us. It is sooo disappointing. And I can understand it if passengers are rather unhappy with this. Have you decided yet what you will be doing?

 

Do you know if Scenic has at least been able to arrange chartering an excursion boat to give you some sailing in the Rhine Gorge?

 

Not sure if it helps anyone, but here is the official data sheet detailing the closure: https://www.elwis.de/DE/dynamisch/mvc/main.php?modul=nfb&action=searchOne&LANGUAGE=DE&NFB_ID=2840/2022

 

notamermaid

 

We are leaving the ship in Regensberg like many others, the idea of packing daily in motel rooms then travelling by bus is not for us, we are now heading to Cologne for an extended stay and the the same again in Amsterdam,  an no there was no offer for an extra bit of siteseeing cruise. 

We are on the Scenic Crystal and they are putting everyone on buses who wish to stay with them, it will be hotels all the way to Amsterdam from Regensberg.  Many are choosing to end their trip at that point and chase refunds. Then make their own arrangements.  

9 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

It was the "Gau" that pulled "Achim" out of the lock.

 

The strike has affected maintenance work on the Main. There I have read confirmation that lock closure could continue over the weekend at a few locks, i.e. until 1 April or a couple of days longer.

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks Again for the information,  now it is a wait and see, I will let you know what happens after Regensberg but it appears now from our lunchtime briefing our time on the ship is ending day 7 of 15, one guest has suggested Scenic had taken a gamble with the early cruise date and appear to have been caught out by a minor maintenance delay. 

7 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Looking at ‘Marine Traffic’ the only passenger cruise vessels ahead of you are at least two Viking boats. It looks like that beyond Nuremberg the only vessels showing are police boats. It’s showing two Scenic vessels moored in Arnhem all the rest are behind your ship. Will keep a look out and fingers crossed everything works out well for you.

Thanks for the update. Yep definitely fingers crossed here. 

Just had a further conversation with the cruise director and he is saying the reason behind the ship stopping in Regensberg and putting us onto buses from there is all the lock maintenance on the main danube canal has been delayed,  I am not familiar with any of this other than the fact we are ending our cruise 7 days into 15. 

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

It is something to be considered. I would definitely see how things go on the ship, take note of any conversations and timing, as well as official data from the Federal Waterways authorities. As I said, I am a little puzzled by the time line. There may have been a delay at the locks due to the strike, but one report from BR states that the rescue operation of the "Achim" has not been affected by a strike action delay.

 

We will see how it goes tomorrow at Geisling lock.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Thanks again for the update, any information about the progress at the lock would be appreciated. 

7 hours ago, reeves35 said:

That is incredibly disappointing; Regensberg is not even halfway to Amsterdam so your holiday can hardly be called a river cruise at all.  I do not understand how Scenic cannot organise an alternative ship to meet you up further up-river to resume your cruise onboard as you would have thought they have a similar issue with ships heading towards Budapest.  I would be demanding a substantial portion of your cruise cost to be refunded.

They are saying they have no ships coming back this was as they are all in the North at the moment,  we will be trying for a substantial refund but our preference would be to do the cruise that we travelled all the way to Europe from Australia to do, this was a holiday of a lifetime that Scenic seem very comfortable to just blow off with little regard for their customers.  

13 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

That is disappointing. I am a bit surprised as lock maintenance was scheduled to be on till 31 March anyway. But I am not familiar with details so perhaps you miss it just by a day or even less? Of course, if timing is off on such a long journey you cannot make it to Amsterdam on the day, meaning the cruise after you cannot start on time so effectively they would run the ship to Amsterdam without the scheduled docking for passengers? Not sure that I can find out much more from the news - the captains have better access to the shipping info than me of course - but I will have another look at what is going on at Geisling lock and beyond.

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks for the response,  we are actually not due to reach Regensberg till Sunday the 2nd of April so I am surprised that scenic is saying we are not going to be able to pass through.  

Also do you know if the barge has been removed from the lock as yet ? 

We are leaving Budapest on Scenic Crystal tonight 28/03 heading to Amsterdam on what was supposed to be 15 nights and have now been informed our actual ship time will end in Regensberg as they apparently can't get through the lock and we will have to travel the rest of the way by bus. Very disappointed to say the least.