SBJB8184

Sooooo.... is it true that Viking has cancelled all 2018 Elegant Elbe cruises, but CroisiEurope continues to cruise?  Are the CE ships different than the viking ships that allow them to cruise in shallower water?  Just curious.

Thanks

Host Jazzbeau, thanks for this clarification. Could you please provide links as examples of these 3 forums, particularly the River Cruising - Elbe water levels?

Thanks again.

We have now re-booked the Elegant Elbe from Berlin to Prague with the Krakow / Warsaw extension for next May, hoping that the water levels will improve next spring. I will be switching over to the 2019 thread (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2667752&highlight=elbe), and hope that our friends in Germany will keep us abreast of the situation on that forum.

Our Elbe cruise was cancelled August 22 for a scheduled Sept 9 departure. We have yet to be reimbursed also. We did receive the 25% voucher notification on August 24.

 

 

Paulchilli, did you continue on your City of Lights tour?

I called Viking today and was told that due to all their cancellations, the accounting department was running behind on issuing refunds. I was told that instead of 14 business days, it might take up to 30 business days.

Our Elbe cruise was cancelled August 22 for a scheduled Sept 9 departure. We have yet to be reimbursed also. We did receive the 25% voucher notification on August 24.

Paulchilli, did you continue on your City of Lights tour?

Viking has changed their status page to say the following:

"While the unseasonably hot and dry weather in Europe resulted in low water levels on several rivers earlier this summer, recent rains have improved conditions significantly.

As water levels continue to rise, most sections of the rivers are now stable, making sailing through possible. We expect most itineraries will resume regular operations in the coming weeks."

Have things changed?

We will likely book the Elegant Elbe in spring of next year. We have received an email about the 25% voucher, but the $$ have not yet been deposited into our banking account. We had flights thru Viking, so I am assuming those are cancelled. We really want to do the Poland extension, but I don't see any other Viking River Cruise that offers that extension; thus we maintain our interest in the Elbe cruise, but will hope that spring offers better water levels.

The dreaded e mail arrived today. Our Sept 15th cruise Berlin to Prague has been officially cancelled with full refund and 25% voucher to follow.

I am glad I made alternate arrangements a few days ago as the award ticket I was able to get a few days ago is no longer available now.

Will make lemonade out of lemons :)

Paulchili, what did Viking do about your Cities of Lights tour that followed the Elbe?

Paulchili, you can read the Viking words in my post on this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2558595&page=5

We had paid Viking for our air transportation, so we are covered.

To our friends in Germany, my wife and I were scheduled on the Viking Beyla on Sept 10 sailing from Berlin to Prague. We were advised today that this cruise has now been cancelled. FYI

Thanks for the update. However, Viking has removed the Elbe from it's webpage for the past couple weeks.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

In a review of our Viking Cruise documents, I notice that the Intra-China flights allow a carry-on of ONLY 8 x 16 x 22 and ONLY 11 lbs. Even a normal backpack would exceed the 8 inches. Can folks tell me if this is enforced? What has been your experience on carry-ons?

Thanks.

Caribill, thanks for the clarification.

Thanks for the clarification.

We recently connected flights at the Beijing Airport. They confiscated any portable battery charger anyone had, no matter how small.

 

My suggestion is to leave that item at home or risk confiscation at a Chinese airport.

 

They also confiscated any liquor bottles in sealed duty-free bags even though there was a sign in English saying they would be allowed. Did no good to try to discuss it with them as they spoke no English.

Caribill, you suggest to "leave portable battery chargers at home or risk confiscation". My digital camera battery might only last one day if not re-charged. How can one survive without a camera battery charger?

On a similar topic, what about charging cords for cell phones/ I-pads?

Thanks.

I'll throw in my 2 cents.

We did the HAL D7L 11-day Denali Cruisetour on June 4th this year, starting in Fairbanks and doing land portion to Denali, Anchorage and Seward, then 7 day cruising to Vancouver.

We flew into Fairbanks and the next day took a 3-4 hour bus ride to Denali. As we had less than 24 hours in Denali, there were no excursions scheduled as part of the package. We were able to arrange the Toklat shuttle departing at 5:00 p.m. and going to about 62 mile post in the park. We did see some limited wildlife, and a view of Denali. It was a short night in the Lodge, and then an 8 hour train ride to Anchorage on day 2. Day 3 was a 4-5 hour bus ride to Seward to board the cruise ship.

Therefore on this part of the cruise tour, we spent lots of hours on packed buses / trains, and changing hotel rooms 3 nights in a row. We needed the 7 day cruise to re-invigorate.

We would not do a combined cruise tour unless we had more time to spend at each land location. Again... my 2 cents.

Thanks for sharing...but I have a question. I have not been able to figure out how to post pictures like that. Copy and paste does not seem to work for me. What am I doing wrong?.... Thanks.

Willysmom2, we were also on the Zaandam, sailing from Seward to Vancouver on June 7th. We started with a 3 day land tour first (Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage), and then stayed 2 more days in Vancouver at the end.

I must say, neither my DW or myself are experiencing any of the symptoms that you list. And the other folks that we met on the ship (dinner mates, excursion mates, etc.) were not experiencing anything like that when we departed Sunday.

Sorry for your experience. I understand URI and breathing concerns, but every time we looked around the staff was wiping down the railings both on the ship as well as down the gangway. And we were greeted with the Purel bottle every time we entered a dining area. I know this is not the solution for URI, but I think HAL was doing all they could to keep their guests healthy.

Thanks, for giving me the reassurance.

We are planning an independent tour in Ketchikan that starts at 2:30 p.m. and is listed for 3 hours (i.e. 5:30 p.m.). My HAL itinerary says we depart the port at 7:00 p.m. I have read on these forums that you need to be on-board 90 minutes ahead of departure time. Should I be worried? I see there are HAL tours that are being completed at 5:30, 5:45, even 6:00. I can't find in my documents the 90 minute time rule. Comments?

This is our first HAL cruise (also the Zaandam to Alaska). Can I clarify this dining situation. When we booked the cruise, the HAL rep mentioned a table for 8 and a late seating time. Does that mean we have a "reservation" at a table with the same 8 people every night in the MDR? For non-formal nights, is the dress code jeans/polo shirts or something better than jeans (slacks/ sport shirts)? And then on the 2 formal nights, it is expected to dress up (suit/sports coat, and cocktail dress or fancier for my DW)? Does this only apply to the MDR? If we don't pack formal attire, we can eat at any time in any attire in any of the other restaurants/bars? Thanks for clarifying this for us.

Can someone tell me if the on-board swimming pools on the Zaandam are heated or not? Is it typically too cold to swim during an Alaska cruise - water temperature or air temperature too cold? Trying to decide whether to take swim items for those sea days in early June. Thanks.

And if you read the comments that go along with that list , everyone says IT's WAY TOO MUCH STUFF.

I'm convinced that people complicate the packing issue in order to justify more shopping.

You only need a small suitcase and a daypack.

mapleleaves, I have seen your comments on several threads where you mention "daypacks". I have checked my local sporting goods store and they are not sure what is meant by "daypack". Are you talking about a regular backpack, a small backpack, a fanny-pack, or ?? Got a link to a shopping site that answers the question? I could imagine something to hold a camera or 2, binoculars, raincoat, clothing layers, etc. What else do you take? Thanks for your answer.

Imalori.... the following (with link) was posted in another thread. Pics and info were great.

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http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/sh....php?t=2091037

See page 2, posts 30 & 31 for a review and pictures.

It is one tour that is not to be missed!

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Thanks for all the helpful tips.