dlf aust

17 hours ago, Newby2272 said:

Hello,

We are supposed to fly out Friday for our Romaric Danube cruise. It starts in Regensburg June 15th. We haven’t heard anything from Viking. When I call and ask, they say no changes as of right now. Will we be able to cruise the whole trip?  We also have a walking tour in Passau.  I’m wondering if that will happen.  So many questions but Vikings customer service isn’t saying anything. 

apart from the river activities everything is running as normal in Passau (tours, churchs, shops, cafes, restaurants etc). They are all keenly waiting for you to spend your tourist dollar.

There is very little evidence of the high water except at the very water-front areas. Mostly that is cleaned up and there is some municipal works (pipes, drainages etc) that are no different to the disruption associated with pot-hole repairs. 

we were there on Monday 10th. No issues with any town or nearby area tours.

20 hours ago, Lovely1234 said:

Were you able to rebook or receive a credit for future travel?  Vacation to a flood ravaged area in the process of cleanup is not my idea of a relaxing experience.  The supply chain has been interrupted, and structural stability along the river is being evaluated by engineers according to news reports.  Just because the boats are allowed to sail, doesnt mean they should be at this time.  Our hope for rebooking option on Scenic looks highly unlikely given the "welcome aboard" email I received today.

As per previous posts Lovely1234 'dont stress'. These are not the 1:100 type floods you have in mind but more like 1:10 etc and less in some parts. The river towns are generally quite sloping/steep so very few town areas are actually affected. This does not diminish from some parts that did have some issues but in the majority of cases everything is pretty much OK.

We were in Passau Monday and the whole town is fine, walking tours etc all as per normal.  In most cases there is little evidence and the clean up is mostly well advanced for the waterfront basements/parking garages and waterfront pathways that got submerged.

Basically the summary would be "business as usual for cruises and locals" with minor adjustments because some boats couldn't complete full journeys LAST WEEK and EARLY THIS WEEK with boats out of scheduled locations.  Most companies are well advanced at doing the necessary juggles and by the weekend it is unlikely there will be much bussing/transfers.

It is just as likely a tour later in the year will be affected by low water levels anyway. These are a lot more disruptive than a short period of high water levels and sadly much more frequent as the years progress..

From what the authorities' website is saying all of Austria is good to go now and @dlf aust has just confirmed that traffic is moving to and from Engelhartszell. 

On Emerald Sky (swapping back to Emerald Star at Melk today to correct itineraries). Completed the full trip from Engelhartszell to Melk last night (12 hours steaming). The Viking boat with us was Viking Modi.

** quite a few of the long-ships moored up in Linz. Perhaps at present only the "regular" sized boats (100-200 pax, 2 & 3 deckers) are able to run to Engelhartszell (ie. Emerald Star and Emerald Sky, Viking Modi/Alta, Tauck boats like Espirit etc).

** commercial traffic is limited upstream of Linz and still lot of industrial barges moored up.

Hi All,

On Emerald Sky which has been sitting at Engelhartszell downstream of Passau for last 3 days.

At 7pm Austria time 3 boats (Viking, Emerald and 1 other) were given the OK to sail downstream toward Linz. Just passed through the first lock all OK (near Sommerberg/Schonleiten @ 22;30).

Boats have been moving between Vienna and Linz for today at least (and probably yesterday, if not earlier).

Emerald Sky (and 3 other boats) were moored at Engelhartszell since Sunday as the weir-lock between Engelhartszell and Passau was closed (and also bridges at Passau due to strong Danube and River Inn flows, we were there by bus Monday and water levels still high and fast flowing).

It would appear that the Danube cruise section from Budapest to Engelhartszell (upstream of Linz, just below Passau) is now open and boats are moving.

Emerald Sky and Emerald Star will swap passengers at Melk tomorrow (Wednesday) to bring the boats back onto their original itineraries (at mooring or by bus yet to be advised). Emerald Sky will return upstream towards Passau (but may only get to Engelhartszell atm).