masonpips

On Uniworld originally Cologne to Basel. We did Heidelberg today which I adore so that was a great add for us as we’re spending an extra night in Basel before flying home so we get the markets on our own

Overall I feel Uniworld has handled it well. I was on the same cruise in 2018 and we had to be bussed from Basel to Freiburg and then joined the ship.  They have given us Euros

for meals missed on the ship and we have the Marriott in Basel for our last night. 
 

It’s a crapshoot with the weather but we’ve had a great time with friends and it is what it is!
 

5 minutes ago, Pushka said:

We are currently cruising into Cologne on our way to Basel Sunday. We know there may be flooding issues but decisions aren't being made yet. 

We are at Rudesheim headed for Basel. They have already said bus from Strasbourg to Basel but last night someone overhead not sure we can get to S either. 

FYI we’re doing Cologne to Basel starting tomorrow on Uniworld and they’ve amended our last night to be in a hotel in Basel. Our itinerary is slightly amended to add Heidelberg back in (which I loved 5 years ago). 

I did Uniworld 5 years ago and the first couple of nights seemed dressier but as we got farther into it (and we headed north so it got colder) people started to relax a little and you saw pants and sweaters a lot!  We are cruising next month so I'm bringing a few sweater dresses I can wear with tights and my husband will have one pair of slacks and nice sweaters.

On 11/19/2023 at 3:18 AM, Pushka said:

Currently due to high waters several river cruises are being disrupted. Basel is particularly impacted but other ports are as well. 

Ironically 5 years ago we had to go by bus and stay in a hotel versus the Antionette from Basel!  We are cruising her again on Dec 9 so hoping all this rain stops by then and things are normal!

We leave Saturday on Explorer!  I'll report in!

On 11/8/2019 at 11:16 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

Some of those may have come out last year.  RC has opened cruises through April 2021.

But not the TAs?  I searched (there are a couple TPs but I'm interested in Atlantic).  Am I doing something wrong?

On 11/7/2019 at 10:49 AM, Crism said:

Thanks for keeping up with all of this.  Any bookings in the Canary Islands or Gibraltar that would allude to possible Eastbound TAs in March/April/May 2021?  I'm assuming there won't be a San Juan TA so possibly Vision through the Canaries to Barcelona would be similar.

Curious about TAs as well - when do these show up for booking typically?  The latest I see now are November of 2020 - I'm looking for spring 2021.  Thanks

My thought is that as the week goes on, the gym attendance (in general) seems to get lower and lower.  I bet they find that people start to "bail" and attendance is poor so they make them $ to see who is serious and figuring if you pay you'll show up.  Could potentially change this by offering more early and making them awesome workout sessions so people WANT to come back (versus sleep in, drink their way through the day, etc.  LOL)

In Strasbourg heading to Heidelberg. You can stop the rain prayers now. K, thanks! 🤣

1 hour ago, hbr777 said:

Why are they  busing you to Freiburg when the river levels are good?

They did not leave Cologne in time I believe. As of last Friday (last note from them) we weren’t sure where we would meet the boat. At that time they had not moved   

Good morning from Zurich!  On our way to Basel where Uniworld will bus us to Freiburg for Night 1. Rest TBD. I tracked her (SS Antoinette) this am and she has made it to Mannheim so even if we have to bus there tomorrow we will be able to board!  

Many thanks to all who have posted over the last few weeks. I have learned so much and appreciate all your input. Especially notamermaid of course!

8 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Hello sachasmum,

You are right, with this five-day Cologne round-trip itinerary you have no real alternative and just need to wait and see what the ship can do. But with the levels rising I am confident the Robert Burns can stick to the original itinerary. One good thing about the relatively short distance the ship travels is that all the towns are doable by coach or train. Riviera Travel could organise an excursion boat perhaps to give you sailing through the Rhine gorge. With the figures of today she would at least get to Lahnstein at the beginning of the gorge, but probably even to Boppard which is an interesting small town in the gorge. Ships have done this and then returned to Koblenz. But for now the situation looks promising for sailing all the way.

 

notamermaid

 

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Thank you Mark.

 

And while I am here, I will squeeze in a short update in-between household jobs. Maxau has now got its guaranteed navigation channel depth of 210cm again. Several other gauging station indicate that the respective stretches of river have also gained quite a bit of depth. Kaub is well on the way to reaching its depth of 190cm, perhaps in the early hours of the morning, being currently at a depth of 180cm. The gauge is running ahead of its forecast currently showing a few centimetres more than was forecast for late afternoon.

 

Managed to have a quick look at Niehl harbour and did not see the SS Antoinette on marinetraffic. I tracked her then and found out that she has "sneaked out" while I haven't been watching and is already past Bonn, well on her way to reaching Koblenz during the night. Will she continue into the gorge or rest overnight in Koblenz? I am getting excited about this!

 

You lot on the other side of the big pond can follow her on her journey during the night. I shall rest and hope to read more good news over breakfast.

 

Byeee for now.

 

notamermaid

 

Best news ever!  On our flight to AMS then Zurich!  Thanks so much notamermaid and all!  I will update as we go re: the Antoinette!!

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

masonpips,

Freiburg is a lovely place. A nice choice for a hotel stay. You can read up a bit on Freiburg on visit.freiburg.de

 

But I agree with you that this "one day at a time" planning is not pleasant. Especially as the SS Antoinette is still docked in Cologne. Granted, rain is coming. According to the weather forecast on television this evening a considerable amount is expected. I am hopeful that the SS Antoinette can meet you in Freiburg. But even with the rain coming it is not certain yet. Eight days to go and the gorge not "open" yet, that in my humble opinion is a close call.

 

I hope you can still look forward to Christmas markets and some lovely scenery.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you!  We will read up!  At worst I hope they can come south a bit towards us and we can board the 2Nd day.  That would help us feel better!  

Just received an email. This is Uniworld SS Antoinette scheduled for Basel to Cologne on 12/5

We are contacting you with an important update for your December 5 sailing on Rhine Holiday Markets

Due to low water on the Rhine River, the S.S. Antoinette will be unable to reach Basel for embarkation and we will therefore provide the first night of the itinerary at the Colombi Hotel. This is a beautiful 5-star property in nearby Freiburg, a picturesque city in Germany’s Black Forest region.

• Guests with scheduled Uniworld airport transfers will be taken directly to the hotel from the airport in Basel. Transfer time is approximately 45 minutes.
• Guests without scheduled Uniworld transfers will be able to take advantage of one of our complimentary shuttles to the hotel. Shuttle times and pick-up locations are being finalized and will be sent in a separate notification.

Please respond to this notice if you would like us to make changes to the email address we have on file for notifications, or to provide other contact details. While we do not anticipate last-minute changes, we may need to reach out to our guests at any time up to the day of embarkation/check-in.

Rain is predicted in the area, and river conditions are continuously changing. Please be assured that our operations teams are monitoring the situation continuously and will provide a complete program for our guests. However, due to the nature of the situation it will not be possible to confirm all details of the itinerary in advance.

In addition to our pre-departure notifications, once onboard the ship our Cruise Manager will provide a daily briefing for our guests with full details on the upcoming day, based on current conditions.

So now we know. But one night at a time?  And no real specifics on what we’re doing. Ugh. I’d almost rather they’d cancel as they’re not used to doing an “ad hoc” itinerary from what I’ve seen here 

Called and spoke to 2 clueless Uniworld reps in CA today. Was not impressed. Acted like they didn’t know yesterday’s cruise was canceled. Asked where I was getting my tracking info as well as my other intel. When I stated one place was here (in the 12 minutes on hold I heard CC mentioned many time) suddenly the 2nd rep said “oh”. I asked for them to contact someone in Europe who actually knows about the river situation and call me back. Still waiting 

Also left message for TA and sent email explaining call discussion.  Nothing from them either.  

We do not have cancel for any reason insurance and we want to go on a trip. We just want to know WHICH trip. The one we booked or the one we are slamming together on our own and with the help of a new company in Europe who has been wonderful in checking hotels and tours for us. 

32 minutes ago, Valley Girl of VA said:

 

I just received this from AMA after having another long conversation today informing them that I was not pleased with their silence - even if they didn't know what was happening, they needed to alert us that there potentially is a problem.  Seven hours later I received this for my AMAPrima cruise on 12/8:

Dear Valued Guest,

Thank you for choosing AmaWaterways for your river cruise vacation! We look forward to welcoming you onboard for your upcoming cruise.

 

We will provide an email update on Thursday, December 6th as to which itinerary above we will follow. Please be sure to check this link on Thursday, December 6th for the most up to date information.

 

Wow, I'm actually impressed that you got all this detail.  I checked with my TA today (calling Uniworld myself tomorrow) and was told "we don't know anything, stay tuned".  I just want to know if they are CONSIDERING anything or just making a "cancel or not" decision.  I already plan to ask to go up the chain on the phone if I get no info.

I emailed my train route company and asked her to price it all out.  She's been amazing, knowing we can't do anything until we know, so I hope to get that info tomorrow and be prepare to hit "book it" as soon as we know (I just don't see them going through with a modified cruise given the cancelation of this week's trip).

9 minutes ago, paia40 said:

 We have been following the viking posts and appears there is a boat swap in cologne, with a bus ride to Marksburg castle and day cruise of the castles on the rhine, missing koblenz from rudesheim ,returning to another viking ship .

We purchased cancel any reason insurance from our TA, If this is the only modification to our cruise we will not cancel. Looking forward to our journey..

Alan & Kathryn

I’m impressed with their communication!  Still waiting to hear on Antoinette for next Wed (12/5). Since they do not have another ship south by Basel and she is currently sitting in Cologne empty of people, I’m expecting a cancel. I just hope we hear on Wed/Thurs this week so we can enact Part B.  The not knowing is the hard part.  We don’t leave til Sunday so having a few extra days to confirm our Plan B will go a long way towards helping 

I just don’t think they can get her down to Basel and I don’t think they’ll bus us up there and just cruise around there. 

1 hour ago, Valley Girl of VA said:

As we all are somewhat in the same boat regarding Christmas market cruises

 

Ideally, what would you like the cruise lines to do?

 

I would like to have communication, even if it’s a “we’re not sure, but here is the process” from the cruise line. I learned way more on this thread about the river folks deciding on traffic and who could and could not go than I think anyone has learned from their cruise line

I emailed Uniworld and asked about ours and the one before us (now canceled). I received a very canned response. I then found out the 11/28 was canceled. So now I sit with a backup plan (I think) in my back pocket. If they were to email each cruise load of folks every other day with a “we don’t know anything yet but here is what happened to the ship before you” or a “as you know we canceled the 11/28 trip but as of today yours is still on. We anticipate making a decision or hearing from the river authorities by 11/28 as to your trip”

I think most frustration seems to be towards the lack of communication of anything. I feel somewhat fortunate that I knew about the sailing before mine 13 days out. That gave me enough time to start a plan.

For those that get 2 days or less notice and have no back up, and possibly have a day of travel included in those 2 days, I feel for you even more. 

I know on ocean sailings when our ship has had issues the company has sent an email and a text to let us know re: changed itinerary, delayed boarding, etc. Seems the river cruise lines have not had to deal with as many disruptions so they don’t have a clean communication plan 

In the two weeks I've been tracking our boat (SS Antoinette), this is the most it has moved.  I wonder if they were going to try and go out?  Moved to free up space for someone to load at their current location?  

6 minutes ago, bubbulz said:

I'm confused: The SS Antoinette is a Uniworld ship. Also, several others posted above that the Antoinette's sailing on 11/28 had been cancelled. Seems this might impact your mother's trip starting on 12/2, perhaps, if she is on the Antoinette?

I think they were looking for a Tauck ship that does the same itinerary to see if they made it to Basel?

12 minutes ago, JayfromBNA said:

Reading and posting for my mother, who departs on Tauck 12/2 from Cologne to Basel.  Tauck speaks in the river cruise line jargon the others use.

 

On the SS Antionette, is there a companion ship that would also make the trip south -bound?

 

I'd be interested to hear from any Tauck 2018 Christmas Markets cruisers on their experiences.

If you use Cruise Mapper (link to Antoinette https://www.cruisemapper.com/?mmsi=269057366) you can move up and down the river to see where other ships are. The Rhine looks empty from Cologne down (geographically) to Basel. I see no other Uniworld boats which is why I don’t think they are doing ship swaps. I don’t know the Tauck names, maybe you can see a couple?

28 minutes ago, Posy100 said:

This is from the email we received from Uniworld 

“I am so sorry that our team could not reach you by phone to review this. Due to extremely low water levels on the Rhine River, the S.S. Antoinette cannot sail, and the November 28 sailing of the Rhine Holiday Markets cruise must be cancelled. 

 

All booked guests will receive a full refund of all monies paid to Uniworld, and a GBP 800 per person Future Cruise Credit for use on a cruise in 2019 or 2020. Additionally, we will reimburse up to GBP 400 per person for cancellation fees on independently booked air.

 

Seems very fair under the circumstances, we are based in the UK, but assume same refund will apply to all. At least we have had the anxiety removed, but feeling very flat today that we won’t be going. We were so looking forward to it. Happy travels to everyone who sails up or down the Rhine, hopefully it will be us next year! 

 

Thank you for sharing. I agree it seems fair given the situation and I like the length of time given to use the certificate!  I’m sorry about your trip. My mom and I have been so excited so I am pretty sure we will go and wing it to an extent just to go. 

23 hours ago, DYoungIllinois said:

Just notified that our Christmas Market cruise on the SS Antoinette with Uniworld on 11/28 has been cancelled. They had advised 3 days ago it was going as scheduled, but today emailed that the folks in charge of marine traffic have made the decision for them. Not sure if that applies to everyone?  Probably better than a bus trip. Extremely disappointing and lots to cancel. Getting a full refund through travel ins. hopefully, and 1000 pp to use on a future cruise. 

Question: when you say full refund through insurance you mean for other items you've booked?  We've done our own airfare and some train tickets.  If ours is canceled, I assume Uniworld is providing the cruise refund and you'll pursue anything else you booked via insurance?  Is there an expiration policy on the $1000?  Thanks and good luck in working through the details!

5 hours ago, Magpie22 said:

Situation must be pretty bad, to hear that cruises are now being cancelled with 6 days notice (SS Antoinette).  We are booked on the Uniworld trip on the same ship from Basel to Cologne departing 5 December so that must be now doubtful?  Although I do note some impending rain, but to what effect that will have I have not a clue?

We’re on this as well. I’m going to spend some time tonight and tomorrow seeing if I can cobble together a train version of this since we plan to visit family at the end. I’m pretty sure we could end up with a cheaper trip overall and still get the $$ from Uniworld for a future cruise. 

That way if we get the call we can make a decision then.