Viking on the Mississippi

[bcorre2]

Nice to see CC forum admin combine multiple threads to make this one easier to follow. :)

[BJR52001]

Now if the admins could only do the same thing to the Jones and PVSA acts ;)

[JVilleGal]

Looking forward to following along. While I have never thought to consider Viking, for this sailing I may just need to change my mind.

 

 

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[Calliope]

Hopefully, the Str. DELTA QUEEN will be operating again before the first Viking long boat heads up the Mississippi River! And until the time the DQ returns I see no need to to go on any overnight boat other than the Str. AMERICAN QUEEN.

[BJR52001]

All they have to do is pass that safety exemption because the DQ has a wood superstructure.

[bcorre2]

Viking now has a page to sign up for information about their upcoming Mississippi River cruises. We'll continue to follow and hope to join them in 2019 as we're booked for 2 Viking Ocean Cruises in 2018. :D

Our glass is always half full......

 

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/contact/mississippi-cruises-form.html

Edited January 14, 2017 by bcorre2
add info

[BJR52001]

Interesting they put that up there. Unless its been there for a while, it might mean there's been some headway with the Maritime Administration.

[Calliope]

All they have to do is pass that safety exemption because the DQ has a wood superstructure.

 

 

Unfortunately, as the past two sessions of Congress have proved, the money spent by American Cruise Line lobbying seems to be paid greater attention by the politicians than the voices of the American people.

 

Once again though there is a bill that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, S. 89, to grant that exemption. Please, write or call your Senators to support this legislation to allow a National Historic Landmark to steam once again!

Edited January 19, 2017 by Calliope

[bcorre2]

A hopeful update. Feb 2, 2017

 

Viking RiverCruises Still Coming to the Quad Cities :)

 

http://wqad.com/2017/02/02/viking-river-cruises-still-coming-to-the-quad-cities/

Edited March 30, 2017 by bcorre2
format

[steamboats]

The Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau may have still some hope. But fact is that Viking still has no ships being currently built and does not sell any cruises for 2018 (or 2019). So I don´t think we will see Viking ships on the Big Muddy in the near future.

 

steamboats

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is probably the more relevant article from that website:

Viking Cruises Mississippi tour in Davenport delayed by federal law

http://wqad.com/2017/03/29/viking-cruises-mississippi-tour-in-davenport-delayed-by-federal-law/

[steamboats]

Which is no news at all... It´s been discussed on here already - Jones Act/PVSA. The ships need to be owned by an US company (but acutally they´ve got that Californian investment company which should do it), staffed with US crew (which is a bit more tricky as there is a lack of licensed crew and if you don´t want to mess up with the unions...) and built in the US (which might be the major problem as there is no shipyard in the US having the knowledge to build a passenger overnight vessel except for the one owned by Robertson who also owns American Cruise Line). I doubt that with the current government Congress will skip the Jones Act/PVSA for Viking.

 

steamboats

[chengkp75]

Which is no news at all... It´s been discussed on here already - Jones Act/PVSA. The ships need to be owned by an US company (but acutally they´ve got that Californian investment company which should do it), staffed with US crew (which is a bit more tricky as there is a lack of licensed crew and if you don´t want to mess up with the unions...) and built in the US (which might be the major problem as there is no shipyard in the US having the knowledge to build a passenger overnight vessel except for the one owned by Robertson who also owns American Cruise Line). I doubt that with the current government Congress will skip the Jones Act/PVSA for Viking.

 

steamboats

 

Funnily enough, the article mentions the Jones Act as being from the 1920's and then mentions that the act did a good job "at the turn of the 19th century", so they are completely mixing the Jones Act and PVSA. As for licensed officers, the shortage would be for officers with a passenger vessel license and pilotage on the River. Cargo pushboat operators have to have pilotage for the entire route along the river that they traverse. And as NCL found out, the unions cannot provide a ready pool of crew and replacements due to the requirement of the USCG that all crew must be credentialed mariners, unlike the hotel crew on foreign flag cruise ships and river boats.

[steamboats]

Cheng,

 

As far as I know there´s still a big shortage of licensed pilots which affects both passenger vessels and towboats. The pilots have to be licensed for the stretch of the river they are going on and for the "size" of the vessel (tonnage).

 

Aquiring qualified staff for the hotel operation can be tricky too.

 

There are quite a few new passenger vessels announced for this year, American Duchess (American Queen Steamboat Company) or Grand Majestc plus a new one for American Cruise Line. Sounds not too many but staffing them can be a problem.

 

steamboats

[chengkp75]

Yes, as I say, getting the required pilotage for the river is the hold up, as the vessels in question can use officers with unlimited tonnage/horsepower licenses, who obtain the pilotage.

 

As NCL found, getting the original staff is not all that difficult, with the SIU affiliated union SEATU (Seafarers, Entertainers, and Associated Trades Union) set up for hotel staff on casino and dinner cruise boats as well as the river boats. The problem comes with replacement staff, when someone decides the life on a boat is not for them, and the boat is now short staffed. Overseas, the hotel staff are not required to be credentialed mariners, while the USCG requires them to have credentials (which requires an FBI background check), a TWIC ID card, and Basic Safety Training, all of which costs money and takes time. Telling someone they have to spend this money and take the time to get all this, and then wait for a possible job opening just isn't going to happen, unless the shipowner wants to pay potential crew to sit around waiting on possible jobs. Even though NCL has a training pipeline through the unions for the POA, they still routinely sail short staffed due to the time frame of training and credentialing new crew.

[steamboats]

Seems like Viking announced the end of their Mississippi river efforts... see here.

 

steamboats

[BJR52001]

What's stunning to me is the seemingly complete lack of research Viking did before attempting this. It's like they had no idea the laws and costs of the US Market before announcing. A deal should have been done before they announced anything.

[BJR52001]

But bright side, i think then announcing did accelerate plans by ACL and ASQC to move beyond the Victorian Paddlewheeler and think more European.

[dolllover]

But bright side, i think then announcing did accelerate plans by ACL and ASQC to move beyond the Victorian Paddlewheeler and think more European.

 

I hope ASQC never gets rid of their Paddlewheeler.

[puli]

I am sorry there will be no viking sailing the Mississippi. i was so looking forward to a modern boat and modern cabins,

[pontac]

Me too.

 

It's American protectionism, pure and simple.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Me too.

 

It's American protectionism, pure and simple.

 

Passed in 1886 to protect against steamboat disasters. CC member chengkp75 [a former cruise ship Chief Engineer -- the kp stands for Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy, not duty peeling potatoes!] has written detailed explanations of why this law is important for protecting passengers and waterways from unsafe vessels.

[bcorre2]

I've been leading/following this for almost five years now. An update. 2019

I'd still go Viking on the Mississippi. We'll be on our next (5th) Viking Cruise adventure June 2020

Viking making headway on the Mississippi River

https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/Viking-making-headway-on-the-Mississippi-River

 

Only way we'd ever visit Des Moines.

 

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2018/09/26/viking-river-cruises-mississippi-river-tourism-dubuque-davenport-burlington-quad-cities-boat-cruise/1349269002/

Edited March 7, 2019 by bcorre2

[BJR52001]

Des Moines is 3 hours from the Mississippi.  You wouldn't have time.

[pontac]

On 12/14/2017 at 8:06 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

this law is important for protecting passengers and waterways from unsafe vessels.

 

What might have been true in 1886 is not true today.

 

Don't think Viking has any steamboats

 

It's protectionism pure and simple.