Back up plan for Christmas Markets if low water continues

[papa B me]

We are scheduled with Uniworld for a Budapest to Passau cruise for Dec 1-8. It appears water levels are as bad and getting worse then they were this past summer. Seems to me there is a good chance that our cruise could be cancelled or severely interrupted if something doesn't change in the next week or two.

 

We have several precruise days already scheduled and paid for in Munich. I've decided that if the cruise was cancelled at the last minute go ahead and fly to Munich and turn this into a last minute land tour with dividing my time between Muncih, Budadpest, and Vienna with day trips.

 

I'm curious if any others are creating back up plans and if you have any tips to share about last minute planning. I'm creating a list of motels, car services, guides, etc... that I could try to book at the last minute. It will be disappointing should the cruise not happen but I think it also has the chance to be a real adventure. Trying to make lemonade in advance.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Given all the reports we have seen here and the pictures of the rivers, I wonder if any of the cruises are fulfilling their potential even when the ship manages to sail most of the itinerary (scraping along the bottom instead of sailing serenely with the current ...). If you have the option (e.g. "any reason" insurance) you might want to activate Plan B without waiting until the last minute. Just a thought.

[jpalbny]

papa B me, we had no issues with last-minute planning in 2013 when the floods hit. Since we had already planned on a few days on our own pre and post, Chris had spent a few weeks looking at many different options. She had about 2 months worth of stuff to choose from, which we had reluctantly narrowed down to a few days' worth! So when our cruisetour plus 4d on our own turned into 2 weeks on our own, we had many nice options.

 

So no worries; this is absolutely doable on your own. You have the right idea of loosely planning on a few days in each of several major cities along the way, and making it up on the fly can be a lot of fun! Though it is a different feel for us, we enjoyed the freedom that came with waking up and saying, "What do we feel like doing today?"

 

Yes, it was a little scary flying to Frankfurt at the beginning of the trip, for a 2-week stay with only 1 week of hotels booked - but it was not problem putting the second week together, on the fly, while we were there.

 

So my advice to you is to look at a large number of options like you are doing. Have more options available and researched than you can reasonably do in your allotted time frame; that gives you flexibility to cope with weather, hotels that may be fully booked at the last minute, and also gives you the freedom to change your mind on the fly. If you have a rigid schedule in place it limits your ability to spend more time in a place that you find you like more than you expected. Or, if you get sick of castles, churches, markets, etc - you have other options available to you.

 

Driving is not particularly challenging or problematic in this region, but the train is a fine option too. I know the train from Munich to Vienna is about 4h.

 

Have your lists ready to go, and you should be all set for whatever gets thrown your way. That June 2013 trip ranks up there with some of the most fun trips we've had, and it was a real confidence booster. It led to two follow-up visits, and hopefully we have a few more on the horizon. Good luck whatever happens. If you need ideas for things to do from Munich or Vienna, I can share some of the things we did there (or it's in my blog). But I don't want to interfere too much with your own fun and planning!

[caviargal]

My absolute favorite Christmas market trips were independent land trips. We have done those 6-7 times now.

 

We enjoy basing in Munich for 3-4 days and day tripping to Garmisch. Loved our ascent to the Zugspitze, which is at the top of the list of memorable travel experiences, ever.

 

From Munich we have also visited Tegernsee, Lake Königssee (wonderful boat ride, Regensburg, Nuremberg.

 

I highly suggest you spend a few nights in Salzburg and visit some of the spectacular areas nearby: St. Gilgen, Bad Ischl, St. Wolfgang are just a few. They remain absolute favorites and Salzburg is wonderful on it's own.

 

I personally would save Budapest for another trip and focus on Bavaria and Austria. So much to see there!

[papa B me]

JP & Caviargal

 

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. Like so many still hoping for rain and smooth sailing. But not the end of the world if it turns into a DIY trip. Think If cancelled can do the land trip at about half the cost and will take any future cruise credit offered and apply to my Venice lagoon cruise next year. So it's a win win for me.

[Second seating]

One of my favorite stops at Christmas markets was before our cruise last Dec. We spent two nights in Rothenburg ob de Tauber and it was beautiful. We got there by train and took the train to Nurmberg. This was our second Christmas market cruise.

 

Second seating

[RainyDay1]

JP & Caviargal

 

Thanks for the encouragement and ideas. Like so many still hoping for rain and smooth sailing. But not the end of the world if it turns into a DIY trip. Think If cancelled can do the land trip at about half the cost and will take any future cruise credit offered and apply to my Venice lagoon cruise next year. So it's a win win for me.

 

We are due to sail with Viking Nov 22 2015 and they have not said anything about canceling. Busing is their solution. Have you heard anything from your company?

[caviargal]

We are due to sail with Viking Nov 22 2015 and they have not said anything about canceling. Busing is their solution. Have you heard anything from your company?

 

We set out on the 25th on the Rhine. So far, AMA is not bussing or ship swapping or cancelling cruises on the Rhine. Their vessels are designed with very low draughts for this reason.

[notamermaid]

The Amacerto made it through the castle stretch yesterday, they indeed seem to have no problems yet.

 

Have a great trip, caviargal.

 

Vikings latest alterations to their cruises are online.

 

papa B me,

 

there are some local companies that offer round boat trips on the Danube. I am sure they are fabulous in evening light. Some longer ones even include snacks and some festive music during Advent.

 

notamermaid

[papa B me]

So far Uniworld seems to believe all will go as planned. I think the issue from what I can tell on our itinerary will be near Budapest and whether the ship can get there for embarkation on Dec 1. If not I think it is likely for a hotel stay in Budapest and bussed to Vienna. But all speculation at this point. There seems to be some rain chances creeping into the forcast and its amazing how quickly things can change. This past week I've pretty much completed a Plan B so feel good about our trip should the cruise be cancelled. Leave for Munich two weeks from tomorrow so about to change my attention from planning to packing.

[G.M.T.]

Here is a link that covers Danube river trips covering, Regensburg, Passau & Linz:

 

http://www.donauschiffahrt.de/en/home.html

[RainyDay1]

We set out on the 25th on the Rhine. So far, AMA is not bussing or ship swapping or cancelling cruises on the Rhine. Their vessels are designed with very low draughts for this reason.

 

AMA is busing and/or ship swapping on the Danube. This has been a tough year for river cruise companies and their passengers.

[Roz]

I'm on River Beatrice, Budapest to Passau. We're in Linz right now and will sail overnight to Passau. No rain so far. We road a bus a short distance from Bratislava to Hainsburg.

 

Roz

[papa B me]

Roz

While in Linz did you happen to see Uniworld's SS Maria Theresa? It looks like it has been there for a couple of days and I'm guessing it can't make its way all the way to Amsterdam. I'm hoping it can make its way back to Budapest where we will board on Dec 1. I'm wondering if they cancelled the cruise to Amsterdam and will just turn around and head back to Budapest. Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Brian

[RainyDay1]

Roz

While in Linz did you happen to see Uniworld's SS Maria Theresa? It looks like it has been there for a couple of days and I'm guessing it can't make its way all the way to Amsterdam. I'm hoping it can make its way back to Budapest where we will board on Dec 1. I'm wondering if they cancelled the cruise to Amsterdam and will just turn around and head back to Budapest. Any info would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Brian

 

Many, many ships can't sail further east than Linz/Vienna. They are busing their guests to or from Budapest. The then said as far West as possible which appears to be just one night, they are then bused to the next ship which can go further. Not sure if another ship swap or bus will be required to make it to Amsterdam.

 

It just seems to me that the shipping companies should cancel the remainder of the season and issue refunds or vouchers for further trips. But it is all about the money for them so they are trying to accommodate guests in a variety of ways.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Many, many ships can't sail further east than Linz/Vienna. They are busing their guests to or from Budapest. The then said as far West as possible which appears to be just one night, they are then bused to the next ship which can go further. Not sure if another ship swap or bus will be required to make it to Amsterdam.

 

It just seems to me that the shipping companies should cancel the remainder of the season and issue refunds or vouchers for further trips. But it is all about the money for them so they are trying to accommodate guests in a variety of ways.

 

Your scenario is based on the one company with particularly deep-draft boats. Others have been sailing much closer to the original schedules.

[QueenofEverything]

Your scenario is based on the one company with particularly deep-draft boats. Others have been sailing much closer to the original schedules.

 

What are you basing this on? It doesn't look like anyone is getting into Budapest at the moment

[Host Jazzbeau]

What are you basing this on? It doesn't look like anyone is getting into Budapest at the moment

 

I'm basing it on this:

We boarded in Vienna on 10/25. We saw several AMA ships and all the Avalon ships were getting through just fine. It was the Vikings that seemed to have the problems.

 

This is the last report that mentions AMA. I don't know what RainyDay1 is basing this statement on:

AMA is busing and/or ship swapping on the Danube.

 

I haven't seen any reports that AMA is busing and/or ship swapping on the Danube. It may be happening, but it hasn't been reported. I prefer to rely on reports, not allegations.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau

[RainyDay1]

Many, many ships can't sail further east than Linz/Vienna. They are busing their guests to or from Budapest. The then said as far West as possible which appears to be just one night, they are then bused to the next ship which can go further. Not sure if another ship swap or bus will be required to make it to Amsterdam.

 

It just seems to me that the shipping companies should cancel the remainder of the season and issue refunds or vouchers for further trips. But it is all about the money for them so they are trying to accommodate guests in a variety of ways.

 

The above post was written before I truly thought it through. I know nothing about Uniworld and shouldn't have posted at all. Our cruise is scheduled with Viking.

[papa B me]

I didn't mean to get this off topic by asking someone on a Uniworld ship if she saw the ship we are sailing on. So back to my original topic. We leave 2 weeks from today to Munich regardless. We are looking forward to Europe and the Christmas Markets whether we sail or do a diy land tour as plan B. Still would love to hear from others taking a Christmas Market cruise about any continigent plans they are making if the cruise is disrupted. Since I am planning to scale back the number of cities we will visit if the cruise is cancelled so we don't have to move motels every day, I would love also to hear opinions on the top choices for Christmas markets between Munich, Salzburg, Budapest, Vienna or any that are within an hour or two train ride from these cities. We will definitely be in Munich since we fly in and out from there and definitely in Budapest since we have train tickets for the night train from Munich to Budapest for Dec 1st and I also already have tickets for the Parliament Building and for the Hungarian Opera to see the Nutcracker. But have a lot of flexibility other then these scheduled from Nov 28 to Dec 1st. So have Dec 2-7 for plan B planning.

[QueenofEverything]

I'm basing it on this:

 

 

This is the last report that mentions AMA. I don't know what RainyDay1 is basing this statement on:

 

 

I haven't seen any reports that AMA is busing and/or ship swapping on the Danube. It may be happening, but it hasn't been reported. I prefer to rely on reports, not allegations.

 

Well, if you can believe Vessel Finder, the AmaBella is in Vienna today when it should be in Budapest. It shows it in Vienna as of 11/14 at 21:04 UTC

[Host Jazzbeau]

Well, if you can believe Vessel Finder, the AmaBella is in Vienna today when it should be in Budapest. It shows it in Vienna as of 11/14 at 21:04 UTC

 

I have found gaps in their coverage, but I will accept that this is probably accurate. Thanks.

[notamermaid]

Hello camelback,

 

welcome to cruisecritic. Sorry to hear about your cruise being cancelled. Makes perfect sense for them to cancel as the river levels are still so low and there is no real change to the situation in sight.

 

As regards back up plans for your cruise: two weeks is a lot to fill with other activities, so I reckon you will stay at home? Switiching to another cruise of shorter length at such short notice is probably not possible, is it?

 

For the website thing, they probably have not got round to changing the website yet. Informing the affected passengers should always be priority IMO. They might not update their website at all, to compare this, German and European companies tend not to list cancelled cruises at all. A different way of looking at the importance of getting info out into the world and to whom. That is fine by me.

 

You and many others have been hit by extreme weather this autumn, it is very unusual. Sorry again.

 

notamermaid

[silkismom]

Anyone know where the Maria Theresa is now? We're on her in Dec. BUD-Passau

[bubbulz]

I've been watching these posts with interest although we are not on the Maria Theresa until next year for a Christmas cruise from Vienna to Nuremberg. We have already been discussing what we'll do if there's a cancellation due to river levels (or something else unforeseen). Although we have insurance (and always do for trips of this size/cost), I think we'd probably choose to go anyway as long as we were able to make last minute arrangements that we felt comfortable with.

 

Newbie river cruiser question: Is there an area that's typically of concern for either flooding or low water levels on the Christmas markets cruises (e.g., Passau and/or west of Vienna)? Thanks.