The ever increasing popularity of river cruising

[notamermaid]

xmaser,

the voice of criticism - or realism - is certainly welcome by me on this thread and I am sure by others as well. I never meant to glorify expansion. Just having given the reality of the expansion a positive note, I would say. Reading that article I thought "oh look, first mention of possible saturation". I myself - I think it has come across in the past - am not fond of the rapid expansion of Viking and the somewhat aggressive marketing. Being in Europe it is easier for me to ignore the company and its unfavourable - in EU-citizen's eyes - payment policy. I have no reason to criticize their product itself.

 

pinotlover,

interesting addition - uncertainty in a supposedly stable democracy. By the way - on a less serious note - I am sure the people in Nord-Pas-de-Calais on the French coast facing Britain will be happy to receive more visitors. They suffer from an even worse image than France as such, even the French think it is a downright awful place which is the basis for a very popular film that highlights these prejudices. "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" was even a hit in Germany, due to its excellent dubbing which very well got the message across. I like "Le Nord" although it is a bit flat, I know a sweet little restaurant with excellent food in the middle of nowhere... I am somewhat glad the area is inaccessible by river cruise and not well known by land trippers.

 

Back to the article: I found it interesting to note that of the big companies interviewed Viking is missing. Instead the relatively unknown Luftner is given a voice. Unusual, even if they talk about the UK.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Well we will see first hand from Easter Monday as we start our  Soane and Rhône river cruise with Scenic. France is supposed to host more visitors than any other country on earth you would think they would be more happy about the influx of the foreign dollar etc.  But things are  in just a we bit in flux at the moment so therefore some are wary and the holidays that appear to be on the more expensive side will be the first to suffer and they are river cruises. Happy cruising CA

[xmaser]

An additional deterrent to US travelers starting in 2020 will be the Visa required of US travelers to enter the EU. The US government insists it is not a Visa. However if it looks, feels, sounds, …. like a Visa why not call it that. I am aware that this requirement is the result of the current US administration's tightening restrictions on travel from the EU to the US.

[gnome12]

48 minutes ago, xmaser said:

An additional deterrent to US travelers starting in 2020 will be the Visa required of US travelers to enter the EU. The US government insists it is not a Visa. However if it looks, feels, sounds, …. like a Visa why not call it that. I am aware that this requirement is the result of the current US administration's tightening restrictions on travel from the EU to the US.

Maybe that is part of it, but there are 60 countries whose nationals will have to apply for an ETIAS. It isn't a visa;  it is a pre-approval to enter the Schengen Zone. By the way, it doesn't begin until 2021.

[xmaser]

I among I'm sure many others look forward to your explanation of the difference between a Visa and an ETIAS other than the name. Please share your understanding.

[Canal archive]

On the ETIAS website it actually names it as the Schengun Visa, work that one out! CA

[notamermaid]

During the ITB in Berlin and shortly after it was announcement time, for new ships and new cruise itineraries. CroisiEurope joined in and this is the headline, this time from seatrade cruise news, in March: http://www.seatrade-*****/news/news-headlines/croisieurope-to-launch-new-itineraries-and-debut-a-new-ship-in-2020.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The AmaMagna is sailing the Danube! She has not been formally christened yet, but embarked on her maiden voyage last month: http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/331386/amamagna-embarks-on-maiden-voyage

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Scenic has completed the renovation of ships: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Scenic-completes-renovations-to-eight-ships

 

notamermaid

 

[Got2Cruise]

Notamermaid has there been any rumblings on the local level to limit the number of vessels allowed  in Europe since the latest accident? 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Notamermaid has there been any rumblings on the local level to limit the number of vessels allowed  in Europe since the latest accident? 

Not as a whole, i.e. the number of ship, more an awareness of what is happening. But this has to some extent also been around for a few years. For Budapest I have read the comment that it is not overcrowded, just very busy.

Better management of when and where the ships come to is more the general consensus.

 

If you compare the number of river cruise ships sailing to commercial traffic the percentage of river cruise ships is still very low.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

If you compare the number of river cruise ships sailing to commercial traffic the percentage of river cruise ships is still very low.

 

notamermaid

 

Maybe on the Rhine, b ut on the Danube (Germany & Austrian) cruise ships easily outnumber the cargo vessels.

[notamermaid]

59 minutes ago, G.M.T. said:

Maybe on the Rhine, b ut on the Danube (Germany & Austrian) cruise ships easily outnumber the cargo vessels.

Sorry, did not know the ratio there. Overall on rivers there is more commercial traffic than river cruise traffic, the Rhine being the busiest. I suspect further along into Serbia commercial traffic must outnumber river cruise traffic. I read yesterday that in the Main Danube Canal river cruise traffic is going up in numbers while cargo transport is decreasing.

 

On the Elbe it also depends on which stretch of river you look at, again, overall there is more cargo transport.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

Cruise protesters are now active in Germany. The HAL Zuiderdamm was prevented from leaving Kiel for 6 hours, yesterday.

 

Quite a lively discussion over on the HAL board, insults being thrown at Germans and Germany. I think the scooter brigade will be turning them into panzers soon, another D-Day this time in Kiel.

 

https://www.kn-online.de/Kiel/Strafverfahren-gegen-Klimaaktivisten-nach-Kreuzfahrtschiff-Blockade-in-Kiel

 

Could this spread to river cruise ports?

[notamermaid]

Spreading to river cruise ports? I so hope not. The protesters have a point, by they are getting on my nerves a bit. I would have better things to do on Whit Sunday (or Saturday) than stand at an ocean cruise ship holding a banner.

 

I wonder if the protesters sailed in front of a transport ship if they knew it was containing their latest smartphone from China, etc.?

 

On another aspect, preservation: Kiel has always been a major port and overcrowding and damage to city does not apply to that port, whereas in Venice it very much applies in my opinion. But that is apparently not the issue with the protesters.

 

There have been environmental protests in Koblenz and in Passau but these where by locals breathing in the fumes.

 

If ever a climate protester turns up on the Rhine at a river cruise ship I will say to them: "Your punishment for getting in the way of this lovely ship is for you to never drink out of a plastic bottle again".

 

notamermaid

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by notamermaid
Added words

[notamermaid]

The British are taking even more to river cruising. And with them, the Danube has overtaken the Rhine as the most popular river. The report by CLIA for 2018 is out, here are two news articles, first:

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/clia-reveals-uk-ireland-river-cruise-market-up-10-4.html

 

and second, our own cruisecritic UK: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/4195/

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[G.M.T.]

Interesting BBC article:

 

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190618-how-to-be-a-better-tourist

[PrettyParrot]

20 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

Interesting BBC article:

 

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190618-how-to-be-a-better-tourist

Great article!  thank you G.M.T. for posting it

[notamermaid]

On 6/19/2019 at 11:33 PM, G.M.T. said:

Interesting BBC article:

 

http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20190618-how-to-be-a-better-tourist

Thank you for the article. It made me think.

 

And yesterday I saw a documentary on television on Turkish students that took a famous train through amazing countryside. What did they do? Party, take photos and take selfies to post them on Instagram. "We are mainly on the train to say we have done it, we really only take photos to prove this, and to post them on Instagram. The person who sends the best photos of the party decoration in the carriage gets the most thumbs-up."

 

Oh dear, not my thing. It sounds like a pointless, empty competition. But they were having enormous fun.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

To river cruise ships.

 

Another new one for 2020, this time Riviera Travel: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Riviera-River-Cruises-to-Launch-New-All-Suite-Ship-in-2020

 

That sounds really appealing. Retelling of the Canterbury Tales should be compulsory on this ship.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

Things are hotting up in Mallorca:

 

https://www.mallorcazeitung.es/report/2019/06/30/sehr-schaden-kreuzfahrtschiffe-mallorca-wirklich/69198.html

[notamermaid]

Build it and they will come...

 

... to Forchheim! Or will they? The officials are not sure at all how much the landing stage for river cruise ships will be frequented. But they obviously saw the potential for their town to profit from the popularity of river cruising and the new docking area was inaugurated at the beginning of August: https://www.wiesentbote.de/2019/08/10/neue-kreuzschifffahrtanlegestelle-in-forchheim-wurde-eingeweiht/

 

Forchheim is officially in the region called Upper Franconia and is on the Main Danube Canal. I have never been to Forchheim so had a look at Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forchheim

 

Not bad, not bad at all. It looks appealing. And with the landing stage being a cooperation between RSR dockings and Scylla AG the marketing people already have a firm foot in the door to attract river cruise companies.

 

Others have never had to do much marketing and are struggling with the increasing demand - the blessing and the curse of being a World Heritage Site: Regensburg and Vienna. More on that another day.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

This is all about a certain Norwegian and his ships: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2019/04/15/meet-the-man-who-started-viking-cruises-in-his-50s-after-being-fired-losing-millions-and-surviving-cancer/#64a095772652

 

As regards the subject of world leader, granted, that really seems true in number of ships. Who might be second? I think it could be CroisiEurope with 47.

 

If you have other info please let us know.

 

notamermaid

 

[pinotlover]

If quantity over quality is your guide, Viking and CroisEurope May rate highly on your list. Otherwise, not so much!

[notamermaid]

Let us hop over the language devide and have a brief look at the German river cruising market, the company 1AVista Reisen: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/river-cruise-news/21531-1avista-expands-in-german-market.html

 

If you speak passable German and would finally like to bring your dog along on a cruise, this is the line for you.

 

notamermaid