Crystal Low-Water-Level Schedule Changes/Cancellations

[Mark_T]

Lacking the number of ships to even consider ship-swaps does rather limit their options, and while they are certainly trying their best to be creative, I can fully understand why some people would prefer to cancel.

 

 

We pick our routes and itineraries to fill in gaps in where we have been and what we have seen so last minute major route changes don't work for us.

 

 

Hopefully though, if the revised routes are not too much of an overlap for others then the chance to cruise rather than get stuck somewhere is still an acceptable alternative.

[Roland4]

Mrs. Claypool—

 

Good to hear from someone else on the same boat, and in the same boat! I agree we should hear something this week. Have you received anything at all from Crystal? Usually for an ocean cruise we would have gotten our documents before this.

 

My guess is that the Mahler will be sailing the same itinerary that it has done the last two cruises. It doesn’t sound great, but it doesn’t sound awful either.

 

Diane

 

 

You should have received your documents long before now. We got ours for our Aug 30 Mozart cruise about six weeks ago. You might want to check with your TA on this.

 

All of the river lines are scrambling with the water levels, and while Crystal seems to be scrambling more than others, in fairness, this is their first experience with a problem like this. And as Mark_T pointed out, they don't have the ship numbers to do swaps! Our cruise goes east on the Danube from Vienna and for the moment we are holding our breath and hoping the major rainfall forecast for the area around Budapest this weekend actually happens. Not only so we can cruise, but for the people who are suffering with this heat and drought!!

[Mrs. Claypool]

Dianne,

 

We received our documents for the Sept. 1 Mahler Cruise over a month ago. Surprisingly early, even for an ocean cruise.

[dhmjdds]

Dianne,

 

We received our documents for the Sept. 1 Mahler Cruise over a month ago. Surprisingly early, even for an ocean cruise.

 

 

Oh shoot! That worries me even more than the possible changes to the itinerary! Contacting TA right away.

 

Diane

[skybluewaters]

Notamermaid: You wrote, "I thought choosing the Moselle instead of the Rhine was a good idea, but it sounds as if it did not go well in practice."

I'm curious why you said this. Is there a reason you think "it did not go well in practice"? I haven't heard anything positive or negative about the current or the recently-concluded Mahler trips on the Moselle.

 

It appears that the Mahler is pretty much sticking with the amended itinerary that another writer posted on one of the threads recently. According to marinetraffic, the boat went past Winningen on the Moselle yesterday evening, which is on the correct path to arrive in Cochem today and Bernkastel tomorrow.

 

The amended itinerary appears to include not only the Rhine and the Moselle, but also the Meuse and the Scheldt Rivers. Are these nice rivers for cruising or are they just paths to go from X to Y?

[notamermaid]

skybluewaters,

 

after rereading my post I realize it is not clear what I meant. Sorry. I was referring to the amended itinerary on the Crystal ship as mentioned in the thread on the Rhine. Not a trip on the Mahler.

 

I only know the Meuse from land trips. It is ok in some parts but has industrial stretches as well. I am not familiar with details. The Scheldt river landscape, unfortunately, is unknown to me.

 

notamermaid

[susanannie]

Diane and Mrs. Claypool,

 

We are also on the Mahler scheduled to leave Amsterdam on September 1. We were originally scheduled to sail at the beginning of September, 2017, but the ship was not completed in time. This is looking like a second disappointment for me. My husband is excited about any adventure. I am most disappointed about the possibility of missing Vienna.

 

If the September 1 itinerary is about the same as the last two Mahler cruises, are you going to go ahead with the amended itinerary?

 

Diane, we also received our cruise documents weeks ago.

 

Susan

[Mrs. Claypool]

Susan,

 

Our little group was also booked on the "inaugural" cruise of the Mahler from Budapest to Amsterdam last year that never took place.

 

Because our main interest in the cruise was seeing Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest, we decided not to take last year's amended cruise. So we re-booked on this year's Amsterdam to Budapest cruise and ... here we are again! :(

 

Will we take the amended itinerary? There are so many "ifs" involved that I really can't say at this moment. Crystal hasn't even officially announced that the original itinerary will be changed for September 1 or made any reimbursement offers for changes or cancellations if it is changed.

 

We will wait and see. :)

[dhmjdds]

Susan--

 

Wow, now we are up to about 10% of the passengers! That's pretty darn good.

 

I do think we will take the cruise even if it is sailing the amended itinerary and staying north. We've never been to any of the towns or areas where it will be going, so I think it would suit us. No, it's not Vienna and Bratislava and Budapest, but the ship will probably not be full since a fair number of people will choose to cancel; it might be like a private yacht. :D:D

 

What would make us cancel was if it turned into a bus tour-cruise or if it was shortened from 16 days to 6, like at least one cruise on the (I think) Bach. Then we'll get that Eurail pass and make our own way from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

No word back yet from my TA on our documents. I know we paid our fare on time; the PCPC let me make reservations for things.

 

Diane

Edited August 20, 2018 by dhmjdds

[Roland4]

Susan--

 

Wow, now we are up to about 10% of the passengers! That's pretty darn good.

 

I do think we will take the cruise even if it is sailing the amended itinerary and staying north. We've never been to any of the towns or areas where it will be going, so I think it would suit us. No, it's not Vienna and Bratislava and Budapest, but the ship will probably not be full since a fair number of people will choose to cancel; it might be like a private yacht. :D:D

 

What would make us cancel was if it turned into a bus tour-cruise or if it was shortened from 16 days to 6, like at least one cruise on the (I think) Bach. Then we'll get that Eurail pass and make our own way from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

No word back yet from my TA on our documents. I know we paid our fare on time; the PCPC let me make reservations for things.

 

Diane

 

I wouldn't sweat the documents too much. We did a 10 night Christmas Markets cruise on Bach last December and they never even looked at the documents when we boarded!

[txislandlvr]

We too are scheduled on Crystal Mozart Sept. 10. I am so glad to find this Crystal board also. This will be our first river cruise & first time sailing on Crystal. We are so looking forward to it. I hope the weather patterns change soon for people & the passengers hoping to sail in the near future.

 

Hi all,

 

We are scheduled to be on the Mozart September 10. Like everybody, we are watching the situation very closely. We have been reading the various low-water threads, which include some comments from passengers currently on the Mozart and other Crystal vessels - regarding cancelled ports.

 

Given the number of low-water discussions it is hard to figure which one may have info on the Mozart. We thought maybe starting a Crystal low-water board would help focus the discussion to Crystal passengers.

 

That said, our interest obviously is the Mozart. Any and all current insight into how the situation is being handled would be greatly appreciated.

 

Obviously, significant rain in the next few weeks could change this. Or so we hope!

 

We will pay it forward once we travel, assuming the trip is still on by the time we get there! A lot can happen over the course of several weeks.

 

Thanks,

Herb

Edited August 21, 2018 by txislandlvr
Spelling

[susanannie]

Thanks Diane and Mrs. Claypool for your thoughts.

 

There are so many possible scenarios playing out in my head that it is hard to keep track. I know that no plans can be put into action until Crystal lets us know what they plan to do. Not knowing when they will make their decision is the hardest part for me.

 

It is nice to be able to share information with people who are in the "same boat."

 

Susan

[sarasotascott]

I am currently on the Mahler and we are having a Faboulous Cruise. Currently we are about to dock for an over night stay in Bernkastel. Good tour choices from here, we picked a full day in Luxembourg. Tomorrow a full day tour to Trier. We had a great visit to Koblenz and Cochem....great places and wonderful tours. It’s like a private yacht experience due to cancellations. Great food and super staff...I’m loving it!!

 

Scott

[susanannie]

I am currently on the Mahler and we are having a Faboulous Cruise. Currently we are about to dock for an over night stay in Bernkastel. Good tour choices from here, we picked a full day in Luxembourg. Tomorrow a full day tour to Trier. We had a great visit to Koblenz and Cochem....great places and wonderful tours. It’s like a private yacht experience due to cancellations. Great food and super staff...I’m loving it!!

 

Scott

 

Thanks Scott for taking the time to report on your cruise. It is very helpful information on whether or not to go with an amended itinerary.

 

Susan

[dhmjdds]

I am currently on the Mahler and we are having a Faboulous Cruise. Currently we are about to dock for an over night stay in Bernkastel. Good tour choices from here, we picked a full day in Luxembourg. Tomorrow a full day tour to Trier. We had a great visit to Koblenz and Cochem....great places and wonderful tours. It’s like a private yacht experience due to cancellations. Great food and super staff...I’m loving it!!

 

Scott

 

Thank you for posting, Scott! This is just what I was hoping to hear about. How many guests are on the boat would you say?

 

Since we will most likely be on the next iteration of this amended Mahler cruise, any further info you can post would be most appreciated. If you possibly could take pictures of the excursion list and post that, it would be terrific.

 

Diane

[NewCruiser2016]

Crystal let us know per email that our cruise had to be amended to a shortened cruise, beginning August 16 and ending August 22th. It was supposed to be August 16th to August 30th. We were to be on the Ravel.

 

Does anyone know where the Ravel is now (August 21) and where it is headed? VesselFinder indicates Ravel is now going east from Linz as of August 21. But I thought Ravel was to be in Passau tomorrow. Very confused.

Edited August 21, 2018 by NewCruiser2016
Ref to VesselFinder

[Ceilknits]

I am currently on the Mahler and we are having a Faboulous Cruise. Currently we are about to dock for an over night stay in Bernkastel. Good tour choices from here, we picked a full day in Luxembourg. Tomorrow a full day tour to Trier. We had a great visit to Koblenz and Cochem....great places and wonderful tours. It’s like a private yacht experience due to cancellations. Great food and super staff...I’m loving it!!

 

Scott

Thanks for your posting, Scott. What was your original itinerary? Did you have to amend flights? We are scheduled for the Mahler in a month...lots could happen between now and then...saying that, we chose this particular itinerary to visit Budapest and Vienna. Time will tell.

[Ceilknits]

Crystal let us know per email that our cruise had to be amended to a shortened cruise, beginning August 16 and ending August 22th. It was supposed to be August 16th to August 30th. We were to be on the Ravel. Crystal’s email was sent on Friday afternoon at 5:30pm, too late to do anything about it until Monday morning, when the travel agency opened. We were to leave on Tuesday. I would advise you to continue to follow postings so that you aren’t caught off guard as we were. Hopefully, the rain will come soon.

 

 

Did you cancel? Was Crystal's compensation fair? Thank you, FunTurtle

[M&M travel adventurers]

Just curious if anyone is currently sailing on the Mozart from Vienna - have you had any itinerary changes and if so how where they handled? Was the cruise shortened, rerouted, done by bus (which defeats the purpose of a river cruise)? I am curious as we are scheduled to sail on the boat in mid September. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

[skybluewaters]

I am currently on the Mahler and we are having a Faboulous Cruise. Currently we are about to dock for an over night stay in Bernkastel. Good tour choices from here, we picked a full day in Luxembourg. Tomorrow a full day tour to Trier. We had a great visit to Koblenz and Cochem....great places and wonderful tours. It’s like a private yacht experience due to cancellations. Great food and super staff...I’m loving it!!

 

Scott

 

Thank you so much, Scott! Very useful information. I'm glad you're having such a wonderful time. Your experience sounds much like ours on the amended Mahler tour last year - fabulous food, outstanding tours (especially considering that they had to be arranged on short notice and in cities that Crystal had never cruised before), and a very easy-going atmosphere which was enhanced by having only ~ 70-80 passengers on board (due to cancellations as a result of the changed itinerary).

 

Please do me a favor and say "hello" to a nice couple I know who are on board with you currently, Chris and Mary. They'll know us as the couple who sailed with them last year on Mahler and who live in the Palo Alto area. Much appreciated!!

[bizinsider]

Just curious if anyone is currently sailing on the Mozart from Vienna - have you had any itinerary changes and if so how where they handled? Was the cruise shortened, rerouted, done by bus (which defeats the purpose of a river cruise)? I am curious as we are scheduled to sail on the boat in mid September. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

M&M, my guess is that we are on your cruise. Ours leaves the 10th. What we have heard and read is that the ship under conditions of the impacted cruises in recent weeks round-tripped Vienna without going to Bratislava or Budapest. However they did a day trip to Bratislava (about an hour away by coach) and an overnight to Budapest (about 2 hours), staying at the Ritz and doing the pre-planned special evening. We will all find out soon enough. Of course, it is unclear if the water conditions will get worse or better – either way impacting the cruise further.

[johng75370]

skybluewaters,

 

after rereading my post I realize it is not clear what I meant. Sorry. I was referring to the amended itinerary on the Crystal ship as mentioned in the thread on the Rhine. Not a trip on the Mahler.

 

notamermaid

 

Notamermaid has been a tremendous source of insight and info, and I really appreciate the passion she represents for a deeply wonderful part of the world. In case she was referring to my comments on this past week's Bach rerouting onto the Moselle, here's a quick summary of how we felt the changes impacted the experience:

 

Operational: The Moselle was full of water, but because of the hot weather there was a good amount of algae/green water, but not a major issue. The only serious issue was with the first of a two night stop in Trier, when the ship docked (literally) right across from a waste treatment plant, in an industrial area. The next day after some passengers threatened to leave, and many comments to the captain, the ship relocated to a lovely area close to town. Without question we were very thankful that Crystal was able to relocate to the Moselle; in speaking with crew however we got the impression Crystal knew well ahead of when they informed us that this would be the real cruise - they seemed to hold back that info by a couple of weeks. It could be to try (up until the last minute) to make the original itinerary work, but we felt 3-4 days notice of these changes was very short.

 

Service: Of course, very good. We had issues with them giving then awkwardly taking back "apology credits", but the overall service level was great. Our only comparison point is Seabourn, and to be blunt we felt Seabourn was more thoughtful/caring/detailed; but that's ocean versus river perhaps. For example, we had only 64 people onboard, we were booked as a guarantee, yet no upgrades (we got assigned the worst cabin, haha). At earlier stops there were no cold towels and drinks waiting for us as we returned to the ship, yet the last couple stops that appeared (why not at all)? With all the changes and last minute notifications we would have expected a bit more of a "we're trying harder" attitude. Part of what we felt Crystal markets is the idea the river/ocean/yacht/plane, the service and experience is consistent. We had many experienced cruisers with Crystal (ocean cruisers) reassure us that the ocean experience would be much better, and not to judge Crystal based on this.

 

Food: Of course, very good. Some misses, but overall just fantastic. Only pet peeve is they would present sparkling wines from Austria and Italy as "Champagne"; good wines yes, but having to ask for "French Champagne" just wrong. But overall great drinks selection.

 

We had a great time, spent with wonderful people, in a beautiful environment where we were well catered to. Our perspective is from 20+ ocean cruises but first time river cruisers. We do not regret taking this trip - it was a great vacation with many good times. It just fell short in some ways; we're not hooked on Crystal the way we were hoping for.

Edited August 22, 2018 by johng75370

[sarasotascott]

Thank you for posting, Scott! This is just what I was hoping to hear about. How many guests are on the boat would you say?

 

Since we will most likely be on the next iteration of this amended Mahler cruise, any further info you can post would be most appreciated. If you possibly could take pictures of the excursion list and post that, it would be terrific.

 

Diane

 

We have 44 guests on board....it’s quite nice. I heard in a few days we are taking on 12-14 more passengers from another ship that had a shortened cruise.

[sarasotascott]

Thanks for your posting, Scott. What was your original itinerary? Did you have to amend flights? We are scheduled for the Mahler in a month...lots could happen between now and then...saying that, we chose this particular itinerary to visit Budapest and Vienna. Time will tell.

 

The original itinerary was 16 days Budapest to Amsterdam. Crystal paid for flight changes to get us to Amsterdam. We will be booking the Mozart next May or June for 10 so we can see most of what we missed with the amended journey.

[M&M travel adventurers]

M&M, my guess is that we are on your cruise. Ours leaves the 10th. What we have heard and read is that the ship under conditions of the impacted cruises in recent weeks round-tripped Vienna without going to Bratislava or Budapest. However they did a day trip to Bratislava (about an hour away by coach) and an overnight to Budapest (about 2 hours), staying at the Ritz and doing the pre-planned special evening. We will all find out soon enough. Of course, it is unclear if the water conditions will get worse or better – either way impacting the cruise further.

 

Thanks for the information - we actually are on the cruise leaving the 20th. Don’t like the idea of a bus at all.