Crystal Low-Water-Level Schedule Changes/Cancellations

[Mark_T]

3 hours ago, malcliz said:

Does anyone know if the Crystal Bach is sailing at the moment or whether the present cruise has been cancelled?  I have been tracking it and it seemed to be at Koblenz but can’t see it now and the live camera isn’t showing. We are waiting to see if our cruise in November will be cancelled or just a change of ports. 

 

According to the Marine Traffic site, she is on her way to Trier at the moment and left Koblenz some time ago...

[malcliz]

1 minute ago, Mark_T said:

 

According to the Marine Traffic site, she is on her way to Trier at the moment and left Koblenz some time ago...

Thank you. Looks like a changed itinerary then. 

[sjm223]

Hi All, my original post was on September 28th, two days before our Sept. 30th Crystal Bach cruise from Amsterdam to (originally) Mainz, when they called and said that the entire trip was basically turned upside down.  Of course, Crystal was not doing any refunds, so we begrudgingly flew to Amsterdam and started our cruise. I will tell you that despite the significant alterations in schedule/ports, we did have a very good time.  First of all, this was our first river cruise and our first experience with Crystal. The staff could not be more attentive and friendly. These folks actually make you believe they care about your comfort and well being. The food was unbelievably good - incredible selection, top shelf continually flowing liquor, and the ship itself is luxurious so basically, you're on a 5-Star Plus floating luxury hotel.  What's not to like?  We were disappointed we would not get to sail through the gorge, allegedly the most scenic part of the river, but we made the most of the substituted itinerary. The first half of the trip was basically unchanged....Amsterdam, then Antwerp, and on to Nijmegen, all quite lovely.  Then things changed and we were in Dusseldorf for about 18 hours. Never thought we'd be spending time there, and a few excursions were offered -- we just wandered around by ourselves - stumbled upon a fascinating museum - The Memorial to the Victims of the Nazi Regime, the Mahn - Und Gedenkstatte Dusseldorf, on premises of former police headquarters - it's always great to find something remarkable that is really not on anyone's agenda or the guidebooks.  From Dusseldorf to Cologne -- tours of the Cathedral, etc. and Crystal does hire first class tour guides.  Then Bonn, kind of a nothing of a town, since the capital of Germany was shifted to Berlin -- not much to do, but that is where you decide you will go up to the top deck of the ship, order a cocktail, and simply relax in the sun. Final docking place for the 7 day folks was Andernach. Even though Koblenz' port was fine, (water level wise) apparently there were too many ships and no space for the Bach, so they docked 20 minutes away. Buses to Koblenz which was lovely, but as a Sunday, not much open.  We were originally supposed to dock at Mainz, at 3pm and planned to spend the night near the Frankfurt airport, since flights to the US generally leave earlier in the day.  Crystal arranged for a van to take us from the docks in Andernach directly to our hotel in Frankfurt, over an hour and a half, on their dime. It was a nice touch. So we made the most of the situation, actually had a very special time, and I didn't think I'd be saying this, but we would definitely cruise with Crystal again. We became friendly with a group of folks who were staying on for another 7 days, and as of October 7th, their itinerary was kind of up in the air, and many were very unhappy about not making it to Basel, but we've gotten emails from them since saying that the Trier area and generally the Moselle river was just as nice, if not nicer than the Rhine. Sorry for babbling on - I hope this is somewhat helpful.

[malcliz]

Sjm23 - that is very helpful, thank you. Glad that you had a good time despite the changes.   We are flying in to Frankfurt and supposed to be sailing from Mainz to Basel but from what we can see at the moment the ship can’t get to Mainz so we were wondering if the cruise would be cancelled.  It is actually the second half of a cruise from Amsterdam leaving on 28th October we think.  However from your description it seems as if we might be coached from Frankfurt or Mainz to Koblenz?  Crystal said they won’t know about any changed itinerary until 5 days before but our question was really whether the trip would go ahead at all. It is our first time on Crystal and we are/were looking forward to it. 

[johng75370]

Hi Malcliz - 

I hope you're able to still go.  We had a last-minute total change to our itinerary in mid-August on the Bach, and we are glad that we went.  My only (hopefully helpful) advice is to not expect much from Crystal with regards to communications.  We went in with the expectation that their communications would be as top-notch as other parts of their service, and were very disappointed in that respect.  Being first-timers with Crystal and seeing such poor communications really got us off on the wrong foot, and it tainted an otherwise great experience.  (As an example, we emailed Crystal after the cruise with feedback and some questions, and now over 4 weeks later we have yet to hear back anything other the auto-reply saying they got our email).  In other words, if you're concerned about the cruise based on how Crystal has handled communications and such beforehand, then rest assured that other parts of your experience will be much better.  Good luck!

John

[clarku]

Heard from our TA today that our 11/11-18 Bach Frankfurt-Mainz cruise will now be a Cologne-Antwerp cruise on the Crystal Mahler for the same dates, due to water levels and damage to Bach received in recent accident.  Offering up to $1k/person for air changes, 30% of what we paid applied towards future cruise, will provide transport from Frankfurt airport to Cologne (3 hours by coach)....or full refund.  Decided to roll with it since our dates aren’t flexible.  

[zsb11080]

On Mahler now. We did roundtrip Amsterdam. We did many small cities in the Netherlands, Dusseldorf, Ghent and Antwerp for 16 days. Not what we signed up for but we are glad we did it. We got future cruise credit as well. 

[Netta7]

Following this closely.  Thank you for the information everyone has shared.  We are supposed to start our cruise in Budapest on 12/22.   Rebooking flights at the last minute is often very difficult.  Rebooking them during the holidays, when many flights are full can be impossible.  Trying to relax, but I will relax more when there is rain.  

[malcliz]

We boarded the Mahler yesterday in Amsterdam and are loving it so far. There are only 29 of us on board and on our first tour this morning there were just 6 guests so we had a canal boat to ourselves!  After all the uncertainty with the river levels and the Bach, we are so pleased that we decided on this option!  

[notamermaid]

I am glad to read that. You certainly have got a lot of space on the ship then. I hope the other ports will be as interesting. If you have a bit of time in-between or just after your cruise do tell us more please. As the low water continues I am sure more cruisers will go on amended itineraries.

 

Have a great time 

 

notamermaid

 

[skybluewaters]

On 11/5/2018 at 1:54 PM, malcliz said:

We boarded the Mahler yesterday in Amsterdam and are loving it so far. There are only 29 of us on board and on our first tour this morning there were just 6 guests so we had a canal boat to ourselves!  After all the uncertainty with the river levels and the Bach, we are so pleased that we decided on this option!  

 

So glad you're off to a good start!  If you have time, could you let us know what your itinerary will be?

You can be sure that the crew will make your vacation top notch no matter where you go!

[dalekwho]

Hello  We are slated for the Bach - Christmas Market Cruise- on the Rhine, first week in Dec 2018, Any guess how long it takes to patch up the boat and get her back on the Rhine?  Planning this holiday river cruise for 18 months , first River Cruise, is it possible this is a bad dream? Thank you for the information and any new posts! DalekWho.

[malcliz]

5 hours ago, skybluewaters said:

 

So glad you're off to a good start!  If you have time, could you let us know what your itinerary will be?

You can be sure that the crew will make your vacation top notch no matter where you go!

Our itinerary is

 

Amsterdam (x 2 overnights)

Hoorn

Utrecht

Dordrecht

Cologne (overnight)

Nijmegen

Maastricht

Rotterdam (overnight)

 

We are disembarking in Rotterdam but the cruise continues to Ghent, Antwerp and back to Amsterdam. 

 

We have cruised the Rhine and Danube before and the only ports in this list we have visited before are Amsterdam and Cologne so we are looking forward to seeing some new places.  We haven’t cruised Crystal before and are finding it excellent.  Had some great tours in Amsterdam with great guides and a super comfortable Crystal coach and loved Hoorn and our tours there yesterday too. Will post some photos later. 

[malcliz]

Sister ships in Amsterdam.

[malcliz]

Hoorn.  We loved this town and did 2 tours and had coffee and Dutch apple pie (again!).

Edited November 7, 2018 by malcliz

[malcliz]

Arriving in Utrecht this morning. 

[Coral]

Beautiful pictures malcliz! Thanks for the updates.

[CJO13]

Thanks for the updates malcliz! You have put our minds at ease a bit.

 

We will be boarding the Mahler November 11. We were initially supposed to be on the Bach Frankfurt to Amsterdam which is now Cologne to Amsterdam. We overnight in Frankfurt before being shuttled over to Cologne.

[malcliz]

CJO13 - We are enjoying both the ship and the itinerary very much and hope you do too. Tonight a quartet came on board to play for us and they were excellent. We have had information today about the tours for next week which you will be able to join. We have had some good guides and interesting excursions so far. 

[malcliz]

Continuing our unexpected travels in the Netherlands on the Crystal Mahler and loving the ports so far.  We are in Dordrecht and had a walking tour this morning. 

[gnome12]

Thanks for the pictures. I didn't see much of Dordrecht on my bike and barge ttip; I spent a few hours in the hospital getting a cast on my wrist. At least it was near the end of my trip as my cycling days were over.

[skybluewaters]

 

malcliz:  Sounds as though things are going great.  I'm enjoying the gorgeous pictures that you're posting, keep 'em coming!

 

If you have a moment, please say hi to Neal Fullerton, the entertainment host, from me.  He'll know me as a friend of Tommy Wiseau's and also as the person who told him the infamous doctor joke last year (I was on the Mahler with Neal last year, on the inaugural Mahler cruise).  Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your trip!

[clarku]

We too will be joining the Mahler on Nov 11!  Looking forward to it even though it’s not the same itinerary, or riverboat, we signed up for.  

[malcliz]

Skybluewaters - will give Neal your message. We had dinner with him last night!

 

clarku - will see you on the 11th!

 

On the Rhine now and a very steep climb off the ship this morning!  Can see for ourselves the low water.  

[malcliz]

On 11/9/2018 at 1:54 AM, skybluewaters said:

 

malcliz:  Sounds as though things are going great.  I'm enjoying the gorgeous pictures that you're posting, keep 'em coming!

 

If you have a moment, please say hi to Neal Fullerton, the entertainment host, from me.  He'll know me as a friend of Tommy Wiseau's and also as the person who told him the infamous doctor joke last year (I was on the Mahler with Neal last year, on the inaugural Mahler cruise).  Thanks, and enjoy the rest of your trip!

Gave your message to Neal and he said send his regards to Leo and Claire and to tell you he used your doctor joke today!