Question for Notamermaid and other experienced cruisers.

[Daisi]

Just had someone on another message board ask about Leuftner Cruises. If this is a Travel Agency, I apologise and @Host Jazzbeauplease delete. It seems as if they use Amadeus ships.  Just wondering if anyone had heard of them.

[Canal archive]

Here is their website. leuftner-*****

[pontac]

It's interesting to read on the Amadeus website that

 

The Amadeus ships described in our brochure and other publications are operated by Danubia Kreuzfahrten GmbH / Vienna-Austria.

---

AMADEUS

Amadeus acts solely as a Sales Agent/Preferred Supplier for the above-mentioned operators of the vessels described in this brochure. Amadeus neither owns nor operates any of the vessels described herein and thus assumes no responsibility or liability for acts or omissions of the vessel owners or operators or their respective employees, agents or contractors in regard to the cruises described herein.

 

 

Perhaps Leufner is the German marketing arm of the Austrian company Danubia Kreuzfahrten and the company named  Amadeus is the USA marketing arm?

[steamboats]

Lueftner is an Austrian company and in business for 40 years now. They do own the Amadeus ships (so all ships have "Amadeus" as sort of prefix in the name). 

 

AmaWaterways did start out with ship from Lueftner until they had their own ones built.

 

The German branch is Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten in Munich but according to their "about us" they are solely selling the Amadeus fleet operated by Lueftner. It´s even the same website design as the one of Lueftner. And there´s another Amadeus River Cruises website - same design, also only selling the Amadeus fleet operated by Lueftner with an address in Burr Ridge, Illinois.

 

steamboats

[pontac]

58 minutes ago, steamboats said:

And there´s another Amadeus River Cruises website - same design, also only selling the Amadeus fleet operated by Lueftner

 

The quotation directly above your post  come from the US Amadeus site with the Burr Ridge physical address, and as you see, it says the boats are  operated by Danubia Kreuzfahrten GmbH / Vienna-Austria.

 

What is the connection between Lueftner and Danubia?

 

Does Lueftner own the ships and Danubia operate them? Does Lueftner own Danubia? I don't speak German so can't, and don't know where to go, to  research the company ownerships.

 

Interesting that @Daisi was worried about referencing a travel agent, but reading the US Amadeus website it reads as if that operates as a travel agent 😁

[Daisi]

Thanks for your help.  I see a very interesting cruise on the website : The Saar & Moselle.  

 

Another one for the bucket list!

[Canal archive]

Maybe that’s why my website was truncated!

[steamboats]

On top of the Amadeus River Cruise website it does read "Lueftner Cruises" and "A product of Dr. W. Lueftner Reisen GmbH". Danubia Kreuzfahrten GmbH has an English website with an address in Innsbruck, Austria. But actually it´s all the same origin - Lueftner. Here is a company profile website - showing Dr. Lueftner as "Geschäftsführer" (CEO) and even the Lueftner Email and website addresses.

 

Usually river cruise ships are owned by one company, chartered by another company, hotel staff from a third company, nautical crew from a fourth company and just the cruise director working for the company marketing the cruise but as a free lancer.

 

steamboats

 

[notamermaid]

I looked into this a while ago and was a little confused. I gathered that Lüftner runs all the English language bookings outside of Austria through Amadeus (that one being a separate legal entity for your bookings, etc.), as well running and operating the ships through Amadeus, being it in Germany or in non-German speaking countries.

 

@steamboats Thanks, I did not know how Danubia Kreuzfahrten fits into the mix.

 

It could well be that Lüftner prefers to have an agent in the US and Canada, i.e. Amadeus with their own office which appears like a travel agent. CroisiEurope does this "properly" in Germany, they have a sole agent which is also a travel operator it its own right for land trips throughout Europe. A legal and logistics set-up for language barriers etc. I should think. And reasons beyond that which I may not be familiar with (not my side of tourism work that I do).

 

20 hours ago, Daisi said:

The Saar & Moselle.  

 

Is that Lüftner or Amadeus website? This is the German description: https://www.amadeus-flusskreuzfahrten.de/kreuzfahrten/reise/show/malerische-mosel-saar-2023.html

 

I like the straight out info for customers: "Wegen niedriger Durchfahrtshöhen bei Brücken und Schleusenanlagen auf der Flussstrecke zwischen Bernkastel und Saarlouis ist aus Sicherheitsgründen ein Zugang zum Sonnendeck streckenweise nicht möglich." That means on some stretches between Bernkastel and Saarlouis there is no access to the sundeck due to the locks and bridges.

 

A nice itinerary. I enjoyed the Saar area on a land trip two years ago.

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

It's on both sites @notamermaid, and I agree, it's nice to know ahead of time.

 

I will have to do more investigation as to how they handle allergies etc. It does look interesting.

[notamermaid]

Bernkastel Kues near where the river cruise ships dock (do not expect the Ferris wheel to be there):

 

 

And Saarburg:

 

 

The Saar river is a bit industrial in parts but that for me adds to the appeal. It is nowhere near as busy as the Rhine so closer to the Moselle in that aspect.

 

notamermaid