Unfortunate mess up of Danube cruise
When Tauck says “ Expect the Unexpected” I doubt they were referring to this weeks tour “Musical Magic on the Danube”. My hubby and I went to Paris for two nights prior to joining the tour in Budapest. Delta/ Air France lost our checked bag on our way to Paris and we spent our one free day running back and forth to the airport to be sure we got our bag prior to flying to Budapest. We joined the boat last Friday 5/31 and docked for two nights. The rains came then and next in Bratislava, and as you may have seen, the Danube flooded, and we rushed to Vienna, and could go no further on the cruise. Not the fault of Tauck, but we spent five nights docked with countless other boats. We saw a beautiful opera and got our fill of Vienna, but it is unfortunate we have not cruised elsewhere. We were taken by bus to Melk ( only those who wanted to go) then yesterday about a dozen people decided to go to Salzburg for a couple hours, riding about four hours each way from Vienna. The tour directors have been trying to do their best with a difficult situation, however this has become more disappointing as about 30 of our group is now lost on our way to Czesky Krumlov. The rest of the group chose to go directly to Prague. We have now been in the bus going on 4.5 hours and still not there.
On top of all this craziness my husband got a bad cold 3 days ago. He is feeling better but had to see a doctor yesterday in Vienna and get an X-ray and ultrasound to rule out some rib pain he was having after coughing so much!!! The tour staff has been wonderful , but what a trip this has been so far. I’m disappointed that we did really did not cruise, but that is just our bad luck and timing on this entire trip. I was determined not to do a land tour but that is what it has turned out to be.
I’m not telling anyone on this board to not cruise the Danube, but be prepared as anything can happen. Some trips are just better than others!
We still have two days in Prague and I’m praying they are frustration free.
Comments
How very unfortunate. We had a similar river experience with low water being the problem. All you can really do is make the best of unfortunate circumstances and enjoy whatever location your at.
Marla526,
I am so sorry for your misfortune. I remember how much you were looking forward to this trip, and I was eager to hear all about it. Not that it is any consolation, but JimFlorida is absolutely correct. We had similar weather related challenges last December on a holiday cruise. The directors and crew did their best to keep us comfortable, content and safe--they succeeded! Perhaps it was the holiday season and festivities that kept our spirits up.
Please do try to make the most of it. When you return home I would love to learn more about the performances you were able to attend. Best of luck and warm wishes.
Postscript.......I hope your husband is feeling better.
Ugh. I so feel for you! We are cruising the Rhône in September. Booked it March 2023. I’m literally counting the days (90!). I would be crushed at this situation! Sending positive thoughts your way!
Thanks everyone. What makes this worse is this was our 50th anniversary trip. What should have been a beautiful river cruise has turned into long bus rides and tons of wasted hours and delays. I realize none of this is controllable and it is no one’s fault, but has been a huge disappointment. We are not getting any younger, and long bus rides and walks are not easy anymore. Travel just seems to be so much harder now.
Did you ask Tauck to place you in a hotel in Vienna instead of getting stuck at the riverboat on dock for days? It is very unsanitary to be isloated at the immobile boat at the dock for days.
Is tauck offering any compensation for the "misadventure"?
It happened to me twice with Uniworld. The first time was a Rhine cruise.Uniworld cancelled Belgium due to low water level and simply moved the boat between Trier and Speyer, using buses to finish up the rest of the trip,altering a lot of the sites visited.
Second time was with Uniworld's Po River and Venice Cruise. The Po river had low water level and Uniworld ended up using the bus all the way to Padua, Ferrera, and Bologna. Not much was missed. Uniworld was able to sail at the Venetian Lagoon.
Did tauck provide alternate itinerary?
Just think about it Henry, Tauck’s couldn’t possibly find a hotel for a boatload of people in the middle of the vacations season.
Well, weather is becoming more unpredictable and it is changing travel patterns and viability. It's these acts of Mother Nature that are really tough to plan for. I'm sorry your anniversary cruise isn't the dream cruise as expected.Sadly, these weather events are only expected to deteriorate further. Air travel turbulence is getting troublesome.
True!
How bout calling American Express for assistance? I am sure they can find a hotel on their own.
Yes, but that would be leaving Tauck, spending more money and possibly not having part of the Tauck insurance
Meanwhile Marla, so very sorry to hear this about your very special trip. I’m hoping your sixtieth one will be perfect!
Proud of you for trying to be positive. Our 50th anniversary trip is coming up and we have been dreaming of it for years. I’d like to think I would have the strength to be just as positive.
“unsanitary to be isloated at the immobile boat at the dock for days.”.
Sorry. I was a naval officer for twenty three years. There is nothing ‘unsanitary’ about being docked on a ship. River boats are cleaned continuously, and are probably a lot cleaner than most hotels. This website sometimes generates some amazing ‘ideas’.
So sorry Marla that your 50th anniversary trip had so many contretemps, anyway Happy 50th Anniversary and may your next one be a wonderful one.
We are on the Blue Danube beginning in Prague on the 14th (boarding ms Savor on the 16th), and I'm following the river levels closely with my heart in my throat. I know we will have a grand adventure whether the boat can move or not, and as long as they don't run out of beer, we'll be OK. If Tauck can guide us flawlessly through Hurricane Michael in Australia, even helicoptering us across the flood to get to Silky Oaks Lodge, we know they will do their very best for us on the Danube. It's still a bit nerve-wracking, though. How does one pack for this? lol
Marla, I wanted to add how sorry I am that this happened on your special anniversary trip.
First, the ship was fabulous, along with the crew and the cruise director. It was extremely clean and comfortable. Food was fabulous. I believe the tour directors did the best they could. But since all this got messed up before our third night out of eleven, I really wish we had the option to just cancel and leave. We missed out on all the small cities in northern Austria nd in Germany, which was part of the reason we chose this trip. A 12 hour day offering a glimpse of Salzburg doesn’t cut it. A 10.5 hour day for 2 hours in Cesky Krumlov is tough as well. Almost 3 hours each way to just see the Melk Abbey was disappointing. As I said, I did not want a land tour. I wanted a cruise, and that’s the part that hurts the most. We have not been offered any compensation from Tauck as yet, and not sure if it will be. I know it’s not their fault, but it sure would make me feel better. This was a lot of money for a bus tour!
Brenda Anderson, I think the flooding will be over. However we have heard that some docks are unavailable and possibly some broken locks. You might want to call Tauck and see if they think your itinerary might change.
Marla526===
This has happened to us a few times and to our friends a few months ago. We received $500 OFF a future tour with Tauck - it came via email about 3-4 weeks after we returned - I imagine Tauck will make this right for you.
I'm so sorry it wasn't as you had hoped, but so glad the Tauck staff and food were up to Tauck standards for you.
There was an article yesterday on CruiseCritic about the water levels in Europe. The article said that ” Those due to head out on river cruises on the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers in the near future should prepare for potential travel disruptions.”
We depart for our Budapest to the Black Sea cruise in two and a half weeks. I am not sure this is going to affect our cruise, but I guess we need to be prepared.
Here is a link to the article.
Rhine and Danube River Cruises Impacted by High Water Levels in Germany and Austria
JohnS forgot to mention this river cruise, Budapest to the Black Sea, is part of our 50th celebration too. Keeping fingers crossed.
I know from prior (10) Tauck tours and cruises that the wonderful TDs will do everything they can to make a memorable trip.
Oh dear. We are scheduled to do a Danube cruise in October with AmaWaterways. Will try to stay optimistic, but this is all rather disheartening. I hope that there is some resolution for the people currently on river cruises in Europe.
Thanks, but I did read about one high end competitor that just changed the entire trip to a land tour and gave customers 125% credit. Also another one offered to get people home sooner if they wished. As I said this is no one’s fault but I still am deeply disappointed.
I don’t understand how, in peak tourist season, accommodation for 100 plus people can be found to change these trips into land ones at the last minute.
British, not sure how they did it. We have less than 70 on this tour. We did go to Prague one day early.
This happened to us in 2018 on our first Tauck trip, Amsterdam to Budapest. An errant barge became stuck in the Danube; 90 vessels were stopped. We were docked in Straubing for a few days, bused to Passau, had only half a day in Vienna.
We were given the option to leave the tour and be taken to the Munich airport, but everyone continued the tour by bus. There was something going on in Vienna, no rooms were available, so we stayed in a Ramada Inn in Bratislava, then the luxurious Intercontinental in Budapest.
We all made the best of it, had a great time - there were only 55 passengers. Tauck was terrific in keeping us happy. When we returned, we had a very, very generous credit towards a future trip. We’re leaving on our 8th next week.
Hello Marla,
The two names not mentioned: xxadeux, Scexxx, or xxxxxrld?
xxxxxrld offered the group the option to leave early and also changed a few days to a land tour both times. Refund was not offered.For the Rhine cruise, they kept us on the boat for a few days and moved us to hotels for other days. There were about 100. It was a Holiday Inn.
Thanks mfrancis this is interesting info. We did stay on the ship all but one night, and bussed if we wanted excursions. Now an extra night in Prague
Marla526,
I hope the elements were kinder on the last leg of your trip. If you can, will you share your thoughts on the performances you were able to attend? I have many questions; if you feel more comfortable, I will private message you if you prefer.
Warm regards.
Kfnknfzk…..the performances were mixed. The onboard lectures by our maestro, Andrew, were very good. Sometimes a bit more technical and detailed for some folks who do not have a musical background. One of our TD’s was a trained opera soprano and she did several performances and led our guest choir. Great experience and very talented gal. The piano recital in Budapest was magnificent, as was our visit to the Vienna Opera where we saw “ Turandot”. I did not make the orchestra rehearsal in Vienna or the Budapest Opéra visit, but heard that both were wonderful. There were two recitals that were just okay…..one by some students in Budapest and a family in Vienna. Also we heard some organ work in Bratislava. Unfortunately because our cruise was interrupted we did not have any music in Melk,Grein, or any northern towns, as we did not get there, There was a Viennese music evening in the Palace Ferstel, which was not my personal favorite, but many enjoyed it. We heard there will only be a couple more of these specialized cruises offered, as Tauck plans to discontinue this musical tour. Not sure of the reason….it could be that not enough clients want all the classical music anymore.
Marla526,
Thank you so much for your insight and for the news that this tour might be discontinued. I haven't heard anything from Tauck regarding our standing on the 2025 interest list, but I'll call them tomorrow.
Thanks again. And I'm sorry the rains spoiled your trip.