July 3, 2013 cruise

Has this cruise been booked by the number of required participants to take place? I have booked other tours in the past (not a river cruise) only to be informed near departure that there were not enough participants for the tour to take place and have had another departure date substituted.

Comments

  • river boat cruises are very popular but if I would you I would call Tauck and ask.
  • Hello Bobbudams2013,

    Our July 3rd date for Budapest to Amsterdam river cruise is currently sold out. Are there any other dates I can check for you? Like Crackers54 mentioned our river cruises are very popular.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
  • Thanks Emily
    That is the informaton I wanted.
  • My wife and I are on this cruise and it is our first river cruise and first time with Tauck. We are from south Florida and are wondering if there are any others from this area. We are also spending 4 days in Prague prior to the cruise. All comments appreciated. Ron M
  • July 3, Riverboat Budapest - Amsterdam. We are from Charlotte County Florida (Gulf Coast) and are on this trip. We are flying in and out of Miami but are not arriving early. Instead we are staying over a few days at the end in Amsterdam. Would like to visit with you before the trip. If this is your first Tauck trip, I believe you will be impressed. This is the 5th trip with Tauck for my wife and the 4th for me. Let's get in touch.
  • joyron wrote:
    My wife and I are on this cruise and it is our first river cruise and first time with Tauck. We are from south Florida and are wondering if there are any others from this area. We are also spending 4 days in Prague prior to the cruise. All comments appreciated. Ron M

    As I mentioned in my response we are from Punta Gorda, FL and would love to get in contact with you somehow. I don't know if there is a way to do that or not without posting names and phone numbers publicly. Can anyone help me out here?
  • Hi Randyo
    We are in Hollywood. If our cruise actually goes, given the flooding, we can exchange info on board. We are also spending a few days in Amsterdam at the end of the trip. We are leaving Miami on the 25th as we are going to Prague first and then on to Budapest. I don't know how to exchange more information before hand unless someone can help with that.
  • Does anyone know whether the flooding in central Europe will effect the July 3rd Budapest to Amsterdam cruise? If so how?
  • Frosty wrote:
    Does anyone know whether the flooding in central Europe will effect the July 3rd Budapest to Amsterdam cruise? If so how?
    I think it is hard to say. We are on the July 14 trip. I feel we will not be seeing what we signed up for, rather places that are in recovery. I just hope this does not turn into a bus trip.
    Terri
  • Joyron, hopefully we will see you on the Riverboat and exchange info then. I am worried about our cruise in only a month. Fortunately we have trip insurance, but would hate to use it. Now, we are having lots of rain here in Punta Gorda with water in the canal a few inches over our dock and will be glad when this tropical storm moves on.
  • Randyo, We too are very concerned. We have planned this for some time and are booked to fly to Prague for 4 days then on to Budapest for 3 before the cruise. Our trip insurance is with Tauck but the air was not booked through them Our agent says we are covered. Our rains have let up and hope you see some sun soon. We have a daughter in the Tampa area and it is pretty bad there. Hope to meet you on board.
  • Sounds like the rains have stopped and the river is supposed to crest this week. We all know from news of our own Mississippi River how that all is. Should be better by July. good luck on your tours. I did 2 river cruises in that area and they were very good.
  • Hello There,

    The weather has improved and we have heard back from our local partners that all the major sites we visit were minimally affected affected (Regensburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest). We continue to monitor the situation and will provide an immediate update if there are any other changes.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
  • Hello There,

    The weather has improved and we have heard back from our local partners that all the major sites we visit were minimally affected affected (Regensburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest). We continue to monitor the situation and will provide an immediate update if there are any other changes.

    Hope this helps,
    Emily
    Thanks for the update, Emily
    Terri
  • Pasau had very serious flooding. The crest is going toward Budapest now, so the damage is not known. I believe the locks are closed. Prague shut down their sewer system. Water supplies will be contaminated. So things do not look so good.
  • Emily
    What is the latest on our July 3rd cruise, departure and itinerary?? Can you update us any further than the general post yesterday.
    joyron
  • Here is a website update on Budapest that I found on another forum.
    http://news.yahoo.com/budapest-escapes-floods-danube-starts-recede-100610265.html
  • Here is a posting from one of the "Experts" about lock issues between Vienna & Welk. Hopefully the locks will be repaired and in operation by then.
    Randyo

    "These locks (at Altenworth) sustained considerable damage during the flooding and repairs are projected to begin on 21 June with a possible reopening of the locks on 28 June if repairs are completed."

    TerriB
  • To Randyo,

    Go to Tauck's Facebook page as they are answering questions live there today.

    Sheila
  • We are currently booked on the July 3, 2013 Budapest to Amsterdam riverboat cruise. A significant part of the appeal of this trip is to be on a riverboat for 14 days where one can relax and enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about packing and unpacking.

    We have recently learned of the damage to the Altenworth lock and the inability of ships to pass beyond this point on the Danube River. Because of this problem, Tauck travelers on affected cruises have had to continue their journey via motor coach and hotels. A bus by any name is no substitute for a riverboat.

    I understand the current expectation and hope is that the lock will be partially repaired for limited traffic on June 29. However, in the event that the Altenworth lock is not passable on June 29, what is Tauck's contingency plan for the July 3, 2013 cruise? Do you have available another riverboat to continue the tour on the other side of the damaged lock? What alternatives would you consider in advance, other than a bus. If not, would this trip be canceled? And, if so, would it be canceled prior to people's departure from the U.S.? In our case, we depart on July 1 to spend an extra day in Budapest, and would need to be able to assess options by June 30.
  • edited June 2013
    Grete wrote:
    We are currently booked on the July 3, 2013 Budapest to Amsterdam riverboat cruise. A significant part of the appeal of this trip is to be on a riverboat for 14 days where one can relax and enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about packing and unpacking.

    We have recently learned of the damage to the Altenworth lock and the inability of ships to pass beyond this point on the Danube River. Because of this problem, Tauck travelers on affected cruises have had to continue their journey via motor coach and hotels. A bus by any name is no substitute for a riverboat.

    I understand the current expectation and hope is that the lock will be partially repaired for limited traffic on June 29. However, in the event that the Altenworth lock is not passable on June 29, what is Tauck's contingency plan for the July 3, 2013 cruise? Do you have available another riverboat to continue the tour on the other side of the damaged lock? What alternatives would you consider in advance, other than a bus. If not, would this trip be canceled? And, if so, would it be canceled prior to people's departure from the U.S.? In our case, we depart on July 1 to spend an extra day in Budapest, and would need to be able to assess options by June 30.

    Hello Grete,
    I share your concern because I am on the next cruise departing on July 14 from Budapest to Amsterdam. A look at the website: www.marine traffic.com and www.scylla.ch shows that all of tauck's riverboats are north of the Altenwworth locks right now. The Emerald is in France and the other three are in the Germany-Austrian Waters. The Jewel is traveling from Amsterdam to Budapest and is scheduled to pass the locks on June 29, the day one chamber of the lock is hopefully going to be ready to open. That is if all the repairs go well and if the traffic allows it to pass uneventfully. Then you will be okay. The other two riverboats, the MS Treasures is docked in Linz and the MS Swiss Sapphire is docked in Krems waiting to be able to make passage through the locks. They have no passengers at present.
    So it is a waiting game. If you look at www.scylla.ch you can see the location of the ships daily. If the ships have their radar turned off marinetraffic.com does not pick them up.

    As for cancellation, it is a waiting game to see what Tauck tells us. I am probably telling you more than Tauck wants you to know, but I got all my information on the web so it is public knowledge. I just did a bit of looking around. I know I can't give you any concrete answers and am waiting for answers from Tauck just like you are, but my advice to you is get as much information as you can prior to getting on the plane.

    Here is another website that may be of help:
    http://www.logistik-express.com/meldungen/1/24989/block-in-altenwoerth-due-to-flood-damages/
    This is the site that tells you when the locks are due to open.
    I hope I have been of some help.
    Terri B
  • Hi Terri,

    Thanks very much for your response. It is very helpful. I will follow the two links you provided to stay current on the news regarding the locks.

    I'm looking forward to receiving as thorough a response from Tauck as well.

    Hope your trip later in July goes well.

    Thanks again.

    Grete
  • Grete, my wife and I feel just like you do. For what we are spending on this trip we expect to be on a riverboat where we unpack once and enjoy 14 days on our 'floating hotel'. If this ends up being a partial bus trip we expect a refund, credit or something meaningful from Tauck. We also expect to hear something from them before we board a plane for a long trip. I know they are struggling with problems they can't control here and in western Canada, but they have always taken good care of us in the past and I expect them to do so now.

    Thanks to whoever posted the site to locate the Tauck riverboats in Europe.
  • We are also on the July 3 trip. We plan to leave Sat June 29th. It would be nice to know what the plans are if the lock opens or if it does not open. Tauck has told us nothing.
  • My husband and I are also on the July 3 trip, so I have been closely following the news about the flooding, damaged locks, etc. (I even have the Budapest Times bookmarked on my phone so I could follow the preparations there when the flood waters were to peak in Budapest.) We leave for Budapest July 1. The boat we are to be on is on its way down from Amsterdam now, and I have been following its course on the website that TerriB so helpfully gave us in a prior message. While we did receive a letter last week from Tauck regarding the European flooding, that was not really specific about our trip. And, at the time, it seemed the flood danger was over and would not impact July trips -- but, of course, that was prior to the information coming out about the closed locks. Hopefully the repairs will be finished on schedule and the boat will be able to come on to Budapest as planned.
  • The Altenwoth Lock opened to traffic today, June 27 to all commercial traffic. Pleasure crafts are prohibited until June 30.
    TerriB
  • Thanks, Terri B. Great news. As my wife said after reading this, "There will be a lot of happy people on the Swiss Jewel. Look forward to meeting everyone in person on July 3rd. My wife and I will easy to spot as I am the guy walking with braces and 2 canes.
This discussion has been closed.