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Emily- Can you give us an update on the Riverboat Cruises due to the flooding in Europe?
Emily,
There have been a number of posts here and on Cruise Critic about the flooding in Europe on the Rhine, Main and Danube and that all river traffic has been halted. We know that Tauck has riverboats out there just as the other companies.
The other companies, namely Avalon and Viking have posted on Cruise Critic about cacellations but there has been nothing from Tauck either there or here on this website or on Tauck's Facebook page.
Have the people on the present cruises been evacuated?
Have any future cruises been cancelled?
If so, do you have a date when you tentatively plan to resume cruising?
Will Tauck be getting in touch with those of us who have a reservation in the next few weeks?
Your reply is much appreciated.
TerriB
There have been a number of posts here and on Cruise Critic about the flooding in Europe on the Rhine, Main and Danube and that all river traffic has been halted. We know that Tauck has riverboats out there just as the other companies.
The other companies, namely Avalon and Viking have posted on Cruise Critic about cacellations but there has been nothing from Tauck either there or here on this website or on Tauck's Facebook page.
Have the people on the present cruises been evacuated?
Have any future cruises been cancelled?
If so, do you have a date when you tentatively plan to resume cruising?
Will Tauck be getting in touch with those of us who have a reservation in the next few weeks?
Your reply is much appreciated.
TerriB
0
This discussion has been closed.
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Five people were killed at the weekend in the Czech Republic, where the flooding was the worst in a decade and a state of emergency was declared, while in Austria two people died and another two were missing.
Officials in Prague, which is listed by the UN as a World Heritage Site, shut the metro system, and in streets near the river soldiers put up flood defences.
Tigers at Prague zoo were tranquilised and moved out of an enclosure at risk from flooding. The Charles bridge, a favourite spot for tourists that dates back to the 14th century, was closed.
Officials hoped the flood defences in Prague should hold, but said the river level was likely to rise again on Tuesday morning. "The story is not yet over here," said the environment minister, Tomáš Chalupa.
Tree trunks floated by in the muddy brown water. A riverside path, usually populated with cyclists and people sitting at cafes, was under water on Monday.
"We left England yesterday and it was sunny and warm. We didn't expect this; we don't even have our raincoats," said a British tourist, Alison Tadman, who came to Prague with her husband, Adrian, to celebrate her 47th birthday. She and her husband were sheltering in a McDonald's restaurant. "We're pretty disappointed," she said.
Some of the worst flooding was around the Danube river, which starts in Germany and snakes its way through countries including Austria, Slovakia and Hungary on its way to the Black Sea. The river was swollen by heavy rain at the weekend.
In Germany, the interior minister flew to the flood-hit regions on Monday and the chancellor, Angela Merkel, was preparing to go on Tuesday, a government spokesman said.
Shipping was stopped on parts of the Danube and Rhine rivers in Germany, and along the whole Austrian stretch of the Danube, because of the high waters. The rivers are important arteries for moving grain, coal and other commodities.
Thousands of people living in low-lying areas in Austria and the Czech Republic had to be evacuated from their homes.
The death toll in Austria rose on Monday after a man listed as missing was found dead in the province of Vorarlberg, local police said. The 58-year-old had failed to return home from a party on Saturday.
In the Austrian city of Salzburg, 160 passengers were put up overnight in army barracks after the floods stranded their train. The Austrian foreign minister, Michael Spindelegger, told reporters the situation in some areas was very fraught.
The risk on Monday was that the flood danger could follow the course of the Danube river downstream to other European countries along its route.
Workers put up flood barriers along the banks of the Danube where it passes through the Slovak capital, Bratislava, and police shut several roads.
"We are getting bad news from Germany and Austria. We have to do all we can to protect ... the capital," the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, said.
In Hungary, where the capital, Budapest, is also built on the banks of the Danube, state media quoted György Bakondi, head of the national disaster authority, as saying that 400 people were working on flood defences.
He said water levels in the river could reach or even exceed the height seen in the record flooding of 2002.
As you already know, unprecedented high water levels have been reported along various rivers in Central Europe. There is no indication at this time how quickly the river levels will subside, and we are monitoring the river levels and the weather forecasts closely.
If you are a guest with travel plans in this region, a Tauck representative will be personally reaching out to you (or your Travel Agent).
To address some of your concerns:
Have the people on the present cruises been evacuated? All of guests on tour are safe and attended to.
Have any future cruises been cancelled? We have cancelled our Blue Danube Westbound tour departing 6/6. We personally call our guests (or their Travel Agent) to make them aware of the situation.
If so, do you have a date when you tentatively plan to resume cruising? The situation with river levels is very fluid, as levels rise and drop quickly. We are continuing to monitor all other tours operating in the area’s affected by the high waters.
Hope this helps,
Emily
Terri
Tauck really knows how to handle adverse situations that arise. That's why we are going on Tauck Tour No. 20 next month and my DH to Antartica with them in 2014.
Sheila
Bev
As of this posting we are operating as scheduled for your departure. We currently have people on the ground in Europe and they assessing the situation in the towns we visit as well as conditions on the river. I should be getting an update in the next couple of hours as to we are seeing on the ground and will have another update for you.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Hope this helps,
Emily
I understand your concern. As of this posting, we are operating as scheduled for your departure. According to our local partners, the major sites we visit were minimally affected. We believe that we can safely operate and deliver the Tauck experience. That being said, we continue to monitor the situation Europe, and will provide an immediate update if there are any other changes.
I am escalating your concerns about our response time to our management team so that we can improve our communications to our guests.
Hope this helps,
Emily
Thanks for keeping everyone here on the Forums updated. I realise that's a ridiculous thing to say! Of course Tauck is keeping in touch with any travellers directly affected by the floods. Of course Tauck wouldn't be sending personal messages to their clients on a public forum.
I really don't want to think about the work load of all the back room people at Tauck just now. All those people working diligently and creatively in Europe and in Connecticut to see their clients through such exceptional circumstances. Well done, troops! Three cheers for everyone and all the multi-tasking happening over there. Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
And for all the vicarious travellers reading the Forums ... this is why Tauck has so many loyal, repeat clients.
Thanks, Tauck.
Jan
Here's a bit more info regarding your itinerary.
The tour starts in Prague, which according our local partners has not been impacted in the areas we visit (Hotel, Prague’s Old Town, and Castle). Other major sites we visit in Regensburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest were minimally affected. There are reports of some damage in Passau, Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov and Wachau Valley, but we believe can safely operate the departure and deliver the Tauck experience.
Hope this helps,
Emily
My apologies, I may have missed your posting from June 5th. This departure is operating as planned. The tour starts in Prague, which according our local partners has not been impacted in the areas we visit (Prague Marriott Hotel, Prague’s Old Town, and Hradcany ). Other major sites we visit in Regensburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest were minimally affected. There are reports of some damage in Passau, Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov and Wachau Valley, but we believe can safely operate the departure and deliver the Tauck experience.
Hope this helps,
Emily
http://nationalpostnews.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/germany_europe_floods_topix.jpg?w=1410
This is just one of the many articles that show the devastation. Thank you.
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TrendingNHL Playoffs | Mike Duffy | Tim Bosma | Christie Blatchford | Rob Ford | Andrew Coyne | Trudeau | Mulcair | Xbox One | Oklahoma | Bieber | Jays | North Korea
Situation ‘dramatic’ as German town underwater after floods
Matthias Schrader, Associated Press | 13/06/03 | Last Updated: 13/06/04 9:53 AM ET
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An aerial view of the flooding in Passau, Germany, photographed Monday June 3, 2013. Heavy rainfalls cause flooding along rivers and lakes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
AP Photo/dpa,Peter KneffelAn aerial view of the flooding in Passau, Germany, photographed Monday June 3, 2013. Heavy rainfalls cause flooding along rivers and lakes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic..
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PASSAU, Germany — Swollen rivers gushed into the old section of Passau in southeast Germany on Monday, as water rose in the city to levels not seen in more than five centuries.
The city was one of the worst hit by flooding that has spread across a large area of central Europe following heavy rainfall in recent days. At least eight people were reported to have died and nine were missing due to floods in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
“The situation is extremely dramatic,” Herbert Zillinger, a spokesman for Passau’s crisis centre, told The Associated Press.
AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
AP Photo/Matthias SchraderPeople stand in the flooded centre of Passau, southern Germany, Monday, June 3, 2013. Raging waters from three rivers have flooded large parts of the southeast German city following days of heavy rainfall in central Europe. A spokesman for the cityís crisis center said Monday that the situation was ìextremely dramaticî and waters are expected to rise further by midday to their level highest in 70 years..
Much of the city was inaccessible on foot and the electricity supply was shut down as a precaution, he said. Rescuers were using boats to evacuate residents from flooded parts of the city. Authorities in the afternoon evacuated a prison that was in danger of being flooded, moving 60 inmates to two other nearby facilities on higher ground.
But with water from the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers relentlessly pouring into the city, water was advancing into previously dry streets — in one case going from dry to ankle-deep within half an hour. Markers set in 1954, when the city suffered its worst flooding in living memory, have disappeared beneath the rising water.
Lennart Preiss/Getty Images
Lennart Preiss/Getty ImagesA soldier lets the water run out of his shoe in the historic city center on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. Heavy rains are pounding southern and eastern Germany, causing wide-spread flooding and ruining crops. At least two people are missing and feared dead in what is evolving into the most serious flood levels since the so-called 100-year flood of 2002. Portions of Austria and the Czech Republic are also inundated. ..
The German news agency dpa said the water levels were the highest recorded since 1501 in Passau, a city that dates from before Roman times.
The German army said it has sent 1,760 soldiers to help local authorities and volunteers reinforce flood defences, particularly in the south and east of the country. Chancellor Angela Merkel planned to visit flood-hit areas Tuesday, her spokesman said.
Elsewhere, authorities in the Czech Republic said more than 7,000 people had to be evacuated as of Monday afternoon as the flood-swollen Vltava River continued to rise.
Lennart Preiss/Getty Images
Lennart Preiss/Getty ImagesOnlookers watch the rising river Danube in the historic city center on June 3, 2013 in Passau, Germany. Heavy rains are pounding southern and eastern Germany, causing wide-spread flooding and ruining crops. At least two people are missing and feared dead in what is evolving into the most serious flood levels since the so-called 100-year flood of 2002. Portions of Austria and the Czech Republic are also inundated. (Photo by )..
Those evacuated included residents of southern neighbourhoods in Prague and the town of Terezin also known as Theresienstadt, the former Jewish concentration camp during the Nazi WWII occupation, which is located north of the capital.
Prague’s central sewage treatment plant was shut down on Monday to prevent its damage by the high water. That means that the sewage from the capital goes directly to the river. The plant may be restarted Tuesday or Wednesday.
Interim Mayor Tomas Hudecek said animals from a zoo located by the river had been taken to safety. Parts of the city’s subway transportation network also were shut down because of flooding.
JAN MARCHAL/AFP/Getty Images
JAN MARCHAL/AFP/Getty ImagesAn aeral view shows the Prague Zoo under water on June 03, 2013 as the Czech capital was flooded, with metro stations and elementary and secondary schools shut after the Vltava river rose, flooding parts of the historic city centre due to heavy rainfalls...
The Charles Bridge — normally packed with tourists at this time of year — was closed to the public as were some other popular spots near the river at the foot of Prague Castle. Rescuers evacuated some 2,700 people across the western half of the country where the government declared a state of emergency in most regions.
Some had to leave their homes in the southern neighbourhoods of Prague, while further evacuations have been under way in the northern Czech Republic, awaiting a flood wave later Monday.
Frank Jordans in Berlin and Karel Janicek in Prague, Czech Republic, contributed to this report.
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Hi See the world,
The pictures of Passau and other flooded areas in Europe are certainly dramatic, all of us at Tauck have been monitoring the situation across all available resources, including media and getting constant reports from our suppliers, partners, and tour directors in the region. Please know that we are committed to delivering the best travel experience possible. We believe can safely operate this departure and deliver the Tauck experience.
I know that not knowing is hard and I am trying to keep everyone here updated as soon as I receive them. Thank you for you for your patience and understanding. Across the board, this has been a operationally challenging situation for all river cruise companies.
Hope this helps,
Emily
With all due respect, I realize the people at Tauck are working very hard to try to make everyone happy, but I fail to see how this trip will really go on without a hitch and you don't end up sending everyone home, only to incur additional expenses.
Respectfully,
TerriB