On Friday evening, September 2, just north of Passau, Germany, the Avalon Tranquility was struck by a cargo barge that was loose from its mooring, causing significant damage to the engine portion of the ship. No passengers were injured and all were removed safely and escorted to two hotels in Regensburg, Germany for the night. The next morning members of Avalon's European operations team and a trained trauma counselor met with passengers to ensure their well-being, after which, they were overnighted in Munich, Germany.
Sunday, September 4, 2011, Avalon's team met with guests to offer two options: to return home from Munich on a flight Avalon would arrange for them or to continue with a land alternative to ensure they ccould still experience most of the destinations in Europe they'd planned to see, at no additional cost. The vast majority of passenger opted to stay in Europe.
All travelers are being compensated with a full refund for the missed portion of their cruise and are receiving a credit voucher for future travel in 2011, 2012 or 2013. All travel agent commissions are being protected.
The Tranquility is currently drydocked for repairs, which have been determined to be significant enough to force Avalon to cancel the next two departures: Magnificent Europe departing September 11 and Blue Danube Discovery departing Friday, September 23. Avalon is alerting all affected guests and offering three choices: rebook a Europe cruise for 2011 by moving the full value of the cancelled cruise to a new cruise, plus a $500 discount per person (includes a $500 voucher for future travel with Avalon in 2012 or 2013); cancel the 2011 booking and rebook in 2012 with a $500 discount for their new booking or full cancellation including a full refund and a $500 voucher for future travel. Consumers and travel agents can call Avalon toll-free at 1-800-372-1761.
