It’s that time of year again: Worries over river levels in Europe are beginning to creep into the minds of cruise planners and cruisers. In years past, either low or high waters have prohibited seamless operations, occasionally resulting in sailing postponements or even cancellations. Specifically, low levels can result in an insufficient amount of water to float on; inversely, high levels can cause bridge clearance issues.
However, these instances are few and far between, so clients shouldn’t be too concerned, said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways.
“It’s important to understand that disruptions in river cruising due to water levels [are] extraordinarily rare,” said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways. “While 2022 posed some issues across the industry, less than 1% of Avalon’s cruises were altered or canceled due to low water.”
Executives at Tauck have witnessed the same.
We canceled just two river cruises in all of 2022, representing less than 1% of our river cruise departures for the year.
"Even with last year’s challenges (described as ‘record low’ water levels by the Associated Press and countless others), we were largely unaffected,” said Jeremy Palmer, chief operating officer for Tauck. “We canceled just two river cruises in all of 2022, representing less than 1% of our river cruise departures for the year. We operated 95% of our 2022 European river cruise departures with zero impacts to our guest experience.”
Forecast for the 2023 River Cruise Season: It’s Too Early to Tell
As for 2023, both Hoffee and Palmer believe it’s too early to know just how water levels, which ebb and flow and can change rapidly, will or won’t affect this season’s river sailings. But most lines, Avalon and Tauck included, have comparable contingency plans to ensure itineraries can operate without significant interruption.
Cruise Lines’ Solutions for Low Water Levels
Avalon’s so-called Suite Ships are identical, in part for this very reason, allowing the line to simply “swap ships” if water levels pose a problem. Should a stretch of river be deemed impassable, guests can easily be transferred from one riverboat to another nearby.
In these cases, “[travelers] can maintain the integrity of their vacation, down to the same Panorama Suite number,” Hoffee said.
What’s more, Avalon and other lines tout low drafts, meaning there’s less vessel depth below the waterline that could potentially get hung up due to low waters. AmaWaterways, similarly, considers this feature a “critical element” in order to safely sail under most low-water scenarios that might affect the rivers.
“Our captains are very experienced and know that they are authorized to empty the swimming pool and ballasts, and even temporarily reduce the supply of fresh water carried onboard, to reduce the weight of the ship and gain a few extra inches of clearance if that is what it takes to safely navigate critical points on the rivers,” said Rudi Schreiner, president and co-founder of AmaWaterways.
When Worst-Case Scenarios Arise
Should a situation arise where a low draft cannot overcome or river authorities stop traffic at a critical juncture, AmaWaterways can also support swapping a ship, and its itineraries are flexible, should they need to be changed.
"We have alternative ports of call, docking sites and excursions lined up should we need to modify an itinerary,” Schreiner said.
Viking is also ready to handle these concerns. Like AmaWaterways, both lines intentionally navigate sister ships in opposite directions (toward each other). This way, passengers and their luggage can be quickly moved to a sister ship that was purposefully sailing on the other half of the river if such a disruption occurred. Viking guests are then ensured an identical stateroom or suite on the second vessel.
Insurance
Another consideration is insurance for such incidents. Both Emerald Cruises and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours offer their River Cruise Cover program, which includes coverage for high/low water issues and even goes so far as to provide direct monetary refunds, not just future cruise credits.
