(11:58 a.m. EDT) — River cruise lines are canceling or altering itineraries due to the?unprecedented flooding in central Europe. Impacted lines include?Viking River Cruises,?AmaWaterways,Avalon Waterways,?Uniworld,?Scenic Cruises,?Tauck?and?Grand Circle Cruise Lines.
The heavy rainfall over the past few days has led to the highest flood waters ever recorded in central Europe. Floods in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Poland have caused several deaths and shut down tourist destinations.?Passau?andPrague?– two major river cruise ports — have been especially affected.
?Viking has canceled the following cruises, both due to depart June 9:?Romantic Danube (Budapest to Nuremberg) onboard?Viking Prestige, and Danube Waltz (Passau to Budapest) onboard?Viking Legend, Romantic Danube on the MS Vienna. All passengers due to sail on one of these cruises will receive a full refund or the option to rebook at a later date. Passengers are being notified and offered full refunds, plus an additional $500 onboard credit. The line has also been forced to make a number of itinerary changes, full details of which are posted on the?Cruise Critic Message Boards.
Viking has set up a Crisis Hotline and dedicated email: [email protected] or 1-877-523-0579 (Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Pacific).
A statement from Viking reads:
?We have been forced to cancel three cruises, departing on 9th June, due to travel on the Danube river. This decision was taken as it is currently impossible for the ships to reach the point of embarkation. There are no other cancellations at this time and none foreseeable.?
The statement added: ?Customers are being notified by our team as soon as we are aware of any changes or if there is a need to alter or cancel any sailings due to the current areas of flooding. This level of flooding is extremely unusual and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the situation closely.?
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Source: Adam Coulter and Jamey Bergaman (2013). Update: River Cruises Canceled Due to Flooding, Cruise Critic?http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5379 published Jun 04, 2013. Viewed Jun 05, 2013.