Bad luck has cursed river cruisers in Europe this summer, who have been literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. Trips on the Rhine and Danube have been severely impacted by, essentially, the lack of river, due to a combination of reduced snow runoff in the Alps over the winter and elevated summer temperatures. The result? Devastating drought conditions.
In Budapest, the dried-up Danube riverbed has revealed, among other things, a sunken World War II boat, an army motorcycle, the remains of two German soldiers and some anti-tank mines, which closed down the riverbank until they could be disposed of.
You can also see Ínség-szikla — the Rock of Starvation. In olden times, seeing the top of the rock meant water mills would be unable to process flour, and crops were likely failing. Today, it’s completely uncovered.
Budapest is exactly where our week-long “Romantic Danube” cruise with AmaWaterways (from $3,449 per person) this past July was supposed to dock. Things didn’t looking promising.
But, like the other passengers arriving on AmaWaterways’ brand new ship, AmaSofia, we remained hopeful. Spirits were high as we embarked at pretty Vilshofen, in Bavaria, Germany, for a week of scenic river cruising and the the dockside Oktoberfest party — complete with local beer and dancers in lederhosen — helped liven everyone up.
The ship didn’t disappoint either. In the company’s distinctive sienna-and-white livery, the layout was welcoming, opening out to a large bar and lounge with panoramic windows and a small outdoor seating area in the bow. A roof deck featured a pool where drinks are served as you bob, and there were plenty of loungers for those scenic views.
Two dining rooms serve the ship, with the main Journey restaurant on the lower floor open for all three meals. The food changes with the location to reflect local flavors and everything was fresh and tasty. A must-do is the Chef’s Table at the rear of the ship which serves an eclectic selection of tasting plates served up in eight courses. (Our bonne bouche included tiger prawn and apple crudo, miso-marinated cod, vanilla bean mousse and passionfruit macaron.)
There are 76 cabins on AmaSofia, with room for 154 guests. They’re on the small side but there’s decent storage and a nice sized balcony. This was our spot to watch the countryside roll past, a cold glass of wine lightly beading as we watch castles, medieval villages and ancient forests slip by.
Or so we hoped.
For the first evening, that’s just what we did before waking up in Passau in lower Bavaria. A selection of excursions at the cruise stops are included in the fare, and we opted for a hike up the hill through the forest to the 13th-century fortress of Veste Oberhaus, with views of the town where the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers meet.
During the night, we sailed across the border to Linz, Austria. Here, we found our ship double-parked against another longboat along the riverbank. That meant one side of the ship lost its river aspect in favor of an intimate view of its neighbor. This isn’t unheard of, but right now, with so many boats hemmed into the shorter navigable stretches of water, it’s even more common. One morning, we threw open the curtains in our PJs to find ourselves staring straight into the populous lobby of a Viking ship. Port stops are booked up to two years ahead, so “we’re playing the biggest game of musical chairs possible,” said our captain, Niels Springer, later in the week.
Luckily, we spent much of the day wandering the cobbled streets Hitler loved — even making the Anschluss speech where he unified Austria and Germany from the Rathaus (town hall) balcony in 1938. (It’s right by the public toilet. Karma?) The impressive glass facade of the modern Lentos Art Museum enticed us in to see collections including Andy Warhol, Man Ray and Keith Haring.
Other passengers opted for bus trips out to Salzburg — “Sound of Music” lovers particularly — or to Český Krumlov, a spectacular 13th-century UNESCO village in Czechia. We passed on that since we’re not fond of long bus trips. (Cue the foreshadowing.)
From here, we were due to sail to Vienna, then Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) and Budapest, but bad news was announced during the daily afternoon briefing from our onboard cruise manager: We won’t be able to make any of those stops. In fact, we’ll only be going as far as the small town of Melk, Austria, where we’ll park up for three nights. We’ll be bussed back and forth to Vienna on one of those days, then on the penultimate day we’ll bus to Budapest via a short stop in Bratislava. A hotel will be provided for the last night in Budapest.
Since two meals that should have been provided on the ship would now not be available, each passenger received a 50 euro house credit, which turned out to be not enough to cover the expense and had to be redeemed on the ship.
Naturally, there was a rumble of disappointment, and a few tempers flared, since the river cruise has now essentially morphed into a city bus tour, operating from a floating hotel.
We were disappointed to then power some eight hours through the night to Melk, in what seemed to be a mad dash to get there, missing out on the daytime scenic cruising through the Wachau Valley which had been billed as “passing vineyard-covered hillsides and historic riverside villages … all while taking in sweeping panoramic views along the way.”
Melk, as it turns out, is a lovely little village with a pretty main street lined with ice cream shops, cafes, bars and arty boutiques. It’s overlooked by an imposing Benedictine baroque abbey, now also an interfaith school, of which a tour has been arranged. For the other free day, a tour of Schloss Artstetten was offered. It was the summer castle home of Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.
In the afternoon we attempted a guided bike ride along the river (bikes are kept on board for guests’ free use) but after a few unshaded miles in the 97-degree afternoon heat I was defeated, slumping like Jannik Sinner at the French Open. We couldn’t help but reflect that, had our original itinerary stuck, we’d have been on a cooler morning ride through vineyards in the picturesque Weißenkirchen.
Instead …
The bus to Vienna took about two hours each way. Only a short walking tour was offered, after which we ducked into the Spanish School of Riding to check out the beautiful Lipizzaner horses, spending the rest of the day in cafes escaping the heat. Those hoping to attend an evening Vienna classical concert from the itinerary — an optional extra which past guests had called a highlight of the trip — weren’t able to do so.
Saying goodbye to the ship a day early, we then took the bus to Budapest, and it was a brutal six back-aching hours in total. A quick pitstop in Bratislava (so that all the destination boxes are ticked and for a pay-as-you-go comfort stop — for some reason the bus toilet was locked) revealed a quirky, historic city with a gritty edge.
Alongside the cafes and acknowledgements to Mozart, who performed there as a child prodigy, is a grim executioner’s visage marking where accused witches were burned. Lunch includes the recommended local hearty dish of bryndzové halušky, potato dumplings with bacon and sheep cheese, which got mixed reviews.
We got to the Al Habtoor Palace hotel in Budapest around 5 p.m., too late for any tours, where an adequate buffet dinner was served in a windowless basement room. We enjoyed a glass of fizz at the charming bar, though, after walking over the bridge to Buda as the iconic castle lit up. Luckily the lights were still on, since the city is experiencing difficulties from the nuclear station, usually cooled by the Danube.
According to Jon Burrows, COO of AmaWaterways, we’ve certainly been unlucky, since last year, and in 2020, “We saw nearly ideal navigation conditions across much of Europe’s river system.”
You can’t predict which season is best, either.
“While we’re seeing more frequent weather extremes than in the past — including periods of low water, heavy rainfall and heat waves — these conditions are not cyclical and can occur at different times of year,” said Burrows.
Captain Springer concurred, noting that the Danube “can be low in winter and high in summer.” Ah, the river, she is a cruel mistress.
With these variable conditions becoming more prevalent, the company has recently invested in new ships featuring a shallow draft, such as AmaSofia, but even so, 16 ships across six itineraries are currently impacted on the Rhine and Danube.
As well as bussing, sometimes passengers are switched from one ship to a sister ship during the voyage to avoid stretches of low or high water, the latter of which would prevent the ships from passing under bridges. These are reportedly well handled and keep the bones of the tour intact — however, this does belie the “only unpack once” lure. Other times, cruise destinations and routes are changed.
“The focus remains on creating a well-rounded guest experience by adding tours and excursions or securing coaches for full-day shore experiences in originally scheduled ports,” said Burrows. “The goal is to minimize disruption while preserving the quality and variety of the overall river cruising experience.”
The AmaWaterways team was always professional, and luggage, logistics and tour changes were well communicated and handled seamlessly. It’s obvious that they have created a very sophisticated system to deal with it all and can put complicated plans into operation at short notice.
But even with the best intentions, and even if you are willing to “let the journey unfold,” your holiday may be radically altered from what you had planned.
If you have no issue with coach tours to get you to the main attractions, added in with the river boat hotel experience, that may be fine. For those who wanted to moor up in the heart of the city, and drift down the river, cold glass of wine in hand etc. etc. — not so much.
In the UK, there are consumer laws that require compensation or cancellation rights if the holiday that is offered is substantially different to the one that you booked, regardless of why it happened.
However, in the US, the force majeure clause says that the company is not responsible for situations that are out of their control; nor will regular travel insurance necessarily kick in if you want to cancel or claim for disruption.
As per their website, the company also boasts that “adapting takes more work than stepping back, but we believe it’s what our guests deserve, and it’s why we haven’t canceled a single departure due to this summer’s conditions,” something that some of the other major cruise lines like Viking and Avalon have on occasion chosen to do. “Operational flexibility has always been part of river cruising, and AmaWaterways’ approach is to adapt itineraries rather than cancel, whenever it is safe.”
However, this does mean an ongoing chance of having a modified cruise such as ours. And customers who don’t want that and would prefer to make a change ahead of time, can’t do so — and there are some furious sub threads on social media about the lack of cancellation or rebooking options.
Viking are taking the same stance as AmaWaterways, but Avalon has stated, per their website, that any guests who have booked on the Rhine or Danube are free to rebook or take a full refund.
Burrows countered that, “Conditions can also improve, as we’ve seen with recent rainfall in parts of the Danube. A sailing departing in the coming weeks may ultimately be able to operate with little impact.”
But that also means a bad news email may come close to departure.
“Our teams typically reach out around two weeks before departure when we know an itinerary adjustment will be needed,” said Burrows. “Because river conditions can change quickly, there are occasions when we may need to make a determination closer to departure, but we work to provide at least a week’s notice whenever possible. Guests are then contacted directly by our reservations team and their travel advisors to discuss the options available and determine the best path forward based on their individual circumstances. This may include the option to proceed with the cruise and receive future cruise credit as a thank you for their flexibility, or, if they prefer not to travel, receive credit toward a future booking.”
“We’re playing the biggest game of musical chairs possible.”
Captain Niels Springer
AmaWaterways also said the passengers on our cruise were compensated for the disruption, but would not divulge what that comprised (full disclosure: we were guests of AmaWaterways.)
A travel advisor from Nashville, Tenn., who was there with 15 friends, said she has only received an email saying that the company is “reviewing everything.”
“I was told we would get notice of any itinerary changes once onboard but at that time they said there were no disruptions, which was not true because boats were already not sailing past Melk,” she said. “As of today, we have not been offered any credit or compensation of any sort.”
As for future cruising, well, AmaWaterways would get my vote for a lovely ship experience, but next time, I’d be more inclined to look further afield, and there’s plenty to choose from. In addition to Europe, they also cruise the Nile in Egypt, the Mekong in Vietnam, the Chobe in Botswana and the Magdalena River in Colombia, among others. AmaWaterways is also growing the current fleet of 31 ships to more than 50 by 2032.
But if you’re insistent on Europe — and there’s a lot of scenic and historic reasons to want to cruise those waterways — the best tip of all might be to take out “cancel for any reason” insurance.
It’s a pricey option, but that way if you find out that your cruise will be impacted, rather than just having to go with the flow, you’ll have options.
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