The Covid-19 epidemic has resulted in the cancellation of the Danube River cruise for the rest of the year.
Austria entered a country-wide lock-down on November 22 which completely restricts tourist entry and is expected to last through December 13.
The bright return of holiday river cruising in 2021, heralded as the year the European Christmas markets would return, has dimmed even further as the German states of Bavaria and Saxony have also entered a weeklong lockdown. The Christmas markets in Nuremburg and Munich have been canceled for the entire Christmas season.
Crystal Ravel did not sail for the year.
Crystal River Cruises will not be sailing any more in December. The four Austrian ports that the Ravel was supposed to call in were Vienna, Melk, Linz and Krems. Guests can transfer their reservation to 2022, receive a 100% future cruise credit toward any Crystal experience, or receive a full refund.
Walter Littlejohn, senior vice president and managing director of Crystal River Cruises, said in a statement that they had had an amazing season and that they were excited to be back on board. The cancellation of the remaining Crystal Ravel sailings is even more disappointing because of the strong guest response.
The Rhine River sailings on Crystal Debussy will continue through the end of the year. Crystal Ravel will resume service in March of 2022.
The last four sailings of the Crystal Ravel were canceled. The photo was taken at Crystal River Cruises.
Avalon, Tauck and Scenic have canceled cruises.
The Christmas market closings caused Avalon Waterways to cancel all of the Main-Danube itineraries. A full refund, a letter of credit or the ability to move their cruise to a future date are included in the compensation to guests.
The Scenic Group has stopped all of its European river cruises in the year 2021.
River cruise lines give tips.
The statement from the company said that everyone at the group was sad by the end of the season. For the last few months, we have welcomed thousands of guests on board our river ships, providing them with fantastic memories of sailing through the heart of Europe's villages, towns and cities. We are looking forward to new adventures with our guests when the European river cruise season starts in March.
Tauck said it has canceled all holiday cruises on the Danube through the end of the year because of the current situation in Austria.
Tauck's Amsterdam-to-Brussels cruises are scheduled to run as scheduled.
Viking modifies itineraries.
The itineraries of river voyages that include Austria have been changed. While Austria is locked down, ships will sail through the country and skip port calls.
Guests on the modified itineraries will be given onboard credit and a voucher to use on their next voyage, in recognition of any inconvenience caused by the change. Should any changes become necessary, we are keeping a close eye on the situation.
