How Is the War in Ukraine Affecting the European River Cruise 2022 Season?
byDenise Caiazzo/
The 2022 season for river cruising in Europe has begun. And with the easing of COVID restrictions, more Americans are ready and willing to travel abroad. But some have concerns about how the war between Russia and Ukraine could affect their travel plans.
To help you be well prepared when suggesting a European river cruise to them, here is a summary of what is happening with the major brands, including any changes to itineraries because of the situation in Ukraine.
Amadeus River Cruises
Marcus Leskovar, executive vice president, Amadeus River Cruises, gave this update: “We have had some passengers call and inquire about the status of our cruises, but we did not have any cancellations due to this situation yet. Also, there are no trip or cruise interruptions that we can foresee at this time, especially since it is not expected that any part of the European Union or NATO zone will be physically affected by the conflict. More important than the actual distance to the conflict is whether a vessel is operating within the confines of the European Union and/or NATO zone. All countries that are part of some of our cruises and that have a border with Ukraine (Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania) are part of the European Union. We currently don’t have any plans to alter cruises and are planning to operate all itineraries. As an Austrian company, we work hand-in-hand with Austrian and European officials to monitor the situation in real-time.”
Amawaterways
该品牌不在俄罗斯或乌克兰巡游,因此他们不必更改任何河流巡航行程或繁华前和灌木丛后的土地计划。
“AmaWaterways’ top priority will always be the safety of our guests and crew,” said Kristin Karst, executive vice president and co-founder of AmaWaterways. “With 20 years of experience providing unparalleled river cruise journeys, our operations team can modify itineraries and adjust excursions at a moment’s notice should there be any need to do so. Our guests are very anxious to travel again and by doing so they are able to provide much-needed support to the economic recovery of the countries visited, which are struggling to recuperate after two years of travel restrictions.”
As for how the war has affected business, Karst said: “The conflict has not had a significant impact on our reservations for this year. There was a short lull in new reservations at the end of February until mid-March, but the phone lines are busy again and we are seeing a lot of last-minute reservations coming in for the September to December travel period. Our outlook for 2022 remains positive with incredible pent-up demand and we’re so excited to welcome our guests back to the rivers!”
Avalon Waterways
“首先,我们积极取消了到2023年到2023年的所有俄罗斯巡回演出。在过去几周(不到10%),特别是东欧度假的预订下,我们的预订放缓略有下降。”“相反,我们为北美和其他西欧目的地的销售增长而增加,包括游览和河流巡游。beplay银行卡总体而言,旅行者的弹性比以往任何时候都更强。And, both advisors and our consumers have shared with us their confidence and comfort in traveling with the Globus family of brands, knowing that they’re in good, safe hands, not to mention the fact that they’re in for a perfectly planned getaway.”
Last week, the linechristened its newest Suite Ship,阿瓦隆的观点,在布拉迪斯拉娃。这座443英尺,166个乘客的船有83个小木屋,其中80%是全景套房。Avalon独有的全景套房设有一个11英尺宽,墙壁到天花板的窗户,并带有一扇门,打开了整个七英尺的门,将整个套房变成了露天阳台。Avalon View将在多瑙河(Danube River)上度过全部2022年的赛季,提供六到22天的行程,包括“多瑙河的品味”,“多瑙河交响乐”,“多瑙河上的Active&Discovery”和“ Danube上的Active&Discovery”和“ Gone Girl!”(讲故事的人与名人主持人吉莉安·弗林(Gillian Flynn)一起航行)。
Emerald Cruises and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours
“风景秀丽和翡翠巡游一直在密切关注俄罗斯对乌克兰的袭击,因为客人和船员的安全至关重要。目前,这些公司尚未对行程进行任何更改。我们认为重要的是要支持这些目的地的当地经济体取决于旅行。beplay银行卡只要对我们的客人和船员没有危险,我们希望为客人提供这些目的地。beplay银行卡
Regarding the outcome of the unrest on business, Chamberlin added, “We are continuing to see strong bookings for 2022 and 2023. Certainly some of our guests have asked about safety and voiced their concerns, but at this point we do not see any across-the-board effect on our bookings.
Of note, Emerald Cruises just announced the godmother, award-winning travel industry advocate and educator Vanessa McGovern, for its newest river ship, Emerald Luna; as well as launching its first luxury ocean yacht, Emerald Azzurra, in March. In 2023, the line will also launch its second luxury yacht, Emerald Sakara; while Scenic will launch its second Eclipse ultra-luxury yacht.
Tauck
Tauck relayed that they have not altered or adjusted any of their river cruises as a result of the conflict in Ukraine (although they have cancelled all 2022 departures of their land tours of Russia and eliminated the St. Petersburg port call from their “St. Petersburg & the Baltic Sea” small ship ocean cruise).
“总的来说,尽管有一些客人的担忧,但我们的预订在欧洲仍然非常健壮,最近我们在未来几个月给塔克(Tauck)预订的客人的一封电子邮件中向欧洲介绍了这一问题,”泰克(Tauck)副总裁乔安妮·加德纳(Joanne Gardner)说。“我们基本上报告了我们在那里的合作伙伴支持者以及我们所看到的东西(我们已经有很多塔克员工访问欧洲,以准备2022年的运营季节做准备)。也就是说,欧洲的人们正在仔细监测乌克兰的发展,并且人们对危机和平解决危机有一种渴望,但其他情况下,日常生活正常进行。正如塔克(Tauck)的总统詹妮弗·汤博(Jennifer Tombaugh)在发送给我们欧洲遇到的客人的电子邮件中指出的那样,“在欧洲的整个期间,我都感到完全安全,完全安全。一切都感觉非常正常……我访问过的地方的正常生活节奏非常明显,很棒。’
关于202年“我们仍持谨慎乐观态度2 plans in Europe and elsewhere. Many of our guests haven’t traveled in more than two years, they have their 2022 Tauck travel plans in place, and they won’t be easily deterred from getting out there and seeing the world. We’re committed to helping them do exactly that, all while keeping their health and safety as our very highest priorities.”
Uniworld
在俄罗斯在乌克兰和正在进行的战争中入侵之后,Uniworld Boutique River Cruises取消了其从莫斯科到俄罗斯Vlasivostok的跨性别式铁路计划2022年。,罗马尼亚,奥地利,瑞士等等。
“除了跨西伯利亚铁路行程外,我们今年没有在受影响地区运行的任何巡航,并且正在按计划运营我们所有的中欧巡游,包括沿线的巡航,包括沿线的巡游。最终,我们的客人和工作人员的信心和安全仍然是我们的重中之重。我们正在密切监视这种情况,并保持乐观,以至于较美好的日子正在前进。我们的想法与所有受到这场冲突影响的人在一起。”
Viking
Viking responded to our request for information with: “We are deeply opposed to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and are heartbroken for all the people who are impacted. On March 1, we made the decision to cease all operations in Russia in 2022. At this time, we have made the decision to cancel all departures of our Ukraine and Russia river itineraries through 2023. We will also replace scheduled stops in Russia for all 2022, 2023 and currently open 2024 ocean itineraries. Guests and their travel advisors on impacted departures have been notified directly.
“As a company that has been helping people explore the world for 25 years, we strongly believe in the power of travel to build connections between cultures. We remain hopeful for a quick resolution to the current conflict. Our team is actively monitoring the situation and will keep our guests up to date as necessary.”
At press time, Travel Market Report had not heard back from Riviera River Cruises.
Providing humanitarian aid
Many in thetravel industry have taken steps to help people whose lives have been turned upside down by the warin Ukraine. Among cruise lines, AmaWaterways teamed up with the port of Amsterdam and other volunteer organizations to provide one of its river ships to offer temporary accommodations for refugees arriving in Amsterdam. Holland America Line’s Volendam is also being used as a乌克兰难民的临时庇护所in the Netherlands during a three-month stay in Rotterdam. MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival Corp. are also providing aid.