I cannot remember water levels ever being as bad as this. Last week one of my colleagues was on the Rhine river and she said she could see the riverbed. She had never seen anything like it in 20 years of river cruising. We're now well into October and the repeated heatwaves seen all over Europe last summer are still wreaking havoc.
I've got so much respect for the river lines for how they're handling the crisis. We sell 12 river lines and although they are losing millions of pounds over this, they're still supporting Blue Water Holidays and still want to invest in joint marketing.
Customers are pleasantly surprised
I don't think customers realise how serious the situation is until get to Europe and see it first hand, particularly on the Rhine and the Danube. What I'm hearing from our customers is that they don't want a coach trip, but at the end of their holiday they say it's been fine, and managed well by the cruise lines.
Like with any situation in travel that escalates, creating a situation where customers are chasing refunds, some operators are better than others. Some cruise lines are offering refunds and some are refusing to.
One cruise line offered a customer whose cruise was pulled any sailing next year for the same price as the cancelled one. The customer booked a Douro cruise in June for £1,700 – about three times lower than the advertised price. The cruise line has since changed its policy, I think they realised how generous they were being!
'There's plenty of choice'
I worry about the sector all the time. But I don't think the low water levels this year will have a massive impact on bookings next year. Maybe I'm being too optimistic? Although I’m worried about water levels, I’m more concerned about overcrowding. There are too many ships and operators coming in. While on the one hand this gives customers – new-to-river cruise ones too – plenty of choice, it could impact the experience in the same way that low water levels can.
Water levels will rise and fall, though. There's nothing you and I can do to change that right here and now. However, reducing overcrowding on the rivers, and limiting the number of ships in the picturesque towns and cities that attract river cruise lines in the first place, is potentially achievable.
Ships are having to moor further from the centre of towns and cities, docking further and further out because more vessels are coming onto the rivers. Look at Amsterdam right now. That will surely have more of a detrimental effect on the industry in the long run.
As told to TTG's Harry Kemble
