Low water forces cancellations of Rhine gourmet cruises

Low water on the Rhine has forced operators to cancel gourmet cruises, including all scheduled trips between Basel and Strasbourg, SRF reports.

The ships used for these journeys are based in the Netherlands, where water levels are deeper. They cannot pass through low-water stretches of the Middle Rhine between Bonn and Bingen, preventing them from reaching Basel and Strasbourg. Excellence Cruises said low water on the Middle Rhine, Upper Rhine and in Lower Bavaria had made routes impassable, forcing it to cancel festival dates through November 2.

Gourmet cruises, often booked months in advance, feature menus prepared by top chefs, including cooks with Gault-Millau points or Michelin stars. The journeys have grown in popularity and help cruise companies fill less lucrative periods in autumn and around Christmas.

The cancellations come after a difficult summer for river cruises. Peter Stalder of IG Rivercruise, the European umbrella association for river cruises, said 25 percent of trips were cancelled when low water first became a problem, while 75 percent had to be adjusted. The financial damage is not yet clear, but operators know that fewer guests travelled than expected. Stalder said substantial rainfall was needed, but was not in sight.

Basel tourism director Letizia Elia said cruise passengers were important to the city’s tourism sector, although business travel and corporate events were more significant during the colder months. She expects river cruises to operate in December, but said conditions on the Rhine remained changeable. Stalder was less optimistic, saying there were few indications of whether services around Basel would return to normal.