European Waterways continues to operate its full programme of luxury hotel barge cruises, despite low water levels affecting some of the waterways of Europe, with only four vessels requiring slight itinerary adjustments.
Cruises in Scotland, Ireland, England and Italy are unaffected and the majority of French itineraries, including the Canal du Midi, Champagne, Alsace and Brittany, are also operating as planned. In Burgundy, European Waterways has proactively repositioned a small number of vessels to nearby waterways, generally within around 50 kilometres of their original routes.
Most of Europe’s canals do not free flow like rivers and are managed through, reservoirs and other water-control systems, which can help provide greater stability during prolonged dry periods. Where changes have been necessary, European Waterways has been able to reposition vessels to nearby waterways while retaining key excursions and experiences.
European Waterways says the smaller scale and flexibility of canal cruising has enabled it to respond quickly to changing conditions, with no cruise cancellations expected over the rest of the season, despite the very limited rainfall.
“The impact of Europe’s low water levels on our canal cruises has been limited,” said John Wood-Dow, Co-founder and Director of European Waterways. “All of our vessels remain operational and where we have needed to adjust a route, the changes have not altered the overall experience with most of the usual excursions being retained.”
He continued, “One of the real advantages of hotel barging is the flexibility that comes with travelling on canals and smaller waterways. With 50 years of experience operating on Europe’s waterways, we have strong local partnerships and know these regions extremely well. That means we can react quickly, move vessels when needed and if required, introduce high-quality alternative experiences that we know will deliver for our guests.”
