Anatomy of a River Cruise

​So you want to go on your first river cruise and you don't know what to expect.  We'll walk you through the cruise from start to finish.

If you've been on ocean cruises before, and not on a river cruise, you'd notice several differences upon arrival at the embarkation port. You'll probably first notice it's a much smaller ship with not as many people. Perhaps one of the most dramatic, and welcome differences, will be how easy the embarkation process is.

Pre-Cruise Option

click images to enlarge

We will assume a European river cruise for the purposes of this post.   Since most passengers are traveling from overseas, the cruise line offers a pre-cruise package.  Selecting this option takes all the extra planning out of the equation and offers the most seamless experience.

You arrive at your destination one or two days before the cruise departure and are either met at the airport or you can arrange your own transportation to the pre--cruise hotel.  Let's assume you have the first day to explore on your own.  Most hotels have mid-afternoon check-in times, but they can store your baggage so that you aren't held hostage to your bags until then.  You can then explore the city until later in the day.

The day of your cruise there are two choices:  a pre-cruise excursion (usually at an extra cost ) or transportation to the pier.  In either case, when you arrive at the ship, you'll drop off your baggage and meet in the lounge on the ship.   The crew will take care of your checked bags.

Embarkation will take place in the ship's lounge.  Someone from the crew will come around and check you in and then the staff will give a short briefing about the evening's events.   After a champagne toast and introduction of the crew, it's time to head to your cabin to freshen up before dinner.

Welcome Aboard Briefing

Each evening you'll gather in the lounge for a briefing about the next day's tour options.   On most cruise lines, there will be included excursions and there may be optional excursions available for additional cost.   Most tours will have different groups so that you can participate at your own pace.  Walking tours for example will have slow pace and fast pace at a minimum.  

Besides the briefing, there usually is a cocktail hour before dinner.   Most lines have open seating for dinner so you can meet different people throughout the cruise or stay with your own group.

To Be Continued ...

You've had an enjoyable day at the pre-cruise excursion.  You've already made some new friends during the past two days, and you are planning to meet them for dinner.  It's time to relax a bit before the evening festivities. 

 

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Cruise Industry Safety Standards Changes

Concordia Disaster

Brings More Changes

In the wake of the Costa Concordia accident, the cruise industry has examined the current safety standards and made modifications.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and European Cruise Council (ECC), have jointly announced new recommendations.  The new policies address issues related to personnel access to the bridge, passage planning and life jackets - all of which came under scrutiny during the Costa Concordia investigation.

Bridge Access

The new policy announced by CLIA states "bridge access will now be limited to those with operational functions during any period of restricted maneuvering or when increased vigilance is required." 

The period for increased vigilance is defined  as "any time a vessel is constrained in its ability to freely navigate, such as in a restricted waterway/channel, entering a port, or an area where there is an unusually high volume or compression of vessel traffic." 

The policy changes will most likely impact bridge tours, which are often part of "behind-the-scenes" activities offered to certain passengers, such as those with higher loyalty status with the cruise line.

Passage Planning

Voyage plans have always been a requirement under the International Maritime Organization's SOLAS conventions, however consistency and level of detail in the plans was previously not detailed in the formal polices.  The new language, adopted by CLIA and ECC, explicitly requires for the plan to be "drafted by a designated officer and approved by the master" well in advance of the sailing,  Recall that the master of Costa Concordia claims that he was authorized to do the "sail by salute".

Life Jackets 

The change in life jacket policy calls for ships to carry more life jackets than are currently legally required.   SOLAS currently dictates that ships carry life jackets for every berth, which may be higher than the number of persons onboard, plus five percent. In practice, the majority of cruise ships carry many more life jackets than is required, but the new policy will raise the official mandatory minimum. 


Some Concordia passengers indicated that they had to return to the cabins in the dark in order to retrieve their life jackets.   The new limits will mean the muster stations will be required to increase the quantities available for passengers unable to return to their cabins in an emergency to retrieve their life jackets.

Related Posts:

Cruise Industry Adopts New Muster Policy  

Carnival Corp Taking Steps to Address Safety Concerns

Cruise Line Industry Enhanced Screening Guidelines

I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the enhanced screening guidelines the cruise industry is beginning to implement to continue ensuring the healthiest environment for all cruise passengers. It is important for you to know that the cruise industry is taking these proactive steps out of an abundance of caution to identify, isolate and treat any suspect cases as appropriate.

Under new CLIA member cruise line health screening procedures, All passengers scheduled to board CLIA member line cruise ships will be required to complete the new public health questionnaire prior to boarding at any port. Under the enhanced screening protocols, CLIA member lines will perform a secondary screening if a passenger reports on the questionnaire flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat, or contact with a confirmed Influenza A (H1N1) case. Medical personnel at each cruise line will make case by case decisions regarding the boarding of these passengers. Passengers will not be permitted to travel if they exhibit influenza-like-illness or meet the suspect case conditions for swine flu as defined by CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/casedef_swineflu.htm). All other passengers will be permitted to travel.

If you have questions about these procedures, contact your cruise specialist or the cruise line.

Further information on travel and the swine flu can be found on the CDC Web site at: www.cdc.gov/swineflu. CLIA will continue updating its communications as necessary and I will keep you apprised of any significant developments.

The cruise industry always takes your safety and health seriously, so I am confident that with passenger cooperation, you will be assured of a safe and healthy cruise vacation during these difficult times.

As I have said many times in this column, I stronly recommend the purchase of travel insurance. I offer my customers a customized Travel Guard policy which provides emergency assistance amongst the other benefits. Travel Guard has announced that it is Offering Free Assistance and Information on Swine Flu to U.S. and Canadian travelers affected by or concerned with the recent Swine Flu outbreak. They have the most up-to-date information for travelers seeking travel status updates, health warnings, prevention and treatment tips.