Sounds like Viking PR and purpose

You're right, Judy, the favorite part of our trips was the time spent actually traveling on the river. Yes, the little towns were charming and we met some lovely people onshore, but the best days were filled with lazy hours spent on a slow moving steamboat. I'm grateful for the memories and sorry for those who will not know that pleasure.

*Crusing at night/Touring during the day*
Morning, Steamboating collealgues:
Judy, thanks for the note and Ginnie's thinking above with VIKING RIVER cruise motto: "Spend less time getting there and more time being there" which also hits me when I see their very expensive, sub glitzy add on TV--usually PBS and Travel Channel. VIKING has sent their 'books' here at home and I had to gag at the cruise rates per person. And we're also seeing more glamor adds this time of year for the big blue water cruise ships with water slides, wave machines, glass decks over the sea, zip lines, climbing walls, inside ice rinks etc. I also sensed this 'cruise at night, lay up during the day' schedule approach on the rivers here. And there are other logo catch lines like CUNARD's "Getting there is half the fun" or PRINCESS logo "The love boat" or "Arrive home new."

AMERICAN QUEEN, sorry to say, missing the boat [Oh, that pun was a bad one], ignoring the beauty of our own Ohio River and other tributaries here which in many ways rival the Rhine, Danube or other European rivers without the castles etc. DELTA QUEEN passengers years back amazed seeing the Oxbow Bends here or the high hills, quaint river towns as mentioned. Venturing out of their box may also mean hiring pilots who know those rivers with logistic planning for fuel, food deliveries, supplies etc.

It's all part of a company approach to target market, appealing to the Mark Twain mentality--not that that isn't good. Image is everything. Foreign travelers here always equate our riverboats with Mark Twain the Civil War, NATCHEZ vs ROBT. E. LEE, Stephen Foster music, 'Show Boat' movie. I noticed on the Seine and Rhone Rivers this past October in France how the big VIKING, UNIWORLD and other cruise boats did indeed dock in the early morning, head out at night. They did have extensive and very expensive shore excurions to castles, palaces, wine region, museums. Some even have shore dinners where passengers visit culinary centers, fine five star restaurants ashore not eating evening dinner aboard. But you are in Europe. Again, you get what you pay for and you're going to pay plenty $$$ for trips and additionals on these babies. Some have shore excursions, table wines, beverages already worked into the cruise tariff. I gather VIKING RIVER has already had their eyes opened here with the hard reality of boat operation, navigation here. I'm going to sit back and see what happens. Again, 'the big boys' don't always get it right. I remember our waiter on NCL CRUISES welcoming us to our first night dinner aboard. "Never in all your lives are you going to eat all the food you're paying for on this cruise!" OUCH!

Things changed drastically with the DELTA QUEEN years ago when Betty Blake and company brought in 'travel experts' from New York to study the schedules, rates with the DQ. That when many previous fine 'trips' on the boat dropped; then the new 'one way' only trips with passengers facing headaches with air tickets in and out of originating and ending ports. The 'experts' also advised the company to increase the existing cruise rates to maximize profit with their feeling the DQ was underpriced in the market. And I know many here have been there and done that.

One thing about riverbot trips in Europe on the Danube and Rhine is that, as I recall, I never heard once a boat whistle. The high surrounding hills and escarpments there caused navigational whistles to bounce off with echos confusing either boat. I recall seeing masts with various flags with symbols like semaphore run up and down for other boats bound up and down to interpret. Also a kind of signal lights. Now, no doubt, better radio communication. Even here I seldom hear any whistle on a towboat day or night. At least this happened on the stretches of river I cruised in Europe. On the big Swiss Lakes many of those beautiful, fine old sidewheelers did blow great steam whistles. Well, what do I know?

R. Dale Flick
Old Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincnnati.

Practically all navigation on the European Rivers is done by radar. Boats approaching each other use those "flap boards" to indicate which side to pass on. There is a peep light in the board for night navigation. There are Vessel Traffic Systems all over the place. Many bridges have radar to keep track of approaching vessels. With the opening of many canals, boats from various countries, with pilots speaking many languages, negate most radio traffic. In most cases boats have assigned traffic lanes, much like the steam towboats did on the Mon River. If you are not in the proper lane, you might get smacked. I have corresponded with towboat pilots over there for years and find navigation habits over there quite different than ours. They have 6,000 hp. boats pushing only six big hopper barges and that is their extreme. I can't imagine what would happen if one of our 12,000 hp. boats departed Rotterdam upbound with 49 barges.

*European 'flap boards'/ 'Peep lights'*
Morning, Steamboating colleagues:
Dan, thanks for you insights on European river navigation explaining what I saw...or thought I saw...on the Rhine, Danube, Dneiper, Rhone, Seine etc. Also, "if one of our 12,000 hp boats departed Rotterdam upbound with 49 barges" would see all the water sucked out of the channel--well perhaps not that dramaltic but you get the point. Rivers there also run with fast currents. It's a whole diifferent world. Many cargo river vessels combination of large barge with high bow, engine and living compartments at the stern. Again, VIKING RIVER, UNIWORLD and other sleek, new cruise boats have those high ship bows with no swinging stages. Midship port/starboard gangway doors for passengers, loading supplies etc. landed against the stone or concrete 'quays.' If VIKING RIVER pursues their current designs for any proposed cruise vessels here they'll learn a big lesson and fast. I got chills seeing rows of passenger cabin windows down low on the hull just at waterline. Our Coast Guard will no doubt never let that fly here.

I did take day trips aboad sleek excursion boats on the Volga and Dneiper in Russia and the Ukraine seeing tow boats very similar to ours perhaps not so big pushing barges. Seeing boats, locks and damns, I had camera in hand. "Nyet photographien!" I was shouted at by 'certain people' guarding the locks and dams. For a moment I thought I'd end up cracking rock in the Siberian gulag. I think you get the idea. Back then in Kiev I questioned our translator/quide "Why are there no swimmers in the water at the beach over there?" Maria just looked hard, rolled her eyes and pointed upstream saying "Chernoble" meaning site of the nuclear meltdown disaster several years prior. YIKES! Again, I learned what I didn't know.

R. Dale Flick
Old Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati