River cruise ships like to dock in cities like Regensburg and Passau, but tourists don’t leave their money there. In Vienna, however, they were now very happy that no passenger disembarked.
The Danube is an imposing river. It is so beautiful that every year thousands of people not only want to stand on its bank or bathe in it, no, many people – mostly they are older – even want to eat and sleep on it, namely on river cruise ships. Whether it’s the route from Regensburg to Passau or from Passau to Vienna or straight on to Budapest, river trips on the Danube are extremely popular, Regensburg residents, for example, can tell you a thing or two about it. In pre-Corona times, the landing stages there were always well filled with people in beige shorts and functional jackets who had just left ships named after fantasy princesses.
The river cruise participants are usually picked up immediately by tour guides and led – or driven – through the old town. Zack, zack through the streets, in time for lunch the guests finally have to get back on the MS chandelier princess be.
As a local landlord or shopkeeper, you would rather that people get out, look around for more than a quarter of an hour without a chaperone, and have a snack here and buy an original Regensburg cuckoo clock in the souvenir shop. Or support local sausage producers and artisans by visiting Vilshofen or Linz. Banks are what make the river in the first place.
The Viennese, on the other hand, were quite happy that the guests of a cruise ship from Passau did not go ashore. At a lock in the Nussdorf district, their journey on the beautiful blue Danube came to an abrupt end – because of a corona outbreak on board. 80 passengers tested positive for the corona virus and the entire ship was quarantined.
The Vienna crisis team took care of the matter, luckily nobody had to go to the hospital. It is unclear where along the Danube this unfortunately very travel-friendly virus got on board the ship. The only thing that is certain is that the guests were brought back to Germany by bus. No rushing river below them, just the motorway. And you can (and have to) really spend money only for pissing at the rest stops.