MV Heidelberg
Mar 23rd, 2004, 08:19 PM
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MV Heidelberg
Has anyone sailed a rivier cruise with Peter Deilmann? They speak principally German since they are German-owned and cater to mainly German and some French and English guests and a few token Americans since they have a satellite office in northern Va. I'm told that the German guests speak good English and are quite educated and may be a breath of fresh air making the trip more authentic and challenging. Has anyone experienced racism or anti-Americanism of any sort? I do know that it goes a long way when we at least make an attempt to learn their customs and speak some key phrases in their language.
Mar 24th, 2004, 12:27 AM
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Not sure whether you are interested in my comment, as I have not taken any cruise with Deilmann (as a River Cruise just does not appeal to me and I in general feel to young for it).
I can still tell you what I have heard about his ships as I have been following the growth of his shipping corporation over the past 25 years with some interest.
Deilmann started his company by operating some two to three ships sailing on a daily basis between Germany (Baltic port of Neustadt) and Denmark (Rödby Havn and Bornholm). He catered to day travellers that took his small cruises as an opportunity to buy duty-free alcohol, butter and other conveniences (in German known as "Butterfahrten" i.e. "Butter-Cruises"
.
He was evidently pretty successfull with these (low-key) cruises and was one of the first to realize that duty-free privileges were not to be upheld much further due to the European Common Market.
Thus, he managed to enter the cruise market by buying an elderly cruise ship. Soon he realized that the serious money was in the German cruise market for more affluent people, which is why he ordered his first own cruiseship at a German shipyard. It was called MS Berlin and became pretty famous as it starred in the German version of "Love Boat" ("Traumschiff, i.e. "Ship of Dreams". It is still operative today in the Four-Star market, I would guess.
A couple of years later Deilmann realized the chances hidden in the River Cruise Market and ordered his first River Cruise Ship.
He has since had enormous success taking pride in having his ships sail under German flag (as in contrast to competitors who have their ships sail under some cheaper flags like that of Liberia etc.). Thus, he has to employ more German crew and pay higher wages. But this has been appreciated by the market here as it also helped him to maintain high quality service standards.
He today operates three seagoing cruise ships (Four Star "Berlin" and the Five Star "Deutschland" plus the sailing ship "Lilli Marleen" and several River Cruise Ships sailing on the Rhine, Donau Elbe rivers in Germany and the Loire in France, I believe. MV Heidelberg has just been christened and is his newest project.
I would think that his passengers are predominantly German for reasons outlined above. They are likely to be more affluent and thus (? ;-) ) hopefully better educated than the average. The crowd would definitely not be a young one, though. I believe those River Cruises are popular with elderly pensioneers in the first place.
In general, better educated Germans will have some command of the English language. I have even heard that Germans have a reputation of speaking it pretty well, which I myself am not so sure of, considering some experiences, I have made. But it should be enough to keep some dinner conversation going. The only downside might be if you end up with (let's say) more than one German couple at your table which would make it more likely that they have some conversation in their own language as it would be of less hassle and of more convenience for them.
I would consider it highly unlikely that you will be faced with Anti- Americanism in any event. Whereas there is a good deal of criticism regarding the current American administration even among sound conservatives in Germany, people usually differenciate between politicians (whom most are rather weary of themselves) and their people. A lot of course will also depend on how well you are behaved and try to adhere to local customs (but that's the case anywhere in the world with almost everybody, isn't it?).
So in your place I would not be worried about these things. You should reconfirm, though, that tours off-board will be available in English language. Otherwise, that cruise will not be of much fun to you, I would imagine.
You might want to check their websites at
www.deilmann.de (appears to be German language only)
www.deilmann-cruises.com (in English language)
I can still tell you what I have heard about his ships as I have been following the growth of his shipping corporation over the past 25 years with some interest.
Deilmann started his company by operating some two to three ships sailing on a daily basis between Germany (Baltic port of Neustadt) and Denmark (Rödby Havn and Bornholm). He catered to day travellers that took his small cruises as an opportunity to buy duty-free alcohol, butter and other conveniences (in German known as "Butterfahrten" i.e. "Butter-Cruises"
.He was evidently pretty successfull with these (low-key) cruises and was one of the first to realize that duty-free privileges were not to be upheld much further due to the European Common Market.
Thus, he managed to enter the cruise market by buying an elderly cruise ship. Soon he realized that the serious money was in the German cruise market for more affluent people, which is why he ordered his first own cruiseship at a German shipyard. It was called MS Berlin and became pretty famous as it starred in the German version of "Love Boat" ("Traumschiff, i.e. "Ship of Dreams"
. It is still operative today in the Four-Star market, I would guess.A couple of years later Deilmann realized the chances hidden in the River Cruise Market and ordered his first River Cruise Ship.
He has since had enormous success taking pride in having his ships sail under German flag (as in contrast to competitors who have their ships sail under some cheaper flags like that of Liberia etc.). Thus, he has to employ more German crew and pay higher wages. But this has been appreciated by the market here as it also helped him to maintain high quality service standards.
He today operates three seagoing cruise ships (Four Star "Berlin" and the Five Star "Deutschland" plus the sailing ship "Lilli Marleen"
and several River Cruise Ships sailing on the Rhine, Donau Elbe rivers in Germany and the Loire in France, I believe. MV Heidelberg has just been christened and is his newest project.I would think that his passengers are predominantly German for reasons outlined above. They are likely to be more affluent and thus (? ;-) ) hopefully better educated than the average. The crowd would definitely not be a young one, though. I believe those River Cruises are popular with elderly pensioneers in the first place.
In general, better educated Germans will have some command of the English language. I have even heard that Germans have a reputation of speaking it pretty well, which I myself am not so sure of, considering some experiences, I have made. But it should be enough to keep some dinner conversation going. The only downside might be if you end up with (let's say) more than one German couple at your table which would make it more likely that they have some conversation in their own language as it would be of less hassle and of more convenience for them.
I would consider it highly unlikely that you will be faced with Anti- Americanism in any event. Whereas there is a good deal of criticism regarding the current American administration even among sound conservatives in Germany, people usually differenciate between politicians (whom most are rather weary of themselves) and their people. A lot of course will also depend on how well you are behaved and try to adhere to local customs (but that's the case anywhere in the world with almost everybody, isn't it?).
So in your place I would not be worried about these things. You should reconfirm, though, that tours off-board will be available in English language. Otherwise, that cruise will not be of much fun to you, I would imagine.
You might want to check their websites at
www.deilmann.de (appears to be German language only)
www.deilmann-cruises.com (in English language)
Mar 24th, 2004, 01:19 AM
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Thanks for a very comprehensive history. My only sailing on a Deilmann ship was many years ago from Travemünde to Neustadt on one of the "butter ships". The fare for this one-hour cruise was one D-Mark, so the experience was not relevant to today's cruises.
The owner, Peter Deilmann, sadly died last November, but the business is still, I believe, controlled by members of his family.
The owner, Peter Deilmann, sadly died last November, but the business is still, I believe, controlled by members of his family.
Mar 24th, 2004, 11:10 AM
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Geoff (hope you don't mind me calling you that),
you are right indeed. Peter Deilmann passed away last year. The company is still a family affair, though, with two daughters of his in charge of it.
I, too, sailed on his "butter ships" to Denmark, but it is sort of a fascinating success story coming to operate some of Germany's best ships nowadays.
you are right indeed. Peter Deilmann passed away last year. The company is still a family affair, though, with two daughters of his in charge of it.
I, too, sailed on his "butter ships" to Denmark, but it is sort of a fascinating success story coming to operate some of Germany's best ships nowadays.
Mar 24th, 2004, 11:18 AM
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Just sort of a "To whom it may concern":
Under the following link you can take a look at postcards of all of Deilmann's ships that have ever been in service (with the exception of the newest one, MV Heidelberg). Just thought that maybe Geoff or some other people who sailed on one of the ships might enjoy to refresch their memories!
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/DeilmannPCs.html#anchor32065
Under the following link you can take a look at postcards of all of Deilmann's ships that have ever been in service (with the exception of the newest one, MV Heidelberg). Just thought that maybe Geoff or some other people who sailed on one of the ships might enjoy to refresch their memories!
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/DeilmannPCs.html#anchor32065
