(2006 News) Swiss Lake Paddle Steamer Timetables. Latest News, Fleet Lists, Archives, Pictures, Special Sailings, Features and loads more!

MPV Vevey suffered engine problems at Lausanne which resulted in her 1715 Lausanne to Evian-les-Bains sailing 717 departing about 20 minutes late on New Year's Eve - Sunday 31st December
She was further delayed at Evian before returning to Lausanne on sailing 720
In consequence sailings 718-719 were both cancelled - passengers for the final ferry sailing of the year to France were conveyed round the lake by bus

PS Uri operated a special New Year's Eve Gala Cruise from Luzern at 1930 on Sunday 31st December and for the first time this year preceeded by sailings 11-12 at 1032 from Luzern to Rütli and return

29th December 2006

PS Uri operated an Evening Cruise from Luzern at 1921 on Friday 29th December

28th December 2006

PS Uri operated an Evening Cruise from Luzern at 1921 on Thursday 28th December

24th December 2006

MPV Vevey broke down at Lausanne on Christmas Eve on completion of her Sunday lunch sailing to Château-de-Chillon - with rudder problems - and proceeded direct to Ouchy dock
In consequence her two early-evening ferry sailings to Evian-les-Bains were covered by mv Général-Guisan
Repairs were completed in time for her to operate her rostered evening Fondue Cruise on Thursday 28th December

23rd December 2006

PS Savoie operated her final Lunch Cruise from Geneva on Saturday 23rd December having remained in daily service throughout the early winter period for the first time since 1938

21st December 2006

MPV Vevey took over the winter Thursday and Friday Evening Cruises from Lausanne and Morges commening Thursday 21st December vice the usual motor vessel

17th December 2006

PS Montreux operated a Christmas Lunch Cruise from Lausanne at 1200 to the Montreux Christmas Market on Sunday 17th December

PS Uri operated a morning Advent Brunch Cruise at 1100 from Luzern on Sunday 17th December followed in the afternoon by timetabled sailings 23-24 at 1521 from Luzern to Beckenried and return

16th December 2006

PS Uri operated an evening Advent Cruise at 1921 from Luzern on Saturday 16th December

10th December 2006

PS Montreux operated a Christmas Lunch Cruise from Lausanne at 1200 to the Montreux Christmas Market on Sunday 10th December

3rd December 2006

PS Unterwalden operated the first Advent Brunch Cruise of 2006 at 1100 from Luzern on Sunday 3rd December followed in the afternoon by timetabled sailings 23-24 at 1520 from Luzern to Beckenried and return

1st December 2006

PS Unterwalden operated a special fondue charter sailing from Luzern at 1915 on Friday 1st December

19th October 2006

PS Rhône broke down on 19th October - apparantly at Ouchy dock, whilst getting ready for her next sailings a couple of days later - and it was decided to immediately lay her up for the winter
In consequence her final sailings of 2006 were the three Vevey 'shuttles' on Sunday 15th October
Her remaining Saturday and Sunday sailings were covered by MPV Vevey

24th September 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated three 'end of season' 'Special Cruises from Konstanz at 1150, 1415 and 1900 on Sunday 24th September

23rd September 2006

PS Blümlisalp operated an evening 'Fondue' Cruise from Thun at 1850 on Saturday 23rd September after first operating sailings 15-16 vice a motor vessel

22nd September 2006

Lake Como

C A N C E L L E D

PS Patria was originally planned to be towed to Como for a three day visit to the "Centobarche" exhibition commencing on Friday 22nd September
Unfortunately circumstances prevented her first movement from Dervio yard for 15 years - the official reason is unclear, but suggestions at the time were that the visit would be both "too expensive and dangerous"

19th September 2006

PS Schiller unusually operated the final evening 'Sunset Cruise of 2006 from Luzern at 1920 on Tuesday 19th September

9th September 2006

Lake Garda

MPV Italia operated a full-day Regatta Cruise cruises from Gargnano on Saturday 9th September

Journ�es europ�ennes du Patrimoine
PS Montreux operated three two-hour cruises from Lausanne to Vevey on Saturday 9th September and again on Sunday 10th September

PS Stadt Zürich or PS Stadt Rapperswil was advertised to operate an evening Dinner Cruise from Zurich at 2000 on Saturday 9th September

1st September 2006

The larger PS Stadt Luzern ultimately operated the special evening charter sailing from K�ssnacht am Rigi originally planned for PS Unterwalden at 1930 on Friday 1st September

12th August 2006

PS Savoie operated an extended Evening Cruise from Geneva on Saturday 12th August to include the "Fêtes de Gen�ve" Fireworks Display - the paddle steamer terminated her cruise shortly before 0100 (Sunday morning)

PS Schiller operated an evening Dinner Cruise from Luzern at 1915 on Saturday 12th August

11th August 2006

PS Blümlisalp operated an evening Jazz Cruise from Thun at 2000 on Friday 11th August

5th August 2006

Annual Fireworks at Luzern
PS Gallia PS Stadt Luzern and PS Uri operated evening Fireworks Cruises from Luzern on Saturday 5th August

1st August 2006

All lakes

Swiss National Day - Tuesday 1st August

Lake Brienz

PS Lötschberg only operated her 'regular' two timetabled round trips to Brienz on Tuesday 1st August
Unlike previous years the 'traditional' evening fireworks cruises were operated by mv Brienz and mv Jungfrau

Unlike previous years mv Henry-Dunant operated the annual evening Fireworks cruise from Lausanne
All six operational paddle steamers operated their regular peak-summer sailings

PS Hohentwiel operated two International Cruises from Rorschach to Lindau at 1155 and 1450 followed by an evening Jazz Cruise from Arbon at 1900 on Tuesday 1st August

PS Gallia made a rare visit to Küssnacht am Rigi during the morning of Tuesday 1st August before..........

Fireworks at Brunnen
.......... all five paddle steamers sailed in convoy along with some of the motor vessels from Luzern at 2000 to Brunnen for the annual fireworks display

In additional to the regular afternoon timetabled sailings 15-16 PS Blümlisalp took part in the annual evening naval parade from Thun at 2030 along with two motor vessels

In additional to the normal timetabled sailings PS Stadt Rapperswil operated an evening cruise from Zurich at 2020

31st July 2006

MPV Vevey operated an evening Fireworks Cruise from the Upper Lake piers to the display at Le Bouveret on Monday 31st July

18th July 2006

PS Uri operated an evening Music Cruise from Flüelen at 1940 on Tuesday 18th July

16th July 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated two return Cruises from Konstanz to Meersburg at 1150 and 1415 on Sunday 16th July

15th July 2006

PS Stadt Rapperswil had further problems on Saturday 15th July
Shortly after 1000 having just left Oberrieden on sailing 101 the paddle steamer stopped for half-an-hour because of a defect with the control appliance for the steam boiler
Two electricians from the ZSG happened to be travelled with the ship and they undertook repairs on the spot
She was in service again the following day operating the full-length sailing to Schmerikon

14th July 2006

PS Blümlisalp operated an evening Jazz Cruise from Thun at 2000 on Friday 14th July

11th July 2006

PS Savoie broke down a second time at 1700 at Versoix on Tuesday 11th July during the return Afternoon Cruise sailing 311 and was diverted to and terminated short at Versoix pier after the rod of a safety-valve of the steam engine broke - this had nothing to do with the recent re-build - just a fatigue problem of a part of an engine which is now 92 years old
In consequence the Tuesday evening sailings 340-305 were cancelled
With the paddle steamer out of action, her regular sailings in the Little Lake were covered by the new much smaller 'high-speed' mv Lavaux for the next two days resulting in the cancellation of the short "Belles-Rives-Genevoises" cruises
mv Ville-de-Genève took over the 50 minute cruises from Thursday afternoon

10th July 2006

PS Savoie broke down broke down at Geneva at 1400 on Monday 10th July after arrival back of her Lunch Cruise sailings 320-321 when a joint in the new hydraulic water feeding pump for the boiler failed
It was quickly replaced when a spare part was brought in from Ouchy enabling the Evening Cruise sailings 340-305 to operate as advertised
The Afternooon Cruise sailings 310-311 to/from Yvoire were cancelled - Swiss passengers stranded in France returned on sailing 882 to Nyon, operated by PS Simplon three quarters of an hour later at 1650 or to Geneva on PS La Suisse operating sailing 907 at 1755

9th July 2006

PS Simplon made a a rare timetabled visit to the Upper Lake on Sunday 9th July vice PS Rhône which had a private charter

5th and 6th July 2006

PS Stadt Luzern spent two days in the works undertaking repairs on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July
She was replaced on her regular 1125 Wilhelm Tell Express sailings by the smallerPS Unterwalden

2nd July 2006

Lake Maggiore

PS Piemonte finally returned to public service after four years in Arona works and operated two special "three-hour" non-landing cruises from Arona to the Borromee Isles at 1230 and 1600 on Sunday 2nd July

1st July 2006

PS Stadt Rapperswil operated the advertised evening Jazz Cruise to the Blues and Jazz Festival at Rapperswil departing Zurich at 1800 on Saturday 1st July

25th June 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated an International Cruise from Rorschach to Lindau at 1155 on Sunday 25th June

24th June 2006

Lake Como

Fireworks C A N C E L L E D ----- bad weather (thunderstorms)

PS Concordia was planned to operate an evening Fireworks Cruise from Como to Isola Comacina on Saturday 24th June, but due to the weather, all the ships turned short and returned early to Como
The fireworks took place at 2130 the following Saturday (1st July) and the paddle steamer sailed again

18th June 2006

PS Stadt Rapperswil was approaching Thalwil on the return sailing 210 from Schmerikon on Sunday 18th June when the bridge control failed to respond and the ship grounded
She was able to continue the remainder of her sailing to Zurich with her passengers before retiring to dock for repairs
A spokesperson for the ZSG confirmed this problem and the anchor problem the previous Thursday were in relation to her recent overhaul

17th June 2006

Lake Brienz

PS Lötschberg operated an evening Jazz Cruise from Interlaken at 1920 on Saturday 17th June

15th June 2006

At approximately 1445, 15 minutes after leaving Zurich on sailing 115 on Thursday 15th June the anchor of PS Stadt Rapperswil dropped as she approached Zollikon bringing the afternoon sailing to an abrupt halt
The windlass "separated" because of a hydraulic defect and the anchor fell approximately 60 metres - the length of the chain - into the lake which was about 65 metres deep at that point
At the time of the incident there were 268 passengers on board the paddle steamer as well as the seven crew members and several catering staff - nobody was hurt
The passengers were subsequently transferred to mv Limmat to return to Zurich
Later in the afternoon ZSG specialists and the sea-police attended to lift her anchor and chain enabling the ship to return to Wollishofen dock at about 1700
The paddle steamer was observed back in service on Sunday 18th June

4th June 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated two Cruises to Meersburg from Konstanz on Sunday 4th June

3rd June 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated an evening Jazz Cruise from Konstanz on Saturday 3rd June

2nd June 2006

PS Blümlisalp returned to service after a major re-build and operated some special sailings for her 100th Birthday Celebrations on Friday 2nd June and Saturday 3rd June before returning to her regular timetabled sailings on Sunday 4th June

30th May 2006

PS Stadt Rapperswil returned to service after a major re-build and operated a mini-Parade from Zurich to Rapperswil along with her sister PS Stadt Zürich on Tuesday 30th May

28th May 2006

The first advertised timetabled sailings of the season for a paddle steamer to Alpnachstad on Sunday 28th May were operated by mv Winkelried as PS Unterwalden remained in dock with 'turbo-generator' problems

Despite the SGV announcing there would be no Sunday morning sailings to Küssnacht am Rigi PS Schiller operated her 'traditional' sailings 153-154 before her regular afternoon round trip to Flüelen

26th May 2006

PS Uri operated an evening Fondue Cruise from Luzern depart 1920 on Friday 26th May

20th May 2006

PS Savoie (which had been undertaking a major re-build since her last day in service on Monday 22nd September 2003) returned to service on Saturday 20th May and operated a special Inauguration Cruise from Geneva prior to taking part in the Naval Parade the following day

14th May 2006

All lakes

Swiss "Mothers Day" - Sunday 14th May

Lake Como

mv Manzoni finally returned to service on Sunday 14th May and took over her "regular" sailings 14-235 at 1030 from Como
In consequence PS Concordia - which had been covering since the start of the Spring timetable - had a day off at Tavernola dock leaving the lake with no paddle steamer sailings

There were no changes to the advertised timetable and both PS Rhône and MPV Vevey operated their regular Spring Rosters from Lausanne and Geneva respectively on Sunday 14th May

PS Uri and PS Stadt Luzern operated their normal timetabled sailings to Flüelen at 0920 and 1125 respectively
In addition PS Unterwalden unusually operated the first sailing of the day to Alpnachstad at 0920 before the 1320 sailing to Flüelen vice a motor vessel on Sunday 14th May

There were no changes to the advertised timetable, with just PS Stadt Zürich operating her regular Spring Roster from Zurich on Sunday 14th May

13th May 2006

A special parade by all five paddle steamers was operated from Weggis to Flüelen on Saturday 13th May as part of the celebrations for the 100th Birthday of PS Schiller - the actual centenary being the following Wednesday
Unusually, passengers were able to join one of the steamers and most of the major lakeside piers, rather than just Luzern

Lake Maggiore

PS Piemonte finally returned to service after four years in Arona works and operated a special Inauguration Cruise (not open to the general public) on Saturday 13th May
Do you have any further information about her itinerary ?

1st May 2006

PS Hohentwiel operated two International Cruises from Arbon to Lindau at 1155 and 1450 on Monday 1st May

30th April 2006

All lakes

Swiss Navigation Day - Sunday 30th April

There were no changes to the advertised timetable, with both PS Rhône and MPV Vevey operating their regular Spring Rosters from Lausanne and Geneva respectively on Sunday 30th April

PS Uri returned to service and operated the only advertised sailing to Flüelen at 1125
In addition PS Unterwalden was unusually rostered to operate the new non-landing Brunch-Schiff cruise followed by the late afternoon sailings 159-162 to Küssnacht-am-Rigi and PS Schiller operated sailings 7-18-23-24 vice motor vessels on Sunday 30th April

PS Stadt Zürich operated the traditional five special one hour trips from Zurich at 1030, 1200, 1330, 1500 and 1630 on Sunday 30th April

1st March 2006

Owing to strong winds MPV Vevey was again pressed into service on Wednesday 1st March Thursday 2nd March and Wednesday 3rd March to cover the Lausanne to Evian-les-Bains ferry service vice mv Lausanne which is considered unsuitable in such conditions
This made nine weekdays this had happened during the 2005-06 winter (plus another evening when the motor vessel had a private charter) with the last operational motor paddle vessel carrying on from where her sister MPV Italie left off last November proving yet again the worth of having a motor paddle vessel available for service during the winter period

24th January 2006

Owing to strong winds MPV Vevey was pressed into service on Tuesday 24th January to cover the Lausanne to Evian-les-Bains ferry service vice mv Lausanne which is considered unsuitable in such conditions
This was the sixth occasion this had happened during that winter

1st January 2006