Po River cruise dead in the water

I just returned from a weeklong cruise [in early August] along the Po [River in Italy], on Peter Deilmann’s Casanova, which was scheduled to sail [round trip] from Venice via Cremona and Mantua [Italy]. Since the end of May, the Po has been at its all-time low level, and the itinerary was changed. We sailed from Venice to the Venice Lagoon, then on to Polesella, where we stayed for three days, then to Chioggia and returned to Venice.

While it is disappointing to pay for a luxury cruise only to be docked in the Po delta between two other ships for days at a time, it is even more disappointing to learn that the ship has not been able to sail to Cremona since the beginning of June.

If you are scheduled to take a Po River cruise, please check to see if you are sailing and to which ports. The trip is not worth it if you are not going to the destinations in the catalog. I would have canceled had I known.

Rosemary Chiaverini

Sherman Oaks

Send letters to Travel, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; fax (213) 237-7355, e-mail travel@ latimes.com. Include your name, address and phone number.