Welcome aboard the Vistula River Cruises!

My name is Łukasz Krajewski, I am 33 years old, I am married and have a little daughter Ola. I graduated from economic studies (Wyższa Szkoła Biznesu NLU in Nowy Sącz and Jagiellonian University, Cracow). I have been running my own business Krajewski TC for a dozen years or so, dealing in comprehensive supplies of bus tires for passenger carriers.

Motorboat cruising and sailing combined with sightseeing and history are among the numerous passions of my life. This was what actually induced my decision on starting a new undertaking ... Żegluga Wiślana – the Vistula River Cruises.

Another stimulus, of equal significance to me, was the general infirmity and stagnation related to inland navigation, passenger cruises in particular, in Poland, which exists, or more precisely speaking, “drags a wretched existence”, in a residual form. Few passengers are able to cruise along the Queen of Polish Rivers – the Vistula on a dozen of small cruising boats only near well known cities or towns and they may of course cross the river to the other bank on the Vistula ferries – however, is this a regular navigation???

Except, luckily, the growing number of enthusiasts (AND THANKS THEM FOR IT!) who organize recreational Vistula rallies, most tourists and aquatics lovers only complain about the lack of infrastructure (river harbors, foot-bridges, filling stations), poor navigation conditions (shoals, poor signage of the route), dirty, ill-smelling water and a lot of other factors that allegedly impede navigation on the Vistula. These are the reasons why tourists do not want and entrepreneurs do not find it feasible to “barge into the meanders of the Vistula”. I do not exaggerate – please read any aquatic forum!!!    

Therefore, against it all and them all I decided to accomplish my undertaking and open
THE FIRST REGULAR PASSENGER NAVIGATION ON THE VISTULA FROM CRACOW - VIA WARSAW - TO GDAŃSK.
In addition to my personal reasons i.e. the wish to break through the “Vistula indolence” mentioned before and to develop inland navigation to make my lifetime hobby and dreams come true, there are also some commercial targets behind it –I must count on adequate financial profits, after all, having invested amounts so substantial.

However, the major personal target of mine is to make available to common people, aquatics lovers and those who have never had anything to do with water, the possibility to explore the longest, the most magnificent, almost unspoilt by civilization, the last wild river in Europe – Queen Vistula! To quote the splendid words of Wojciech Giełżyński from his book I have frequently referred to (his cruise being another stimulus for my actions – Thanks a lot, WOJTEK!) – “there is nothing regular about the Vistula, nothing sorted out by human work, everything has been designed by thousand-year old natural processes, disheveled, mutually penetrating and interwoven in countless curvatures. Scandalous mess, shocking water engineers and navigators.”

The Vistula, in addition to the wildlife, described above, also is a marvelous history lesson. After all, it flows through most interesting, in terms of sightseeing, places in Poland. It is here, along the banks of the Vistula, that the history of our country was formed. The names: Cracow, Sandomierz, Kazimierz, Puławy, Warsaw, Płock, Włocławek, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Grudziądz and Gdańsk, speak for themselves. There are also less known, maybe cosier places, however ones as interesting as: Opatowiec, Zawichost, Modlin, Czerwińsk, Tczew and a lot of others.

The Vistula also is a great attraction to anglers, wildlife lovers, ornithologists, in particular, because its banks and islands are the breeding ground and home for numerous bird species. Against the common opinion, the Vistula water is perfect for swimming or even cleaning your teeth, of course outside big urban agglomerations (THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION INSTITUTE SAY THAT OVER 50% OF THE VISTULA AND ITS BASIN WATERS ARE CLASSIFIED WITHIN CLASS I CLEANNESS, WHILE CLASS III WATERS CONSTITUTE NO MORE THAN JUST A FEW PER CENT!!!) and the large sandy beaches invite to recreation. Therefore, a cruise along the Vistula may be a perfect way to spend a family vacation, full of adventures (also with the youngest kids) … This is also a method of organizing an interesting integration event for the personnel and partners of your company.

BRIEFLY SPEAKING – EVERYONE WILL FIND SOMETHING FOR THEMSELVES!!!
To be fair to the Vistula grumblers, I must admit that organizing a cruise along the Vistula individually is not an easy task and may lead to discouragement. I know it perfectly. What is more, I experienced it myself when making my first attempt to conquer the Vistula trail in late 1980’s. It soon appeared that the eminent river was not so friendly to inexperienced youths (which I undoubtedly was at that time!). Due to the draught too deep, the yacht too heavy and most of all, the water level exceptionally low, we were forced to surrender and wind up our cruise after several dozen kilometers.

My long-running aquatic experiences enabled me to create an idea of an ideal fleet for the Vistula trail.

I still am convinced that the idea of the German ship operator to introduce
a cruising boat on the Vistula was very good. It is confirmed for example by the tickets sold out long before sailing out and at the price reaching EUR 1000 per person! I wish I could launch a ship like „Frederic Chopin – but what would it sail on? I repeat, I have no objections to the economic aspects of the undertaking (immense interest of the tourists), but the ship operator did not entirely analyze the navigation restrictions appearing on the Vistula and this is why he had to withdraw the ship from the river after just a few cruises.

This is the reason why the fleet of „The Vistula Cruises” was selected appropriately – this is a compromise between the navigation possibilities and traveling comfort. All the vessels are of course brand new (including fittings and motors) – built in the shipyards in turn of 2007/2008. In order to be able to move along the Vistula comfortably, our yachts have the draught and weight relatively low (at the same time being the largest vessels capable to cruise efficiently along the entire river), the motors and ratios selected appropriately, at the same time, they provide full comfort during the long cruise – the standard facilities in addition to the WC and shower with hot water, there is also central heating, fully equipped kitchen with refrigerator, cold and hot water. Each yacht has comfortable places to sleep for seven people plus cabinets for clothes and personal things. Thanks to the large fuel and water tanks provided the vessels are practically self-sufficient – so instead of staying overnight at confined boat houses, very few of them available, after all, we may delight in wildlife during night mooring at a sandy Vistula bank or island. However, if someone gets tired with the camping life, they may use one of the hotels, inns or camping sites located near the river bank and cooperating with us and take a shower or stay overnight in one of them instead of staying aboard – we can arrange everything.

Each vessel is also furnished with everything necessary on the water – a binocular and a set of bicycles (for all the passengers) to go sightseeing after coming alongside, plus fishing rods for angling lovers, you may use them as often as you want – and we wish you best results!

Your SKIPPER will be the organizer of sightseeing and other attractions (restaurants, barbecues, grill), guide, supplier (water, fuel, food) and guardian, both in water and on land. The Skipper sails the first boat of the expedition. Without his help, the cruise could become a real torture, as some of the Vistula grumblers say, due to the navigation and logistic problems happening on the river.
(ONLY GROUP CHARTERS AS SCHEDULED ALL ALONG THE VISTULA)

The rightness of my undertaking is confirmed, inter alia, by the In-Water program realized recently (co-funded by the EU) by the local governments of Germany, Poland and Russia that is to enlighten the issues of inland navigation to the public and the stakeholders  – it means that SOMETHING STARTED TO HAPPEN AT LAST!!!

The most important and most valuable confirmation of the purposefulness and rightness of my undertaking to me is YOUR PRESENCE ON BOARD OF THE VISTULA YACHTS - WELCOME!!!