Nicole Edenedo
The epic Oberammergau Passion Play performance is returning this year to the German village where it began over 400 years ago, and river cruise companies that typically include the once-every-decade performance in their itineraries are as eager as their guests to return to the region for the bucket-list production.
"Given the strong demand we've experienced, we're basically sold out on all of our Passion Play departures in May and June. We still have availability in July and August, but we're likely to eventually sell out of those months, as well," said Tauck's worldwide operations vice president Joanne Gardner, who noted that the company also offered Passion Play packages in 2000 and 2010.
Anticipation may be even higher for this production, and for good reason: Oberammergau's Passion Play originally had been scheduled to return in May 2020 but had to be rescheduled twice due to Covid. The play will be presented from mid-May to early October this year.
With or without Covid's many challenges, scheduling river cruise offerings that coincide with Oberammergau's four-month performance window comes down to one thing: timing.
On Amadeus River Cruises' Oberammergau-related river cruises this
year, guests will attend the performance on the second day of a
two-night, precruise visit to the Bavarian village before boarding the
ship for a cruise to either Budapest or Amsterdam via the Danube and
Rhine. It requires meticulous planning to get it all right, according to
executive vice president Marcus Leskovar.
"The dates of the cruises have to match the eve of the Oberammergau
performances, so that's where it has to be precise in order to have
these itineraries flow," Leskovar said. "For instance, if Oberammergau ends on May 28,
then we need a cruise that is ready to embark on May 28. Otherwise, if
we have days in between or overlapping, it wouldn't work."
Tauck's Oberammergau offerings cover both land and river cruise trips. Gardner said the luxury supplier has been ready to relaunch its Passion Play itineraries for a year. She said guests on a Tauck package can expect the exact same experience that had been originally planned for 2020.
"We actually began planning for the 2020 performances back in 2015," Gardner said. "Despite the onset of Covid and its myriad impacts, we've been able to preserve all of the experiences we'd built into our planned 2020 Passion Play departures. That's been a key priority for us, because 90% of our guests who'd booked a 2020 Passion Play tour or cruise with us opted to defer their trip and see the play with us this year, rather than cancel."
Overall, Tauck is offering a total of six Oberammergau itineraries for both land and river cruise trips.
"Oberammergau's location in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps is about 200 miles and 150 miles away from the Rhine and the Danube rivers, respectively, so it's really not possible to incorporate the Passion Play as a featured activity during the cruise itself," Gardner said. "When including the Oberammergau Passion Play in a river cruise experience, you're essentially adding it on as a complementary experience to either the beginning or the end of the cruise.
The show itself is performed outdoors, with the cast made up entirely of residents of Oberammergau, as many as 2,000 of them.
For the Austrian-born Leskovar, the return of the Passion Play this year has special meaning, and not just because he and Amadeus have deep roots in the region. He referred to the event's origins, how the tradition began in the 17th century when, after months of suffering and dying from the plague, the people of Oberammergau pledged to act out the play of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ once every 10 years.
"This year with the [backdrop] of the current pandemic, it is even more meaningful and powerful, because everyone has been touched by the pandemic in some way," Leskovar said.