As of: March 27, 2024, 3:02 p.m
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Seeklar: The ships in Starnberg are currently being prepared for their first missions.
They will be running again from Sunday, initially with a reduced timetable.
© Andrea Jaksch
Start of the season on Starnberger and Ammersee – MS Bayern will no longer be in service
Starnberg/Herrsching
– Bavarian Lake Shipping starts the 2024 season on Lake Starnberg and Ammersee next Easter Sunday, March 31st.
At the start, the MS Starnberg and the RMS Herrsching are sailing on grand tours.
By the way, MS stands for motor ship, RMS for wheeled motor ship - paddle steamers are only available on Lake Ammersee.
One of the ships on Lake Starnberg will probably never sail again.
Prices are rising slightly this year.
The Grand Tour now costs 25 euros, 80 cents more than in 2023.
“The winter break is over – our white and blue fleet traditionally sets sail from Easter,” announced Bavaria’s Finance and Home Affairs Minister Albert Füracker.
“Lake Starnberg, Ammersee, Tegernsee and Königssee are among popular holiday and excursion destinations - our lake shipping is just right for you!
It also makes a valuable contribution to our region both in terms of tourism and economics.” There were around 1.5 million passengers on all lakes in 2023, a third of them on the two lakes in the district (Starnberger See 185,000, Ammersee 325,000).
Over the winter, the employees brought the ships into shape and repaired some of the jetties.
At Lake Starnberg, the technical systems of all ships were checked more closely, especially by specialist companies, explains managing director Michael Grießer.
Background: At the beginning of the 2023 season, steamers broke down in large numbers, even though they had been serviced shortly before.
To be on the safe side, everyone was checked more closely, and individual systems – such as the clutch on the MS Seeshaupt – were also serviced separately.
“We assume that there are no problems,” says Grießer optimistically.
The breakdowns in the previous year had temporarily restricted the fleet to such an extent that the number of passengers was below the figures of previous years.
At Ammsee, the MS Augsburg was in the dry dock for a detailed inspection, and the sun deck on the RMS Diessen was renewed.
As things stand, one ship in the Lake Starnberg fleet will never go into operation again - the MS Bayern, the oldest ship on the lake.
It has been in operation since 1948, but was permanently in the harbor last year and has been on land for a few months.
Because: The “Bayern” has a leak.
A repair is therefore no longer possible.
Grießer cannot yet say when a replacement will be built for them.
Shipping is a commercial enterprise, so we will wait for the season and then think about it.
The most recent new building for Lake Starnberg was the electrically powered EMS Berg in 2021.
The lake shipping company also had modifications made to jetties. In Seeshaupt and Berg, among other places, employees installed doors in the steamer jetties, as is already the case at some other piers.
The reason is the swimmers in summer who use the jetties as diving platforms.
“There are always some unreasonable people,” says Grießer, referring to problems every year.
If swimmers or SUP riders are in the area of the jetties (which is prohibited), the passenger ships often cannot dock to protect them.
These situations are “incredibly difficult” for the captains, says the managing director.
At Ammersee there was major work on the Schondorf and Utting jetties.
When it comes to timetables, lake shipping hasn't changed much, the design has changed a little.
The first trip on Lake Starnberg is a grand tour at 10:15 a.m. from Starnberg, the first on Lake Ammer is one at 10:25 a.m. from Stegen (Herrsching at 11:35 a.m.).
The chances of a good start to the season are not bad with temperatures of up to 20 degrees.
“We hope that the Easter weather keeps what it promises,” says Grießer.
Füracker points out the many discounts, such as the children's price up to 17 years, discounts for families and the “Seniors' Day” every Monday at Ammersee and Lake Starnberg.
This year, holders of the volunteer card can also use all trips with the lake shipping fleet free of charge all year round.
Info: www.seenschifffahrt.de.