Rhine - water levels and similar topics 2015

We were just there a few days ago Notamermaid. What a beautiful place and important perhaps to the German people.

We had a chance to take a little side trip up the Moselle valley to the vineyards at Wittengen(?). Stunning views and very nice wine.

Make travel - not war,

Frank

Drive the 'Ring . . . yep, you can still do it.

http://www.nuerburgring.de/en/drives-fun/drives.html

Drive the 'Ring . . . yep, you can still do it.

I know... Have visited that site a lot in the past year :) Hoping we have time for a few laps this visit. Though I am a little worried taking my new car on it...

I know... Have visited that site a lot in the past year :) Hoping we have time for a few laps this visit. Though I am a little worried taking my new car on it...

Does the manufacturer have either a rental or ride along package?

I know... Have visited that site a lot in the past year :) Hoping we have time for a few laps this visit. Though I am a little worried taking my new car on it...

Don't they still have that 1,000 mile break-in period where you're not supposed to drive crazy? [Not that any of us do that after the 1,000 miles :D]

Does the manufacturer have either a rental or ride along package?

Not that I know of, but you can rent cars at the Nurburgring itself. But the kick of taking my Audi S6 might be too much to turn down.

Don't they still have that 1,000 mile break-in period where you're not supposed to drive crazy? [Not that any of us do that after the 1,000 miles :D]

I'll probably be over 1000 miles by the time we get there. Last year we put 1200 miles on Chris' S7 in the week we had it. This year, I think our route may be even longer!

My main worries are (1) not knowing the track and losing it on an unexpected curve, or (2) burning the tires off of the car. The second is fixable... This is a tough track! I think I'll buy the 4 lap package and drive slowly for 2 laps, then put on some speed in the safer parts, just so see what it feels like. I have no illusions about shattering any speed records!

Just went through the Rhine Gorge yesterday going south on Viking Idi. 1.3 meter clearance under the hull in some places! Lots of rain yesterday so levels should be up a touch but still very low. Lovely area.

Hello banditoo,

good to hear you are having a great time. 1.3m clearance is TIGHT for the large cruise ships.

The heavy rain yesterday in parts of the Rhine valley has added a few centimetres to levels in some parts. As the temperatures have dropped to around 20 degrees and there is more rain forecast things are looking promising.

notamermaid

Latest figures are not as good as I had hoped after my last post. Koblenz has fallen into the low water level zone again, currently being at 85cms. The record low in this dry season, though, was on 10 August at 76cms. That applies to the official markings, it is not the depth of the navigation channel! It is not raining substantially and forecast is for some light rain today and tommorrow, getting sunnier and warmer by the middle of the week.

While the Elbe is getting the rain it needs today, the Rhine looks as if it will continue to stay low. However, the overall situation as pointed out before is not as bad as on the Elbe or Danube.

Effects are mostly felt because of the fact that the large barges are carrying only half load and therefore there is increased traffic to make up for that. Small cruise boats cannot berth at some of their small docks. That generally does not concern the large cruise ships.

Again, in the end it is down to the individual captain to decide on cruising further or not.

notamermaid

Yes, the additional number of barges because of only being able to carry half loads did slow the Idi up at a few points particularly in getting through the locks. Not a big delay but apparently longer than usual. Our buses arrived in Kembs after our Colmar trip before the Idi could make it through the third lock to pick us up. We killed a little time in the parking lot of a local grocery store waiting for the Idi to get through. Crew were all on deck waving as they finally arrived to pick us up again. :)

Currently on Vantage Navigator docked in Strasbourg. Water levels are noticeably low but so far not a problem. Only place we were impacted at all was through the gorge where traffic was mostly single file, very slow and people were fishing on sand bars and rocks that should be well underwater. Cooler than usual in Bernkastel, Boppard and Speyer but beautiful today in Strasbourg in upper 60's and in 70's tomorrow in Breisach. Beautiful trip...loads of interesting things to see and do...black forest cake is AMAZING!!!! :D

FYI: bring a hoodie, rainjacket and umbrella and a sweatshirt!

On the Rhine now on Avalon Felicity. Rainy and cold.. A little sun this morning as we sail towards Cologne. Hoping for some sunshine! Mixed weather in Amsterdam yesterday too. Th driver does look a little low,

Hello Francis M,

good to hear you enjoyed your little trip out. The place you mentioned is Winningen on the Moselle, about 17mins by car or 10 mins by train from Koblenz. Stunning views, I agree. Winningen is famous for its white wine (Riesling) and it has got a public airfield in the hills. Last weekend they celebrated their famous wine festival.

notamermaid

Hello Francis M,

 

good to hear you enjoyed your little trip out. The place you mentioned is Winningen on the Moselle, about 17mins by car or 10 mins by train from Koblenz. Stunning views, I agree. Winningen is famous for its white wine (Riesling) and it has got a public airfield in the hills. Last weekend they celebrated their famous wine festival.

 

notamermaid

Our excursion took us up the hill, past that airfield where we stopped for a beautiful view of the vineyards with the town and the Moselle below. Our favorite view of the trip.

And brought back a couple of bottles of Winningen wine to help remember,

Frank

Sueajp;

We are sailing the Felicity on the 13th back to Amsterdam. This is our first river cruise so is there anything you can tell us about the ship and excursions or anything else we should know?

Thanks

Sueajp;

 

 

 

We are sailing the Felicity on the 13th back to Amsterdam. This is our first river cruise so is there anything you can tell us about the ship and excursions or anything else we should know?

 

 

 

Thanks

Hi there. We have 2 days left. One thing I didn't realize is this is Not a suite ship that you see in the commercials! It is older and so the room is tight! Did not research that enough. It had been wonderful but strenuous. You need good walking shoes and layers as we have had variable weather. Some included tours and some optional are vigorous. Food has been mostly good and service is excellent! Do you have specific questions?

We will be on the AMA Certo from Basel to Amsterdam leaving Oct 5th.

I received a letter from AMA with regards to some itinerary changes but no explanations.

Oct 7th we dock in Kehl, Germany instead of Strasbourg, France. Kehl is just on the other side of the Rhine from Strasbourg, All tours will remain the same out of Strasbourg.

Oct 8th the ship will dock in Manheim instead of Speyer. All tours remain the same.

Oct 10th we will dock in Bonn instead of Cologne. Tours for the most part remain the same as we will be transported to Cologne by motor coach.

Would these changes be a result of the lower water levels ? and if not what would be the reason?

Has anyone else on AMA with the same itinerary on a different week received a similar letter ?

Hello D&N Luv 2 Travel,

those dates are too far in advance for a cruise company to make changes for low water levels normally. So many changes are a little unusual for sure, seeing that the Rhine has - compared to the Elbe - few low water problems. A question of docking stations being inaccessible? It sounds more like ports that have become to busy to accommodate every ship. The changes are minor as regards distances and additional travel. If it worries you in any way it is probably best to get in touch with the company itself. I am sure they are happy to explain.

Enjoy your cruise.

notamermaid

Yesterday, in the late hours of the evening the water level at Koblenz reached a new record low for this year of 71 centimetres. All the area downstream from about Ludwigshafen is now officially affected. There are no locks that could help the situation as all locks are upstream. Specific information has been issued to captains of the vessels navigating the Rhine gorge as the navigation channel is now uneven and apparently increasingy difficult to navigate.

Hardly any rain to speak of in the area forecast before Monday evening.

I am still hopeful that cruises at the end of September will see more water than those cruising now.

notamermaid

We will be on the AMA Certo from Basel to Amsterdam leaving Oct 5th.

I received a letter from AMA with regards to some itinerary changes but no explanations.

 

Oct 7th we dock in Kehl, Germany instead of Strasbourg, France. ...

Oct 8th the ship will dock in Manheim instead of Speyer. ...

Oct 10th we will dock in Bonn instead of Cologne. ....

 

Has anyone else on AMA with the same itinerary on a different week received a similar letter ?

My wife and I are on the same ship/itinerary departing Basel September 21. When we received our documents from AMA about ten days ago, we were also notified of the docking changes to Kehl instead of Strasbourg, and Manheim instead of Speyer . No mention of any change to Cologne.

The change to Speyer isn't a big deal since it is directly across the river from Strasbourg. However, I was a bit disappointed with the Speyer change since we are going to do the Heidelberg excursion that day and were hoping to maybe visit Speyer on our own later that evening. I'm hoping we still dock in Cologne so we can spend as much time as possible in town.

Looks like some rain is forecast for the area in the coming week, so hopefully water levels will improve a bit.

We are leaving Sept 17th from Basel to Amsterdam and have not received any notifications. Leaving tomorrow and can't wait!! Doing the precruise in Zurich and Lucerne. Looks like we will be getting some rain though.

cruisesoon - That's interesting since that's the same sailing we're on. We're doing a precruise on our own in Lucerne and Basel. We leave on Wednesday. Our notification of the docking changes was a separate letter enclosed with the cruise tickets, just addressed to "Dear Guest". I guess we'll just have to wait and see where the ship stops!

We are leaving Sept 17th from Basel to Amsterdam and have not received any notifications. Leaving tomorrow and can't wait!! Doing the precruise in Zurich and Lucerne. Looks like we will be getting some rain though.

We are from Canada and for some reason AMA mailed our package directly to us and we received ours on Sept 1st for our Oct 5th sailing. Our friend's from the USA did not receive their packages until yesterday as they were told that AMA mailed their packages to their TA first and then they forwarded them on. 9 days difference.

Enjoy your trip.

Are you on the Cello SteveU? Our documents were sent first to our travel agent so will check with her and see if she got the notice.

Are you on the Cello SteveU? Our documents were sent first to our travel agent so will check with her and see if she got the notice.

We're on the AmaCerto, departing Basel Sept. 21. I guess I was a bit confused by the way AMA lists the itinerary dates on their web page. Sept 17 is the start of the pre-cruise for our sailing. So when you said you were doing the pre-cruise with AMA, I just assume you would be on our trip. Regardless, our documents also went to our TA, and she had the letter about the docking changes. Have a good trip. We'll be right behind you!