Low Waters on the Elbe

Hi JVilleGal' date='

I can't seem to read your post from FB??? Could you tell me what they say...sorry!

YaYa[/quote']

 

 

Easier than that, log onto the Viking page & Avalon page "posts to page" 6th post down on Viking and 1st post on Avalon.

 

However, if you click on my pictures you can make them large enough to read.

Steamboats, you are our weather bible. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting about this!

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Steamboats I think you've become our Oracle of the Elbe!

Ups, thanks, Carolyn!

Although I´m living much closer to the Danube river than the Elbe river.

As for the Danube river: The critical area between Straubing and Deggendorf is back to "very low" (that´s an area with no locks and dams to control the channel and that´s the area causing the first problems when the water is low). So unfortunately there can be restrictions. I checked the information system but so far it´s only a lot of dredging going on and some restrictions regarding the width of the ships. I don´t know anything about the current depth.

As for the Elbe river: You can check it on the website I´ve linked to. The river gauge at Dresden is going down again. The Dresden steamboats are currently running on the regular schedule. But the river cruise ships are drawing more water than the steamboats.

As for the weather in general: Starting today the South and also the South Eastern part is expecting another heat wave. Upper 80ies to mid 90ies. This is supposed to last on til the weekend. So no major rainfall expeceted in the areas feeding the Danube or Elbe rivers.

steamboats

We thought that we were to be bussed to Meissen to meet the fontane, but are actually on her sister ship Clara Schumann at dreßden, where we stay until Monday. There we will be bussed to contains further down stream. Meañwhile,we are being treated very well. Not exactly the trip we hoped,but still enjoyable. Lot of cancellation so the ship is nowhere full.

Keep us posted if you can, Jeff In Torrance, and appreciate hearing about your experience.

Carolyn

Currently the Elbe river has only 66 cm at Dresden river gauge. The Dresden steamboats do run on a limited schedule.

The good news: The current heat wave is supposed to last on til Monday/Tuesday. Then much lower temps and rain is in the forecast.

steamboats

SteamBoats,

Thanks again! for keeping us up to date on the water levels of the Elbe!

Jeff from Torrance,

I am glad to hear VRC is treating you well...

Below is what I saw on VRC Alerts website. Is this what is going on with your trip??? Please keep us up to date of what your are experiencing...thanks again Jeff and good luck!

September 3rd Elegant Elbe (Berlin to Prague) aboard Viking Fontane – This cruise will have an itinerary adjusted to the low water conditions. Following the hotel stay in Berlin, guests will transfer to Wittenberg to embark Viking Fontane. Mid-way through the cruise, guests will transfer to Dresden to embark identical sister ship Viking Schumann for the remainder of the itinerary. The ships are not expected to sail but all included excursions will operate by motorcoach from the ships. Details will be communicated to you by the Program Director on board.

•September 3rd Elegant Elbe (Prague to Berlin) aboard Viking Schumann – This cruise will have an itinerary adjusted to the low water conditions. Following the hotel stay in Prague, guests will transfer to Dresden to embark Viking Schumann. Mid-way through the cruise, guests will transfer to Wittenberg to embark identical sister ship Viking Fontane for the remainder of the itinerary. The ships are not expected to sail but all included excursions will operate by motorcoach from the ships. Details will be communicated to you by the Program Director on board.

Am presently on the Astrid and will try to post daily updates. Started in berlin. Hotel is great. Wail until you see the included breakfast buffet. Best hotel breakfast ever. Location is good. Then started our "cruise".

8:30 - 10:00 drove to Potsdam and first palace

10:00 - 12:15 tour castle

12:15 - 12:30 drove to city center

12:30 - 2:00 lunch on own

2:00 - 2:20 drove to second palace

2:20 - 3:00 photo op of outside only

3:00 - 4:40 drove to wittenberg and boarded the boat

it was a tiring day but actually not much different than originally planned. Only about an hour longer. Dinner was fantastic. Ship is brand new and nicely appointed. We are lucky we are starboard side so look out at the water. It feels like we are sailing. Weather is still hot but sunny. There is a cold front coming in so temperature is due to drop back into the 7th wednesday. Will post more later.

.

Hi Gone2C!

So your ship is not going to sail at all???Well..Thanks for your update! Keep them coming if you can!

Wish we were on the new ships... : / Probably would help with the lack of sailing...Hope your trip is a good one...

Thanks again for the post!

Carolyn,

My husband and I both separately called VRC today (Monday August 31). He asked them to follow up his conversation with an email stated what they had explained on the phone. Below is that email.

Dear Mr. _________:

This email is in follow-up to our conversation earlier today.

As I advised, unfortunately we are still awaiting updates as to the possibility of itinerary changes for this particular sailing. As such, I am unable to confirm what options will be available. The extent of changes to an itinerary will dictate the options that are made available.

During past sailings of this same itinerary, when we communicated that sailing was highly unlikely and motor coaching would be involved, we did in fact provide our passengers with the opportunity to cancel for a full refund.

As soon as we receive any further information regarding your sailing, we will be in touch via email to communicate updates. I would suggest closely monitoring your email for our possible correspondence.

Have a lovely evening.

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises I Customer Relations Agent I (t) 877.668.4546, ext. 8191 I (f) 818.594.8463

Bottom line for us we will know about 2-3 days prior to flying out since we will going in early to Prague.

Boy that's sure is a lot of "Double Talk" ! Tell me you left your name out for privacy and they didn't send an e-mail like that? When is your (non) cruise?

Yes JVilleGal,

I removed my name and the agent's name but everything else is all them...

Our "sailing" is on the 11th but we fly out on the 7th arriving in Prague on the 8th. And due to where we live we will be heading to a hotel on the 6th because we don't live close. We hope to hear on the 4th...we will see...

good luck with it. we have had uncertainty like this and it is frustrating not to be able to get timely info.

no one wants a bus trip.

Day 2 of our "cruise"

Forgot to mention that our trip had 97 originally and we ended up with 69 going. It is a fun group and we all decided to just make the best of it. We missed the night cruising to wittenberg instead waking up at the dock we arrived at yesterday. The original excursion took place with the tour of Martin luther's church and home from 9:00 - 12:30. I don't know what they would have offered but we had several choices for the afternoon. There was a one hour cruise on the elbe at 2:00 or 3:30 by a local company or you could take a ship bus into town at 2 with a return at either 3:15 or 5:00. Let me say here that the two viking buses we are using our new with bathrooms and a very smooth ride. So in all honesty must say up to this point nothing much different has happened then what we would have experienced. Will report on day 3 later. This is where we part with the original itinerary.

Thank you Gone2C for your report of Day 2. We will find out on Friday what our options are so your reports help us mentally get ready. Take care and enjoy your non-cruise...

O! Please let me/us know what things you enjoyed seeing and what items you came across that are worthy of souvenir purchases... : )

Thanks for again for your reports!!!

Sorry I'm so late with these.

Day 3

Another regularly scheduled day in wittenburg. Shore excursion to the park. 8:45 - 12:30. We should have cruised to torgau in the afternoon. Instead we were offered to be bused for an hour there with a walking tour and returned to the ship. Hours were 2:00 - 6:15. My dh and I choose to stay on board and pack for our ship transfer the next day. As this would have been an evening stop we actually had more time to spend in the town if we had wanted. It was a beautiful day and the park is well worth seeing.

Day 4

We had to have our luggage out by 7:30 where it was transfered in a van to the beta and was in our room upon arrival. We boarded the buses at 9 for our trip to meissen. The trip took 3 hours with a potty break after 2. To all the ladies reading this - Do not miss the bathroom if you stop at the shell station. We had a great time. You'll understand what I mean if you make this stop. It was the highlight of the trip. We arrived in meissen for lunch provided in a local restaurant paid for by viking. After lunch we had a tour of the city and some free time. We left at 5:15 and arrived at the ship in dresden at 6. Weather was great but sorry to tell you no rain in sight.

Day 5

City tour of dresden that we had a choice of either walking or taking a bus. There were only 12 of us that took the bus but we felt it was the better way. The walk into old town is about 2 1/2 miles round trip plus all the walking once you were there. We got to see more of the surrounding areas plus our tour of the old town. Also viking provided a shuttle bus in the afternoon into town at 2, 3 and 4 with returns at 2:15, 3:15, and 4:15. They also arranged for a tour to the Volkswagen glass factory at 1:45 - 3:45. It is limited to 18 guests so you have to be fast to sign up if you want to do this. That's it for now. Tomorrow should be interesting as it would have been a cruising day.

Thanks so much for your reports, gone2c; I'm heading out mid month for an Elbe River cruise, and it's good to hear positive feedback, and also to understand the challenges from such a dry summer. Rain dance going on here but whatever happens, it's still a bucket list trip, and I intend to enjoy :)

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

Sorry I'm so late with these.

Day 3

Another regularly scheduled day in wittenburg. Shore excursion to the park. 8:45 - 12:30. We should have cruised to torgau in the afternoon. Instead we were offered to be bused for an hour there with a walking tour and returned to the ship. Hours were 2:00 - 6:15. My dh and I choose to stay on board and pack for our ship transfer the next day. As this would have been an evening stop we actually had more time to spend in the town if we had wanted. It was a beautiful day and the park is well worth seeing.

Day 4

We had to have our luggage out by 7:30 where it was transfered in a van to the beta and was in our room upon arrival. We boarded the buses at 9 for our trip to meissen. The trip took 3 hours with a potty break after 2. To all the ladies reading this - Do not miss the bathroom if you stop at the shell station. We had a great time. You'll understand what I mean if you make this stop. It was the highlight of the trip. We arrived in meissen for lunch provided in a local restaurant paid for by viking. After lunch we had a tour of the city and some free time. We left at 5:15 and arrived at the ship in dresden at 6. Weather was great but sorry to tell you no rain in sight.

Day 5

City tour of dresden that we had a choice of either walking or taking a bus. There were only 12 of us that took the bus but we felt it was the better way. The walk into old town is about 2 1/2 miles round trip plus all the walking once you were there. We got to see more of the surrounding areas plus our tour of the old town. Also viking provided a shuttle bus in the afternoon into town at 2, 3 and 4 with returns at 2:15, 3:15, and 4:15. They also arranged for a tour to the Volkswagen glass factory at 1:45 - 3:45. It is limited to 18 guests so you have to be fast to sign up if you want to do this. That's it for now. Tomorrow should be interesting as it would have been a cruising day.

Carolyn,

It´s been raining since last Wednesday over here at my place and at least the Danube river has gone up.

Unfortunately the Elbe river sticks at app. 71 cm (a bit more or less). There should have been significant amounts of rain in that area too. Maybe the Czechs do fill up their baisins and don´t let the water go downriver.

steamboats

The marketing by Viking of an Elbe river cruise is a classic case of selling hope over experience. ie it is a selling the promise of a tour that is unlikely to be delivered in it's entirety.

No one would fly with an airline that had the delivery performance of the Viking Elbe cruise, a failed cruise is one where the full program of events both river based and land based are delivered as described in the brochure.

Thanks to the geography and climate of central Europe, the Elbe is not a river suitable for delivering river cruises.

If you want to see that part of the world, rent a car or go by train.

Carolyn,

I called VRC on Friday September 4. I tried to wait for them to contact us and let us know if the trip was a go or not but I was too nervous since we were leaving for the airport on Sunday and flying on Monday. I called them at 1 p.m. PST and spoke to a very nice young lady who told me that the person who is in contact with the river experts is away from her desk and the she herself had not seen anything saying that the trip was to be canceled. She told me that she would call me back before she left at 5 p.m. I said thank you and told my husband that I would wait until 4:30 and no later. About an hour later (2ish) she called and told me that the cruise would be operated as a motor coach trip and that I could cancel with a full refund. At which time I said yes, cancel us please. I am told I will get a full refund in about 10 business days.

I hope those who choice to go have a wonderful time...me...I've done enough bus tours in my life...

Yay for rain, Steamboats! Happy to hear at least that Danube-bound travelers may not have interruptions.

Keeping fingers crossed on the Elbe, but again, excited to go regardless.

Carolyn

How disappointing, RZW'sYaYa! But I understand your decision and am glad you were given the option to cancel. The Elbe is a tough river -- and Viking was ambitious to build new ships for a river that no one else is investing in (save for CroisiEurope, which will launch a paddlewheeler there next year) but it's an amazing place, I'm told, and perhaps worth waiting to visit another time.

Carolyn

Carolyn' date='

I called VRC on Friday September 4. I tried to wait for them to contact us and let us know if the trip was a go or not but I was too nervous since we were leaving for the airport on Sunday and flying on Monday. I called them at 1 p.m. PST and spoke to a very nice young lady who told me that the person who is in contact with the river experts is away from her desk and the she herself had not seen anything saying that the trip was to be canceled. She told me that she would call me back before she left at 5 p.m. I said thank you and told my husband that I would wait until 4:30 and no later. About an hour later (2ish) she called and told me that the cruise would be operated as a motor coach trip and that I could cancel with a full refund. At which time I said yes, cancel us please. I am told I will get a full refund in about 10 business days.

I hope those who choice to go have a wonderful time...me...I've done enough bus tours in my life...[/quote']

How disappointing, RZW'sYaYa! But I understand your decision and am glad you were given the option to cancel. The Elbe is a tough river -- and Viking was ambitious to build new ships for a river that no one else is investing in (save for CroisiEurope, which will launch a paddlewheeler there next year) but it's an amazing place, I'm told, and perhaps worth waiting to visit another time.

 

 

Carolyn

Carolyn, every place they are going is reachable by car. Some places make sense to go to on the river. Some don't apparently the Elbe is a place you can go to sometimes. That doesn't seem to be a good place to routinely try to visit on a river boat, whether you are viking or in your personal boat. Most all rivers are navigable if you build enough infrastructure(ie locks and levies). My uncle reached it in a tank and then they started drinking vodka with the Russians...:D

jc

We're home now but wanted to write about our last two days.

Day 6

After breakfast we were given the opportunity to visit Konigstein. It is the biggest fortification in Germany and the third largest in the world. I wasn't sure I wanted to go but am really glad I did. It was very interesting and the guide was great. It is about 45 minutes by bus. At 1:30 we were taken on a 4 hour paddleboat cruise on the Elbe to see the castles. It too was enjoyable. Of course, anyone could have just stayed on the boat and did more sightseeing of Dressen.

Day 7

We did a 50 minute bus ride to Bastei rock formation. The scenery is gorgeous here.

After lunch we had free time to do whatever we wanted.

Day 8

We left the boat and headed to Prague. We had a stop in Litomerice with tour and beer tasting or alternatively we could have gone to the old ghetto town of Terezin. We arrived in Prague around 12:30. Had a rest stop at the hotel and dropped off our bags (which were in our rooms when we got back). We then did our old town tour with an hour and 20 minute lunch break and then saw the castle. We checked into the hotel around 5:30. This was the most tiring day of the whole trip. We had chosen not to do the extension here so we flew home the next morning.

Here is my opinion of the trip for what it's worth. If you booked this for cruising the river and seeing the country, I would probably advise you to cancel and try another river (be cautious about the Danube as it is prone to have problems also). However if the country is what you want to see and the river is just icing, I would highly recommend it. We enjoyed our stay in Berlin, but Dressen and Prague were simply gorgeous. The bus rides were short and comfortable and we saw a lot more then we would have on the original itinerary. Viking has this down to a science and we are very glad we chose to go. Any questions feel free to ask.