Low/high water - which rivers and times of year to avoid?

We're considering a river cruise and I've read a few reviews where low or high water turned much of the cruise into a bus trip, which we'd really like to avoid. We're not really bent on any particular itinerary as long as we visit Germany.

Which rivers/times of year should we avoid to give us our best chance of actually cruising the water successfully?

Brenda,

This is pretty hard to answer. I´d say avoid March and April and maybe October and November for floodings. But nowadays floodings do happen in August too. And the following year there´s a servere draught in August so low water is preventing the ships from cruising on.

My best bet: Avoid the Elbe river. The Rhine river is causing the least problems. Danube river can be a problem but mustn´t.

steamboats

Also look for specs on the draft of the ships of different lines. While some lines had to cancel, bus or do ship swaps on the Danube this summer, AmaWaterways was able to continue sailing because their ships have a shallow draft.

Good points - thank you!

I agree with steamboats that overall the Rhine has the fewest problems, but you might also consider a combined Moselle/Rhine cruise. I do not think that cruises are offered for the Moselle alone. I find the cruises starting or ending in Remich superior to the ones starting or ending in Schweich/Trier. North-American companies usually offer this as Paris to Prague, ie. coach/train extensions to famous towns with a large airport.

The standard route on the Rhine is the Amsterdam to Basel or vice versa and is offered by many companies.

A Main/Rhine river cruise is also a good bet, as a cruise through the Main and Main Danube canal ending in Vilshofen will only have the problems at the very end or very beginning of a cruise.

Reading the recent threads on low water will give you an idea (together with cross-referencing on a map) where the problems are. On the Rhine in low water situations it is the famous castle stretch in the Middle Rhine valley, but low water issues do not occur regularly whereas high water problems do.

As an alternative to Amsterdam some companies offer a Belgium extension. A few companies offer itineraries starting or ending in Cologne or Bonn. CroisiEurope starts in Strasbourg rather than in Basel.

March IMO is best avoided partly due to the weather, the first half of April is sometimes a problem. But flooding problems can be had in May, as has happened in 2013.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Thanks so much, notamermaid. That gives me a lot to consider.

Just to add to the options/confusion, ;) Grand Circle does 15 days on the Rhein - Mosel from Antwerp - Basel (or reverse). Great trip.