notamermaid

Aaah, yes. That is not ignorance, that is a complicated calculation which I explained a few pages back. It is impossible to know without graphs and some explanatory notes. May I for lack of time refer you back to there? Basically it is this: the gauge which is like a ruler fixed to the side of the embankment reads 55cm. This is calculated into the navigation channel depth. The actual river depth is let us say all over the place, could be anything between 0.5m (unused old channel or side arm) and around 20m (Lorelei rock). Do not nail me down on exact figures. Even deeper in a ravine in Switzerland. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2827571-rhine-water-levels-2022-and-similar-topics/page/18/ post #441 and thereabouts. notamermaid

Thanks for reporting. If you have a minute, could you explain please what the Narrows boat tour is and where? I am just curious. notamermaid

I have quite a bit of patience with people, but I need to say this: shall I send the office guys and girls in the US photos of the Rhine per e-mail?? They do not seem to read the news or talk to their captains. ((deep breath)) Okay, nice Rhine river girl is back. So I just say this: I hope it will go the best way it can and that you will have a lovely time in Europe. notamermaid

I understand the problem. Viking has the policy of not cancelling and replacing the cruise with a hotel or ship swap thereby having fulfilled what they set out to do: give you a river cruise from x to z. I advise reading this: Now I cannot know what happens at the end of August. Normally I would not post this modelling as it is vague and probability computer modelling but it may make the decision easier - or not: The next 14 days at Kaub. Basically the level is most likely to go up after a decline. Purple is the most probable outcome. You can see that the level is most likely to be in the upper 50's to lower 60's range. If we assume that your ship can sail at 65cm you could assume that you will be okay without a ship swap. But it is all up to the captain and there is no guarantee that Kaub will not go down again. Basically I call it highly uncertain still at this point. We may reasonably assume that your ship will sail at 78cm. Edit: the captains of the two sister ships on opposite sides of the Rhine Gorge may nevertheless decide to go for the swap instead. End edit. The probability of the level reaching that figure is not as high as we would like, but it is definitely possible that we will see that. In the end it depends on what you are comfortable with. No coach, 30 minutes on a coach, one hour on a coach, no ship swap or ship swap. A gamble, but perhaps this gets you closer to making a comfortable decision. notamermaid

Thanks for the cm explanation. Centimetres indeed, not everyone uses it, forgot that, and it may have been something special but it is completely normal 100th of a metre. Folks, please tell me if something else remains unclear. The low water extends upstream of course, Rüdesheim to Worms will be better than Kaub but also require careful, slower, navigation. If the level drops further I can see ships not making it to Mainz, right now Viking appears to be not even going to Rüdesheim, that could be the shallows or just logistics, not sure. It will again depend on company and ship what happens. Upstream from Worms tends to be even better but is low also. Not sure how bad the problem may be. No problem is Iffezheim to Basel as that stretch is controlled by locks. In 2018 Cologne to Mannheim was affected and brought major problems for 135m ships to get a half decent itinerary on the Rhine together. The solutions were cancellations or diversion onto the Moselle or flights in the case of the Grand European or navigating the Rhine, Waal and canals (effectively a tulips cruise without tulips) or ship swaps with hotel "till the bitter end". Several companies managed to get passengers onto excursion boats to see the Rhine Gorge. notamermaid

The Cities of Light is a very nice itinerary and I prefer that offer of Viking to the Basel to Amsterdam itinerary by them (from an armchair perspective). Unfortunately, while the Moselle and Main are the comfortable rivers to sail, you need to get through the bottleneck that is the Rhine Gorge. So whether you go Amsterdam to Budapest or Amsterdam to Basel or Trier to Bamberg you all need to get past the Lorelei rock. No idea if Viking operates that itinerary with ship swaps. notamermaid

Hmm, August on the Rhone may be a bit warm for some people. I went in Spring so cannot judge but if it is any hotter than here in Germany I would not go. I absolutely love Pont du Gard. But then there is hardly a bridge or viaduct I do not like. The Seine is more "all encompassing" as regards history perhaps. The WWII stuff must be incredible to see (never been, but seen similar WWII stuff elsewhere). Then I would choose a company that docks in Honfleur. It gets you closer and for me the experience of the Seine would feel more complete. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge at 240cm. That sounds alright. Bus Komárno to Budapest seems to be a regular alternative in low water to sailing. Hope the drive was pleasant and you have enjoyed (or are still doing so) Budapest. notamermaid

I would not want to lean myself out of the window and give you advice on that. We have only a vague idea what will be at the end of August. Let us look at that in more detail when I have time for a long answer. Questions: Which company is it? Which ship (if you want to disclose that)? Pfelling gauge at 46cm. notamermaid

Aren't you lucky! 🙂 You have chosen one of the few river cruise itineraries that will hardly be affected by low water. The Main in its entire navigable waterway is controlled by locks (I am with this comment leaving out a short bit that is only for leisure boats anyway). Deep enough and in all likelihood the authorities are able to maintain the depth necessary for river cruise ships. The Main Danube Canal is an artificial waterway anyway, all with lock and dam and enough depth. Here comes the problem: Mainz. At Gustavsburg on the Main you leave the last lock and the controlled waterway behind. The mouth of the Main and the short section to Mainz on the Rhine rely on free flowing water so that could be tricky. If that is the case, in all likelihood you will embark in Frankfurt. Or at least that I imagine the company will go for as an alternative port. It is a short stretch: The orange marker is Mainz, where the Main looks double wide is the lock. Not a big distance at all. So I dare say, unless something goes very wrong, should be a pleasant journey. Remember though that the sun deck may be closed due to the low bridges, depending on ship design and "company policy". notamermaid

Bloomberg says I have read enough free articles and now need to subscribe. Oh well. Let me see. The graph seems to give 40cm as the line at which the Rhine "effectively closes". Let me work on that basis. When I add "for commercial traffic" that line is not quite correct as ships can still sail. When I also add "no more profitable or economically viable" then this may be correct. As I mentioned earlier - last week that is - German captains and crew on the internet have stated that they sailed in 2018 with a few centimetres less at Kaub. Yes, it does affect supply chains and we felt it in 2018. We will feel it again soon. For your river cruise Amsterdam to Budapest I see the Danube still more as the problem but you are right about the Rhine Gorge. You may indeed be on three ships. Or two and in a hotel, or one and two hotels, or - heaven forbid - on no ship. Viking is known for not cancelling river cruises due to low water per se, so anyone now who does not want to be on a coach will need to think hard about cancelling themselves, or insurance they may have, etc. Just saying... The way things are going this week I am skeptical even about the 110m ships all running in the next 10 days. The River Queen already appearing to be stationary in Boppard (I do wonder what is happening there) is unusual though. In 2018 it got so bad that some of those could not sail the Rhine Gorge. Most 135m ships coming from Amsterdam did not even sail up to Koblenz and stopped in Engers, Andernach, Bonn or Cologne. I am seriously getting close to a feeling of dejá vu. In 2018 I was bombarded with questions about the Rhine Gorge and low water in general. I really thought we would not see such a low water situation again any time soon. Now we do and it is even earlier in the year. I have not been bombarded with questions yet (and river cruisers appear to be better informed generally) but the news headlines, videos and personal photos are beginning to be similar to 2018. Surreal. I mentioned the deeper navigation channel at Cologne and further downstream a while ago, so will come back to that very soon. Tonight or in the next couple of days. Kaub gauge at 50cm. notamermaid

Pfelling gauge down to 243cm. No rain forecast this week. notamermaid

Unpleasant finds happen, you are right, low water can reveal the odd surprise. I think this year so far once on the Rhine. I did not follow up on the headline that I read. May have been on the Danube as well but I think generally it happens more on the Rhine. There is a detailed catalogue of fines for river traffic mishaps. The police on the water will assess the situation and react, working together with the colleagues on land. notamermaid

@tfred Thanks for the graph. Have you got a link to the article in which this appears? It would help me to comment on it. Thanks. Effectively closed is a nice choice of words that does not get one into trouble... As we know, the river is never closed, for me it is more than semantics, it is personal, emotional - and important to clarify. For business it is business and economy and finance. notamermaid

Yesterday afternoon - I checked the archived photographs - the Amareina left Rüdesheim and has since appeared on the radar on the Main. So she did not go through the Rhine Gorge. The Amasiena, spotted by @2inSETexas in Koblenz yesterday, is now back in Cologne. She did not go through the Gorge either. A ship swap for the passengers? Despite Ms. Karst's claim in a recent interview that Amawaterways can sail the Rhine when the level is this low there, the captains of those two ships decided not to. She was interviewed in Rüdesheim. I am not saying she was wrong... The level at Kaub was between 48 and 52 yesterday. In the end it is always the responsibility of those steering the ship. I heard it again in a recent German interview, as answer to the question if the authorities suspend shipping in low water. They do not. Kaub gauge at 53cm, forecast shows a downward trend. 50, 48, 46, even 44 may be possible. But we will see what tomorrow brings. notamermaid

A last look at Kaub gauge tonight from me. 53cm. I have made a screenshot of the (shortened) graph to highlight the situation. I reduced the days to from where the river level dropped below the GlW line: It looks a bit bleak, I know. We need a good amount of rain over several days to get rid of these low figures. You can have a look and play around with the graph yourself of course. Shown in this format are always 31 days so if you want to keep a record take screenshots. The website: https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/webservices/zeitreihe/visualisierung?parameter=WASSERSTAND ROHDATEN&pegelnummer=25700100&ansicht=einzeln notamermaid

Hmm, not sure what is happening there and I really do not understand why companies do not put a notice on their websites. I mean, not saying I am a fan of Arosa or Viva Cruises, I have not sailed with either, so cannot judge anyway. But they both have a short paragraph on low water. Nothing special is being said, but at least it is there. Pfelling, the notorious Pfelling, what does it look like? I did not sail there on my river cruise so do not know, but by chance I have come across a short video from a regional German broadcaster. I know few of you speak German enough to understand this but it is quite interesting footage. The gentleman at the stone is standing near there. You will hear the word Pfelling at 1:12. The boat sailing in the video does sonar with 36 sensors - in this low water everyday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgTQdFXdWMk notamermaid

We have had Arosa, now here is the general info by Viva Cruises, another German company, about low water: https://www.viva-*****/en/information This page is easily accessed from the home page of the company by clicking right at the top (health protocols and travel requirements). notamermaid

That is a very good point. I have never looked into swapping between the APT and Amawaterways ships. The swap with the Amareina may work for the Rhine Gorge but then what will they do on the Danube? Hmm, intriguing... notamermaid

Thanks. To be on the safe side I will go with the authorities spokesperson who said in 2018 that it is 290cm at Pfelling. Between 280 and 290 is the "difficult phase". Difficult for us to establish what may happen. By that I mean ships may sail at 284cm at Pfelling but with the daily fluctuation and logistical planning taken into account your personal itinerary may already change when you read 286cm there. notamermaid

Hang on, you were in the car park opposite the Lorelei?? How lovely! Land trip? Enjoy. And thank you for posting. I was wondering if the Geoffrey Chaucer would manage the passage today. notamermaid

@CastleCritic That is correct. I had mentioned briefly that the APT logo is on the hull. Which confirmed to me that it is the Amareina. APT uses that ship for the splendid Grand European journey Australian version. notamermaid

Then in Europe I can see you being very happy in Trier or on the Rhone. Full of old Roman stones Trier is and along the Rhone there is no avoiding history from Roman to 1600 AD however hard you try... Cologne and the other cathedral cities along the Rhine are not bad either but Trier beats them in my opinion. notamermaid

Right, it is Monday afternoon here in dry central Europe. So across the pond you have Monday morning and I will make it even worse by offering everyone a geography lesson. If you are busy or would rather enjoy a late breakfast or lunch in peace and quiet, skip the following. The weather precipitation radar map of Germany today: I think it is plain to see that we are not getting rain this afternoon, at least not in the West. There are tiny specks of turquoise over the North and near Munich. Literally just drops of rain. The inland black lines are the borders of the 16 states. Marked are principal cities, not all are state capitals. Kahler Asten and Brocken are mountains. When you have familiarized with the image, move on. The weather precipitation radar map of Germany last Friday: Now that looks quite different. Colour code means that red is strong precipitation, purple even more. The highest category is dark blue meaning extreme precipitation. Most of our weather is made in the West and we get rain sweeping in from the West. Which is what happened on Friday. Lows often come from the British Isles by the way. On Friday, the Southwesterly direction meant that it rained more in the lower half of Germany than in the upper half. So let us see: late that evening the rain came through the corridor around Basel and over the lower Alps, mostly bypassing the Rhine valley apart from the East of Basel and Lake Constance. This meant that more water caught on camera here in the photo ended up in the Danube than in the Rhine. But not all rain North of Konstanz was given to the Danube basin. The area around Stuttgart is the Neckar catchment area and that river drains into the Rhine, i.e. it has its confluence with the mighty river at Mannheim. Just above the 22 of the date in this photo is the large bend in the Rhine where the river turns to go due North, the splendid setting for the city of Basel. Now, where does it need to rain for the level to rise at Kaub? Basically here in the light green area (excuse awkward map, could not find good graphics): To the right is marked the catchment area of the Danube. This is only Germany marked, much of Switzerland drains into the Rhine. The small strip of the East Vosges mountains and the French slopes from Mulhouse to Strasbourg and the Northern border also gives its water to the Rhine. Most of the Vosges mountain water is given to the Meurthe, smaller rivers and later the Moselle to the Rhine past Kaub, i.e. meets the Rhine at Koblenz. So most rain that is useful to the shipping industry and river cruisers must fall in Northern Switzerland, along the Ill, in the Black Forest, in the Neckar valley and along the Main. Dominance on the Eastern side of the Rhine is key. Just a bit of shift in wind/cloud direction and the Danube gets more than the Rhine. I think this would make a nice legend how the Lorelei and the Isar compete for water to swim happily with the other sirens and the fish. Or something. But to keep my imagination running away with me, I will stop at this point. Lesson over. notamermaid

Unless Amawaterways has miraculously changed ships in the middle of the night the Amareina is still docked in Rüdesheim. Kaub gauge at 56cm, minimally higher than the forecast for today. Forecast suggests stable levels for 36 hours but after that a decline. It is getting hotter again. Temperature in Koblenz 28.5 Celsius. notamermaid