notamermaid

So what is it like, river cruising in winter? Cruisecritic went on the early January cruise with Viking on the Rhine: https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles/a-viking-rhine-river-cruise-in-winter?stay=1&posfrom=1 notamermaid

Update to part #14 Nierstein This is an unusual update and a topic I have not mentioned here before. Alternative ports due to rerouting itineraries or changing itineraries during low water or flooding. One such port that became temporarily more used due to the flooding at the end of 2023 is Nierstein. Advent 2023 along the rivers Rhine and Danube was marked by flooding, companies had to activate plans B and C to keep the itineraries running. With some landing stages partially submerged docks became inaccessible and minor ports gained attraction for logistical reasons. We have the mention of Nierstein here, post #105: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2968897-christmas-markets-river-cruises-2023-infos-and-tips/page/5/#comments And on the same page, CC's own Adam Coulter experienced the alternative port of Andernach due to flooding. That one is part 8 of this series. As regards regular dockings, Nierstein is seeing almost the same itineraries as in past years. And Arosa is again coming just for one gourmet river cruise. notamermaid

The storms have passed, the river levels are okay in Germany so before I get to the dolphins (and the nerdy language stuff) here is a vlog in English by a guy who does both German and English youtube videos - really convenient. He travelled on the paddlewheeler Goethe through the Rhine Gorge. Nice to see some footage from inside the ship, too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvi--QMOENQ And he talks about the river cruise ships he saw along the way! notamermaid

Ah, right. Odd one. She signals as Riverside Mozart but is still listed as Crystal Mozart in the pop-up details: notamermaid

Here is the calendar - and some additional info - of which ships enter service when: https://travelweekly.co.uk/destinations/new-cruise-ships-2024 Some more info here: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/New-river-cruises-ships-2024 The ship missing in the lists as it only sails for the German-speaking market is the MS Amina of Phoenix Reisen. notamermaid

We have had strong winds in the Rhine valley over night, part of the weather that is battling the British Isles and causing problems in the Netherlands. All in all, we are not affected by storms that much in the valley but we can get hurricane-force winds occasionally. For this afternoon and evening, storm warnings are now in place for much of Germany and most of Rhineland-Palatinate is on level 2 (of 4). Strongest storms will hit the Swabian Alps and parts of the Black Forest (level 3). Not a good day for an excursion into the forests. Level 4 is hardly reached, I think I only saw it once briefly last year (not in my area). This is the map I usually consult: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/warnings/warnings_node.html River cruise ships are designed to a safety standard that also includes enduring strong winds (I do not know details) and are normally fine. Problems can arise though and those mainly concern currents coupled with wind directions when going under bridges. A heavy storm with a sudden gust of wind hitting sideways can push a river cruise ship. Something we all know from steering a vehicle in a storm. notamermaid

We will see a couple more new ships on the Danube this year - it is a bit confusing as many ships of course sail both the Rhine and the Danube. So in addition to two more specific ships for the Danube a couple more names will likely appear over the course of the year coming over from the Rhine on an itinerary. Three re-namings I have noticed in articles. Which one are you referring to? notamermaid

The level of the Danube is slowly creeping up. But we should not see flooding. Bavaria has the grand divide of the watersheds so Northern parts of the state drain to the North(west), the Main carries the water to the Rhine. So right now we see more volume of water going in that direction rather than to the Danube basin. Passau gauge is at 516cm and unlikely to go over 600cm. Very few river cruise ships on the river of course. Which brings me to the question: where are the river cruise ships? In winter harbours and usually out of the current of the river. A portion of the fleet goes to harbours on the Rhine but the Danube has several docks where the ships stay over winter. If you are interested, do some ship spotting, look for the clusters of blue dots on the map, this is Linz: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:14.272/centery:48.334/zoom:12 notamermaid

The Katharina von Bora sails to the Oder and Stralsund and the reverse itinerary but not upstream on the Oder to Frankfurt or even further. Another German company does that. Plantours is opening its river cruising season with a sailing on the Oder right up to Wroclaw. The itinerary is only in German but you can see what is doable on a small ship, the MS Sanssouci: https://www.plantours-kreuzfahrten.de/reise/kulturschaetze-am-oderufer-san0124-san0224/ notamermaid

Just for comparison. You can get to Nuremberg from Regensburg by train for less that 30 euros per person, so return for two is less than 120 euros. A taxi one way from Regensburg to Nürnberg is about 240 euros. You can also book what is called a Großraumtaxi, meaning an eight-seater together with other people. Several options but I agree about not booking private guides in advance. Lunch is apparently included in your excursion but I still cannot see what justifies the 300 dollars when travelling in a large group. notamermaid

The rain and rising levels do not cause us much concern around here in Germany but the Netherlands are not as relaxed as we are. This article explains the situation, not dire, but not so pleasant: https://nltimes.nl/2024/01/16/another-high-water-wave-expected-major-dutch-rivers-later-month The Maas is part of the problem. Fortunately at least, the rivers joining the Rhine North of Cologne from the East have got rid most of their flooding, so the impact from them (and others entering the Netherlands further North beyond the Rhine) is reduced. It is early in the year but excitement is growing with me about the new ships - I see headlines and articles - coming to the Rhine and its tributaries this year. We will come back to that. We really need to talk about Carnival ("really? - yes!") 😁🥳🤡. But first we should have some fun with dolphins... notamermaid

Thank you for saying hello and good to read that you found last year's thread helpful. I hope your first river cruise is all you wish for and you have a great time. notamermaid

Hello again to you. Thank you for your wishes. Good to see you come to this thread but even better to read that you are coming back to the Danube. 🙂 Great that you enjoyed last year's travels so much and are returning. notamermaid

The snow is disappearing fast and the water levels are rising. So Maxau gauge will return to official flooding level but this is as of now not a big deal, just vigilance. Kaub gauge forecast has changed for the better and it now says that the Rhine Gorge may stay below navigational flood mark I. It is raining and it is one of those grey, boring days that just cannot lift your spirits. notamermaid

It is 2024 and time to have another look at the Oder. I see the itinerary of Noble Caledonia coming up again through the link posted above. It says both sailings are sold out! These are the sailings of the Katharina von Bora on the Nicko Cruises website: https://www.nicko-cruises.de/en/reise/osp-bor?journeyId=648add36d9ab746e720e8cf0&startDate=2024-09-14 https://www.nicko-cruises.de/en/reise/oss-bor?journeyId=648ad693981f4f52f200d69f&startDate=2024-09-07 notamermaid

We have seen a first small wave going through Trier that put the level briefly over 550cm. After this short drop over the weekend we will see the level rise again. This time it should stay below 550cm most likely. This level is high but not flooding. All good. I mentioned the Saar and beautiful Saarburg in my last post. Several companies go up the Saar - or down it. They are Plantours, CroisiEurope, Amadeus Flusskreuzfahrten, Phoenix Reisen, DCS and Viva Cruises. The last of these you can of course book internationally. This year the UK company SAGA is offering an unusual sailing - the Moselle without Koblenz or Cochem! This one focuses on the Moselle around Trier and the Saar river: https://travel.saga.co.uk/cruises/river/where-we-go/rhine-river-cruises/hidden-gems-of-the-saar.aspx?availability=2&boardbasis=AI Or you can choose a bike and boat tour on the MV Olympia. notamermaid

It sounds a lot of money and from what I have seen over the years Viking excursions tend to have high price that I am not sure that I could justify paying. Have never been on one but I could go a lot of places for 300 dollars with just four people sharing a car than being on a full coach... But if I had to choose I would go for Nuremberg. Having been to Munich I am not sure what you could see in "highlights of". Sounds like a drive-by or drive-through that is going to leave you hungry, so to speak. Munich needs more time. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Linz is another large harbour on the Danube. I had expected to see a few ships on the Lower Main. But I can spot no large river cruise ships at Frankfurt Osthafen, Offenbach or Hanau. notamermaid

This I saw advertised as a new itinerary and it does look a bit different from the standard - how about a trip from Brussels to Basel instead of the Amsterdam to Basel favourite? Tauck sails from the Belgian capital via Antwerp to Germany and up the Rhine: https://www.tauck.co.uk/tours/rhine-river-cruise-brussels#itinerary Tauck have managed to put another exciting exclusive experience into this one. They dock in Gorinchem and explore an island castle. Gorinchem is a relatively popular stop with German river cruise lines and I assume not unpopular internationally but the castle I have seen with no other company. notamermaid

Let us venture up the Saar a bit. A very much navigable tributary to the Moselle it has a mix of industrial sites and stunning nature, a little off the beaten track. But the small town of Saarburg is right on the river bank, becoming more popular as a destination for river cruises and I very much recommend it. I have recently found the webcam, never noticed that Saarburg has such a high quality one:https://www.feratel.com/webcams/deutschland/saarburg-saarufer.html notamermaid

The flooding is basically through now on the Danube, it certainly was high and made some headlines, also internationally. "The Danube has burst its banks at Budapest" was one headline I saw. So I had a look around and found a video. "Okaayy", I thought, "that is correct but to my "Rhine river trained" eye, that really does not look like much". I think the embankment at Budapest is quite low down, i.e. many steps down to the water, so it is more than it looks when it floods. Where my ship docked the area was covered in water. I think that is what they call the lower quay. If that is correct than that corresponds to what the graph shows: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/river-danube-bursts-its-banks-budapest-water-highest-since-2013-2023-12-28/ notamermaid

So where are all the ships right now, apart from the Viking ships in NIehl, which we I have mentioned already? There are standard harbours and harbours away from the city centres, like the industrial one in Niehl which is a winter harbour but also a working commercial harbour. Compared to commercial traffic, remember that river cruising makes up a small portion of river traffic on the Rhine. But the river cruise ships all need a place to stay in winter and for that they are sailed to various locations along the Rhine and Waal. The Waal is the more important arm of the Rhine in the Netherlands. One harbour made it into the local headlines the other day as it is rarely used but appears to have attracted a couple more ships this winter. I cannot say any more as the article is behind a "give me your data" wall. It is Neuss near Düsseldorf. Which reminds me - the Avalon Imagery II which passed the Viking Alruna in Cologne (see screenshot above) was of course on her way to the winter harbour. She joined other Avalonwaterways ships and a few others in Dodewaard in the Netherlands: Other harbours are Strasbourg for CroisiEurope where the company is based, Duisburg and Arnhem. notamermaid

Ah, yes, the lunar calendar. Easter is based on the full moon occurrences and the subsequent holidays follow in a constant order and number of days. I left after Easter to go onto my river cruise so happened to be in Hungary on the Orthodox Easter and was in a church there. An interesting different perspective. The high time of Carnival not far away now, we actually call it the "Fifth Season" jokingly. notamermaid

As expected, the level at Maxau has stayed under 700cm. The next seven days will see ups and downs but no real problems. The Middle Rhine valley will likely go to navigational flood mark I but that is usually nothing to worry about. A few problems may arise with landing stages not being accessible but with so few river cruise ships on the river I do not see this as a big deal. One more day of snow and then I think we will see it disappear soon in the valley. The closure of the lock at Iffezheim has actually not been the first problem for commercial traffic this year. Last week a barge attachment, a lighter, drifted off after ropes had snapped and the river had to be closed to traffic for safety reasons for several hours. It happened near Karlsruhe. A few days ago another accident happened in the area but I did not read of a river traffic ban. notamermaid

That is quite a gap in days. On my river cruise on the Danube there was a lot if snow still as it had actually snowed over Easter. It was interesting to do the transition from winter to spring in a different area of Europe. I literally left in winter conditions and returned to find early spring in Passau. notamermaid