Danube water levels 2017 and similar topics

Yes notermermaid, we had a 5 hour delay which resulted in a cancellation of an excursion to Danube gorge and reduced time in Regensburg but no other impact. On our way to Nuremberg now with no further delays. Happy the way it turned out. Having a great trip!

Yes notermermaid, we had a 5 hour delay which resulted in a cancellation of an excursion to Danube gorge and reduced time in Regensburg but no other impact. On our way to Nuremberg now with no further delays. Happy the way it turned out. Having a great trip!

Walker I was wondering how your Danube cruise turned out. It sounds like the Danube is getting too high in places for the ships to pass.

Walker I was wondering how your Danube cruise turned out. It sounds like the Danube is getting too high in places for the ships to pass.

 

That was the only impact, at Passau. Today is disembarkation day. Capatin last night said he was grateful we had finished the itinerary as planned and on time (guess he forgot Passau). I am sure it never occurred to most guests that things could be impacted by water levels. Guides at each port said the water was high but not near flood stage and weather not unusual for fall which starts Sept 1. It has been a cold and rainy end to an enjoyable cruise.

That was the only impact, at Passau. Today is disembarkation day. Capatin last night said he was grateful we had finished the itinerary as planned and on time (guess he forgot Passau). I am sure it never occurred to most guests that things could be impacted by water levels. Guides at each port said the water was high but not near flood stage and weather not unusual for fall which starts Sept 1. It has been a cold and rainy end to an enjoyable cruise.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad your cruise turned out well. We will take it as it comes but after all our coach tours we are hoping to cruise !!

This is the infamous low suspension bridge in Passau: http://www.brueckenweb.de/2content/datenbank/bruecken/3brueckenblatt.php?bas=703 It is one of the lowest on the Danube. Due to corrosion damage the bridge is actually closed to traffic, repair works will run into 2018. The official website for water-related topics in Germany, publishing regular updates for citizens with regional info available, states that at a water level in Passau of 6.30m "passage of suspension bridge problems for some river cruise ships" arise.

 

The level there is currently at 497cm, the prediction for the next two days shows no significant rise.

 

notamermaid

This is the infamous low suspension bridge in Passau: http://www.brueckenweb.de/2content/datenbank/bruecken/3brueckenblatt.php?bas=703 It is one of the lowest on the Danube. Due to corrosion damage the bridge is actually closed to traffic, repair works will run into 2018. The official website for water-related topics in Germany, publishing regular updates for citizens with regional info available, states that at a water level in Passau of 6.30m "passage of suspension bridge problems for some river cruise ships" arise.

 

The level there is currently at 497cm, the prediction for the next two days shows no significant rise.

 

notamermaid

 

I wonder if my optional excursion to Weltenburg Abby and the Danube Narrows in Regansberg will be cancelled because of this bridge repair.

I doubt it, unless there is major change to your cruise, meaning you are very delayed going to Regensburg or away from it. As regards locations they are quite a distance from one another and will definitely not be on the same day. The repairs mean road traffic is diverted in Passau but I did not read anything about river traffic being affected.

 

notamermaid

I doubt it, unless there is major change to your cruise, meaning you are very delayed going to Regensburg or away from it. As regards locations they are quite a distance from one another and will definitely not be on the same day. The repairs mean road traffic is diverted in Passau but I did not read anything about river traffic being affected.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you! As always you are a great asset to these boards.

This is the infamous low suspension bridge in Passau: http://www.brueckenweb.de/2content/datenbank/bruecken/3brueckenblatt.php?bas=703 It is one of the lowest on the Danube. Due to corrosion damage the bridge is actually closed to traffic, repair works will run into 2018. The official website for water-related topics in Germany, publishing regular updates for citizens with regional info available, states that at a water level in Passau of 6.30m "passage of suspension bridge problems for some river cruise ships" arise.

 

The level there is currently at 497cm, the prediction for the next two days shows no significant rise.

 

notamermaid

Thank you so much notamermaid. The Danube level sounds like it can take a lot of rain right now before the levels get too high. Since this us our first river cruise any information is helpful. Cheers!

With Passau at 496cm right now and little rain today things are looking ok there for the time being. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, not too much, we will have to see how the next few days develop. The weather is unsettled still. The Isar river (flowing through Munich) will be bringing a fair amount of water to the Danube but does not look that substantial enough to me to bring flooding to Passau. Officials report no flooding anywhere in Bavaria (very localized incidents always excepted) and prediction for tomorrow is for the water level to change only very slightly.

 

Here is a nice article on one of the smaller ports on the Danube. I enjoyed Dürnstein, a lovely place and the tale of the King certainly adds to its appeal (at least for me): http://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/walking-in-the-footsteps-of-a-king-in-durnstein/

 

notamermaid

With Passau at 496cm right now and little rain today things are looking ok there for the time being. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, not too much, we will have to see how the next few days develop. The weather is unsettled still. The Isar river (flowing through Munich) will be bringing a fair amount of water to the Danube but does not look that substantial enough to me to bring flooding to Passau. Officials report no flooding anywhere in Bavaria (very localized incidents always excepted) and prediction for tomorrow is for the water level to change only very slightly.

 

Here is a nice article on one of the smaller ports on the Danube. I enjoyed Dürnstein, a lovely place and the tale of the King certainly adds to its appeal (at least for me): http://www.worldofcruising.co.uk/walking-in-the-footsteps-of-a-king-in-durnstein/

 

notamermaid

Thank you so much for the update, we are excited to cruise the Danube. Also thank you for the interesting article.

Thanks for the info! We fly to Nuremberg tomorrow and depart on Saturday. Hoping the river stays good! Now if I can just figure out what to pack!! We are from Florida and are used to shorts, tank tops and sandals most of the time!!

 

Connie

Hello con3,

 

it is chilly in the mornings, autumn is here and I would say leave the shorts and sandals at home. I have started wearing a scarf (I tend to feel cold easily) against the wind we have had in the last two days. Bavaria is a little cooler than the Rhine in general so tank tops will be best out of the suitcase as well, definitely put in good walking shoes. Accuweather is quite good I find, this is Nuremberg: https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/nuremberg/90402/weather-forecast/167559

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

Great news. Hope it is smooth sailing the rest of your cruise. Anxious to hear from Zitsky.

 

We had no problems on 9/8 sailing on Viking Romantic Danube cruise.

 

Also, it was cold and rainy on some days. i dont recommend shorts and sandals. i wore long lightweight pants from REI, a cotton tshirt and a lightweight jacket.

Edited September 20, 2017 by zitsky

Hello con3,

 

it is chilly in the mornings, autumn is here and I would say leave the shorts and sandals at home. I have started wearing a scarf (I tend to feel cold easily) against the wind we have had in the last two days. Bavaria is a little cooler than the Rhine in general so tank tops will be best out of the suitcase as well, definitely put in good walking shoes. Accuweather is quite good I find, this is Nuremberg: https://www.accuweather.com/en/de/nuremberg/90402/weather-forecast/167559

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

Thanks for the info. Definitely bringing the jeans and a coat!!

Heading towards Passau soon....any word on water levels?

Passau was at 492cm this lunchtime. No updates since then published online (unusual). The current rain and bad weather forecast will mean a rise but no official prediction has been published.

 

Basically looking good for now but 48 hours might see a significant change. See posts above for the problem with the bridge. Very tentative info right now. Sorry.

 

notamermaid

Well, I can now report that we made it through without any problem or delay today!

Well, I can now report that we made it through without any problem or delay today!

 

It's a great feeling, isn't it?

Passau was at 492cm this lunchtime. No updates since then published online (unusual). The current rain and bad weather forecast will mean a rise but no official prediction has been published.

 

Basically looking good for now but 48 hours might see a significant change. See posts above for the problem with the bridge. Very tentative info right now. Sorry.

 

notamermaid

notamermaid, I have enjoyed reading this thread with your informative comments along with the updates by all of the other correspondents. My wife and I were on Viking Njord for the upstream Romantic Danube cruise in May of 2016. Fortunately we were on our land based extensions in Prague and the Bavarian Forest and north of the worst areas when the heavy rains came. However the Danube was pretty high already when we on board I asked one of the two pilots (First Mates) about the bridges between Passau and Regensburg and was told the railroad bridge at Bogen was the only one they were concerned about at that time. It is number 23 on the linked list and does seem to be the lowest: http://www.viadonau.org/fileadmin/content/viadonau/05Wirtschaft/Dokumente/2015-05-06_ENG_Donaubruecken_via-donau_WORK.pdf As it turned out we were OK.

 

Do you know where to find the minimum distance from the water surface to the bridge structure that a fully ballasted Longship needs to pass under a bridge and the width of the bridge that has to be at least that height? And what Viking considers an acceptable safety margin?

Great news seabreezer,

 

Well, I can now report that we made it through without any problem or delay today!

 

Hooray. And sorry, I did not realize you were so close to Passau already when you had posted.

 

Official figures are back to regular updates, the level at Passau peaked at 514cm early this morning and has been slightly falling since. It looks like there have not been that many downpours in several areas simultaneously which would make the river rise more. So pretty good for now. Most rain right now is falling Southeast of the Danube with very little effect on Passau.

 

notamermaid

http://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/One-lines-secret-to-avoiding-water-level-woes

When we went through the stretch between Regensburg and Passau on the 19th of June, they said that at the shallowest point that there was only 40cm of water under the ship. This was on the Monarch Princess which has a draft of 1.7 meters (water depth 2.1 meters). Since a Viking long ship has a loaded draft of 2 meters they would have had only 10cm (about 4 inches).

 

 

RDC1, could you tell us about the Monarch Princess experience? There is so little information on that ship. Thanks!

baileysre@gmail.com

@ notamermaid

Hi - I see you have started a 2018 report for the Rhine - will you

be starting one for the Danube. I have set up a spreadsheet for the

All Romantic Danube cruises, as I did last year and it carried a link to

your posts which I am sure many found very useful

Regards

David

Hello Aulanis,

 

I must admit that the Rhine is my home turf so a bit closer to me in my thoughts than the Danube. Thank you for your kind words. I will start a threat and hopefully many will contribute. It was very nice of several cruisers last year to take the time and effort to report from their sailing. Much better than me being 500km away trying to make sense of what the regional news report... Thanks again for the idea.

 

Looking forward to the posts of all those helpful cruisers out there.

 

notamermaid