Rhine/Danube River Levels

[reedy8]

Can anyone give me an update on levels at the Bucharest end on the Danube. We are on the Uniworld Grand European Serenade Oct 16th,

but are leaving home October 11.

Getting a bit nervous about water levels after the message about Tuack.

[SFCruiser1948]

We returned last week from our Danube cruise between Budapest and Nuremburg on the Avalon Tapestry. At our stop in Vienna it rained and then again a couple days later it rained pretty heavily on the folks who took the side trip to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. As it turned out, had it not rained, we would've had to leave the ship for a bus bridge between Passau and Regensburg due to low river levels. We were informed that one of the Viking ships that was cruising the river along with us did, indeed, abandon their route between Regensburg and Nuremburg because that ship had a deeper draft than ours. I haven't seen much discussion on this board regarding the different ship designs but it could have an impact on whether you complete your trip on the ship or on a bus.

[reedy8]

Thank you, hopefully there will be some run-off into the Danube by

October 16.

[steamboats]

Here in Munich we didn´t have any rain for the last three weeks or so.

 

Water levels are all very low in Germany. I´ve just checked two local excursion boat companies, the Dresden Steamboats (Elbe river) and KD (Rhine river). I saw in the news that both the Rhine and the Elbe river are very low. Both companies report in their news that a couple of usual stops had to be cancelled due to low water and some ships are rerouted.

 

On the Danube river usually the area around Straubing is affected by low water. And I saw that they only had 88 cm yesterday by noon (which doesn´t mean that there are only 88 cm of water until the bottom, but I doubt there is much more). It went up to 125 cm today.

 

There is some rain in the forecast for the Northern part of Bavaria but that doesn´t mean it will rain along the Danube river. There is no rain in the forecast for Southern Bavaria which also feeds the Danube river.

 

Anyway, river levels can change very quickly!

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

More information:

 

I just found an article in a local newspaper online saying the Rhine river has the lowest level since six years. The forecast for the water level is 10 more cm less until Sunday. Freighters can´t load fully and one ran aground trying to pass another ship.

 

Another article of a newspaper of Regensburg is saying that lots of ships got stuck in Regensburg and Passau. The SERENADE 2 got stuck at Regensburg last Thursday. Viking is bussing passengers and changing ships.

 

Here´s a website I´ve found showing low water levels on the Danube river (and all of Bavaria)

 

http://www.nid.bayern.de/

 

steamboats

[Peek-a-boo]

We just were informed today that our Tauck river cruise was cancelled due to low river levels. We were due to depart in 5 days. Tauck said that the current cruise had to stop somewhere in Bavaria and the passengers were flown home out of Munich. Very disappointing for everyone! Tauck was very generous to us with full refunds and credits for future trips, etc. but it is still hard to believe after getting all prepared for our first river cruise. Will probably take them up on their offer for next May. Just hope levels aren't too HIGH then!

Hi Cebone!

Very disappointing...my parents were on that cruise that had to stop. Consider yourself lucky. My parents and their friends were handled terribly by Tauck. Tauck had plenty of options but chose to take on a "just get out - it's not our fault" attitude. Not exactly the luxury treatment you think you are going to get when you are paying their "luxury prices"

I am sure that Tauck has insurance that covers just this type of thing.

Shame on them.

On a brighter note...mom said that the ship, and the crew were great. It was only Tauck that dropped the ball.

[Rsm11001]

I am typing this from the deck of the Viking Sun. This is the Amsterdam to Basel 10/4/09-10/11/09 cruise and it has been a disaster.

 

If you are booked on Viking over the next few weeks I would STRONGLY advise you to call and discuss your options because once you get on the ship...if you get on the ship, you are screwed.

 

Getting information from the Viking staff has been next to impossible. We are now 5 days into our "cruise" and have not been close to the original itinerary.

 

I totally understand that the river level is beyond Viking's control, however, telling their customers what is going on, prior to boarding the ship/bus/hotel is totally within their control. Letting customers know what the plans are is not that difficult a task. It is done in every other business and should be done at Viking River Cruises also.

 

It's now about 5:00 and no one will discuss if/when the ship will be leaving and for where. Enjoy your Viking River Cruise.

 

Robert

[buffetking]

We are considering changing our tour to: Amsterdam to Budapest instead of the opposite (which we have just booked, Budapest to Amsterdam). Have heard reports of ships not getting down the Rhine and Danube (near Passau) right NOW. We are thinking that maybe by doing the "low" Rhine River EARLIER (8/26 until 9/4/10) instead of (9/16 until 9/23/10), it might make a difference next year? Seems like for this season LOTS of people are having, well, troubles... I only have a few days to make the decision! Help!

[usavvy2]

... On the Danube river usually the area around Straubing is affected by low water. And I saw that they only had 88 cm yesterday by noon (which doesn´t mean that there are only 88 cm of water until the bottom, but I doubt there is much more). It went up to 125 cm today.

 

There is some rain in the forecast for the Northern part of Bavaria but that doesn´t mean it will rain along the Danube river. There is no rain in the forecast for Southern Bavaria which also feeds the Danube river.

 

Anyway, river levels can change very quickly!

steamboats

 

Just returned from Avalon's Tapestry (got off the ship Sunday, 10/3. We were advised when we were in Durnstein that the next sailing probably would not be stopping there because of the low water condition. (I'll try to post a pix later - just got home last night from our post-cruise portion of the trip which was in Prague.) Anyway, the next evening, our cruise director (who was wonderful btw) announced that it wasn't certain that we'd make it to Regensburg but that we would "try" and the captain "thought" he could make it. Surely, we did but we did hear noises during the night (we were on the top deck but I AM a light sleeper). We were grateful to get to Regensburg without being bussed! BTW, we thought the route we took "up" the Danube, was the best for us!

[letsgo39]

Didi you enjoy your cruise? Who was your CD?

[dtwtraveler]

If you are booked on Viking over the next few weeks I would STRONGLY advise you to call and discuss your options because once you get on the ship...if you get on the ship, you are screwed.

 

Robert

 

Hi Robert:

Do you know what our "options" can be? We're scheduled for the Amsterdam to Basel 10/25 - 11/8. My husband's worst fear is it becoming a "bus" trip!

Thanks,

Cathie

[steamboats]

We had some rain last night and there was more in the Northern part of Germany. I´m not sure if that´s enough to help the river levels.

 

Here´s an article (in German) but have a look on the photo. This is the Rhine river near Mannheim. The upper part is 2 years ago with a regular river level. The lower part is the current situation.

 

steamboats

[usavvy2]

Didi you enjoy your cruise? Who was your CD?

 

hi. thanks for asking. it was fabulous! so glad we had a top deck cabin as we went through more than 120 locks and those below could hear some of it. Some sickness on the ship (including the cruise director). Akos was our cruise director; this was his 4th year so it was easy to tell he had much experience. Almost got "grounded" in Passau but inched our way to Regensburg (3 hours behind schedule due to the water level - or lack thereof).

[usavvy2]

[/img]

pix taken 09/30/09

 

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pix taken 09/30/09

 

pix taken 09/30/09

 

(not sure what I'm doing wrong in that you cannot view the pix directly inside this post; if anyone has any tips, please LMK)

[Rsm11001]

Cathie,

 

I wish I knew what to tell you as for as what your options are.

 

I can tell you that several people immediately "got off" the cruise at the Amsterdam port, and according to other passengers, received a refund.

 

Based on the status of what is going on here at this moment, I would cancel my cruise and demand a refund or full credit to rebook at another time.

 

I understand that this can cause a financial hit regarding airfares, however out of a 10/4-10/11 day cruise, we spent less than 2 actual days moving down the Rhine. We just returned today from a 2 hour bus ride to Strasburg from Mannheim [where we have been docked for the past 2 days and are staying docked]. 2 hours there, 2 hours back. The plan for tomorrow is we have to have our luggage outside by 7:00am and then get on a bus for a 2-3 hour drive to tour to the Black Forrest. Once the tour is over, the bus is taking us to Basel, another 2-3 hour drive, where Viking is putting us up in a hotel for the last night of the "cruise".

 

Of course the hotel that we are booked in by Viking is not anywhere near the hotel we are booked in for our Sunday night reservation in Basel, but that's not Viking's fault. It's just one more inconvenience in a weeks worth of many.

 

We all received vouchers for 40% off our next Viking cruise, but in my opinion, that does nothing to make things right for what we just went through. This has truly been one of the worst travel experiences of my life.

 

The lack of willingness on Viking's part to disseminate information, when they know full well what is going on is simply unacceptable to me.

 

So to answer your question again, if you do not want to be on a bus, change your reservation now.

 

Good luck,

Robert

[dtwtraveler]

Hi Robert:

 

I feel sooooo bad for you and your ruined vacation! My husband's worst fear has been to be on a "bus" tour instead of a riverboat cruise. Ours is two weeks which would make it twice as frustrating. They promise a money-back guarantee in their literature so that's probably what the people demanded when they got off in Amsterdam. We really need a vacation so I think that we would rent a car and see the sights on our own. We're not interested in planning another river cruise. The Rhine river is the only route that appeals to us. Thanks so much for sharing this information with us.

 

Cathie

[Rsm11001]

Thanks Cathie. To repeat, cancel before you get on the ship. Once on the ship, you will have a difficult time getting straight answers in a timely manner. Rent a car and enjoy Amsterdam and for that matter, simply drive to the locations that the bus is going. You could practically follow the buses and the same tours in each city that they visit. Everything's close until you head for the Black Forrest. We're bailing tomorrow morning and taking the train to Basel instead of the 7 hour bus ride. I figure we can enjoy more time in one city than spend the whole day on a bus.

 

Robert

[usavvy2]

...

Based on the status of what is going on here at this moment, I would cancel my cruise and demand a refund or full credit to rebook at another time.

...

So to answer your question again, if you do not want to be on a bus, change your reservation now.

 

Good luck,

Robert

 

Cathie -

before you cancel your reservation, just be sure to read the contract of carriage to which you agreed as well as your trip insurance rules and regulations.

 

Robert -

so sorry to learn your cruise was such a disappointment. Sending hopes for a sunny tomorrow for you!

[usavvy2]

Thanks Cathie. To repeat, cancel before you get on the ship. Once on the ship, you will have a difficult time getting straight answers in a timely manner. Rent a car and enjoy Amsterdam and for that matter, simply drive to the locations that the bus is going. You could practically follow the buses and the same tours in each city that they visit. Everything's close until you head for the Black Forrest. We're bailing tomorrow morning and taking the train to Basel instead of the 7 hour bus ride. I figure we can enjoy more time in one city than spend the whole day on a bus.

 

Robert

 

Robert, fabulous idea about training it to Basel! And trains in Switzerland are fabulous! We once were on an ocean cruise that had to cancel the 2nd day b'c they hit the locks in Amsterdam on the 1st day enroute to the North Sea so I understand some of the frustration with the plan changing so dramatically. At that time, it was our very first trip to Europe and we were still wet behind the ears with what to do as an alternative. Sounds like you've got a good handle on the situation. Enjoy as best you can your time in Basel.

[dtwtraveler]

Rent a car and enjoy Amsterdam and for that matter, simply drive to the locations that the bus is going. You could practically follow the buses and the same tours in each city that they visit. Everything's close until you head for the Black Forrest.

Robert

 

I thougt of renting a car and following the boat. I researched cars at the Auto Europe site and then thought. what if while we sleep, it rains and the captain takes it down the river! Our car would be left in the last town where we docked! I am going to reserve a car so that it will be available if the cruise is cancelled. I can cancel it if we don't need it.

[samcee]

We have just returned from the Scenic Budapest to Amsterdam cruise (7 - 11 Sept) and had to switch from Scenic Emerald to Scenic Ruby halfway through as did the cruise before us. The Rhine is extremely low and it is touch and go whether the cruise starting today will even make half way.

 

Hi, I am on here doing some reading as I am upset on behalf of my mother who is currently doing this cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest....or should I say she is doing a "Bus Tour". I have yet to get the full horror story from her as I have only received distraught SMS messages for now.

 

Apparently the Danube River levels were too low so half-way through the trip all the passengers were booted off the ship and have spent the following week in lower class accommodation and are now stuck on buses for the last week of the tour. They did not get a reconnecting cruise ship and have been traipsing around in the rain and travelling on a leaky bus the entire time. The part that I find upsetting is that Scenic Tours obviously knew they could not complete the full tour yet they took the passengers onboard and led them all off like lambs to the slaughter (of course they blame mother nature...but at the end of the day it is the Scenic Tour company blatantly lying and being deceptive). What about the poor passengers who had insurance cover and actually had the option of cancelling and not losing their money. The insurance company is getting rich as well because no-one claims at all because the tour companies keep it a secret until they have you onboard and then it is too late and all your options are gone.

 

To make matters worse I just received a message from my mum that they have just arrived at their final destination and what should they see???? Their cruise ship docked and ready to go back up the river with another lot of unsuspecting victims. Poses alot of questions. If they managed to get down the river, why didn't they reboard the passengers at some point. One day of inconvenience would be much better than 50% of your holiday being ruined.

 

To add more insult to injury my mum paid for the top upgrade and wanted the best experience. She is 70yo and has never travelled anywhere outside of Australia. This has been her dream since she was a teenager with her best friend. Now it has turned into her worst nightmare!!!

 

At least if Scenic Tours had been honest with their passengers then people could transfer or change their plans accordingly.

:(

[franski]

Just back from our Budapest to Nuremburg cruise with AMA... There were some slight itinerary changes due to water levels - but it has been raining off and on over the past 4 or 5 days, so this should help with the water levels. It was snowing this morning in Prague....

 

I must say that AMA handled things very well. We left Budapest a bit early so that the Captain could cruise a bit slower over night. On the day that people chose either the Salzberg or Passau tour, the Captain also changed things slightly. The Salzberg group was to return to Passau after their day, but the Captain left the group in Passau and cruised up to Vilshofen. Both groups met the boat there. It only added about 30 minutes of travel time to both groups, but saved us almost 3 hours in sailing time. This way, we could arrive on time in Regensberg the next day.

 

We did meet some people in the Frankfurt airport that cruised down the Danube towards Budapest - and they did have some changes due to water levels.

[mdbabs]

I want to share our experience on the River Countess during our Sept. 28th-Oct. 5th cruise from Vienna to Nuremberg. On the second morning the cruise manager and captain met with the passengers to announce that, due to low water levels, some changes would have to be made in the itinerary.

 

Capt. Zwaal told us that the River Countess draws less water than some of the other riverboats on the Danube and that he believed we could make it to Nuremberg if we accelerated the pace of the cruise. So while the passengers toured a winery in Durnstein and visited the Abbey in Melk, the boat kept moving. The passengers boarded the boat further up the river. We reached Passau a day ahead of schedule, then continued on to Regensburg without any disruption. The downside was that we missed out on cruising through the scenic Wachau Valley--we saw it from a bus; the upside was that we had an extra stop before Nuremberg. The extra stop was in Kelheim where we boarded busses for a visit to the Weltenburger Kloster with its beautiful Baroque church. A bonus was sampling the monastery's delicious beer. After returning to the boat, we continued on to Nuremberg, arriving sometime during the night.

 

This was our second Uniworld cruise, and we enjoyed it as much, if not more, than our trip last year on the River Royale in France. Kudos to all the staff and crew of the River Countess for their professionalism and grace under pressure.

 

Barbara

[Gary Bonds]

I was on the same "cruise" as Robert. I agree that Viking was been very vague and cryptic on the first night - in Amsterdam. Had I known the true level of the Rhine, I would have opted for a refund and struck out on my own. This is clearly why Viking was so deceptive. Demand answers at the outset.

[lmrumley]

I want to share our experience on the River Countess during our Sept. 28th-Oct. 5th cruise from Vienna to Nuremberg. On the second morning the cruise manager and captain met with the passengers to announce that, due to low water levels, some changes would have to be made in the itinerary.

 

Capt. Zwaal told us that the River Countess draws less water than some of the other riverboats on the Danube and that he believed we could make it to Nuremberg if we accelerated the pace of the cruise. So while the passengers toured a winery in Durnstein and visited the Abbey in Melk, the boat kept moving. The passengers boarded the boat further up the river. We reached Passau a day ahead of schedule, then continued on to Regensburg without any disruption. The downside was that we missed out on cruising through the scenic Wachau Valley--we saw it from a bus; the upside was that we had an extra stop before Nuremberg. The extra stop was in Kelheim where we boarded busses for a visit to the Weltenburger Kloster with its beautiful Baroque church. A bonus was sampling the monastery's delicious beer. After returning to the boat, we continued on to Nuremberg, arriving sometime during the night.

 

This was our second Uniworld cruise, and we enjoyed it as much, if not more, than our trip last year on the River Royale in France. Kudos to all the staff and crew of the River Countess for their professionalism and grace under pressure.

 

Barbara

 

Thanks for the info, we are going on the River Countess Basel to Vienna on November 8th, so hearing how low water levels are interfering with other companies schedules this was good news. We have never been on a river cruise and both my husband and I are work-holics and really need this vacation. Your post makes me feel feel much better about this trip and the fact that all my research about Uniworld and there reputation is in fact true.