Danube River water levels

[goldwingers]

Contacted my travel agent night before last as we are currently on tour in Czech Rep. Scheduled to embark in Budapest on October 10. She was on phone w Viking within 5 minutes of my email.

 

They told her that they had no information yet about cruises leaving this weekend but if we needed to be bussed we would be contacted with the name & address of where to meet. Unfortunately we are dependent on very spotty wifi - not even sure if this post will go thru... So I hope we are not stranded in Budapest with no idea where to go! I don't care about being bussed to sites, we are on a Rick Steves tour now & loving every minute. Just getting anxious about the lack of planning.

 

Will be in Vienna tonight so then will be able to actually see the Danube and judge the water level. But we haven't seen more than a slight mist one night in the past 10 days. Great for touring, not so much for the rivers.

 

Off topic - I own 2 Mini's also. They are like peanuts, you just want another...

 

Barb

[JVilleGal]

If your phone is text capable we found in the last two weeks that receiving texts was never a problem. Have your TA stay on top of it and she can text you! Even in the Czech Reb, Vienna & Budapest!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't care about being bussed to sites, we are on a Rick Steves tour now & loving every minute. Just getting anxious about the lack of planning.

 

Haven't priced a Rick Steves bus tour [i love his books, but use them for DIY] -- do they cost the same per night as a river cruise?

[Magnum60]

Reading the fine print of our travel insurance policy (our travel insurance policy was sold to us by Viking by the way) it looks like the only financial loss I will experience [if my November Danube cruise goes on the rocks] is the cost of my travel insurance policy. Besides the cruise, Viking arranged and booked our flights, our two day pre cruise hotel stay, everything. I hope I don't have to find out if the policy Viking sold us is any good.

[Mark_T]

Reading the fine print of our travel insurance policy (our travel insurance policy was sold to us by Viking by the way) it looks like the only financial loss I will experience [if my November Danube cruise goes on the rocks] is the cost of my travel insurance policy.

 

Is this a 'cancel for any reason' policy?

 

The usual catch when it comes to low/high water problems is if the cruise is cancelled or not.

 

If it is cancelled then you will be getting at least a full refund so have less need to rely on the insurance, if it isn't cancelled then the insurance usually is of no help unless it is 'cancel for any reason' and you find out about the problems in time to exercise that option.

[cabinluvn]

From the Viking people I have talked to over here they were not told of the inability to sail until they got here. When they asked before they left they were told it would depend on the levels on the day they were to sail

 

 

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[bobpatj]

We are sailing on Vantage River Navigator right now and are on the Danube heading slowly to Passau. We were supposed to have sailed overnight, but left this morning at 5:00 am. We may or may not make it in time to dock in Passau, but should be able to sail to Vienna & Budapest on the ship. Fingers crossed!

[biker1972]

The "cancel for any reason" portion of the travel insurance that the cruise lines sell is generally fulfilled with vouchers for a future cruise, and not cash. An outside vendor policy that has a "cancel for any reason" rider would pay cash. The CFAR rider will be an additional cost for most of the comprehensive policies available from companies such as AIG or CSA. These policies generally only pay a portion of the non-refundable costs of a trip.

[cabinluvn]

Doubt you will make it to Budapest. No change in the river since we have been here

 

 

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[Host Jazzbeau]

Even with "cancel for any reason," once you start the trip you lose that choice. If the trip is cancelled, you will be made whole. If the trip goes on in some form, once you embark on the first leg you are committed to whatever it provided.

[goldwingers]

We just arrived in Vienna. Took a tour boat from Melk to Krems - gorgeous day & scenery BTW - the river was very low and it felt like we hit something at one point! But we passed AMA and Avalon going the other way. There was a Viking boat moored in Melk & their tour groups going thru the abbey but we did not have time to stop and ask them any questions.

 

My TA is going to stay on top of things for me, but she can only report what they tell her. She does a lot of business with them so if she can't get the scoop, no one can...

 

This is our second Rick Steves and can recommend it wholeheartedly. Great small group of like minded people. Look at his website for the pricing. I think it is reasonable for everything that is included. It may be too strenuous for some, but we love to travel lite and pack our days full.

[tribbs1]

I talked to my AMA Waterways rep on Friday, and she told me that the AMA ships are not having any problems sailing into their ports. I leave on Friday for a 3 night pre-cruise stay in Prague before sailing on the AMA Lyra on Oct.13th. I am hopeful.

[cabinluvn]

You may just get lucky. We were doing a night cruise on the Danube here in Budapest and say a long boat going up river. Something must have changed farther up. As far as I know it has not rained but maybe way up river it has. Good luck to all of you! I hope your sailings are as good as ours was or even better. May the river be open for all of you!

 

 

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[texasgolfgal]

We will be right behind you on the Serena departing Prague 10/14. Looks like rain is expected this week and next. Please keep me updated and I will do the same.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I talked to my AMA Waterways rep on Friday, and she told me that the AMA ships are not having any problems sailing into their ports. I leave on Friday for a 3 night pre-cruise stay in Prague before sailing on the AMA Lyra on Oct.13th. I am hopeful.

 

Thanks for this update. There was a post on another thread a few days ago that a Viking rep had told someone that no ships were getting through to Budapest -- but Viking reps tend to act as if Viking is the only cruise line!

[ProFun1]

Host Jazzbeau,

 

It's not just Viking ships that weren't able to go through to Budapest. Cabinluvn sailed with Gate 1 Sound of Music and was told that Budapest was closed to all ships. (See quote below, from Oct. 1). Apparently, small ships are now allowed to go through. Rain is forecast for Nuremberg and according to RiverCruiseInfo, the Main/Danube canal has sufficient water levels, so perhaps this is a good sign that at least some of the Danube will be open to deeper draft vessels soon. I certainly hope so, for everyone's sake.

 

Thank you everyone for all of the updates!

 

 

We are now docked at Melk, Austria. We got notified last night that the Danube is now closed to Budapest and no ships will be allowed to enter the port. We will be docked 1 1/2 hours from Budapest and be bussed in from there for sightseeing and return to the ship for sleeping. Then we will be bussed to our hotels to depart for home. We have 3 days in Budapest. This is disappointing, but everyone is in the same situation. At least we have been sailing and the weather is perfect. Sunny and cool. All is good! Can't argue with Mother Nature.....

We

Are on Gate 1 Sound of Music. Great little ship! We disembark Sunday morning and start out 3 days in Budapest

 

 

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[bobpatj]

We made it! We arrived in Passau in mid afternoon and were able to walk around town on our own, as our tour guides could not wait that long for us. :)

[texasgolfgal]

Just heard from tour operator in Budapest that ships are once again able to sail into Budapest.

[prb1492]

Just heard from tour operator in Budapest that ships are once again able to sail into Budapest.

 

Great news! Thanks for informing us!

[Magnum60]

The policy is a cancel for any reason product. There still is a bit of a crap shoot for the policy holder as you've pointed out because this type of policy [seems to] indicate that the policy holder needs to cancel the cruise before the cruise company throws in the towel and cancels it. If the cruise company beats me to it it looks like all I'll get is a voucher for another cruise. I believe that voucher is not transferable meaning that if you don't want to go on a cruise offered by the company that issued the voucher - you're screwed. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. We just sent a partially used hurricane on its way to Europe so maybe they'll get some needed water in their rivers soon. Not to much :eek: as flooding is just as bad as drought.

[RJHNorthyorks]

We will be right behind you on the Serena departing Prague 10/14. Looks like rain is expected this week and next. Please keep me updated and I will do the same.

 

We're also on the AMA Serena sailing on 14 October. Looking forward to it and hoping river levels will be ok.

[cabinluvn]

Looks like the next bunch will be fine!

 

 

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[goldwingers]

We ran into a Viking tour group yesterday in Vienna. They were coming from Amsterdam heading to Budapest. The woman my husband was able to speak to briefly said that they had been bussed for 3 hrs past the low area to switch ships. But she said they had NOT been told a thing about not being able to reach Budapest.

 

If I am doing my calculations correctly, that lady would be on the same ship we would be embarking on this Saturday. So fingers crossed they will make it the whole way. Although Viking finally updated their website, they mention every cruise except the ones leaving from Budapest this weekend. Our ship was to have been the Ingvi, and they do say that one will be the alternate one in Amsterdam that day, so I guess we will be on a different one till we have to swap.

 

Of course, now the weather report predicts rain & colder weather every day for the foreseeable future... Well, I have a terrific raincoat and fleece combo and a sunny disposition. Ready to make lemonade!! Hope our fellow travelers are as fantastic as the ones we will be leaving tonight😪😪. Wish we could take them all on the cruise with us.

 

Barb (& Wayne)

[EastOntCpl]

Currently sitting in the KLM lounge in Amsterdam awaiting our return home.

 

We sailed the Emerald Sun which was slated to sail Amsterdam>Budapest from Sept 22-Oct6.

 

We had smooth sailing through to Regensburg. I had been monitoring this thread so was aware there could be a potential problem @Regensburg. We were asked to come to the lounge for a special announcement and sure enough, we were told we could not sail to Passau. Emerald would modify the day in Passau with a later bus trip in, 2-3 hours on shore then a bus to a port between Passau and Linz where we were to board the Emerald Sky, bags were to be packed and waiting outside your room by 8:30am. Our group wasn't keen on this, so we hatched a plan to deposit our bags in the hall @8am and then go to the Regensburg train station early the next day, get into Passau to enjoy the day and meet up with the bus at 4:30pm. The train took +/- 1hr. We are greatful we did, we loved Passau, had a great lunch overlooking Passau from the new restaurant @ the Fortress/Prince Bishops home. We met up with the bus and after +/-1:15hr bus ride we were on the Sky, our bags were in our room and we resumed onboard life.

 

Again, having monitored this thread I was aware we would more thank likely have an issue after Vienna. Our planned departure in Vienna was 2am. Our plan was to skip the concert and spend a Saturday evening in Vienna - going to dinner, having cocktails and enjoying the town (our demographic is a group of 40-47 year old's). The last shuttle from the ship was 5:15 and we had secured dinner reso's @8:30PM. We decided that 5:15 was a little early to go in and that we would use UBER or a taxi. Thank goodness. At 5:15 we were summonsed to the lounge where we were told that we would be sailing early due to water levels, and that all on board was 10pm. If we had gone to town, there would have been no way we would have known that the ship was sailing early. Very sloppy IMO. I am convinced we were sailing early to dock with Scenic (a division of the same company that owns Emerald). We could have easily missed the ship.

 

The ship made it to Komarom and that would be the end of the sailing. Emerald would give us a bus trip into Budapest and then back to ship. The next day airport transfers started at 3am until 9am. For those unware, Komarom is +/- 1hr45min from Budapest. Again our group wanted an evening in Budapest. We made our own arrangements in Budapest. We permanently disembarked on the 5th, joined the bus city tour and then said goodbye to our ship mates.

 

We had a superb time in Budapest. We toured the city independently, had an amazing dinner at Buddha Bar (for those that like Asian food, it's a must). We did a city boat tour at night and got all the amazing night pictures of Budapest that one would expect.

 

We did not witness any boats coming or going from Budapest when we were there on the 5th and 6th. There were no viking ships tied up, all we say were two boats from Avalon rafted together and one called the Albatross. Coincidently one of the Avalon boats, the Vista had left Amsterdam the day before us, and we saw it the whole trip. It did not have low water issues in Regensburg/Passau, nor in Komarom ;)

 

At the Captains dinner on the evening of the 4th the Captain apologized for our situation. He explained that the river police dictated ship traffic, after that it was his call. He then said ULTIMATELY it was the decision of the company ;) My true belief is that companies want to make sure they don't trap ships on one side or the other of a problematic zone, regardless if they can make it through at a given time or not. Having ships on opposite sides of a problem area is just good business.

 

Also..for those wondering. No rain at all during our cruise Sept 22-Oct 6.

[JVilleGal]

Wow you guys made some awesome decisions... The train, love the train! Loved the train! Sailed Avalon and while we had only one close call they kite before sailing into Budapest, we made it after planning to dock outside of town.... Left the River in Budapest Sept 25. To my knowledge no Viking boats made it with us. Just Avalon & Scenic. We saw know other river boats.

Edited October 7, 2015 by JVilleGal