Danube River water levels

[ProFun1]

Profun1 - How is the cruise going? I'm tracking the ships going up between Nuremberg and Budapest as I'll be on the November first Budapest to Nuremberg cruise and I noticed that the Jarl has been stuck in Regensburg for the past few days. Are the water levels ok or are you being forced to be bused?

 

JaimieMarie:

We are now on the Viking Atla. We swapped ships Yesterday. The Danube levels are extremely low between Regensburg and Passau. There are Sandy beaches, rocks, and small islands exposed by the banks that are usually submerged.

Despite the swap, we are having a fabulous time. There has been so much to do and experience that I have not had time to post. Will post more, post-cruise. The first day in Nuremberg was lovely and informative. We did the WWII tour, which we highly recommend.

We did the Weltenburg Abby option with the Danube narrows cruise and the toured Regensburg in the afternoon. Our guide in Regensburg was excellent and the Danube narrows scenery very beautiful.

Because of our inability to sail on Tuesday night, Viking offered us three options: half day in Passau, full day in Passau, or full day in Munich. The full day options included lunch as well as tours and free time. We chose the full day in Passau. We were bussed from Regensburg to Passau and back 90 minutes each way. It was time we put to good use- catching up on much needed rest/sleep. We needed this because we had to pack that night to prepare for the ship swap. The staff of the Jarl met us with hot chocolate - just the thing to chase the chill from our bones!

The longest bus trip was between Regensburg and Melk (on Thursday, the day of the ship swap) - 3 1/2 hours including a 1/2 hour rest break.

To compensate us for the lack of sail time on the actual Viking ship, our Cruise Director, Terry, arranged a scenic lunch cruise through the Wachau Valley so that we could experience the same view and itinerary as we would have had the ship been able to proceed. The Wachau valley is breathtaking - everything we expected it to be.

We then toured Melk abbey and FINALLY boarded the Atla. We were met with music, hot towels, hot punch, and welcome signs. We were greeted warmly and the Maitre D came to our cabin to confirm special arrangements we made for our 15th wedding anniversary.

The crew on both ships (the Jarl and the Atla) have been outstanding. Really, they go out of their way to please - even transferring our pillow requests from ship to ship. Our bags were delivered to our stateroom and robes/slippers awaited us.

Today has been a perfect day in Vienna. We're going out in a minute to the market with the Chef and some new friends.

...to be continued...

[JaimieMarie]

Thank you so much for the updates! Sounds like despite the small river level issue you are having a wonderful time! Viking seems to be doing a wonderful job ensuring that everyone is happy. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip and thank you for the information on the different excursions.

[berrytea]

Thx for the update, Profun1... Glad your are enjoying your trip and are finally onboard. Hope all goes well the rest of the way.... Mary

[arima22]

We're currently on Viking Embla, Budapest to Amsterdam. Approaching Passau from Melk. Captain says he is going through to Regensburg tonight. To be in Passau in2 hours, 9AM, touring in am then a choice for continuing...get on ship at 3pm or stay in Passau until 5:30PM..take bus to Vilshofen to meet the ship. Regensburg tomorrow. Heard of one comment, not official, that it was easier to cruise upriver than down river during these low water conditions.

Perfect weather for past 10 days, almost cloudless, cool in am, 50's in PM. Still good leaf color ... especially in Wachau valley, vineyards glowing golden in the sun.

[arima22]

P.S. could be a final decision in Vilshafen, "the point of no return" to Regensburg.

Another incentive for the crew ...this is supposed to be the last cruise of the season for Embla.

[Kenster]

In board Avalon Illumination. Vienna to Amsterdam. Arriving Wurtheim this morning. Avalon seems to always get through with no issues while Viking has to bus and swap ships.

Avalon has a newer fleet and the ships are built with a shallower draft.

We did have to skip Passau because the captain was concerned about docking there. Everyone on board was comped the optional excursions to either Salzburg or Cesky Krumlov and the ship sailed past Passau uneventfully and met us upriver that evening.

 

It's been a great cruise with perfect weather. Mostly sunny. Chilly mornings and mild days. Not a hint of rain.

 

If the rivers get much lower even Avalon is going to be challenged but we are certainly glad we chose Avalon and didn't have the problems that other cruise lines are facing.

[Jane361]

Kenster, have you seen any Grand Circle boats? I am cruising from Vienna to Nurenberg on November 25 and wonder what are the chances of actually cruising. !! BTW, I have driven through Bellville a hundred times on the way to College Station to visit children and grandchildren. Nice little town.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Jane361

[Kenster]

Kenster, have you seen any Grand Circle boats? I am cruising from Vienna to Nurenberg on November 25 and wonder what are the chances of actually cruising. !! .

 

Hi Jane, I've seen quite a few other cruise ships including Viking, AMA, and a couple of rust buckets of the Phoenix line, but no Grand Circle ships. Perhaps they are not branded as such.

 

Our captain and cruise directly have both said that there is a desperate, immediate need for a lot of rain. The Danube is already in bad shape. I hope it rains a lot between now and your sailing but there seems to be a high pressure system over Central Europe keeping it sunny and dry.

 

I wish you well!

[gwntravel]

We are scheduled to leave Amsterdam on the Viking Modi on 11/9/15. I've noticed via ship tracking ( Modi position ) it has been 'stuck' in Passau for a few days so I gave Viking a call since there are no updates yet for the Modi on their update page ( Viking current sailings ). As of this morning (11/2/15) they have "no information of any changes", so I guess with today's information on the internet the 'passengers' can know sometimes more then the 'company'. We look forward to our trip regardless of the ship and I will update here to pass along river information

[arima22]

Still in Passau tonight. We were informed at noon that the Danube water level had dropped substantially in the past 12 hours and expected to continue to fall for the next week...perfectly clear sky, no rain in forecast. Passau is beginning to look like a cruise ship parking lot..overflow docking at Passua/Lindau 3 k' s south.

In addition to Viking, ships from AMA, Amadeus, Uniworld. We'll be bused around the low point..Defending...to Nurnburg and new ship on to Amsterdam.

[Piccolopower]

We are scheduled to leave Amsterdam on the Viking Modi on 11/9/15. I've noticed via ship tracking ( Modi position ) it has been 'stuck' in Passau for a few days so I gave Viking a call since there are no updates yet for the Modi on their update page ( Viking current sailings ). As of this morning (11/2/15) they have "no information of any changes", so I guess with today's information on the internet the 'passengers' can know sometimes more then the 'company'. We look forward to our trip regardless of the ship and I will update here to pass along river information

 

Well if Viking won't answer you, then I will give you the update. We started on the Modi in Budapest on Oct. 26. The weather has been ideal, sunny and pleasant. Unfortunately for the Danube, it has not rained at all, and the water level in Passau on October 31 was 3 feet, 8 inches. We docked successfully next to the Viking Ve and Viking Prestige. When we came back from our tour of Passau, we were informed that we would be ship swapping with the Viking Skirnir on Nov. 2. On November 1, we were given two choices, take the scheduled Regensburg tour or go on a half-day tour back to a cute border town in Austria. (we chose the latter, normally 49 euros, but for us it was free). We stayed another night in Passau. Quite honestly, it was such a beautiful day in Passau, we explored more of the city and had a great extra day. Some of those who went to Regensburg were disappointed because the shops were closed due to All-Saints Day. We packed our bags last night, and were bussed 3.5 hours today to Nuremburg, where we met the Skirner, had lunch, and were back on schedule with a guided tour.

 

So the bottom line is the Skirner will meet you in Amsterdam for your vacation. It is one week older than the Modi. Identical in every way. The service today was very good, and I like the entertainer much better. Our cruise director, Joey, is enthusiastic and fun, and he, along with several of the crew, came with us. Unless it rains, I seriously doubt that you will make it all the way to Budapest without a ship swap, but as I've outlined, ours was handled very well, with only the morning bus ride and a "packup" as our downside.

 

Good luck. The good weather is our tradeoff for the swap. We're having a great time.

[JVilleGal]

Pretty bad when you can't get the info from the Cruiseline and come to Cruise critic and get all the details! Just shaking my head...

[gwntravel]

Well if Viking won't answer you, then I will give you the update. We started on the Modi in Budapest on Oct. 26......

 

Thanks so much for the update. We were guessing on a swap with the nice weather, so not a big deal. It sounds like Viking has been handling it well. Since we are leaving tomorrow to spend some time in Paris before heading onto Amsterdam for the cruise, I thought it would be nice to know what ship we would be on before departing the US.

Best wishes for the rest of your trip.

[RainyDay1]

What link do I use to track a ship or find its location? Thanks.

[Piccolopower]

What link do I use to track a ship or find its location? Thanks.

 

I checked two trackers, vesselfinder and marinetraffic. Marinetraffic was a bit harder to figure out, but more up to date.

 

If CC will let me post the link, here is the Skirnir on Marine traffic. If not, I apologize for the asterisks, haha.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:1073068/mmsi:269057498/vessel:VIKING%20SKIRNIR

 

Getting ready to go into Bamberg and drink some smoke-flavored beer....

[G.M.T.]

Well if Viking won't answer you, then I will give you the update. We started on the Modi in Budapest on Oct. 26. The weather has been ideal, sunny and pleasant. Unfortunately for the Danube, it has not rained at all, and the water level in Passau on October 31 was 3 feet, 8 inches. We docked successfully next to the Viking Ve and Viking Prestige. When we came back from our tour of Passau, we were informed that we would be ship swapping with the Viking Skirnir on Nov. 2. On November 1, we were given two choices, take the scheduled Regensburg tour or go on a half-day tour back to a cute border town in Austria. (we chose the latter, normally 49 euros, but for us it was free). We stayed another night in Passau. Quite honestly, it was such a beautiful day in Passau, we explored more of the city and had a great extra day. Some of those who went to Regensburg were disappointed because the shops were closed due to All-Saints Day. We packed our bags last night, and were bussed 3.5 hours today to Nuremburg, where we met the Skirner, had lunch, and were back on schedule with a guided tour.

 

So the bottom line is the Skirner will meet you in Amsterdam for your vacation. It is one week older than the Modi. Identical in every way. The service today was very good, and I like the entertainer much better. Our cruise director, Joey, is enthusiastic and fun, and he, along with several of the crew, came with us. Unless it rains, I seriously doubt that you will make it all the way to Budapest without a ship swap, but as I've outlined, ours was handled very well, with only the morning bus ride and a "packup" as our downside.

 

Good luck. The good weather is our tradeoff for the swap. We're having a great time.

 

So glad you enjoyed my home town Passau.

 

One very small item, the Danube depth in Passau at 3 ft 8 in., the depth is around 3.90, that is 3 meters 90 cm which is about which is about 12 ft 10 in.

 

Have a great cruise.

Edited November 3, 2015 by G.M.T.

[therapyphd]

If anyone is currently on a Viking cruise from Budapest to Nuremburg or has just come from one, I'd love to hear about their experience......particularly about the water levels and if a bus trip was involved. Thanks.

[snorklefan]

We just returned from our Viking Atla/Jarl Budapest to Nuremburg cruise. I'll post more detailed info when my jet lag fog lifts, but I know many of you are anxious to hear about the water levels. We started on the Atla 10/25 as the prior week the Jarl was able to sail through. There were no problems with the water level in Budapest. We could see from the water lines it was lower than normal, but Budapest was full with many cruise ships. On Tuesday afternoon in Vienna we were informed of a needed ship swap to the Jarl on Thursday which was our Passau day. The ship sailed into Linz on Thursday morning, and we were bussed over scenic roads to Passau, about 1.5 hours. We still had time for the walking tour and the organ concert. Lunch was in a Passau restaurant. Our afternoon time in Passau was shorter due to the bus rides, but we did have enough time to get up to the fort overlook while others shopped. We left Passau just before 4. There was heavy traffic on the autobahn and in Regensburg, so we didn't reach the ship until almost 6:30, making for some grumpy passengers. After that the sailing schedule returned to normal, in fact we reached Nuremburg early so they arranged buses for morning free time in Nuremburg. Unfortunately for the river (but good for us, sorry) there was no rain at any point during the week, so I can see ship swaps needing to occur in the near future. The ship swap wasn't as annoying as I feared, and it did have one benefit. When we packed up Wednesday night, all of the dirty clothes went into one suitcase and the clean clothes in the other. Once we were on the Jarl, the dirty clothes suitcase went straight under the bed, so there was less packing to be done on our last night.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, please post as I'll follow this thread for a few days to help out future cruisers as some of the prior cruisers did for me. And I will get to those reviews eventually (just like organizing my photos....)

 

Snorklefan

[berrytea]

Still praying for rain there....but here in SC, we have had enough! Excited for our N -B cruise in just over two weeks. Mary

[therapyphd]

Super update. Please keep the messages coming. I really appreciate hearing what is going on. Yes, here in Georgia we are getting more than our share of the wet stuff. Wish we could send a little over to the Danube!:)

[Piccolopower]

So glad you enjoyed my home town Passau.

 

One very small item, the Danube depth in Passau at 3 ft 8 in., the depth is around 3.90, that is 3 meters 90 cm which is about which is about 12 ft 10 in.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

GMT thank you for the correction - I realized after I posted that it couldn't be right.....

 

Passau was worth the extra time. We walked over to the pedestrian bridge on All Saints Day, sort of "through" the university. After visiting the old church and seeing the beautifully manicured cemetery (that everyone was visiting), we took this photo from the peninsula. Wow.

 

Tomorrow will be another beautiful day, we'll be in the town of Wurzburg. No rain in the forecast. We have been assured that we are past all the water issues, as we are now north of Bamberg. Our enthusiastic cruise director informed us today that he is leaving at the end of this cruise, so GWN will have a different one. Tonight was the music quiz - fun but long.

[RainyDay1]

We are due to sail on the Atla on November 22nd. Of course we would prefer no ship swapping but understand it might happen. I like your positive spin on it.

 

 

We just returned from our Viking Atla/Jarl Budapest to Nuremburg cruise. I'll post more detailed info when my jet lag fog lifts, but I know many of you are anxious to hear about the water levels. We started on the Atla 10/25 as the prior week the Jarl was able to sail through. There were no problems with the water level in Budapest. We could see from the water lines it was lower than normal, but Budapest was full with many cruise ships. On Tuesday afternoon in Vienna we were informed of a needed ship swap to the Jarl on Thursday which was our Passau day. The ship sailed into Linz on Thursday morning, and we were bussed over scenic roads to Passau, about 1.5 hours. We still had time for the walking tour and the organ concert. Lunch was in a Passau restaurant. Our afternoon time in Passau was shorter due to the bus rides, but we did have enough time to get up to the fort overlook while others shopped. We left Passau just before 4. There was heavy traffic on the autobahn and in Regensburg, so we didn't reach the ship until almost 6:30, making for some grumpy passengers. After that the sailing schedule returned to normal, in fact we reached Nuremburg early so they arranged buses for morning free time in Nuremburg. Unfortunately for the river (but good for us, sorry) there was no rain at any point during the week, so I can see ship swaps needing to occur in the near future. The ship swap wasn't as annoying as I feared, and it did have one benefit. When we packed up Wednesday night, all of the dirty clothes went into one suitcase and the clean clothes in the other. Once we were on the Jarl, the dirty clothes suitcase went straight under the bed, so there was less packing to be done on our last night.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, please post as I'll follow this thread for a few days to help out future cruisers as some of the prior cruisers did for me. And I will get to those reviews eventually (just like organizing my photos....)

 

Snorklefan

[berrytea]

Hi I am scheduled for the Nuremberg-Budapest voyage Nov 1 with the inclusion of pre-cruise in Prague. I have only just begun reading about the low river issues that have impacted travel on the Danube. I learned from a friend who was booked on a Tauck organized cruise scheduled for mid October and due to low river-they were offered a refund. I am not sure what the conditions are for next week but I am hoping that we have proper river depths so as to experience the river cruise/ports as anticipated.

It would think that Viking is well aware of river flotation circumstances more that one day at a time and can anticipate what lies ahead and therefore, in the true sense of top level service should advise its guests of these circumstances and offer options before being taken for "bus" rides!!!

Thank you to those who have shared your experiences albeit not the most pleasurable!

PS: I have only cruised on Crystal and yes we have had to miss a port due to weather conditions but were offered a semblance of financial credit immediately for the inconvenience!

Anxious to hear how your cruise went! Will be doing it in two weeks. Thanks for the update!

[mareb1000]

Super update. Please keep the messages coming. I really appreciate hearing what is going on. Yes, here in Georgia we are getting more than our share of the wet stuff. Wish we could send a little over to the Danube!:)

 

Just got off the Viking njord after transferring from Viking Freya mid way. Started in Nuremberg last Saturday. We were able to sail to regensburg but had to be bussed to Passau. The following day we were bussed to melk where we got on our original ship the Njord. Sailed to Vienna from melk then received the news that we could not leave Vienna because of low water levels. They bussed us to Budapest on Friday and put us up at the Marriott hotel in Budapest last night.

[therapyphd]

It sounds like you spent a lot of time on ground transportation and very little on your boat. What was that like? We are traveling from Budapest beginning 11/20.