Danube River water levels

[pvlinda]

I am curious if the quality of meals you had at the hotel and restaurants were of the same or better quality as Viking provides on their ship? And were the meals pre-selected by Viking or were you able to order what you wanted from the menu (maybe provided a voucher)?

[therapyphd]

We don't go until Noc. 20th

[Kenster]

Are any of the other RiverCruise boats navigating the Danube or is this specifically a Viking Issue?

Are the AMA, Avalon,Uniworld ships able to get up or down river?

 

We boarded in Vienna on 10/25. Actually, we flew into Vienna but had to board in Bratislava so were bused there. This was due to some bridge construction in Vienna that prevented boats from coming through that one day. It had nothing to do with water level of the river.

 

We saw several AMA ships and all the Avalon ships were getting through just fine. It was the Vikings that seemed to have the problems. Different ship designs, I suppose. The Vikings that we saw seemed to be much older than the Avalon ships. Our Avalon was a little over a year old. Avalon ships have a shallower draft than most of the other lines so are able to get through low water conditions better than some lines. Our CD did say that he expected things to get worse and worse, especially on the Danube, though the Rhine was pretty low, too. So, I wouldn't be surprised to hear that even Avalon might not have been able to get through.

 

I wish everyone well on your upcoming cruises. The good fortune we experienced with perfect weather was detrimental to upcoming cruises.

[DQUIN5340]

We are on the Eistla on the 29th out of Passau. Called Viking today and was told our cruise is not affected by water level and we will be fine

[therapyphd]

I hope for you that will be the case.

[Kenster]

We are on the Eistla on the 29th out of Passau. Called Viking today and was told our cruise is not affected by water level and we will be fine

 

Viking has not been very forthcoming with many people for the past few weeks. Read through the threads. Their ships have not been getting through. The people have been bused from ship to ship in many cases. All of this AFTER the people were told that everything is "just fine."

 

I hope it works out for you. The 29th is a long way from now. If it doesn't rain soon ALL the lines are going to have a major problem.

 

Don't rely on Viking to give you a straight story. Follow the weather reports in the region.

[RainyDay1]

We are on the Eistla on the 29th out of Passau. Called Viking today and was told our cruise is not affected by water level and we will be fine

 

Our travel agent last week was told there "might" be a ship swap but probably not. Viking told her all was just fine. Now we read here that is just not the case.

 

Viking appears to be just putting out the "company line" to avoid cancellations.

[Kenster]

Our travel agent last week was told there "might" be a ship swap but probably not. Viking told her all was just fine. Now we read here that is just not the case.

 

Viking appears to be just putting out the "company line" to avoid cancellations.

 

So does your travel agent.

[G.M.T.]

The only ship I saw actually sailing the Danube was the AMA Sonata in PAssau. All the other ships, Avalon, Uniworld and Tauck were anchored just like Viking.

 

The AMA Sonata has cruises that start / end in Vilshofen, about 20 Km upstream from Passau, the Danube levels between the two towns is still deep enough for ships to proceed normally.

[RainyDay1]

I think Mary is very honest and just simply passed on what she was told. We will be talking on Monday.

[NBliving]

Mareb1000 - thanks for the info on meals. That would work for me! And to try some local restaurants would be fun! We are praying for rain before our trip, but if not, it sounds like it will just be a different trip than we signed up for. I'm so looking forward to seeing that part of the world.

[mareb1000]

I am curious if the quality of meals you had at the hotel and restaurants were of the same or better quality as Viking provides on their ship? And were the meals pre-selected by Viking or were you able to order what you wanted from the menu (maybe provided a voucher)?

 

I would say the food was comparable. The lunches were pre determined but the dinner at the Marriott in Budapest gave you 4 or 5 different options.

[SeventhOne]

We are leaving in a little over a month for our first Viking River Cruise--Romantic Danube--leaving from Budapest. Reading all the posts about the water levels...(we know a lot can happen in a month) has us greatly concerned. :( We appreciate all the updates--so please keep posting!

[notamermaid]

May I refer you to my post no. 191 in the Rhine thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2191352&page=10

 

At the end of the report it says: Forecast (from 3rd November) is for very little rainfall in the areas of all federal waterways (here meaning the large rivers in all of Germany) over the next week ... and there is no foreseeable relief as regards the low water situation.

 

The next report will be issued on 12th November.

 

notamermaid

[Mark_T]

We are leaving in a little over a month for our first Viking River Cruise--Romantic Danube--leaving from Budapest. Reading all the posts about the water levels...(we know a lot can happen in a month) has us greatly concerned. :( We appreciate all the updates--so please keep posting!

 

Read a few of the reports from those who have been involved in the ship swaps, the impact seems minimal and appears to be being handled well.

 

Obviously better not to have to swap, but at least Viking have enough ships so the swap is possible to minimize the impact of the low water.

[Kenster]

Read a few of the reports from those who have been involved in the ship swaps, the impact seems minimal and appears to be being handled well.

 

Obviously better not to have to swap, but at least Viking have enough ships so the swap is possible to minimize the impact of the low water.

 

The minimal impact is based on current conditions. It's not too bad to have an hour or so bus transfer to another ship but what happens when the ships get farther and farther apart? If there is no rain soon, the impacts must become much more than minimal. A cruise could easily turn into a bus tour and few people will want that.

 

Again, I encourage everyone with upcoming trips to monitor the weather and pray for rain.

[mareb1000]

The minimal impact is based on current conditions. It's not too bad to have an hour or so bus transfer to another ship but what happens when the ships get farther and farther apart? If there is no rain soon, the impacts must become much more than minimal. A cruise could easily turn into a bus tour and few people will want that.

 

Again, I encourage everyone with upcoming trips to monitor the weather and pray for rain.

 

In our ship swap situation last week, it was a 4 hour bus ride from Regensburg to Melk. Aside from having to repack, the change itself was very organized; we left our bags out the morning we left and when we arrived to our new ship around 530pm in Melk our bags were in our cabin. The same thing when we went from Vienna to Budapest. It was a 4 hour drive; a little more we Budapest traffic and construction.

[notamermaid]

Hello mareb1000,

 

if I have understood you correctly you swabbed ships "between" Regensburg and Melk and then left the second ship in Vienna to get to Budapest? That would mean - rough calculation - that you lost more than 24 hours of pure cruising time on the river?

 

From Regensburg Danube kilometre ca. 2379 to Melk Danube kilometre ca. 2037, a distance of over 300 km that you would normally have spent on a river boat, you travelled on a more direct route - probably - on a coach.

 

That is not nice. :(

 

An then again in Austria into Hungary. :confused:

 

notamermaid

[mareb1000]

Hello mareb1000,

 

if I have understood you correctly you swabbed ships "between" Regensburg and Melk and then left the second ship in Vienna to get to Budapest? That would mean - rough calculation - that you lost more than 24 hours of pure cruising time on the river?

 

From Regensburg Danube kilometre ca. 2379 to Melk Danube kilometre ca. 2037, a distance of over 300 km that you would normally have spent on a river boat, you travelled on a more direct route - probably - on a coach.

 

That is not nice. :(

 

An then again in Austria into Hungary. :confused:

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Hi notamermaid

 

Sadly, you are correct. We started on the Viking Freya in Nueremberg and cruised to Regensburg. The ship sat in Regensburg for 2 days. They bussed us to and from Passau one day the following day from Regensburg to Melk. We got on the Njord in Melk and cruised to Vienna. We got off the ship in Vienna on Friday and were bussed to Budapest where we spent the night in the Marriott before returning home on Saturday. So, in essence we only sailed from Nueremberg to Regensburg and from Melk to Vienna. Needless to say, there were many upset travelers.

[G.M.T.]

 

if I have understood you correctly you swabbed ships "between" Regensburg and Melk and then left the second ship in Vienna to get to Budapest?

 

notamermaid

 

Is this a new trend on river cruise ships whereby the passengers take an active part in running of the ship, i.e. cleaning or "swabbing" the decks. :D

 

Sort of expedition river cruising.

Swabbibg.pdf

[G.M.T.]

We had a couple of heavy showers along the Danube this morning, not enough to make the river wet.

 

A couple of wet days forecasted over the next week, probably just enough to maintain the current (low) levels.

[notamermaid]

Yes, swabbing, might be more fun than going on a coach trip between ships which of course is the swapping I meant. :D:o

 

The Rhine has a similar forecast to the Danube for the next few days. I shall have a look at the next report coming out on Thursday afternoon.

 

notamermaid

[melissasue79]

Where do you find these water level forecast what website

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RainyDay1]

Hi notamermaid

 

Sadly, you are correct. We started on the Viking Freya in Nueremberg and cruised to Regensburg. The ship sat in Regensburg for 2 days. They bussed us to and from Passau one day the following day from Regensburg to Melk. We got on the Njord in Melk and cruised to Vienna. We got off the ship in Vienna on Friday and were bussed to Budapest where we spent the night in the Marriott before returning home on Saturday. So, in essence we only sailed from Nueremberg to Regensburg and from Melk to Vienna. Needless to say, there were many upset travelers.

 

Did Viking offer any compensation for the problems occurred? In the past they have given vouchers towards future cruises. I haven't heard anything like that with the low water problem and busing.

[orangebeach8]

For our August trip Viking offered us 25% of what we paid for the cruise but it had to be used within a year. They did not do it automatically...we had to complain and I did so vigorously on the Viking facebook page.