Rhine water levels 2016 and similar topics

[Viking Cruises]

Dear M&Rsquared,

 

Welcome home! We are happy to hear that you were able to connect with your relatives and do hope you enjoyed your overall experience.

 

Your disappointment in the Mosselle Excursion has been noted and we sincerely apologize for any miscommunication about the expectations of the tour. We are, however, delighted to hear that you found the guide and wine to be excellent.

 

As always, if you are interested in reviewing your feedback with a Viking representative, you are welcome to reach out to us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Looking forward to seeing you again soon, M&Rsquared!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

We met our relatives - thanks to you and they are great people.

BIG disappointment on our Mosselle excursion by Viking as they had described the tour (phone call) as going to Cochem and Beilstein. Wrong, it only went as far as Winningen. As you know, Cochem is 30 miles from Koblenz and we went about six miles to Winningen.

The tour was nice, but shot. The guide was informative but the tour was not as expected. The wine was excellent, we bought two bottles which we managed to get home.

 

The weather was hot in Lucerne and Basel. But needed light jacket, sweater, and earmuffs for the Rhine Gorge. My husband did state I have a VERY narrow comfort zone!

 

[M&Rsquared]

Dear M&Rsquared,

 

Welcome home! We are happy to hear that you were able to connect with your relatives and do hope you enjoyed your overall experience.

 

Your disappointment in the Mosselle Excursion has been noted and we sincerely apologize for any miscommunication about the expectations of the tour. We are, however, delighted to hear that you found the guide and wine to be excellent.

 

As always, if you are interested in reviewing your feedback with a Viking representative, you are welcome to reach out to us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

 

Looking forward to seeing you again soon, M&Rsquared!

 

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

 

 

Talked with Viking representative today. Stacy was kind, considerate and apologetic for the troubles we had on our Viking Cruise. Needless to say, we absolutely enjoyed our cruise, we just had a few "blips" that we discussed. Thanks Viking!

[Cyber Kat]

I haven't heard much about water levels lately. We are just over a week from leaving for Amsterdam - where we will spend 3 days pre-cruise on the Viking Mani.

 

I've been watching the weather forecasts from Amsterdam to Basel and seems like a mixture of sunny days with a few rainy ones thrown in. Hoping that's normal and we won't have any high or low water issues.

 

Anyone doing the Rhine now or anyone have any information along these lines? Notamermaid - how's the weather and the water been lately?

[Daisi]

Hi Cyber Kat. I just checked a site I found for water levels. The Rhine looks ok except for cautionary higher than usual in 3 spots - Konstanz, Reinweiler & Iffezhelm. Sorry, not sure exactly where they are on your trip, but the rest of the ports listed are all green, so should be ok.

 

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your reviews.

[Floridiana]

The Rhine looks ok except for cautionary higher than usual in 3 spots - Konstanz, Reinweiler & Iffezhelm.

 

No worries about Konstanz. It is nowhere near any hotel ship cruises.

[Cyber Kat]

Hi Cyber Kat. I just checked a site I found for water levels. The Rhine looks ok except for cautionary higher than usual in 3 spots - Konstanz, Reinweiler & Iffezhelm. Sorry, not sure exactly where they are on your trip, but the rest of the ports listed are all green, so should be ok.

 

 

 

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your reviews.

 

 

Thanks! Glad to hear it! I don't recognize those ports so I hope they are not on our way.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[ParrotheadG]

Hi Cyber Kat. I just checked a site I found for water levels. The Rhine looks ok except for cautionary higher than usual in 3 spots - Konstanz, Reinweiler & Iffezhelm. Sorry, not sure exactly where they are on your trip, but the rest of the ports listed are all green, so should be ok.

 

 

 

Have a great cruise, looking forward to your reviews.

 

 

Daisi, what is the site you found to check water levels? Thanks!

[notamermaid]

Hello M&Rsquared,

 

We met our relatives - thanks to you and they are great people.

 

"BIG disappointment on our Mosselle excursion by Viking as they had described the tour (phone call) as going to Cochem and Beilstein. Wrong, it only went as far as Winningen. As you know, Cochem is 30 miles from Koblenz and we went about six miles to Winningen.

The tour was nice, but shot. The guide was informative but the tour was not as expected. The wine was excellent, we bought two bottles which we managed to get home."

...

 

I am delighted to hear about your relatives. How great! Happy to have been of assistance.

 

That trip on the Moselle was really short indeed. Winningen is a nice wine village, so a bit of a consolation I suppose. You missed the scenic drive, of course, together with the other villages which is a disappointment and I am glad Viking has responded so quickly to this matter.

 

I have returned from a holiday in England so my response is a little late. Well, I am back at the computer now (I purposely did not try and hunt for Wifi or use somebody else's line ("could I just use my laptop while I am here enjoying a cup of tea at your house, please?") and my cottage had a faint signal to be shared with the house next door.) ready to report from the Rhine again. :)

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited August 13, 2016 by notamermaid
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[notamermaid]

Hello Cyber Kat,

 

the Rhine is fine as far as I can determine. The water level is actually a little higher than one might see in August (last year you will remember it was really low) so this is good. Fine for sailing. Konstanz is before Basel, so not on a route for river cruise ships (as Floridiana has already pointed out), the other two ports Daisi has mentioned are in the Upper Rhine valley and they are higher than average but that is a statistical value and they are currently not high enough to cause any trouble.

 

The weather is really warm, possibly reaching 30 degrees tomorrow in the large towns in the Upper Rhine valley, there is hardly any rain forecast. Could do with some soon to keep the water at a comfortable level and to refill the garden rain water tubs.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

[Cyber Kat]

Hello Cyber Kat,

 

the Rhine is fine as far as I can determine. The water level is actually a little higher than one might see in August (last year you will remember it was really low) so this is good. Fine for sailing. Konstanz is before Basel, so not on a route for river cruise ships (as Floridiana has already pointed out), the other two ports Daisi has mentioned are in the Upper Rhine valley and they are higher than average but that is a statistical value and they are currently not high enough to cause any trouble.

 

The weather is really warm, possibly reaching 30 degrees tomorrow in the large towns in the Upper Rhine valley, there is hardly any rain forecast. Could do with some soon to keep the water at a comfortable level and to refill the garden rain water tubs.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you! Hope the levels stay good - we have one more week! Our temps are near 100 degrees F - If I'm converting properly, that's about 38 degrees C. And the humidity is 100%! Looking forward to cooler weather along the Rhine - I hope!

 

Thanks again - hope you get a little rain, maybe at night to fill your water tubs!

[Daisi]

Daisi, what is the site you found to check water levels? Thanks!

 

 

Hoping this is ok to post the link :

http://rivercruiseinfo.com/content/river-levels

 

Sorry, I can't remember who had it initially, but someone who was going on a cruise had done major research on all there was in the area they were going on. Since we are booking our cruise next year (can't wait), I saved the link.

[ParrotheadG]

Thank you so much!!

[Daisi]

No problem. Glad I could help.

 

Notamermaid, glad you were away on holiday, missed your posts.

[notamermaid]

Thank you Daisi.

 

The water level is falling slowly. But this will stagnate in all likelihood as, after two more nice days, rain is forecast for the weekend. Temperatures will reach 28 degrees today or tomorrow in some towns but will fall at the weekend slightly due to the rain. Still pleasant, though.

 

Things are quiet here with many Germans still off on holiday (in some ridicously hot places all around the world ;)) but some actually vacate in their home country. It has been getting more popular in the last few years.

 

notamermaid

[Cyber Kat]

Thank you Daisi.

 

The water level is falling slowly. But this will stagnate in all likelihood as, after two more nice days, rain is forecast for the weekend. Temperatures will reach 28 degrees today or tomorrow in some towns but will fall at the weekend slightly due to the rain. Still pleasant, though.

 

Things are quiet here with many Germans still off on holiday (in some ridicously hot places all around the world ;)) but some actually vacate in their home country. It has been getting more popular in the last few years.

 

notamermaid

 

Hope the levels stay level for the next week or so! And pleasant weather would be fabulous!

 

Around here we call a vacation at home, a STAYcation :D

[gnome12]

A staycation is really very close to home, if not at home. Vacationing in your own country, unless very small, is not necessarily a staycation.

;)

[notamermaid]

This week has seen many people returning from holiday and the school holidays are slowly coming to an end (holiday starts and ends are spread over several weekends in Germany) with the last children returning to school on the 13 September in Bavaria (that is a very late date). There is widespread rain today in Germany, hopefully this will bring some water to the Elbe. See the Viking website for the problems with their cruises due to low water there.

 

The Rhine is getting some much needed rain, I think though that it will not be enough to cover for the short heatwave ahead. The temperatures are comfortable right now but will rise to over 30 degrees in the valley. Unusually Trier on the Moselle is forecast to reach the highest temperature in the area at 34 degrees on Wednesday.

 

Water levels accordingly are a little up and down with the general trend for falling levels, which is normal for August and is not a major concern yet.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Do you remember last year's drought and the problems passengers, ships, captains, crews and companies faced? It was an unusually dry summer with long spells of hot weather. It looks as if we will not reach those temperatures this year, even with the heat in the next few days.

 

Accordingly, the water level is much more favorable this year. I had a look at reports from last year and found that the gauge showed around 80 centimetres in Koblenz at the beginning of August. Things are definitely looking better this year. Currently, the level at Koblenz is at 185 centimetres and has not fallen below 170 cm at all this Summer. Remember this is the gauge for reference for all those sailing on the river, the actual navigation channel is much deeper.

 

All those travelling in the Rhine valley at the moment: enjoy the sunshine. :)

 

All those still looking forward to your holidays: I am sure you will have a great time.

 

notamermaid

[HenrysAunt]

Thank you so much for the updates. Your post about the levels at Koblenz has put my mind at rest. We leave NZ in 3 weeks so I am watching with keen interest. :)

[notamermaid]

Hello HenrysAunt,

 

my pleasure. Germany is struggling a little under the heatwave we are experiencing. This year's record (so far, and probably will stay it) was reached yesterday afternoon in Saarbrücken on the river Saar at 37.5 degrees. That is between Rhineland-Palatinate and the border to France.

 

Accordingly, the water levels are falling. The Elbe river is problematic. The Rhine is still fine, but the Main looks a little low in the statistics. Rain and thunderstorms are inevitable after this intense heat, so by Tuesday we shall see (mildly) rising water levels again.

 

However hot you are and no matter how good a swimmer you think you are, n e v e r swim in the Rhine. It has cost several people their lives this year. So sad. There are much safer ways to cool down.

 

Perhaps I should do as my neighbour's cats do: just wander sleepily from grass patch to flower bed and back and be served food in between. :)

 

notamermaid

[franski]

Hi notamermaid -

 

Starting to watch temperatures now... we leave in less than a week. Is the long range forecast for the Rhine looking much the same?

 

A bit of rain won't worry us, but I would prefer to keep space for any shopping we do - instead of having to pack extra clothes!!

 

We are driving through Bavaria with friends after we get off the boat - ending in Munich. I realize that is too far out to have any sense of weather, but am hoping that the temperature stays fairly steady. Of course, I can always go shopping if necessary... :D

 

Fran

[M&Rsquared]

Notamermaid,

When we were they in July, we took the walking tour of Basel and the guide led us to a lookout over the Rhine... We saw dozens of people floating down the river. We were surprised but she said on a hot day that is what people there do to cool off.

Not only the fact that they were floating but we wondered how they got back (swim up river with that current didn't seem possible.)

[notamermaid]

M&Rsquared,

 

things might be a little easier around Basel and some people know a stretch of river very well, happily attempting to swim a short distance. I am sure there are some half-safe spots but further downstream and with the fast currents - little swirls and nasty changes in the current close to sandbanks, let alone the danger of getting close to the navigation channel on top of that - I would not suggest trying a swim even for the most experienced swimmer unless they have planned to do this with a life boat at the ready for emergencies. I am just very careful having grown up with the stories of experienced swimmers drowning.

 

The Rhine is a fast-flowing river and was once very difficult to navigate (still is tricky in parts at times) before steamboats made things easier. Hence that part of the legend of the Loreley!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei Paragraph starting with "In 1824, Heinrich Heine ..."

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Hello franski,

 

quote: "Starting to watch temperatures now... we leave in less than a week. Is the long range forecast for the Rhine looking much the same?"

 

a reliable forecast is given for four days ahead and that is looking very good. Tonight and Monday will see some showers and the temperature will go down to about 25 to 26 staying around that figure for a couple of days. Sunshine and temperatures well over 20 will stay with us until the 3rd of September (varying between 24 and 31). After that might it be a little cooler, you will probably need a light jacket if you go on an excursion shortly after breakfast, but no need for big layers yet. :)

 

Bavaria and Munich as a "DIY post-cruise extension" sounds great, lots of shops in Munich if you feel the need to buy some extra clothes, but I do hope you have more time for the sights. I recommend the Englischer Garten (for a picnic) and the Alte Pinakothek (for the old masters): http://www.muenchen.de/int/en/sights/attractions.html

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

Edited August 28, 2016 by notamermaid

[M&Rsquared]

Anyone know what going on with the update/notice on Viking site for Rhine River Cruise - no explanation, as it has with the Kembs lock due to maintenance etc)...

RHINE RIVER

 

AMSTERDAM-RHINE CANAL

 

 

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