Danube water levels 2018 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[Grego]

I'm sure we will be monitoring this thread frequently before our July Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. Thanks for starting it and the many good posts that have been made.

[Lyndonn]

Yesterday was the first day of Spring according to the calendar but looking outside my window it did not look that Spring-like. I am sure people on the Danube similarly have not seen much of Spring yet, as it is still cold. Weather reports show snow and freezing temperatures in the hills. It even snowed in Munich earlier.

 

The cold weather means there is no snowmelt and the Danube is low enough to allow for the water supplied by rain and snow melt to make the level rise without causing much flooding in the next few days.

 

Snow of course makes for some nice photos and here is a video of a drone flight over Passau cathedral: http://www.dw.com/en/dailydrone-st-stephens-cathedral-passau/av-43049783

 

notamermaid

 

What is the typical water level in early May? We’re on a May 6th departure, Nuremberg to Budapest. Thank you.

[notamermaid]

Hello Lyndonn,

 

I cannot tell you, sorry. Please refer to my post at #5. I am not very familiar with the Danube on a daily basis and live too far away. Depending on Spring snowmelt and rain the beginning of May can bring flooding but it is almost impossible to encounter low water.

 

Reliable reports are only available 48 hours out but a tendency can be seen a few days out.

 

In general May will have more sunshine and less rain than April and should not be too problematic but you can never know for sure.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

[Lyndonn]

Hello Lyndonn,

 

I cannot tell you, sorry. Please refer to my post at #5. I am not very familiar with the Danube on a daily basis and live too far away. Depending on Spring snowmelt and rain the beginning of May can bring flooding but it is almost impossible to encounter low water.

 

Reliable reports are only available 48 hours out but a tendency can be seen a few days out.

 

In general May will have more sunshine and less rain than April and should not be too problematic but you can never know for sure.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

Danke 😃

[notamermaid]

Some places have seen unlikely fame, I ma talking of those places that are sort of nice, but are not in themselves tourist attractions. Popularity stems from the fact that they were film locations in internationally famous productions and are attracting visitors. Others have been popular before but just gained in the numbers of visitors. Hollywood productions (and not only those) are full of places that are not where they are supposed to be. One example is the 2011 production of The Three Musketeers. Filmed on location in Paris? Nope, nearly all done in - Germany! An expert in art history could well spot the difference between French and German Baroque but for most of us it will do. If you want to do a locations tour you can do some of that on a river cruise even: http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/t/Three-Musketeers-2011.html

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

I have had a look at the river levels in Germany and there the Danube is looking good a bit on the low side perhaps in Regensburg but I cannot say if this could have an impact on cruising as I am not familiar with that stretch there. In Passau there is certainly enough headroom to make in under the low bridge.

 

I know that river cruisers stop in Regensburg. Deggendorf and Vilshofen have been mentioned as well as stops before getting to Passau. But what about Straubing? From a recent TV documentary (in German) I would say it looks interesting. Here is some info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straubing

 

The town received a modern landing stage in 2016. Has anybody of you been there as part of a river cruise?

 

notamermaid

Edited April 11, 2018 by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

The Danube is showing pleasant levels for cruising (in Germany and Austria) right now but flooding is a regular occurence that some of you have been affected by on your cruise. In some years flooding is so severe that it affects locals to the point of giving up their home and moving away. But most stay and here is a report on how they cope and what experts say about flooding in the future: http://www.dw.com/en/walls-and-neighbors-protect-against-danube-flooding/a-43696380

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Anniversaries galore in Vienna

 

 

Three famous Viennese artists died 100 years ago and 1918 saw the fall of the Habsburg empire: http://www.dw.com/en/vienna-marks-100-years-since-artistic-heyday/a-42221048

 

 

For current conditions on the river: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2634946

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

While waves do not normally reach heights that make movement on a river cruise unpleasantly detectable - never heard of anybody feeling seasick on a river cruise - and storms have not much effect, turning on rivers is sometimes tricky and with small boats especially can be felt quite bit. I have had such experiences on Rhine river excursion boats.

 

 

Occasionally, unfortunately this can happen to the large river cruise ships. In April due to strong winds the Thomas Hardy hit the Viking Bragi: https://binnenschifffahrt-online.de/2018/04/featured/3100/passagierschiffe-stossen-bei-linz-zusammen/

 

 

In the article it says that near Linz the Thomas Hardy tried to dock and hit the Viking Bragi with her stern. There were no injuries to passengers or crew. The Thomas Hardy did not suffer any damage, on the Viking Bragi three window panes broke on the middle deck.

 

 

The Danube will see high temperatures in the next few days and in Bavaria be as hot or even hotter than the Rhine valley. In Passau it is forecast to reach potentially 32 degrees on Tuesday. Naturally, the river level has fallen and will continue to do so, but thunderstorms will bring rain. It seems to be not as much as in the Rhine valley but to report details I am too far away from the region. For the moment river levels from Passau into Austria still look favourable, any problems, if they do arise, are likely to happen further upstream. As the East of Germany is also showing high temperature figures this does not bode well for the Elbe.

 

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Here is a video of the beautiful stretch of the Danube in Bavaria near Regensburg: http://www.dw.com/en/on-the-danube-from-weltenburg-to-regensburg/av-17690869

 

 

Weltenburg and the Donau gorge (Donaudurchbruch) are not accessible by river cruise ships. Shortly downstream from there at Kelheim the river cruise ships leave the Main Danube Canal and enter the Danube following its course to Regensburg. I seem to remember that Weltenburg is an optional excursion on river cruise itineraries.

 

 

This is Kelheim with some information on the gorge: https://en.kelheim.de/poi/naturschutzgebiet_weltenburger-2001/

 

 

River levels on the Danube in Germany (the free flowing stretch) look a little low in the figures but are not on official low water status. Hopefully this translates into good conditions on the river right now.

 

 

If you are on the Danube right now and feel like using the internet - you should be too busy exploring :) - send us a message please. Happy to hear your experiences and tips.

 

 

notamermaid

[BAYA]

Avalon Impression docked in Vienna a little while ago. We came from Budapest. No problems so far with water levels. The weather right now is sunny and warm. Last night we had thunderstorms and rain. Forecast for tomorrow afternoon is 50% likelihood of rain in Vienna.

 

 

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[notamermaid]

Thank you for the info, BAYA. Sounds like all is well on that part of the Danube. And it has rained since your post, so things are looking good. Even at Vilshofen where the Danube is not controlled by locks the level has risen well and is close to the mean.

 

 

While the locks are a blessing for river traffic, especially river cruise ships and the modern barges, our fellow creatures in the water are "not happy" about them. In fact, some species are critically endangered: http://www.dw.com/en/poaching-dams-imperil-ancient-danube-fish/a-43907515

 

 

It is really sad to think that these fish have been around for millions of years and have hardly changed in evolutionary terms since then, but it has taken humans only a hundred years to almost make them disappear for good.

 

 

Sightings along, well, in the Rhine are so rare these days that they make local headline news. These is the critically endangered European sturgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_sea_sturgeon

 

 

notamermaid

[dogs4fun]

I have been following this thread in anticipation of our Danube cruise in October. Fingers crossed that we will not experience any problems with water levels.

Thank you notamermaid for you informational posts!

[notamermaid]

Thank you dogs4fun.

 

 

The Danube also saw a lot of rain over a couple of days and rose, which in the free-flowing stretch in Bavaria one could say was actually welcome. Now the level has fallen again but it is not low water status. Hopefully rain at the right time and in the right areas will keep it that way.

 

 

Budapest, a great city to explore and here is one way of doing it, on an amphibious bus: http://www.dw.com/en/touring-budapest-on-an-amphibious-bus/av-43875721

 

 

notamermaid

[Cyber Kat]

I’ve been hearing from people currently on Danube cruises (through a Viking group in another place) that there is a Slovakian freighter stuck athwart the Danube near Regensburg and that all river traffic is stopped at that point. Another ship tried to help but it is stuck as well

 

Someone posted this link and a translation, but I don’t read German. Seems like quite a mess

 

https://www.br.de/nachrichten/niederbayern/inhalt/schiffshavarie-auf-der-donau-gleich-zwei-gueterschiffe-stecken-fest-100.html

[notamermaid]

Oh, yes. Very awkward. Traffic is halted it says in the report. Both ships ran aground and are stuck at an angle therefore blocking the navigation channel I suppose.

 

 

This report of this morning says that one ship is blocking the navigation channel: https://www.idowa.de/inhalt.pfelling-havarie-auf-der-donau-umladung-hat-begonnen.5a6f198d-488c-43a7-8ac4-64acc61ca70e.html It sounds as if traffic is still not running. The load of that ship needs to be loaded onto another ship to be able to pull the stranded ship away. Unloading began this morning.

 

 

The place where this happened, by the way, is called Pfelling. It is South of Regensburg, between Straubing and Deggendorf. An area which is affected also now by falling river levels. That makes it more difficult to deal with the ship accident. Hopefully during the course of the today the ship will have been unloaded and towed away.

 

 

notamermaid

[Cyber Kat]

Oh, yes. Very awkward. Traffic is halted it says in the report. Both ships ran aground and are stuck at an angle therefore blocking the navigation channel I suppose.

 

 

This report of this morning says that one ship is blocking the navigation channel: https://www.idowa.de/inhalt.pfelling-havarie-auf-der-donau-umladung-hat-begonnen.5a6f198d-488c-43a7-8ac4-64acc61ca70e.html It sounds as if traffic is still not running. The load of that ship needs to be loaded onto another ship to be able to pull the stranded ship away. Unloading began this morning.

 

 

The place where this happened, by the way, is called Pfelling. It is South of Regensburg, between Straubing and Deggendorf. An area which is affected also now by falling river levels. That makes it more difficult to deal with the ship accident. Hopefully during the course of the today the ship will have been unloaded and towed away.

 

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Wow! People who have been reporting from cruises said that Viking is doing some ship swaps and they anticipate having the ship moved by tomorrow (Thursday) - Friday at the latest, but they said there are over 40 ships backed up right now - both passenger and cargo.

 

It sounds like quite a mess!

 

 

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[Cobbie48]

Wow! People who have been reporting from cruises said that Viking is doing some ship swaps and they anticipate having the ship moved by tomorrow (Thursday) - Friday at the latest, but they said there are over 40 ships backed up right now - both passenger and cargo.

 

It sounds like quite a mess!

 

 

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My family is on a Uniworld cruise in that area. They were lucky enough to be able to move to another Uniworld ship beyond the blockage. They heard another Uniworld ship’s passengers will be doing hotels.

[notamermaid]

Thanks for your update, Kath.

 

 

Here is the update from BR - that is the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the regional radio and television station: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/niederbayern/inhalt/nach-schiffs-havarie-bergungsarbeiten-haben-begonnen-100.html

 

 

It says that the navigation channel is being dredged, then the wheat taken off the ship onto another. As of this morning there are almost 30 ships (cargo and passenger) stranded in that area. Embedded in the video is the text of what the official says. You could stop it and translate if you wanted to. The River Navigator shown had to stop in Deggendorf out of her schedule and take the passengers on coaches to a hotel in Bamberg. The next sailing is cancelled. The ship that ran aground, according to the calculations of the police, only had 3cms room between vessel and riverbed at the time it had its accident. Captains are real experts in general, the official assures, at adjusting their vessels' cargo to the varying water levels. This time it appears it had not quite worked out. The area around Deggendorf is challenging and notorious for mishaps. The Danube is free-flowing there. That is my part-translation from the video report.

 

 

If everything goes according to plan the Danube could be reopened and traffic resume still today.

 

 

notamermaid

Edited June 27, 2018 by notamermaid
spelling

[xmaser]

You can see the backup on the Danube above and below the stranded ships on vesselfinder.com. Amazing to watch.

[notamermaid]

According to a local newspaper in Passau, Deggendorf police have reported that the ship has been freed. Now the ground in the navigation channel has to be levelled during today. After that ship traffic can resume.

 

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

According to a local TV news channel the ban has been lifted and river traffic can return to normal.

 

 

It is quite astounding what an effect such a blockage can have. Here is the Viking River Cruises page that indicates the potential changes necessary: https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

 

 

I have mentioned above a cancellation by another river cruise company that was reported in the video I linked.

 

 

By the way, I should say that "normal" is a relative term here as the water level at Pfelling is as of 5pm local time only 4cm above the official low water level.

 

notamermaid

Edited June 28, 2018 by notamermaid
River level added

[Grego]

According to a local TV news channel the ban has been lifted and river traffic can return to normal.

 

 

It is quite astounding what an effect such a blockage can have. Here is the Viking River Cruises page that indicates the potential changes necessary: https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

 

 

I have mentioned above a cancellation by another river cruise company that was reported in the video I linked.

 

 

By the way, I should say that "normal" is a relative term here as the water level at Pfelling is as of 5pm local time only 4cm above the official low water level.

 

notamermaid

 

Strange that the UK site has the tab showing "Updates on Current Sailings" and the US site doesn't. Regardless, I can access the UK site it does show some sailings on the July 6 date, which is the same as ours, but the Embla isn't on the list for the Grand European Tour on the Danube. Maybe the 3 that are shown are doing the Amsterdam to Budapest and ours is the reverse of that if that makes a difference. We haven't been notified of any issues, so I guess no news is good news!

[notamermaid]

The Danube gauging stations at Pfelling and Deggendorf (as well as two others) are on official low water status which does not sound good. It is the free-flowing stretch of the Danube prone to low water in Summer and Autumn. It is hot around there and rain is only forecast really for Friday at the moment. Deggendorf is at 185cm now. I wonder if any of you river cruisers have experienced any problems yet?

 

 

Viking River Cruises still have the notice on the cleared blockage on their website. See posts above. No mention of low river level yet.

 

 

On a river cruise along the Canal and the Danube in Germany, Bamberg and Nuremberg are of course drawing the crowds but if you love nature and would like to see something different why not try and get out to the region called Franconian Switzerland? It is East of Bamberg: https://www.dw.com/en/enchanting-franconian-switzerland/av-44440958

 

 

notamermaid

[mjmiller]

According to our Emerald staff, a stretch of the Danube is closed as of yesterday morning. We will be switching ships in the Regensburg area tomorrow.