Danube water levels 2019 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, MLA said:

On River Aria now. Having a great time. No, not deluxe but great service and nice people. We have been lucky with weather and no interruptions with low water levels. 

Thank you for reporting. Good to hear that you are having a great time on the River Aria. I remember, we discussed this: she is 125m long. I see you are just past Regensburg now, travelling Northbound. Either you managed just in time to get past Pfelling before the level dropped or those 10m less length paid off...

 

Have a great journey along that feat of engineering, the Main Danube Canal, and perhaps we will hear from you again soon on the Main or Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

[MLA]

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Thank you for reporting. Good to hear that you are having a great time on the River Aria. I remember, we discussed this: she is 125m long. I see you are just past Regensburg now, travelling Northbound. Either you managed just in time to get past Pfelling before the level dropped or those 10m less length paid off...

 

Have a great journey along that feat of engineering, the Main Danube Canal, and perhaps we will hear from you again soon on the Main or Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

Will post again with updates. Thanks for all your useful information 

[Katstress]

On Emerald Sun, just left Nuremberg, with a final destination of Budapest.  Not one mention of the river levels, and the very likely possibility of not completing our trip on the ship, as there are apparently no EmeraldWaterways ships to which we can swap.  Except for my Mother and I, knowing what we know, everyone else is blissfully ignorant. It will be interesting how this all plays out.  I’ve had fun and accept anything that comes our way, but I do wish they were more honest about what might happen. 

Will update on the next few days. I’ve appreciated the updates from others on this board. 

[notamermaid]

Hello Katstress,

Thank you for reporting from your cruise. Having left Nuremberg I reckon means you will do Regensburg tomorrow and sail past Straubing the night/early morning after?

 

Ignorance can sure be bliss. I hope nobody gets a "rude awakening" and all goes well. Some people can take mishaps better than others of course.

 

With the Emerald Sun being 135m long and the level at Pfelling having dropped to 273cm - with a slight downward trend for tomorrow - it sure must be tight.

 

I hope everyone is having a great time with good food, drinks and service.

 

Enjoy Regensburg and if you have time it would be great to hear from you again.

 

notamermaid

 

[DanL]

Made it to Bratislava from Budapest with no problems regarding low water. On Riviera William Wordsworth and it has 1.6 m draft. 

[scarlett95]

Reporting from the Viking Egil. We boarded yesterday in Nürnberg bound for Budapest. The program director prepared us for the possibility of a ship swap on Tuesday, but they are hoping it may rain enough tonight and Monday to avoid the ship swap. Does this seem possible notamermaid? We will see. Having a lovely time so far aboardship. I have read posts in this group for more than a year anticipating our sailing. It’s nice to be able to contribute a live report. 

[Katstress]

Hello Notamermaid,

 

I always smile when I see your name, as I am officially a mermaid. One day you should look up Weeki Watchee Springs in Florida, they have a Sirens of the Deep mermaid weekend, where they take ten women and teach you how to swim with a mermaid tail, and how to perform as a mermaid, well, perform might be a little of an exaggeration! It was still fun, and you end up with a certificate to “prove” you are officially a mermaid.  

Anyway, yes, we are in Regensburg today, and supposed to sail past Straubing later thonight.  Last night they finally announced that there might be a problem, but they have a plan, A, B, and C.  The cruise director also made a plea to not worry, and still have fun.  I will say, sadly, the complaining and second guessing started right after the announcement, which might be why they wait so long to announce.  

I plan to enjoy my day in Regensburg, and let what happens, happen!

 

Katstress

[egw1]

We are on the lower Danube in Bulgaria. The water is low and it has caused us to reroute to a different dock once but so far, so good. We end in Budapest in a few days. Last year, this trip was cancelled fully so we are very happy to be on board enjoying the trip. Since most posts are regarding the area past Budapest, I thought I’d share the other part of the route. 

[notamermaid]

Thanks everyone for reporting from your cruises. The situation in brief as of this morning. Pfelling gauge has dropped to 261cm. Figures should overall stagnate (a fluctuation during the day always happens) for the rest of the day and during the night. There is rain today in the catchment area of the upper German Danube but mostly along the Northern part. Tomorrow will see a slightly different pattern favouring the Southern part that could bring equal to possibly more amounts of rain. At the moment Tuesday is forecast to give more rain to the Alps and regions close to them which contribute water to some Southern tributaries of the German Danube.

 

notamermaid

 

[rjp50]

I just found this thread - very interesting, but also a bit worrisome.  We have a Christmas Market cruise set for December 12 from Nuremberg to Vienna.  I was wondering if typically water levels start to come back up as December approaches or if the low waters now will likely persist into December based on normal weather patterns.

[G.M.T.]

2 hours ago, rjp50 said:

I just found this thread - very interesting, but also a bit worrisome.  We have a Christmas Market cruise set for December 12 from Nuremberg to Vienna.  I was wondering if typically water levels start to come back up as December approaches or if the low waters now will likely persist into December based on normal weather patterns.

No one can predict what the Danube levels will be, in days gone by you copuld be confident that the river would be high or low at certain times of the year. But for the last 5 to 6 years these predictions have gone out of the window.

 

So with regards to your actual cruise, the following is the worst case you could expect. Nuremberg to Straubing no problems cruising, Straubing to Vilshofen if there is low Danube levels then it will be in this section around Pfelling (as is the current situation). Vilshofen to Vienna, there should be no problems with river levels.

 

If the levels are too low to allow navigation and your cruise company have boats on both sides of the shallows, then there could be boat swap Regensburg/Straubing to Vilshofen/Passau which would take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

 

There are some lively Christmas Markets along this stretch of the Danube.

 

https://www.vilshofen.de/index.php/events/schwimmender-christkindlmarkt

 

http://passauer-christkindlmarkt.de/en/

 

Don't worry - be cruising.

[notamermaid]

A brief look at the situation at Pfelling. At 10:45am the gauge was at 267cm. No real change is shown in the forecast but tomorrow a rise to 280cm is possible. With rain coming there is potential for more the day after. It is a little early to say more.

 

It is getting colder and frost could happen at night this week.

 

notamermaid

 

[prekteacher1]

10 hours ago, notamermaid said:

A brief look at the situation at Pfelling. At 10:45am the gauge was at 267cm. No real change is shown in the forecast but tomorrow a rise to 280cm is possible. With rain coming there is potential for more the day after. It is a little early to say more.

 

It is getting colder and frost could happen at night this week.

 

notamermaid

 

Wonder if the levels rise to 280 if Enerald Star can get to Nuremberg  by Sunday?

[scarlett95]

The Egil is docked at Straubing and we are bussing to Passau for today’s tours. The Tor is also here and I could see their luggage being collected for the ship swap. Guess they are swapping today. We are told we are likely swapping tomorrow, but our captain is holding out hope the situation may improve today and we will be allowed to continue rather than swap with the Gullvieg. I would love to know why they are swapping today but we aren’t swapping until tomorrow. Notamermaid, any prediction for the level today? 

[scarlett95]

As I am sitting here on the bus to Passau, our program director just raced down here to tell us the Egil will meet us in Passau and there will be no ship swap! Is Pfelling before or after Passau? Maybe they are thinking they won’t scrape bottom as bad since all the people are off loaded to buses? Anyway the program director indicated that he fought for us to continue and I saw the Tor swapping today so I am very grateful! 

[Katstress]

Reporting from Emerald Sun. We moored at Straubing on Monday, bussed to Passau for our tours, and bussed back. Last night, to a rousing cheer, they reported we were going to continue on to Vienna (skipping Melk due to timing issues).  Latest report was 278 at Pfelling, which apparently is enough water for passage, with some slight scraping heard as we passed over rocks.  They emptied the pool and informed us that Emerald ships only have 1.7 meters below the waterline, compared 2 meters on Viking. A small jab to the competition! 

 

So a day of relaxed sailing, with very happy passengers. 

[Katstress]

13 minutes ago, scarlett95 said:

As I am sitting here on the bus to Passau, our program director just raced down here to tell us the Egil will meet us in Passau and there will be no ship swap! Is Pfelling before or after Passau? Maybe they are thinking they won’t scrape bottom as bad since all the people are off loaded to buses? Anyway the program director indicated that he fought for us to continue and I saw the Tor swapping today so I am very grateful! 

Hello! And congratulations on no ship swap! Pfelling is before Passau, so if your ship is sailing from Straubing to Passau, that is good news and you will no longer have to worry about Pfelling and possible low water. 

I am on the Emerald Sun and will look for your ship on the river! 

Edited October 29, 2019 by Katstress
Spelling error

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, scarlett95 said:

The Egil is docked at Straubing and we are bussing to Passau for today’s tours. The Tor is also here and I could see their luggage being collected for the ship swap. Guess they are swapping today. We are told we are likely swapping tomorrow, but our captain is holding out hope the situation may improve today and we will be allowed to continue rather than swap with the Gullvieg. I would love to know why they are swapping today but we aren’t swapping until tomorrow. Notamermaid, any prediction for the level today? 

There was a lot of rain along and around the Danube yesterday. Pfelling has risen 20 cm overnight to 283 cm. The Danube should be navigable for the next couple of days.

Enjoy Passau.

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, scarlett95 said:

As I am sitting here on the bus to Passau, our program director just raced down here to tell us the Egil will meet us in Passau and there will be no ship swap! Is Pfelling before or after Passau? Maybe they are thinking they won’t scrape bottom as bad since all the people are off loaded to buses? Anyway the program director indicated that he fought for us to continue and I saw the Tor swapping today so I am very grateful! 

Pfelling is bewteen Straubing and Passau, where the shallows lurk.

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, scarlett95 said:

The Egil is docked at Straubing and we are bussing to Passau for today’s tour. The Tor is also here and I could see their luggage being collected for the ship swap. Guess they are swapping today. We are told we are likely swapping tomorrow, but our captain is holding out hope the situation may improve today and we will be allowed to continue rather than swap with the Gullvieg. I would love to know why they are swapping today but we aren’t swapping until tomorrow. Notamermaid, any prediction for the level today? 

 

1 hour ago, scarlett95 said:

As I am sitting here on the bus to Passau, our program director just raced down here to tell us the Egil will meet us in Passau and there will be no ship swap! Is Pfelling before or after Passau? Maybe they are thinking they won’t scrape bottom as bad since all the people are off loaded to buses? Anyway the program director indicated that he fought for us to continue and I saw the Tor swapping today so I am very grateful! 

 

Good morning to you and the other happy Danube cruisers! Good morning also to the unlucky ones, swapping ships. Having risen late I have been unaware of the drama for you this morning. A stressful hither and thither for all. Quite literally last minute decisions due to captains of ships having to check the river level at Pfelling almost hourly.

 

As G.M.T. has kindly already explained the geography I will just add what has happened as regards the weather. The rain that was due fell in the right amounts (and possibly a bit more than was expected) in the right areas and the section past Straubing reacted well with Pfelling rising from yesterday evening, some hours earlier than was forecast. This put the gauge at 282cm at 7am this morning. It is staying put for now with a rise to over 290cm indicated for tomorrow.

 

A note on draft: while having the passengers off the ship only reduces the draft minimally (two centimetres I believe, you could ask onboard), emptying the pool and reducing the level in the drinking water tanks gives more extra centimetres. A combination of both could well make the decision for being able to sail or not in conditions how they are today!

 

Enjoy Passau, scarlett95, and I think a big cheer for your captain is in order when you return to the ship.

 

notamermaid

 

[Barmarfl]

We are scheduled to travel from Nuremberg to Budapest on Viking Tor on November 2 2019 does anyone know what the projected water levels may be to avoid any ship swaps, any info appreciated!!

[notamermaid]

20 minutes ago, Barmarfl said:

We are scheduled to travel from Nuremberg to Budapest on Viking Tor on November 2 2019 does anyone know what the projected water levels may be to avoid any ship swaps, any info appreciated!!

Currently the problem is between Straubing and Vilshofen - where it usually is when there is problem on your itinerary route - and I recommend reading the last ten posts or so for some background info. The water level at Pfelling is the best to indicate the situation. It has been said by the authorities that river cruise ships get problems at a level there of 290cm. This translates into a navigation channel depth of 200cm.

 

A forecast for the level at Pfelling is by nature of the river only possible 36 hours in advance, figures further into the future are predictions with an error margin of many centimetres rendering at this point in time any comment for your cruise, which is four days out, useless. Sorry. The current weather forecast is also not conclusive enough, i.e. it will not be dry, but there will also be no continuous rain for four days.

 

You can check levels at: https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.html

You will find Pfelling by moving the mouse over one of the dots Northnortheast of Munich.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A look at Pfelling gauge this morning reveals that it is at 282cm with the forecast having been adjusted. The 290cm indicated yesterday are out of today's forecast but are back in for tomorrow with the trend showing upwards, a 300 appears for late tomorrow, but please take that with a pinch of salt.

 

The weather: cold, in parts frosty, nights with temperatures hardly rising above 10 degrees Celsius during the day. Milder on Saturday and Sunday. Rain today mostly South of the German Danube, over the Alps and stretching into Austria. Tomorrow virtually no rain for the catchment area of the German Danube. Friday rain mostly over the young Danube in Baden-Württemberg but moving into Bavaria a little as well.

 

notamermaid

 

[scarlett95]

We just heard we may be bussing between Vienna and Budapest. Any updates on this region?

[prekteacher1]

1 hour ago, scarlett95 said:

We just heard we may be bussing between Vienna and Budapest. Any updates on this region?

We are on Emerald Star and are docked in Vienna. We left Budapest on Monday and had no problems. On to Melk tomorrow.