Rhine water levels 2022 and similar topics

[Canal archive]

Fingers crossed and looking forward to the next lesson!

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, bluestocking7 said:

We board MS Inspire tomorrow in Basel.  Wish us luck!

 

The Inspire- really nice. Good luck and have a splendid time.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I was going to guess the Amazon, just to show off my stereotypical American lack of geographical knowledge!  [Except that I am of a generation that was actually taught geography, paid attention, and have since travelled much of the world 😉]

[Canal archive]

But Jazz you have a passport!

[wellerjohn]

Just boarded the Pearl in Amsterdam for a Rhine highlights to Basel. Was to be on the Jade originally, was just informed will will not be sailing the Rhine but rather touring in the Netherlands! 

[notamermaid]

43 minutes ago, wellerjohn said:

was just informed will will not be sailing the Rhine but rather touring in the Netherlands! 

What?? Has the Pearl developed a draft of 2.20m? Sorry, but I do not understand this. No problem getting at least to Xanten right now.

 

But the Waal and Nederrijn  (which are the Rhine waters anyway) are interesting as well and the Dutch have some good ports to explore. Hope you have a great time with good food and lovely fellow passengers.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

At Kaub we had a temporary reaction to rain it seems. The level has fallen again to 70cm and the little peak is going past Bonn and Cologne during today. I say that ships can sail in the Lower Rhine valley but it is getting tighter between Koblenz and Cologne.

 

With limited time I will need to come back to this another day.

 

We need water from Lake Constance and the Aare in Switzerland!

 

notamermaid

 

[loriva]

1 hour ago, wellerjohn said:

Just boarded the Pearl in Amsterdam for a Rhine highlights to Basel. Was to be on the Jade originally, was just informed will will not be sailing the Rhine but rather touring in the Netherlands! 

 

Could you clarify, please?

 

Did Scenic substitute the Pearl for the Jade for your Rhine cruise?  And they are putting the Jade on a Netherlands' itinerary?  Or are you on the Pearl for a Netherlands' cruise instead of the Rhine?

 

Many thanks.

[notamermaid]

I am a bit harsh with Scenic I know. Depending on the logistical problems the Jade and Pearl may face in the Middle Rhine valley it makes sense for the company to send one or both ships on the a Tulip Time style cruise for sure. There they know how to operate a cruise without major hiccups. Still, it would be nice to see a company try Germany. There are several ports beyond Cologne: Zons as an alternative to a Cologne docking location, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Xanten, Wesel. It is possible, Viking has established a lower Rhine itinerary that includes Wesel. But if you have not explored the ports (docks) and the towns before getting such an alternative itinerary together may not be possible at short notice.

 

For info: in 2018, when the river was low Crystal cruises went for a different option. Rather than cancelling the cruise, shortening it or rerouting through the Netherlands, they rerouted onto the Moselle at Koblenz. Granted, if several companies did that, the Moselle would not be able to handle it, i.e. the logistics at some of the ports are difficult if the frequency of ships goes up a lot.

 

@loriva as I say it  sounds to me like a typical Spring cruise itinerary but it would be good to hear more. Hopefully, wellerjohn has a couple of spare minutes that they are happy to share with us.

 

Rain forecast for Friday.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by notamermaid

[Odoh]

Were you offered a refund? Ie if there was a complete itinerary change I assume you were given the option not to board?

 

[3Shelaghs]

Enjoy your vacation, whether it be water or land. Report back on all your findings etc 🙂 

 

[gentlemancruiser]

22 hours ago, notamermaid said:

I am afraid it is not. A clue: the river has its source in Switzerland.

 

notamermaid

 

I was going to guess Rhone!!!

Edited July 27, 2022 by gentlemancruiser
missed information

[gentlemancruiser]

the upper Rhine north of Dusseldorf can be very industrial at many points.

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, gentlemancruiser said:

Rhone!!!

Thanks for joining. Sorry, it is the Aare. You probably did not see my post late last night. The funny thing about the Aare is that she was once the proto-Rhone* and had also been the proto-Danube before becoming the proto-Rhine and then being shifted to position of largest tributary. I mean literally shifted about millions and then several thousand years ago by the changing geology of the region.

 

*not sure if the English prefix is proto- here, we use the prefix Ur-

 

Most of Switzerland drains into the Rhine basin and the Aare plays a large part:

 

You can see the Rhine and Lake Constance to the right and the mouth of the Aare to the East of Basel. So you can imagine that rain falling over both those areas is good for both raising the level of the Rhine directly and giving it a bit of "sustainability" as it fills the natural reservoir.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[CPT Trips]

8 hours ago, notamermaid said:

There are several ports beyond Cologne: Zons as an alternative to a Cologne docking location, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Xanten, Wesel. It is possible, Viking has established a lower Rhine itinerary that includes Wesel

 

3 hours ago, gentlemancruiser said:

the upper Rhine north of Dusseldorf can be very industrial at many points

OK, color me confused.  I think you two are referring to the same stretch of the river yet using conflicting terms.

It is the lower Rhein, correct?

[notamermaid]

41 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

It is the lower Rhein, correct?

Yes, the Lower Rhine is a very mixed area and quite long as well. Bonn to the border with the Netherlands. Everything from reconstructed Roman settlement and Medieval town walls to Baroque town hall and 20th century huge oil refinery. However, the Lower Rhine region is usually more seen as what lies downstream from Düsseldorf. Or it can be more seen as the Lowlands close to the Dutch border. Hence the fact that I included Zons although it is close to Cologne as I meant the first way of seeing it. What you can saw for all "definitions" is that the countryside is kind of flat, meaning you leave the castles perched high on hills behind you. Wasserburgen with or without the moat still around them abound in the area.

 

Just to clarify: upstream from Düsseldorf is Cologne, downstream from Düsseldorf is Xanten for example, very interesting place. Downstream from Düsseldorf is the main industrial complex around Duisburg and its massive harbour.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by notamermaid

[bluestocking7]

We boarded MS Inspire yesterday afternoon and remain moored in Basel.  (Today's excursion is a gondola ride/cog railway ride up and down Mt. Pilatus.) No word on any itinerary changes - maybe they are hoping Friday's rain will help things out.  

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

We boarded the Imagery II in Amsterdam today leaving tomorrow for Basel. No word of any itinerary or ship changes.   

[Daisi]

Hearing from travellers who left Amsterdam (probably last week, I think they are home now?) who couldn't get past Koblenz. For the one continuing on to Basel, Avalon had them pack their bags, bussed them to Heidelberg, which was the next excursion, put them on a day cruise so they could see the middle Rhine, then bussed them to Keil where their new ship was waiting. There was also a monetary compensation.  I hope it rains, but you will need a lot from pictures I'm seeing, which won't make your cruise that nice, so at least you know Avalon is doing it's best with the situation. Good luck!

[fairydustca]

3 hours ago, Daisi said:

Hearing from travellers who left Amsterdam (probably last week, I think they are home now?) who couldn't get past Koblenz. For the one continuing on to Basel, Avalon had them pack their bags, bussed them to Heidelberg, which was the next excursion, put them on a day cruise so they could see the middle Rhine, then bussed them to Keil where their new ship was waiting. There was also a monetary compensation.  I hope it rains, but you will need a lot from pictures I'm seeing, which won't make your cruise that nice, so at least you know Avalon is doing it's best with the situation. Good luck!

Daisi, do you know which cruise line they were sailing on?

[RDVIK2016]

7 hours ago, Daisi said:

Hearing from travellers who left Amsterdam (probably last week, I think they are home now?) who couldn't get past Koblenz. For the one continuing on to Basel, Avalon had them pack their bags, bussed them to Heidelberg, which was the next excursion, put them on a day cruise so they could see the middle Rhine, then bussed them to Keil where their new ship was waiting. There was also a monetary compensation.  I hope it rains, but you will need a lot from pictures I'm seeing, which won't make your cruise that nice, so at least you know Avalon is doing it's best with the situation. Good luck!

"...bussed them to Keil ... "    Were they on a river cruise and were bused to Köln (Cologne) or some sort of combined river/sea cruise and were bused to Kiel up near Denmark on the Baltic Sea?

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

15 hours ago, Daisi said:

Hearing from travellers who left Amsterdam (probably last week, I think they are home now?) who couldn't get past Koblenz. For the one continuing on to Basel, Avalon had them pack their bags, bussed them to Heidelberg, which was the next excursion, put them on a day cruise so they could see the middle Rhine, then bussed them to Keil where their new ship was waiting. There was also a monetary compensation.  I hope it rains, but you will need a lot from pictures I'm seeing, which won't make your cruise that nice, so at least you know Avalon is doing it's best with the situation. Good luck!

Thanks for your less than optimistic outlook. 🤪 So far nothing has been said about changing ships. I would have thought that Avalon would have done so by now if that was the case. We will see. 

[Daisi]

15 hours ago, fairydustca said:

Daisi, do you know which cruise line they were sailing on?

 

They were sailing on Avalon.

 

10 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

"...bussed them to Keil ... "    Were they on a river cruise and were bused to Köln (Cologne) or some sort of combined river/sea cruise and were bused to Kiel up near Denmark on the Baltic Sea?

 

They may have gotten the town wrong...probably Speyer, since it has a docking facility. 

 

2 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

Thanks for your less than optimistic outlook. 🤪 So far nothing has been said about changing ships. I would have thought that Avalon would have done so by now if that was the case. We will see. 

 

They won't usually say anything unless it's positive that they have to do it. I don't know how much rain would be needed to bring the river up high enough to sail through, but at least you know they will look out for you.

[grandmailu]

Are people having difficulty with air travel to  their cruise launch destination? Notamermaid, it appears that the Viking Einar has been stuck at Breisach for a couple days. Am I reading the vessel status site correctly? Thanks!

[bluestocking7]

We made it on MS Inspire as far as Ludwigshafen today.  I asked one of the crew if he thought we would be able to sail the Rhine Gorge and he said he thought so, tho the water levels are low.  We shall see.  

 

Great food and service on this Swiss ship. Lots of fun activities for kids (this is a family cruise).