Danube water levels 2022 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[notamermaid]

It is October and time to have a look at how the Danube at Pfelling did in September:

The month started with really low water, too low for the large river cruise ships. Rainy weather and cooler temperatures set in during the second week which resulted in the necessary rise to bring the river level back to figures that allowed all river cruise ships to sail again. Still keeping close to the RNW line of 290cm it could have been tight easily for sailing but on 16 September rain further upstream all over the basin brought the river up to more comfortable levels. We see the level ebb and fall with every large amount of rainfall into October and the slightly erratic nature is likely to continue. We are now in a dry spell.

 

notamermaid

 

[BigBendHiker]

This has been great information. 

My Oct 17 cruise to Budapest had the ships swapped (now Avalon Visionary instead of Impression) and docking moved from Deggendorf to Vilshofen. Water levels?

[notamermaid]

The level at Pfelling has fallen to now 307cm (daily fluctuation ignored). It looks to be keeping steadily above 300cm still. Hopefully this will continue. The weather is a bit cool, but standard for autumn. There is rain over Germany, more along the Rhine than the Danube. This may change during the night. Pfelling gauge is forecast to go up again tomorrow evening.

 

1 hour ago, BigBendHiker said:

docking moved from Deggendorf to Vilshofen. Water levels?

Normally not. The level is still high enough. But Avalonwaterways may anticipate something that I cannot know about. Or it is logistical. Deggendorf and Vilshofen are relatively close so moving the embarkation may save time sailing.

 

I am sure they are happy to tell you on board why they made the decision.

 

Have a great time.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited October 14, 2022 by notamermaid
added info

[notamermaid]

On 10/14/2022 at 8:07 PM, notamermaid said:

Pfelling gauge is forecast to go up again tomorrow evening.

This has turned out to be correct (give or take an hour) and after a steady two days a little above 300cm, the level is rising again and has now reached 357cm. Looks good, seeing that there is little rain now to make the river rise for much longer at a fast pace. It should keep below 400cm according to the forecast. Tuesday will see more rain. How that works out we will need to wait and see. There is the bridge at Passau but the level has not reached 500cm there yet so plenty of room for a higher volume of water to pass under it.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Notamermaid I find it absolutely fascinating that there is so much detailed information about the great rivers of Europe to understand it is a work of art in itself. So very grateful for your input, wonderful!

[Eofor]

Not sure anyone is still following the thread with the same intensity since the recent rains but in gratitude for the information I received in the lead up to this trip I will contribute. 

 

Boarded the Scenic pearl in Budapest today and spoke with a couple who had just travelled up from Bucharest with zero issues. 

 

Will report on our own progress and any issues over our 8 days on the same route. 

[notamermaid]

Just now, Eofor said:

Will report on our own progress and any issues over our 8 days on the same route. 

Thank you. Please do if you find the time. We hear little from beyond Budapest. I expected the situation to be fine but it is good to be reassured by people actually on the that route now. Also, I am sure people will appreciate it if you share any tips from that part of the river.

 

I hope you have a great time sailing in the autumn scenery on the Danube.

 

notamermaid

 

[trtog7]

Heading to Belgrade tomorrow on Amaverde. Been on the boat since Vishofen. No problems at all.

[notamermaid]

Quick update. Before we could seriously think about low water in Bavaria again, Pfelling gauge started rising. The river stayed just above 300cm with a couple of drops below that figure. The level now is 326cm and set to rise further, likely reaching 350cm during tomorrow.

 

notamermaid

 

[JAG64]

6 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Quick update. Before we could seriously think about low water in Bavaria again, Pfelling gauge started rising. The river stayed just above 300cm with a couple of drops below that figure. The level now is 326cm and set to rise further, likely reaching 350cm during tomorrow.

 

notamermaid

 

So far so good for our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise on 16 November. Thanks for all the great updates!

 

[Eofor]

An update on the southern Danube. Had the opportunity to speak with the Captain yesterday who told me that there are very few problems that arise with passage even with lower river levels. 

 

Issues can however arise with access to some moorings. In Svitshtov the levels there were too low to leave the river channel proper and dock. In that instance it was only to disembark passengers to an excursion which they did at the next stop. 

 

Likewise with our last stop of Silistra. Our cruise director was just informed that low water levels there make docking impossible and so the ship will remain in Rousse another day with excursions leaving from here. 

 

All excursions are still to take place but for some the bus rides have extended by up to three hours which is substantial. Not being critical, merely illustrating the fixes they have put in place. 

[notamermaid]

On 10/24/2022 at 8:30 PM, Eofor said:

An update on the southern Danube. Had the opportunity to speak with the Captain yesterday who told me that there are very few problems that arise with passage even with lower river levels. 

Thank you for the info.

 

Much further upstream in Germany things are looking good as well. There had been substantial amounts of rain which brought the level at Pfelling briefly over 400cm. It is on a downward trend but still at 342cm. Really good. With the dry warm weather right now the level will fall further but within the next three days it does not look like a problem and should stay well over 300cm. There is no official forecast which takes us beyond 30 October.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Time to have a look at what Pfelling is doing. In these dry conditions the river levels have fallen and the gauge shows only 301cm. A problem? Not sure. The river being a bit more unpredictable than the Rhine it is difficult to judge but we may see the level drop to a critical level for the largest of river cruise ships before rain comes. It is forecast to rain on Friday all over Germany in varying amounts. The level forecast suggests 293cm at Pfelling tomorrow evening, which makes Friday a day that could see the level drop to 290cm and potentially below.

 

I think we need to keep an eye on this.

 

notamermaid

 

[Nosdrachir]

I have just returned from a Danube cruise, and can confirm we had no issues at all on our sailing from Budapest to Regensburg (we embarked the 25th October). Glad to see after what was a summer of problems!

[notamermaid]

@Nosdrachir Thanks for saying hello and the info about your cruise. I hope you had a great time.

 

Short update. Pfelling gauge is at 298cm and is most likely - if the forecast turns out to be correct - going to stay between 300cm and 295cm Friday and into Saturday. Hopefully the rain that is forecast will keep the level steady on Saturday and into Sunday.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

So far, the forecast is correct. Pfelling gauge really steady, currently at 301cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge is at 295cm, running a bit below the figures forecast. For tomorrow a slight uptick is anticipated, so 305cm could happen.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Clearly, rain that had been forecast did not arrive in enough quantities in the Danube basin so the computer modelling got it wrong. I was a bit skeptical about the figures for today so yesterday only gave the low of 305cm, rather than the more positive high. Even the low was too high. The adjusted forecast now sees the river taking a turn for the worse. At Pfelling it is currently at 297cm and could well reach 290cm. Which is a little worrying for tomorrow. No rain of note in the Danube valley in Germany before Wednesday.

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Clearly, rain that had been forecast did not arrive in enough quantities in the Danube basin so the computer modelling got it wrong. I was a bit skeptical about the figures for today so yesterday only gave the low of 305cm, rather than the more positive high. Even the low was too high. The adjusted forecast now sees the river taking a turn for the worse. At Pfelling it is currently at 297cm and could well reach 290cm. Which is a little worrying for tomorrow. No rain of note in the Danube valley in Germany before Wednesday.

 

notamermaid

 

Well, I thought this time might sail through the whole 14 days, I'm keeping fingers crossed.  Our ship leaves Amsterdam on the 8th, so hopefully around the 15th things change for better, if not ship swap!  On Viking.

 

[notamermaid]

13 minutes ago, rcaruso said:

Well, I thought this time might sail through the whole 14 days

Oh dear, would be very annoying if you could not. The Rhine should be fine I think but Pfelling is more tricky. I thought we had got through the problems but with little to no rain falling I was proven wrong. Still, all ships may just be able to get through. We will find out tomorrow evening I guess.

 

Weather forecast for Regensburg for the next four days:

 

 

Have a great trip. Are you going to Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

 

notamermaid

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by notamermaid

[rcaruso]

8 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Oh dear, would be very annoying if you could not. The Rhine should be fine I think but Pfelling is more tricky. I thought we had got through the problems but with little to no rain falling I was proven wrong. Still, all ships may just be able to get through. We will find out tomorrow evening I guess.

 

Weather forecast for Regensburg for the next four days:

 

 

Have a great trip. Are you going to Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

 

notamermaid

 

No am not going to Rothenburg, been there, done that.  We are taking this cruise purely for relaxation as been to all these places before, and do not want to be on a lot of buses with sick folks.  I have just recovered from a walking pneumonia, I got late September after a visit to Disneyworld.

 

I do like Rotenburg, we did stay 2 nights several years ago and a great place after the tourists are gone, the nightwatchman tour is great.  I don't recommend the Schneeballen as if you don't eat while fresh, they taste pretty stale, like eating strips of old pie dough.  But for first timers, they should get one.

[notamermaid]

11 minutes ago, rcaruso said:

I don't recommend the Schneeballen as if you don't eat while fresh, they taste pretty stale, like eating strips of old pie dough.  But for first timers, they should get one.

I agree. Only eat really fresh. A bit too heavy for my liking.

 

Hope the cruise does your health a lot of good. Just sailing and wandering around places without feeling the need to join in with excursions sounds great.

 

notamermaid

 

[rcaruso]

17 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

I agree. Only eat really fresh. A bit too heavy for my liking.

 

Hope the cruise does your health a lot of good. Just sailing and wandering around places without feeling the need to join in with excursions sounds great.

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks! Will try and report on the Grand European 2022 Roll Call.

 

[notamermaid]

On 10/1/2022 at 2:45 PM, nanacallie said:

We left the River Voyager last Sunday.  The trip was flawless.  It is a great riverboat with a wonderful crew. We couldn't have asked for anything more other than a little more sunshine.

The photos of the River Voyager look really nice, I like the jazz theme. I have had a look round the internet including exploring the interior for a specific reason: photos on "Binnenschifferforum" show that the River Voyager is in the ÖSWAG (shipyard) in Linz and the name is being painted over or redone. She is no longer mentioned on the Vantage website.

On 9/29/2022 at 11:23 PM, POD49 said:

We are currently on the River Voyager with Gate1

So the River Voyager is now the Monarch Queen it seems:

https://www.gate1travel.com/cruises/ships/monarch-queen-river-voyager

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

It has not been a good day for the river in Bavaria. Pfelling gauge went right down, hitting 286cm at lunchtime. It is now back up to 289cm.

 

In the absence of rain this does not bode well for tomorrow. Although the river has recovered during the day a little and is above the anticipated level for tonight, we may see the level go down further tomorrow than it did during today. Hopefully in this case the forecast continues to be a little wrong and Pfelling will be higher than the computer thinks which is 274cm at lunchtime tomorrow.

 

notamermaid