Danube water levels 2023 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[Izengolf]

You are on the Scenic Opal and this is their 6* luxury treatment when a cruise cannot continue? Did they at least give credits towards a future cruise to compensate for the time you are missing?

 

Thank you MrsJetson28, it is good to have this knowledge. Many of the comparable lines end up being around the same price apples to apples so customer service is the difference!

 

12 minutes ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Yes, asked to leave the ship today, a week early. And no assistance with flights, hotels, etc. Simply kicked out. Feel worse for the crew, who thought they had 3 more weeks of pay. Not handled by the company in any decent way.

 

[mrsjetson28]

Nope. Offered a letter to submit to travel insurance. 

[Izengolf]

6 minutes ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Nope. Offered a letter to submit to travel insurance. 

I'm terribly sorry to hear that on top of your disappointment about the cruise being unable to finish as planned. 

[iticlaudia]

On Riverside Mozart.  We were to depart Passau on Monday at 11:00pm.  While at the hotel I received a call from the ship requesting we board early.  We departed Passau at 2:30pm leaving some behind that then caught up to us further down the river.  Docked in Linz late Monday night and now waiting to hear what the next move it.  A couple new excursions added to the schedule here in Linz.   The crew has been amazing!  It's mother nature and all we can do is go with the flow.  

[Smokey31]

6 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Yes, asked to leave the ship today, a week early. And no assistance with flights, hotels, etc. Simply kicked out. Feel worse for the crew, who thought they had 3 more weeks of pay. Not handled by the company in any decent way.

Something doesn't seem right here. The contract states they have to finish your cruise whichever way they can. Why haven't they brought in the buses? 

Where is your cruise from and to?

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

The railroad bridges at Deggendorf and Bogen are even more problematic than the Luitpoldbrücke at Passau are they not?

Ah, interesting, I saw those mentioned in a list online. They are at least similar but as I understand it the particular structure of the bridge at Passau is more unfavourable. But I need to leave the details to captains to decide which is worse. It is calculated as "maximum clearance under bridge at highest possible river level allowed for sailing". I will get back to that with a bit more time.

 

notamermaid

 

[mrsjetson28]

Budapest to Amsterdam. Have no idea about the buses. Crew said there was an empty sister ship upriver we could all go to but company hadn't prepared it, even though the water levels had been predicted. Maybe cheaper just to dump us all out in Passau. Certainly not customer friendly.

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, twototravel said:

We are in the Monarch Queen. Still cruising but making adjustments in ports. Left Nuremburg last night and now heading to Bamberg. We will disembark for touring and ship will continue and pick us up in Hassfurt. Next stop will then be Schweinfurt, which was a last minute addition. Not sure what will happen next. Wurtzburg then Frankfurt would be our final to ports.

It sounds as if you may be lucky here, the Main is not affected as much by the flooding. It is high though, so an obstacle may be the low bridges.

 

Hope you enjoy the ports on the Main, they are delightful places of pleasant size (no huge capitals).

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Yes, asked to leave the ship today, a week early. And no assistance with flights, hotels, etc. Simply kicked out. Feel worse for the crew, who thought they had 3 more weeks of pay. Not handled by the company in any decent way.

What?? That is astounding. Sorry to read that.

 

notamermaid

 

[CastleCritic]

7 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Yes, asked to leave the ship today, a week early. And no assistance with flights, hotels, etc. Simply kicked out. Feel worse for the crew, who thought they had 3 more weeks of pay. Not handled by the company in any decent way.

"you dont have to go home but you cant stay here" on a cruise ship?

 

that doesnt seem right, especially the cruise company just calling the ships season then and there.  That sounds like a "something else is going on"

[RDVIK2016]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Ah, interesting, I saw those mentioned in a list online. They are at least similar but as I understand it the particular structure of the bridge at Passau is more unfavourable. But I need to leave the details to captains to decide which is worse. It is calculated as "maximum clearance under bridge at highest possible river level allowed for sailing". I will get back to that with a bit more time.

 

notamermaid

 

I brought the subject up so I felt bound to look a little more into it. I was looking at an old (2006) list of the bridges on the Danube. It seems that the rail bridge at Deggendorf has been replaced with a new bridge that has an HSW of 8 meters as opposed the the 4.4m of the old bridge. The railroad bridge at Bogen was shown on the old list as 4.6m, but Wikipedia says it is 5m, still slightly lower that the Luitpoldbrücke at 5.15m. However, I would not be surprised it the conditions at Passau are more problematic due to currents so close to the confluence of the three rivers. I believe I have seen somewhere that the Inn carries so much water during thaws that some of that huge volume forces water upstream into the Donau which could affect the clearance under the bridge. You have far better resources than any of us who look to you for information and tips, so sometime you may be able to confirm this.

RDVIK

[steamboats]

A friend of mine is onboard AMASonata and they are stuck in Straubing (which is still on level 3). They are now being bussed to Vienna. Vilshofen, Deggendorf and Passau are on level 4 - all are still rising.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Thanks, steamboats. To put it in colours:

 

It will take a few days till all that water has passed through Passau.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

I brought the subject up so I felt bound to look a little more into it. I was looking at an old (2006) list of the bridges on the Danube. It seems that the rail bridge at Deggendorf has been replaced with a new bridge that has an HSW of 8 meters as opposed the the 4.4m of the old bridge. The railroad bridge at Bogen was shown on the old list as 4.6m, but Wikipedia says it is 5m, still slightly lower that the Luitpoldbrücke at 5.15m. However, I would not be surprised it the conditions at Passau are more problematic due to currents so close to the confluence of the three rivers. I believe I have seen somewhere that the Inn carries so much water during thaws that some of that huge volume forces water upstream into the Donau which could affect the clearance under the bridge. You have far better resources than any of us who look to you for information and tips, so sometime you may be able to confirm this.

RDVIK

I saw the bridges on the more recent list:

https://www.viadonau.org/fileadmin/content/viadonau/05Wirtschaft/Dokumente/2023/20230921_Donaubrücken_int..pdf

You can see that the clearance is related to the HSW, the highest level at which traffic is allowed. So depending on water level, one bridge may be trickier than the other or both are similar or are identical with their problems for traffic. I hope the list makes it clearer.

 

The Inn at Passau carries less water than the Danube but when there is flooding the volume of the Inn is higher than that of the Danube which may lead to the condition of the Inn pushing up the Danube.

 

notamermaid

 

[Rebel54]

16 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Yes, asked to leave the ship today, a week early. And no assistance with flights, hotels, etc. Simply kicked out. Feel worse for the crew, who thought they had 3 more weeks of pay. Not handled by the company in any decent way.

Just put out on the pier and told to figure it out?  Seriously?  What company were you with?  Want to make sure I never sail with them.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Rebel54

[Stickman1990]

16 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Nope. Offered a letter to submit to travel insurance. 

Interesting - have you had any update on their position as we have friends on board who have told us that Scenic has offered a refund for half the trip plus any added expenses

[RDVIK2016]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

I saw the bridges on the more recent list:

https://www.viadonau.org/fileadmin/content/viadonau/05Wirtschaft/Dokumente/2023/20230921_Donaubrücken_int..pdf

You can see that the clearance is related to the HSW, the highest level at which traffic is allowed. So depending on water level, one bridge may be trickier than the other or both are similar or are identical with their problems for traffic. I hope the list makes it clearer.

 

The Inn at Passau carries less water than the Danube but when there is flooding the volume of the Inn is higher than that of the Danube which may lead to the condition of the Inn pushing up the Danube.

 

notamermaid

 

notamermaid

For someone like me who likes maps and lots of detail the Streckenatlas for the navigable German Danube is fun to study and it confirms the chart at the link you shared.   https://www.gdws.wsv.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Karten/Streckenatlas/Streckenatlas_Donau.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5

 

RDVIK

Edited December 14, 2023 by RDVIK2016

[mrsjetson28]

Scenic Cruises.

 

Received letter that "unused days" would be refunded. Told at least 90 days to receive check. No mention of refund for other expenses. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

Interesting - have you had any update on their position as we have friends on board who have told us that Scenic has offered a refund for half the trip plus any added expenses

Can you get more detail from your friends?  This sounds much more like the Scenic I know.

[Canal archive]

I agree with you Jazz I’m keeping a very close eye on this one, something definitely sounds off but will sit back and await the outcome.

[FlossieC]

56 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

I agree with you Jazz I’m keeping a very close eye on this one, something definitely sounds off but will sit back and await the outcome.

We are supposed to be sailing on Opal for Christmas/New Year 20th December. Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

Would very much like to know what is going on please.

[notamermaid]

41 minutes ago, FlossieC said:

We are supposed to be sailing on Opal for Christmas/New Year 20th December. Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

Would very much like to know what is going on please.

Tricky. The Scenic Opal is stuck in Passau so that will be tight for picking you up in Amsterdam. Would you like to reach out to Scenic about this now?

 

notamermaid

 

[FlossieC]

55 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Tricky. The Scenic Opal is stuck in Passau so that will be tight for picking you up in Amsterdam. Would you like to reach out to Scenic about this now?

 

notamermaid

 

 

Just had an email to say we will be on the Jasper in Amsterdam but no further info

[ural guy]

4 hours ago, mrsjetson28 said:

Scenic Cruises.

 

Received letter that "unused days" would be refunded. Told at least 90 days to receive check. No mention of refund for other expenses. 

So sorry to hear this.  I've been reading these boards since 2014.  I can't remember a cruise ending and passengers being told to figure it out.  Not a good look.

[Canal archive]

FlossieC wow nearly a neighbour in North American terms, Dorchester & near Bath, sounds like Scenic are getting their ducks in a row hopefully. Have a great winter cruise report back I’ve never done one myself so I will be interested.