Danube water levels 2024 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[NCvol24]

11 minutes ago, goksucats said:

Just back it up a week and join us on June 19th!  Of course the flights will have to be changed, etc.  Right now my biggest concern is trying to figure out what to do about our personal extension.  We have the extension in Munich at the end booked through Avalon for the extra two nights.  They are putting us up in the Sofitel Munich Bayerpost which is right next to the main central train station.  After the extension we are going to Paris for a few days before flying home. Currently I have train tickets schedule for June 26th from Munich to Paris, but hearing about all of the travel issues by rail almost has me more worried then the river issues.  And if you look at Munich's long term forecast I swear there is rain in it every #$%^ day for the next 10 days!!!  Ugh.  Three weeks seems like plenty of time for the rail service to be restored in Munich.  And I also can't get a good feel if the Munich to Paris route is impacted, it currently doesn't look like it, but it certainly doesn't help I can't read a #$%^ on Deutsche Bahn's website.  lol.  Any locals have insight on the rail issues in Munich.. I would be deeply indebted cause I'm going crazy trying to figure out if I want to go to the hassle of booking flights from Munich to Paris instead of the rail.  The issue of course being.. the airport is an hour away from the city, flight times kind of are the pits for non-stops, and the train station is a convenient walk out the door from the Munich Sofitel Bayerpost.  

Thank you for this laugh in these other moments of focus. 😄

[notamermaid]

53 minutes ago, Kenster said:

I’ve been cruising and following the industry since our first trip in 2014. 
I’ve never seen anything like this, affecting large stretches on both the Rhine and Danube.  Lots of low water issues. High water is usually short lived and mostly in Spring snow pack rum off. 

It really is exceptional. The fact that the bands of rain favoured the whole Danube basin in Germany for days means that the run-off will take very long. The river is still mostly on purple:

 

Trying to catch up with all the posts.

 

Someone asked about the Danube in Austria reopening. That is a good question and due to the fact this is an exceptional situation I have not been able to look at this in a past year. I have only familiarized myself with the Danube since 2015. I think the last time it was this bad was in 2013.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Rail travel in Bavaria, just ask steamboats. Our lady on the ground, but safely on the hill away from the Isar.

 

In Vienna they are purposely flooding the side arm of the Danube to protect the old town from flooding. The article says that the "Neue Donau" is normally a stagnant body of water: https://www.diepresse.com/18526788/hochwasser-neue-donau-in-wien-wird-geflutet

In Linz the gauge went over 700cm, apparently a very high level, in the range of flooding that statistically happens every 10 years. The river has peaked but the newspapers are saying that (see also my comment and map in the post above) the waters will recede slowly as the river is still so high in Germany. The gauge at Linz, if you would like to follow along:

https://hydro.ooe.gv.at/#/overview/Wasserstand/station/16668/Linz/Wasserstand?period=P7D

One newspaper says the authorities banned river traffic Tuesday lunchtime. The forecast for the gauges had not been that bad originally but the Inn got too much water from one night of rain, so the water came to Austria faster and in larger quantities. No tributaries in Austria are running high so the river just needs to deal with what is coming from upstream of Engelhartszell.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[LabMom57]

1 hour ago, Kenster said:

But they could use another ship that is already upriver. 

@KensterThey could. There is a ship upriver. I'm assuming that all of their ships are booked up but I might be assuming incorrectly,

 

@goksucats We were looking at moving it back but there are too many complications. First is that we have to file a claim with the insurance company in order to receive the Travel Certificate. Then there is moving all of our other arrangements and the flights. We are still weighing our options, but looking at the 10-day forecast for Prague and Vienna, it's really not looking too positive with rain still in the daily after the weekend.

 

For those who know the area, what is it like in late September / early October? 

Edited June 5 by LabMom57
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[Kenster]

55 minutes ago, LabMom57 said:

@KensterThey could. There is a ship upriver. I'm assuming that all of their ships are booked up but I might be assuming incorrectly,

 

It would be a swap. People on the ship coming east bound swap with people on a west bound who couldn’t get down river.   You’d be bused around the point that is non navigable.  
We had to do that in 2022 due to low water west of Passau. One hour bus ride from Passau to Kitzingen. The east bounders were bused from Kitzingen to Passau. Other than packing and unpacking an extra time, it was painless. Avalon was spectacular in handling it. 

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Lisa SG said:

Sailing out of Passau June 15. Well, hopefully. It is our first river cruise. Fortunately we bought trip insurance and have been told we can cancel at any time. Happy to hear of anyones’s experience filing for insurance or dealing with this circumstance. Apparently Viking will warehouse people on the boats as long as authorities will let them. 

Viking have a policy of not cancelling cruises. They are willing to warehouse you, as you put it. The idea is that you have such a long way from the states and that you will be so thrilled to be in Europe and they provide you with a great experience trying to get you to all the ports if possible by coach if necessary and you will have a great time with them.

 

I do not want to add insult to injury and forgive me if the above sounds a bit sarcastic. It is actually close to what I read in a statement by the company a few years ago. Wish I could remember where.

 

Hope all works out to your satisfaction and you do indeed have a great time as much as is possible.

 

I will extend the wish to all others travelling or about to travel. So much uncertainty at this point and no easy decisions.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

5 minutes ago, Kenster said:

It would be a swap. People on the ship coming east bound swap with people on a west bound who couldn’t get down river.   You’d be bused around the point that is non navigable.  
We had to do that in 2022 due to low water west of Passau. One hour bus ride from Passau to Kitzingen. The east bounders were bused from Kitzingen to Passau. Other than packing and unpacking an extra time, it was painless. Avalon was spectacular in handling it. 

Kitzingen on the Main river? That is quite a distance then. Happy to read that you were satisfied with Avalon's performance. Experienced crews can make these ship swaps really seamless. It is a good idea to do them. I give Viking credit for coming up with the idea unless anyone proves to me that a company did it before them. 

 

notamermaid

 

[Kenster]

13 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Kitzingen on the Main river? That is quite a distance then. Happy to read that you were satisfied with Avalon's performance. Experienced crews can make these ship swaps really seamless. It is a good idea to do them. I give Viking credit for coming up with the idea unless anyone proves to me that a company did it before them. 

 

notamermaid

 

Well, you got me to thinking.., it was Deggendorf, not Kitzingen.  

[Yorkieboy1972]

Well folks, it’s been a blast. Thank you for all the info. over the past few days/weeks. I’ve learned so much and have really appreciated all the help and support. You guys know your stuff and more power to your elbows for helping people in the future.

 

all that said, River Cruising is definitely not for me and Mrs Yorkie. 
 

so, I/we will bow out now and plough our land based holiday furrows. 
 

take care all and THANK YOU.

 

over and out.

[notamermaid]

59 minutes ago, Yorkieboy1972 said:

all that said, River Cruising is definitely not for me and Mrs Yorkie. 
 

so, I/we will bow out now and plough our land based holiday furrows. 

A pity to loose you both from the river cruising realm. I think we all understand. May your land trips be all that you wish for and who knows, there may be a really pleasant short excursion boat ride on the rivers of Europe for you in the future.

 

All the Best.

 

notamermaid

 

[LabMom57]

Well, hubby and I have decided to pull the plug after watching reports from the area. We just are not comfortable with the state of things on the Danube. We are fortunate to have made all of our reservations through Avalon. The only money we will not get back is what we paid for the insurance. We are very grateful to have had options. We know ourselves and we aren't comfortable with winging things. 

 

I wish everyone still going to have fair skies and lower water levels. May the impacted regions recover quickly from this disaster.

[SoreArm]

We are supposed to leave in 2 days to go to Bucharest and get our river boat there on June 11 for the Viking cruise upriver to Amsterdam. Does anyone know what is happening on the lower Danube? 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, SoreArm said:

We are supposed to leave in 2 days to go to Bucharest and get our river boat there on June 11 for the Viking cruise upriver to Amsterdam. Does anyone know what is happening on the lower Danube? 

Welcome to Cruisecritic. Hope someone can help you with the Budapest to Bucharest stretch. Checking the river levels I can see that Budapest is now getting the wave. The forecast suggests a further rise to mild flooding. The wave will start in Serbia soon and on the 10th or 11th be in Bulgaria. However, I cannot tell you how much of an impact this will have. The big question is, where is your ship now and can it be in the embarkation port on the 11th? You can put your ship in the search field at the top: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:15.8/centery:48.3/zoom:9

 

notamermaid

 

[Hanoj]

1 hour ago, LabMom57 said:

Well, hubby and I have decided to pull the plug after watching reports from the area. We just are not comfortable with the state of things on the Danube. We are fortunate to have made all of our reservations through Avalon. The only money we will not get back is what we paid for the insurance. We are very grateful to have had options. We know ourselves and we aren't comfortable with winging things. 

 

I wish everyone still going to have fair skies and lower water levels. May the impacted regions recover quickly from this disaster.

Very Socratic of you (knowing yourselves = wisdom). My wife and I are still discovering our travel preferences. I’m the planner and she’s more comfortable winging things. Just last week we booked Viking’s Grand European from Budapest to Amsterdam for early November 2024. We did a Rhine cruise with Viking in 2017 and two ocean cruises before a third was canceled in May 2020. All were very good cruises. Haven’t sailed with Viking in 5 years and reading comments about Viking “warehousing” pax and eschewing cancelations in favor of extended bus tours has me nonplussed. DW is fine with the possibility of Viking’s approach should our itinerary experience similar disruptions. 
 

It seems Viking’s approach with river cruise disruptions is more problematic than with their ocean cruises, and perhaps less customer focused than Avalon?

[steamboats]

13 hours ago, CJSANDFS said:

Thanks for that. I'm also a bit concerned about what Regensburg and Passau will be like, that is, will the poor residents still be cleaning up the mess from the flooding.

 

 

No need to be worried! Both cities are used to flooding and are well prepared. The Wurstkuchl is now flooded but on purpose. They kept the water out with pumps but decided to stop this and get it flooded. Currently at Regensburg the major problem is that the level is on a constant high and not peaking. That causes problems with the groundwater which wants to level with the river level. Streets are breaking up with groundwater coming up like a fountain. They are on that high level for quite a while.

 

Passau has already dropped more than one meter. They have already started with the clean up.

 

12 hours ago, goksucats said:

They are putting us up in the Sofitel Munich Bayerpost which is right next to the main central train station.  After the extension we are going to Paris for a few days before flying home. Currently I have train tickets schedule for June 26th from Munich to Paris, but hearing about all of the travel issues by rail almost has me more worried then the river issues.  

 

The Sofitel is a nice hotel. There are some "obstacles" to get to the train station right now due to a construction site.

 

As for DB - seems like there is still a problem on the route to Switzerland which won´t affect you. And currently the route between Nuremberg and Würzbug is closed. Munch to Nuremberg is open again. I didn´t read anything about Munich - Stuttgart anymore which was closed as well. That would be the route to Paris too.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

@goksucats in case you´re looking for some nice Bavarian restaurants nearby the Sofitel I can recommend

 

Irmi

or

Münchner Stubn

 

Irmi has a nice beergarden plus my favorite beer - Giesinger Bräu. It´s inside the Hotel Le Meridian but open to the public. They do have a separate entrance in the side street but you can also use the hotel entrance and walk through.

 

steamboats

[papa B me]

We are on Uniworld’s Maria Teresa.  We boarded in Budapest on Sunday.  We have been docked in Bratislava since Tuesday when the Danube was closed to traffic.  We were bussed to Vienna yesterday for a full day of touring and an afternoon concert.  We were given Euros for lunch.  It was a long day.  This afternoon they have added a tour of a palace and gardens about 30 min away.  Captain is holding out hope we may be able to make it to Linz tomorrow but of course is totally out of his control.  Uniworld has done a great job of making the best of a bad situation.  Im personally happy we are stuck in Bratislava where it is such an easy place to walk in the evening.  We are walking up to the castle today since we havent done so

previously.  The big question is what they will do if still closed through the weekend for those of us flying out of Munich.  Heres hopes and prayers for all the people living up and down the river and how their lives have been affected.

[notamermaid]

5 hours ago, steamboats said:

That causes problems with the groundwater which wants to level with the river level. Streets are breaking up with groundwater coming up like a fountain. They are on that high level for quite a while.

That can cause problems with the infrastructure for sure and weaken roads. Have had road surfaces collapsing here on the Rhine because of that. Sometimes it really is better to stop pumping in order not to further disturb the balance between river and ground water. It is often safer for old buildings.

 

The problem is of course made worse by the fact that the situation will persist. It is a little better but nowhere near anything resembling a return to river cruising as we know it:

 

On the Rhine things are improving in the Middle Rhine valley and the Lower Rhine is okay, but to be honest the High Rhine and the Upper Rhine valley look a little wobbly and we are not yet where we want to be, i.e. a river that is accessible from Basel to Rotterdam.

 

notamermaid

 

[goksucats]

6 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

No need to be worried! Both cities are used to flooding and are well prepared. The Wurstkuchl is now flooded but on purpose. They kept the water out with pumps but decided to stop this and get it flooded. Currently at Regensburg the major problem is that the level is on a constant high and not peaking. That causes problems with the groundwater which wants to level with the river level. Streets are breaking up with groundwater coming up like a fountain. They are on that high level for quite a while.

 

Passau has already dropped more than one meter. They have already started with the clean up.

 

 

The Sofitel is a nice hotel. There are some "obstacles" to get to the train station right now due to a construction site.

 

As for DB - seems like there is still a problem on the route to Switzerland which won´t affect you. And currently the route between Nuremberg and Würzbug is closed. Munch to Nuremberg is open again. I didn´t read anything about Munich - Stuttgart anymore which was closed as well. That would be the route to Paris too.

 

steamboats

I went to their site today and they seem to be selling tickets for Munich to Paris today so I'm assuming we will be good to go.  

 

Thanks for the heads up on construction.  Either way the about 6 hour train ride basically right outside our hotel sounds much more pleasant then the hour long ride to the airport, security at the airport and the Wait there and then CDG airport in Paris is also out of town.  

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, goksucats said:

Either way the about 6 hour train ride basically right outside our hotel sounds much more pleasant then the hour long ride to the airport, security at the airport and the Wait there and then CDG airport in Paris is also out of town.  

Not sure how much high speed track you will be on - at that speed you will not see much of the landscape. But a six hour train ride I would favour over a flight to CDG any time. I have been told it is a hassle and out of town certainly. Trains can get a bit crowded at times in Germany and 2nd class ICE is not that great sometimes but all in all it should be really pleasant. If you have 1st class tickets, just sit back and relax. 😊

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

The situation in Linz day before yesterday:

https://de.euronews.com/video/2024/06/06/hochwasser-in-osterreich-donau-pegel-in-linz-uberstieg-sieben-meter

Footage from Linz and the town of Schärding on the Inn.

 

And if you happen to be reading this here, are Canadian and were interviewed during your cruise, you may recognize yourself here: https://www.diepresse.com/18536081/gestrandete-schiffe-auf-der-donau-es-ist-ein-mist

"Mist" is not a weather phenomenon in German. 😉

 

The levels in Austria are falling, likewise in Bratislava. There they are back on flood level 1 from 2.

 

The situation will stay difficult but at least the levels are receding slowly.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Izengolf]

2 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Mist" is not a weather phenomenon in German. 😉

Mist, to us Canadians, is a really heavy fog but not quite rain 😊

[LabMom57]

I got this picture from the driver I had hired to take us from the airport in Prague to our hotel when I contacted him to cancel. It is a picture of Passau yesterday:

 

[Canal archive]

Mist = wet fog

[Lisa SG]

The photo did not come through here. Can you copy and paste the image into the body of your post? (Or describe it.) TIA.