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

[Yorkieboy1972]

1 hour ago, alicat58 said:

Notamermaid

 

Thanks for all the info. I followed last year when we were going on Avalon from Budapest and we were lucky that it rained prior to our departure in early August because the water levels were very low prior to that.

 

Now I'm once again following hoping for the water levels on the Danube to drop before we go on Avalon Envision (same as last year) again. Different direction and some different stops.

 

@Yorkieboy1972 what a hellish experience on Tui Isla. We were on her 31/3 for a week on the Rhine. If we did not have such a fantastic time on Avalon I would have also said never again. Prior to booking I watched some videos and a Youtuber noted the issue with the aircon but she sailed when it was much colder. Thank goodness we had a "balcony" because we left the doors open at night. The dining room was unbearable. The service and attitude on the boat/ship a massive issue. The chef left midway through the cruise, as did another member of staff. Lots of apologies(excuses) from Jean. The food was mediocre. We paid for the drinks package and found the wines to be below par. Same issues with docking at the cheapest possible spots. We were supposed to start in Amsterdam with an overnight and ended in Zaandam.

 

I know they are supposed to be budget but looking at specials on better lines is not costing us anymore and we have excursions included.

 

Alicat

We had a different A.C. issue. It was fine in the rooms but in the Bars it was red hot. There was an engineer on the boat in Vienna and he ordered a part and was supposed to meet up with the boat a bit further up. I would imagine he probably met up with her after she moved berths in Deggendorf? 
 

They must have cancelled at least 2 Cruises “up north”? Hopefully it gets back into its routine once it gets to Frankfurt. 
 

hopefully someone from a future cruise will be on here to confirm what’s happened to the crew following the Deggendorf debacle?

[brian1]

8 minutes ago, Yorkieboy1972 said:

We had a different A.C. issue. It was fine in the rooms but in the Bars it was red hot. There was an engineer on the boat in Vienna and he ordered a part and was supposed to meet up with the boat a bit further up. I would imagine he probably met up with her after she moved berths in Deggendorf? 
 

They must have cancelled at least 2 Cruises “up north”? Hopefully it gets back into its routine once it gets to Frankfurt. 
 

hopefully someone from a future cruise will be on here to confirm what’s happened to the crew following the Deggendorf debacle?

The head waiter get off with us carrying his bags.Probably due to rotate in Frankfurt.I found all the staff very friendly and good.Voddie,rose and beer ok.Food except for local blood sausage ok.Can't compare with an ocean cruise ship choices for obvious reasons.

[Phutch9136]

On 6/14/2024 at 1:40 PM, RDVIK2016 said:

In case PHutch doesn't see your question try Hutkönig am Dom - right across the square from the cathedral.  That's probably the place their talking about. If you are interested in traditional Bavarian clothing - Tracht - there are multiple stores. Moser has an outlet-type store as well as its city center store, but the outlet is not in the center of town. I got a shirt and vest there once.

Thank you Bob. I believe that is the shop location. They also made the fantastic hats for Johnny Depp, Alice movie but their history goes back far beyond that. We saw Tracht shops on our trip. Fascinating. 

[notamermaid]

6 hours ago, riverfun2024 said:

We went through the lock on our own so I didn't see Isla.

She has fallen behind and now you are a good hour ahead of her (at least, signal not up to date). A lot of locking for you today. Not sure where you are exactly but you may by now have crossed the European watershed and with it the highest point you can be anywhere on the European continent sailing on a ship. This is the profile of the Canal:

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main-Donau-Kanal#/media/Datei:Main-Donau-Kanal-Höhenprofil.svg

The watershed is at km 102, the spot is marked with a sculpture called "Scheitelhaltung": https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheitelhaltung_(Skulptur)#/media/Datei:Main-Donau-Kanal_Denkmal_Scheitelhaltung_001.jpg

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

The Danube in May part 1

 

With the situation returning to normal it is time to take a breath and finally look back at May. It all started really benign... The river was at a standard level for spring, i.e. after snow melt and some rain above the mean. Before the 20th of May I would think that no one suspected anything, I mean who could anticipate such flooding? Looking back at page 8 in this thread, May 22 I posted about increased rain and a higher level but it could have gone up just gradually. As we know, it did not. As the graphs for the Rhine go well into the future, that means there is computer modelling that gives a relatively clear picture as to what will happen on the river in a week's time, I saw the graph going where it should not do. For the Upper Danube this modelling does exist, but it does not really show as well what the scenario will be four or five days later at Pfelling and Passau. So from what I saw on the Rhine I knew that something was not right, it became clear on 28 May that there would be lots of rain and water in the South of Germany. At that point I did still expect more for the Rhine than the Danube. This is what I wrote on 28 May in that thread: " I am not an alarmist but I do admit that I do not like the graph and reports. Newspapers like dramatic headlines but I kind of share that nervous sentiment at this point at least." The weather pattern was not a standard one and the clouds stayed in the area, not drifting North or West much, it mostly came down in the area where the Danube, Rhine and Neckar meet and covering much of Bavaria as well. No chance of the Danube coping with that and not inundating towns and villages.

 

At the Rhine we still see the effect now with Lake Constance being high. That is due to the Northeastern tributaries contributing additional water during the rainy weather pattern. That is in addition to some snow melt still happening in the Alps. But that body of water can take a lot. A relatively small shift in the clouds and we would have seen a more dramatic situation along the Upper Rhine than the Upper German Danube. It was bad enough but it could have been a lot worse. The Neckar valley had to endure more than the Rhine valley. So, to some graphs.

 

Continued in part 2.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

The Danube in May part 2

 

On May 30 I posted the weather warning map of Germany in post #218. It looked quite dramatic. As I explained in my previous post, the rain came down very much in the Upper Danube region. The river up there where it is still young was very much affected from the beginning, as well as tributaries that flooded quickly.

 

Therefore, for a change, let us start further upstream on the Danube and look at Ingolstadt, where the Danube is not navigable yet:

 

You can see first just the steady rise as it was rainy weather and then the reaction to the downpours at the end of the month. As no ships sail the river there is no HSW line for highest level allowed for river traffic.

 

Likewise, this happened at Pfelling:

You see the line HSW.

 

This is how the river reacted at Passau:

 

Again, the river went far above the HSW line. All three reactions are already on 1 June. I took screenshots of the graphs a little belated so have got the beginning of June in.

 

How bad was it all? The year 2013 has been mentioned more than once. That spring saw some of the worst flooding the Danube has ever seen. It was of course not as bad this year but there were a few places more badly affected than others, this one is Kelheim. These are the highest levels recorded in modern history published on the website:

 

On 5 June this year, the, as of yet not official for the statistics, highest level was recorded. This year the flooding brought the graph at Kehlheim up to 756cm.

 

Now just the problems at the locks need sorting.

 

Hopefully, the river is doing okay right down there in Romania.

 

As for Germany, looking ahead, the river has recovered well now. It is still above the mean and may well continue to do so. A mix of sunny weather with some rain occasionally could keep things running smoothly for quite some time into summer. The problem this week and next would be sudden downpours that bring the river up to a level at which the two infamous bridges would have too little headroom again.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[Yorkieboy1972]

6 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

The Danube in May part 2

 

On May 30 I posted the weather warning map of Germany in post #218. It looked quite dramatic. As I explained in my previous post, the rain came down very much in the Upper Danube region. The river up there where it is still young was very much affected from the beginning, as well as tributaries that flooded quickly.

 

Therefore, for a change, let us start further upstream on the Danube and look at Ingolstadt, where the Danube is not navigable yet:

 

You can see first just the steady rise as it was rainy weather and then the reaction to the downpours at the end of the month. As no ships sail the river there is no HSW line for highest level allowed for river traffic.

 

Likewise, this happened at Pfelling:

You see the line HSW.

 

This is how the river reacted at Passau:

 

Again, the river went far above the HSW line. All three reactions are already on 1 June. I took screenshots of the graphs a little belated so have got the beginning of June in.

 

How bad was it all? The year 2013 has been mentioned more than once. That spring saw some of the worst flooding the Danube has ever seen. It was of course not as bad this year but there were a few places more badly affected than others, this one is Kelheim. These are the highest levels recorded in modern history published on the website:

 

On 5 June this year, the, as of yet not official for the statistics, highest level was recorded. This year the flooding brought the graph at Kehlheim up to 756cm.

 

Now just the problems at the locks need sorting.

 

Hopefully, the river is doing okay right down there in Romania.

 

As for Germany, looking ahead, the river has recovered well now. It is still above the mean and may well continue to do so. A mix of sunny weather with some rain occasionally could keep things running smoothly for quite some time into summer. The problem this week and next would be sudden downpours that bring the river up to a level at which the two infamous bridges would have too little headroom again.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

We left Vienna on the 30th. After reading your comments, comment you posted after reading widely available info, I shared concerns with our TUI Rep. She claimed that there were no problems ahead and all the data TUI had given her was positive. The rest, as they say, is now history. 
 

 

[robertmartha]

TY Notamermaid - I have been following your posts for the past few weeks (several times a day!) as well as steamboats - we embark with family and friends on the 28th in Regensburg thru to Budapest. Our second river sailing but our friends (two couples) joining us this will be their first river cruise and I really did not want it to either be cancelled or it turn into a bus tour ! Our daughter and her boyfriend are living in Berlin for the summer and will be taking the train to Regensburg. Looking forward to enjoying the Danube in the summer - last sailing was between Christmas and New Years !

 

TY again

Edited June 16 by robertmartha

[notamermaid]

The notification for skippers still says that one chamber of Jochenstein lock (upstream of Engelhartszell) is out of use today and tomorrow due to work going on. Dredging urgently needs to be done at the lock. The zone around the lock is also restricted as regards docking. A bottleneck for a bit, but hopefully the dredging will return the navigation channel to the required depth (for heavy commercial traffic) soon.

 

In Austria, dredging is also going on. At Aschach lock for example the boat "Horst Felix" is busy getting the navigation channel back to a normal depth. This will take longer than just a few days. Ybbs lock still only has one chamber but that was a planned closure for maintenance, which may last until the end of the month.

 

Hope the weather is as bright on the Danube as it is here on the Rhine with me. 🙂

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

14 hours ago, robertmartha said:

TY Notamermaid - I have been following your posts for the past few weeks (several times a day!) as well as steamboats - we embark with family and friends on the 28th in Regensburg thru to Budapest. Our second river sailing but our friends (two couples) joining us this will be their first river cruise and I really did not want it to either be cancelled or it turn into a bus tour ! Our daughter and her boyfriend are living in Berlin for the summer and will be taking the train to Regensburg. Looking forward to enjoying the Danube in the summer - last sailing was between Christmas and New Years !

 

TY again

Thank you for following along. Hope it has been more helpful than stressful. It is all much quieter now and I will also be a bit quieter going forward - unless the river does not "behave"... But it is all looking good for now. 28th is a bit early to say but I am quite confident. As we have seen, the river can change its levels quite fast and 48 hours is a long time for things to happen when rain sweeps over the area. These past two weeks have made me think again how "complicated" the German Danube is from Regensburg to Passau. But that is a topic for another post.

 

I still have not been to Regensburg, always kind of in the areas around it, never in the city. I would like to be all touristy and try those sausages in the Wurstkuchl: https://www.wurstkuchl.de/?lang=en

 

With or without sausages - you may prefer Wiener Schnitzel or something sweet - have a splendid time with family and friends. 😊

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Moved the fascinating but 'off-side' discussion about football to the Water Cooler thread.  No harm, no foul.  Play on.

[notamermaid]

39 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Moved the fascinating but 'off-side' discussion about football to the Water Cooler thread.  No harm, no foul.  Play on.

Thanks. Yes, we kind of had it running in two places. So for those completely surprised by weirdly dressed people in towns along the Danube: you are experiencing the European Cup, details can be found over in that thread.

 

Things are otherwise more or less normal now on the river in the western realm. I see that the flooding is now in Romania and Bulgaria, i.e. the wave has moved far along the river. I cannot relate the figures to what is actually happening on the ground. Hopefully, things are okay. Already in Budapest the wave had lost some of its severity.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

As a final update to another subthread, according to marinetraffic Scenic Jasper is currently underway on her journey from Nuremberg to Budapest as scheduled.  No itinerary changes, health & safety issues, or stress.

[notamermaid]

23 hours ago, Yorkieboy1972 said:

We left Vienna on the 30th. After reading your comments, comment you posted after reading widely available info, I shared concerns with our TUI Rep.

I have had a look back at the posts from the 30th of May and the following day. That was, diplomatically speaking, interesting. A couple of thoughts. It can be a different experience dealing with an office clerk on the phone and then being on the ship with very capable people who know so much more about the river itself and the situation at that moment in time and looking a couple of days into the future. Normally you all are in very good, knowledgeable, experienced, hands with crew and staff and the ship logistics. People have reported here on CC in the past (and in the last few weeks) that the lack of communication pre cruise had made them nervous, even to the point of annoyance or upset, but on the ground, i.e. on the river, things sorted themselves out. Unfortunately, rarely I would say, this is then not the case on board.

 

I sit at a computer in my flat near the river Rhine, which I know quite well. I cannot judge intricate details on another river of course. So to complete a picture I am very grateful when passengers report from on board. I hope it helps people to then get a good idea of what river cruising, especially in situations that are [excuse term] not picture-perfect like in a catalogue, is like. As regards the more specific case of adjusting an itinerary to pass under a bridge - I cannot utter a gut feeling about a very intricate, concrete scenario from 500 kilometres away, but I will put it this way: your comment on 30 May which was quote: "I’m calling rubbish on that and we should just completely miss out Linz and get under the bridge." resonated with me at the time.

 

Going forward, I hope and am confident that, again, river cruise companies assess, learn and improve, from this flooding situation. I would say they have from the 2018 low water situation. Unfortunately, the German Danube has this smaller range of water level in which sailing is possible and comfortable than other parts of the Danube or most other rivers. Regensburg to Passau has the trouble spot of the shallows around Pfelling. That part is now avoided by itineraries starting in Vilshofen or further downstream. The railway bridge at Bogen and the road bridge at Passau are the obstacles in high water. While Bogen can again be avoided by sailing from the ports I have mentioned, the bridge at Passau itself is an awkward problem. It appears that more ships are now using the downstream dock of Lindau or even sail from Engelhartszell, which solves that problem.

 

I have certainly learnt something again this spring. Thank you everyone for your comments and help and reports from on board.

 

Okay, end of monologue. Onto summer and hopefully uneventful river cruising.

 

notamermaid

 

[downsmead]

Stunning to think the water levels two weeks ago would have been around around the height of my husband’s head! Danube side all clean, there was still some mud on the Inn side where it had obviously come over the bank in a couple of places in the last few days

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, downsmead said:

there was still some mud on the Inn side where it had obviously come over the bank

The Inn river is again receiving a lot of water from rain in the last 24 hours and will rise quite a bit. Not enough to cause trouble but it will be noticeable at Passau. The Danube itself is also rising. The current level at Passau is 621cm. It may go up to 640cm tomorrow. Probably still fine sailing under bridge but extra vigilance will be needed.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Yorkieboy1972]

Looks like she made it.

[MAKMich]

I am going to be on the Viking Skirnir in November from Amsterdam to Budapest. I am wondering what "typical" water levels are in November - knowing that one really can never really predict. What are the usual trouble spots for ships like the Skirnir? We are determined to enjoy the trip no matter how many diversions we encounter.

[downsmead]

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The Inn river is again receiving a lot of water from rain in the last 24 hours and will rise quite a bit. Not enough to cause trouble but it will be noticeable at Passau. The Danube itself is also rising. The current level at Passau is 621cm. It may go up to 640cm tomorrow. Probably still fine sailing under bridge but extra vigilance will be needed.

 

notamermaid

 

 

We made it under the bridge but still no access to the upper deck because of the high water. Could go up afterwards but have had amazing fog as we sailed after Passau. Cleared around 10pm.

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, MAKMich said:

I am going to be on the Viking Skirnir in November from Amsterdam to Budapest. I am wondering what "typical" water levels are in November - knowing that one really can never really predict. What are the usual trouble spots for ships like the Skirnir? We are determined to enjoy the trip no matter how many diversions we encounter.

Hmm, I am not sure that I can say what typical water levels are in November. It varies a lot. Generally, I would say that huge flooding is untypical and at the end of November extremely low water is untypical. We have seen a wide range. It would be interesting to get an idea of what the month of November has looked like over the years, but compiling that is a lot of work for the Danube. The Danube is a bit more "temperamental" than the Rhine. I will give you an idea of the Rhine at Kaub (why Kaub I will get to in a minute).

Range of levels in

2016 below the mean to just under 100cm

2017 above the mean, mean, below the mean

2018 extremely low (under 50cm)

2019 mean to below the mean

2020 below the mean to low

2021 low

 

Trouble spots Amsterdam to Budapest:

Kaub in the Rhine Gorge (shallows, hence the mention and focus above) in low water, high water no trouble spots but much water from the Upper Rhine valley can cause problems

Whole Main river a few low bridges in flooding (I have no details)

Bogen railway bridge (near Straubing) on the Danube in flooding

Pfelling in low water

Passau suspension bridge in flooding

Danube bend (Esztergom) in low water

 

The authorities issue river traffic bans in flooding. In early November from my experience the most likely problem is low water at Pfelling.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Viking are really successful with the ship swap system so I am sure you will have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited June 21 by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

Just like on the Rhine at Cologne, a WWII has been defused on the Danube. This one was in the river near Bogen (yes, near where that railway bridge is...) and was defused yesterday. River traffic in the area was banned for several hours.

 

Two bombs - coincidence? Yes and no. Dredging in Cologne is quite common but there has also been some flooding relatively recently. On the Danube there has been a lot of debris and siltation from the flooding. The current of the water not only takes loose material with it but also whatever can be moved that is man-made, i.e. bombs can be relocated over the years and are then detected. In the case of this bomb at Bogen, the detection team had actually been called in by the authorities to directly help looking for unexploded ordinance during engineering work at the river.

 

notamermaid

 

[HawaiiTraveler]

2 hours ago, MAKMich said:

I am going to be on the Viking Skirnir in November from Amsterdam to Budapest. I am wondering what "typical" water levels are in November - knowing that one really can never really predict. What are the usual trouble spots for ships like the Skirnir? We are determined to enjoy the trip no matter how many diversions we encounter.

Aloha MAKMich. Last year from October 21 through November 04, 2023 we did the Viking Grand European Tour cruise. Our cruise was supposed to start in Budapest and end in Amsterdam. However, a week or so before we were scheduled to leave Hawaii where we live, we received an email from Viking advising that low water conditions could possibly cause issues with our cruise. Then, two days before our departure date, we received another email from Viking advising that due to low water level in the Danube, we would be picked up at the airport in Budapest as scheduled, but would be bussed upriver to Komárom, where we would board our ship, Viking Skadi. It took us about 1-1/2 hours to get to Komárom from the airport in Budapest. Viking handled the change very smoothly. That evening they had busses available for those guests that wanted to return to Budapest for evening excursions, as well as busses available for excursions to Budapest the following day. After that one small change to our itinerary, the rest of our cruise went perfectly. We enjoyed the cruise so much that we are booked again on the same Grand European Tour this year, but scheduled to start in Budapest on November 27 this time and ending in Amsterdam on December 11. We have also added two day extensions in both Budapest and Amsterdam for this year, as we did not get much time in either city last year, due to the cruise starting in Komárom and our return flight leaving early in the morning from Amsterdam. We also wanted to do the same cruise again so we can visit the Christkindlesmarkt in the various cities that the ship stops and we get to visit. Depending on the dates of your Grand European Tour cruise, our ships may pass on the river somewhere along the way. Here's wishing you a great cruise!

Edited June 21 by HawaiiTraveler

[Canal archive]

Ohhh Downsmead somewhere I have that photograph but it’s got a different man in it dahhhhhhhh!

[notamermaid]

I do not know what it is with locks at the moment - there has been another accident. At Bad Abbach a "Schubverband", that is a push boat with a lighter normally, hit a wall at the railway bridge yesterday. A technical fault coupled with the current caused the vessel to drift. The Danube had to be closed to traffic for about eight hours and resumed around 4am this morning. Without saying too much: this Schubverband thing together with the thumbnail photo give the impression this was not a standard cargo... Pity that more info can only be had with advertising or getting behind the paywall.

 

Another report talks of an accident on 19 June with a photo of a Viking river cruise ship. Again, clarification can only be had with advertising agreements.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[Izengolf]

To anyone on the Lower Danube, southern Romania is Code Red for heat the next few days and Bucharest will be HOT. Choose excursions with AC!