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

[riverfun2024]

I boarded Amadeus Riva yesterday, the 14th. Supposed to board in passau, bused to ship in Engelharstzell.  Itinerary is Passau to Trier. The locks at Engelharstzell are stuck.  They were to be working on them today, 15th. On the 14th we were told there was a 50/50chance they would be fixed the 15th.

 

On bus trip in Regensburg now. Cruise director said "they" were in a meeting and would let her know what is decided as soon as possible.

 

I hope that means a ship swap if locks aren't working.

[notamermaid]

Welcome to Cruisecritic.

1 hour ago, riverfun2024 said:

The locks at Engelharstzell are stuck. 

Sorry to read that. A major problem it seems. There is already a "traffic jam". The Amadeus Riva I have highlighted:

There are so many ships that not all can appear do to signal overlap it seems.

 

I hope Amadeus has a ship placed somewhere in such a way that you can swap. It is of course not a given that they have scheduled ships that way. And these are still exceptional times where the river is still recovering and ships are still in odd places.

 

This article says the river is free but at Jochenstein lock, the lock you need to get through just upstream from Engelhartszell, will experience restrictions due to diggers working (which I assume means dredging, not sure) until Saturday, i.e. today: https://www.idowa.de/bayern/nach-hochwasser-in-bayern-wieder-freie-fahrt-fuer-schiffe-auf-donau-3793536.html

 

notamermaid

 

 

[notamermaid]

Okay, big deal. One chamber at Jochenstein will be out of order, if I read it correctly from the 17th to the 18th:

Other notification says that there is massive "Versandung", i.e. sand and gravel deposits around Jochenstein. Dredging at a length of 2km is going on with the aim to restore the depth so that limited river traffic becomes possible. That stretch is closed to traffic.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[riverfun2024]

I counted 15 ships at Engelharstzell.

Good news for us. We returned from bus trip around 4pm and we were told we were swapping ships! They gave us about 45 minutes to pack everything.  We are on bus to Passau.  We will board Amadeus Nova. Nova is in Passau headed for Budapest.  The Nova was to embark today is why we are doing the swap so quickly.

 

 

[1029GMD]

Another update from the Monarch Queen. Since we weren't able to proceed upstream to Passau yesterday 6/14 due to the lock issue near Engelhartszell, we were taken on a bus excursion and spent a short but lovely afternoon in Passau. We paid respect to the historical flood markers and our local guide pointed out where last week's flood reached in comparison. The flooded area has been remarkably well cleaned up, although one can still see the ongoing cleanup efforts. There was a party atmosphere yesterday as the local uni students (?) were out in force prior to the start of the Euro Cup game.

Our ship sailed all the way back to Linz and spent the night here. 

This morning we were informed that the clearing of the lock in question 'may' be completed by 12pm, but at noon was informed that it was still ongoing. Currently awaiting for the latest. Even when opened, I understand there will be a queue of ships that will have to await their turn as noted above.

 

[Izengolf]

1 hour ago, riverfun2024 said:

We will board Amadeus Nova.

Riverfun2024, both the Nova (brand new!) and the Riva are gorgeous ships, have a wonderful cruise. 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, riverfun2024 said:

We returned from bus trip around 4pm and we were told we were swapping ships!

Well hooray to that! Have a great trip.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 6/14/2024 at 5:22 PM, notamermaid said:

Regional news confirms an incident at Bad Abbach lock. An excursion boat hit a wall I think. Report says Thursday at 2pm.

 It actually turns out that it was a river cruise ship. It was sailing without passengers when the 58-year-old captain hit the embankment wall at the lock. There was damage to the starboard side, but the ship could continue its journey.

 

https://www.idowa.de/regionen/mainburg/schiff-faehrt-bei-bad-abbach-gegen-schleusenkanalmauer-3793289.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

10 hours ago, Yorkieboy1972 said:

So, after a 2 week unplanned stay in Deggendorf TUI Isla is finally on the move, heading for Frankfurt.

So she can finally relocate. Will be some sort of weird hello feeling when I finally see her on "my" river again.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Jochenstein lock is partly back:

 

Viking Bragi and Spirit of the Rhine have just been locked together.

 

From the information service I understand that conditions are still not too good, dredging will continue over the weekend. Lots of vigilance around the lock needed.

 

notamermaid

 

[riverfun2024]

3 hours ago, Izengolf said:

Riverfun2024, both the Nova (brand new!) and the Riva are gorgeous ships, have a wonderful cruise. 

Yes, they are. This is Nova's 1st sailing! 

[notamermaid]

With all this flooding business going on, I had completely missed the christening of the Amadeus Nova. She has been transferred from Amsterdam and is actually now on her inaugural cruise from Passau - well, was scheduled to be for 15 June from Passau to Budapest.

 

Edit:

@riverfun2024 our posts coincided.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 08:15 PM by notamermaid

[notamermaid]

The Amadeus Nova:

 

 

Traffic jam at Engelhartszell is clearing.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[riverfun2024]

23 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

With all this flooding business going on, I had completely missed the christening of the Amadeus Nova. She has been transferred from Amsterdam and is actually now on her inaugural cruise from Passau - well, was scheduled to be for 15 June from Passau to Budapest.

 

Edit:

@riverfun2024 our posts coincided.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

She's going Passau to Trier now. We are sailing all day tomorrow  to catch up. We were supposed to be in Nuremberg Sunday afternoon now it looks like we'll be there Monday morning.

 

Hope the lock issue is resolved soon!

[notamermaid]

4 minutes ago, riverfun2024 said:

We are sailing all day tomorrow  to catch up.

A ship swap, an inaugural river cruise and a "sea day". Now that is unusual.

https://www.amadeus-rivercruises.com/company/media-center/press-releases/article/amadeus-riva-joins-the-amadeus-river-cruises-fleet-from-2023-1.html

(They have given the article the wrong headline in the URL)

 

Enjoy Nuremberg and the rivers after that. I find your itinerary ends with a great city. Your cruise is all in Germany, but the regions differ in landscape and dialect. I find it fascinating to observe how one is hearing German all the time but the sound of it changes.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

On 6/9/2024 at 10:43 PM, notamermaid said:

The NB212 being taken alongside the MS Insomnia, as of tonight, is still at the railway bridge at Bogen!

The barge with her cargo, the river cruise ship hull, has also been able to sail finally and is now on the Main river.

 

 Apart from the major problem at Jochenstein lock - the correct term for this in English is "siltation" I have learnt - there are also still the deposits from the flooding in Austria's Danube. Dredging is going on at Wallsee lock. But as of now none of those restrictions seem as major as Jochenstein.

 

notamermaid

 

[riverfun2024]

I would like to say a big thank you to all for the postings on this board!  I have been following it since before I left the U.S. on the 9th. Thanks to your info, I knew ahead of time there could be changes or cancellations. I had even looked for possible ships for a ship swap and discovered the Nova as a possibility.

 

 

[riverfun2024]

Just passed the infamous Tui Isla. She's docked outside of Regensburg.  Saw 4 crew members sitting on deck and a small boat (work boat/barge) tied up next to it but no other activity.

 

[Yorkieboy1972]

11 minutes ago, riverfun2024 said:

Just passed the infamous Tui Isla. She's docked outside of Regensburg.  Saw 4 crew members sitting on deck and a small boat (work boat/barge) tied up next to it but no other activity.

 

I think the barge is a tanker. Fuel or Water supplies?

 

[alicat58]

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

[notamermaid]

2 hours ago, Yorkieboy1972 said:

I think the barge is a tanker. Fuel or Water supplies?

That is actually quite a typical activity - to supply fuel from a small ship. Got several here on the Rhine doing that job. Water tends to come from on land basically through pipes but I will not rule out that water can be supplied from another boat.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

10 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The barge with her cargo, the river cruise ship hull, has also been able to sail finally and is now on the Main river.

I had the suspicion that there may be something going on out of the ordinary and a check on Binnenschifferforum gave me the right info. The MS Insomnia is sailing without the hull. The NB 212 is (was) in Regensburg-Schwabelweiß. From there the hulls are often picked up by a push boat and taken along the Danube, Canal and Main. I think the transport has not started. If you happen to be in the area and see a weird looking ship that has no windows and no wheelhouse you have just spotted NB212!

 

The TUI Isla is sailing. If there weren't bends in the river the passengers of the Amadeus Nova could probably make her out in the distance behind the stern.

 

Just in case anyone is wondering what the river levels now are, here is Passau:

 

 

notamermaid

 

[riverfun2024]

The Nova passed NB 212 earlier today - I wondered why it looked so odd.

 

I'll watch for the Isla:) We are in a section with a lot of bends.  coming up to a lock (Bad Abbach), maybe she'll catch up.

 

[notamermaid]

13 minutes ago, riverfun2024 said:

The Nova passed NB 212 earlier today - I wondered why it looked so odd.

 

I'll watch for the Isla:) We are in a section with a lot of bends.  coming up to a lock (Bad Abbach), maybe she'll catch up.

 

From what I have read about the TUI Isla in the last two weeks I am not sure that you would want her to catch up with you.😉 But then if she is next to you in the lock you could listen to conversations of the two crews (do they talk to each other in locks much I wonder?). If I may be so bold - seeing that the Nova is new it may be tempting quite literally for someone from the Isla to jump ship - onto yours. Grin.

 

notamermaid

 

[riverfun2024]

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