Rhine water levels 2016 and similar topics

Notamermaid,

Thanks so much for these updates! We leave this Thursday and our sailing is Saturday, 10/22, from Nuremberg to Amsterdam on the Emerald Sky. Any ideas regarding how Emerald handles this?

THANKS!!!

Good morning, so many question! :)

I will try and answer to the best of my knowledge, which ain't much. I just - due to impaired health - have some time on my hands. I am much better than I was six months ago, though.

Anyway, here goes:

quote: tstr: "notamermaid from forecasts I see online it looks like there may be some rain in the Rhine region?

Also I assume are there certain sections of the Rhine impacted more than others by this problem?

As always, thanks for your help"

My answer: there is a little rain forecast for tomorrow, mainly in the Middle Rhine valley and the surrounding hills stretching Southwest to Northeast. More rain, mainly light rain and showers are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. A tiny bit of snow could appear on the mountain called Feldberg, that is in the Black Forest.

quote: tstr: "Also is this mainly an issue with the larger Viking ships?"

My answer: Ingo_e has got a great feature on his website in which you can compare ship data. I have filled it in - you choose a ship name from the list - with the River Harmony, the Viking Helvetia and the Viking Skadi: http://rivercruiseinfo.com/content/compare-ships

Something went wrong and the figures do not appear anymore, but you can do it yourself.

These are the figures I managed to copy, they are from left to right the River Harmony, the Viking Helvetia and the Viking Skadi

Length Meter 110.00 131.80 135.00

Beam Meter 11.40 11.40 11.45

Minimum Draft Meter 1.55 1.60 1.70

Maximum Draft Meter 1.70 2.00 2.10

It seems as though the Longships are longer than the old design Viking ships and have a little more draft, which in the current conditions can be make or brake for an unimpeded river cruise. Viking is phasing out all the old design ships.

Later on Daisi reports that she has been told the Viking Skadi will make it through. Last year, at the beginning of November with 12 cm less water her sister ships did not get through.

quote: EAC: "Do you know the draft of the GCCL Harmony and whether they have been affected by the lower river. We were on the Elbe cruise last year and we weren't able to navigate at all. Thanks."

My answer: Please have a look at the comparison above. She should be fine.

@Daisi: Excellent news from your S-I-L. I saw the ship is on its way to Cologne. I presume she will see Koblenz and the Rhine gorge tomorrow then. I hope she is having a great time.

quote: AAAMomOfOne: "Notamermaid,

Thanks so much for these updates! We leave this Thursday and our sailing is Saturday, 10/22, from Nuremberg to Amsterdam on the Emerald Sky. Any ideas regarding how Emerald handles this?

THANKS!!! "

My answer: The Emerald Sky is a 135m ship, but Emerald gives its draft as 1,45m only. Sounds good, but I wonder if that is the minimum draft rather than the maximum. I have not heard how Emerald handles low water levels, but if the draft is about right there should not be any problems.

notamermaid

The water levels: Worms is at 53cm, Koblenz at 65cm.

notamermaid

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain! ;)

Notamermaid:

You are wonderful for doing this! Thanks so much!

My pleasure. :)

I have just noticed I did not answer one question by tstr which was "Also I assume are there certain sections of the Rhine impacted more than others by this problem?"

My answer is: the worst - apart from places like some harbours or a few shorter landing stages that make for isolated smaller problems - is the section where the navigation channel is only 1.90m deep. That includes (part of it) the river section we tend to refer to as the "Rhine gorge" or the "castle stretch". It is the most scenic part according to most river cruisers.

All other sections have a deeper navigation channel of 2.10m or more. The situation we have now means that the castle stretch is not guaranteed to be 1.90m deep in all parts, the water level has sunk too low for that, creating shallows, either sand and gravel or rock.

I have just remembered this: there is an official document for river traffic that is available to everyone. Here is something for the technical guys and girls: http://www.ccr-zkr.org/files/documents/infovoienavigable/Wasserstrassenprofil_en.pdf

You can see the small section in the second column where it says 1.90m. That is the problematic bit.

Another thing on the list. How long are vessels allowed to be? Exactly. 135m!

notamermaid

Thanks for the weather reports and all the water reports you are doing Notamermaid. Our family has now left Cologne, and on their way to Koblenz... really hoping that the rain holds off for all ships sailing through the gorge so passengers can enjoy it. They are really enjoying their trip, and I don't think the rain would bother them. Can't wait till next year for us to book our trip!

Thank you Notamermaid!!!!

All very informative and appreciated!!!

Good morning from the Rhine valley bathed in sunshine with leaves all green and golden, with a bit of red through in. But rain is coming later in the evening and during the night. Which we all know is a good thing, desperately needed.

Worms is at 50cm, Koblenz at 67cm this morning. As Worms is upstream from the confluence of the Main with the Rhine and is not in the 1.90m section (see post #406 above) I have decided to give you the level at Kaub instead. It is now at 71cm. Kaub is where that great river island castle stands: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pfalzgrafenstein_Castle

Last year, in November 2015, I posted this article with the Pfalzgrafenstein surrounded by sand and gravel instead of water. At the time of the article the water level was about 14cm lower than it is now: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/12/shrinking-rhine-shipping-scrapes-by-as-river-stays-at-lowest-level-for-40-years

Right now, experts think it will not get this low again. I hope they are right and the rain that is forecast will help.

The Viking Alruna,the Viking Odin and the Viking Skadi are in the Rhine gorge right now. As are the Avalon Imagery II and the Charles Dickens. Some others are, too. Then there are the excursion boats and all the barges. Lots of traffic in a "bottle neck" with low water and narrowed navigation channel.

Oh, and the French barge that got stuck near Mannheim has finally been freed.

Reuters has a short article on the low water situation: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-rhine-germany-idUSKBN12H1IT

notamermaid

No real change to the water levels, Kaub is at 72cm, Koblenz at 64cm this morning.

It is bright and sunny, but rain will come and the temperatures will go down a bit.

The news dominating the headlines here is, of course, the explosion at the chemical works BASF in Ludwigshafen. Casualties, some injured still in a critical state, people living closeby where told to keep windows and doors shut. This ban has been lifted now. One person, a member of a ship crew, is still missing. It happened at a spot at the harbour section of the works, a gas pipeline was on fire and exploded while the company's fire brigade tried to extinguish the fire.

It is the huge works you pass on the Rhine a little downstream from the towns of Mannheim and Ludwigshafen.

While the rain forecast over the next two days is good, the tentative prediction is for the water level at Koblenz to stagnate at the current low rather than rise significantly. Much more rain in the South - in Switzerland and the upper Rhine valley - is needed to get the river back to normal levels.

notamermaid

I heard about the BASF explosion, so sad about the two firefighters and missing person. Hopefully those injured are able to overcome their injuries.

Hoping that the rains come, so far so good for those cruising, but for how long?

There are several updates listed for Viking ships affected on the Danube with some of them at the Budapest end. They include sailings Oct 20-27. We board today in Amsterdam headed for Budapest and I'll try to pass along what we are told. Still praying for rain.

It has been raining and the water level has risen. Kaub is now at 82cm and Koblenz at 73cm. Crucial centimetres for those river cruise ships with a deep draft. It is looking good for those travelling through the Rhine gorge in the next few days, seeing that the Viking ships made it through yesterday and the day before. It appears to be the case that the ship swaps can be avoided, at least on the Rhine.

notamermaid

There are several updates listed for Viking ships affected on the Danube with some of them at the Budapest end. They include sailings Oct 20-27. We board today in Amsterdam headed for Budapest and I'll try to pass along what we are told. Still praying for rain.

The Skadi has been in Aschaffenburg since yesterday according to cruisemapper.com. I just tried to get a note to my S-i-L to see if they have swapped ships. I'll let you know what I hear back.

They have really enjoyed the cruise so far, hope you have a great time as well.

Hello,

We arrived home yesterday from Basel, after sailing the Rhine AMS to BSL on the Viking Kvasir Oct 12-19. I wanted to let you all know that the water levels were fine all week. I asked the Captain on day two, during our wheelhouse tour, if we would make it through and he assured me that we would (and we did). He also said a little rain would improve levels greatly for future weeks, and we did see some rain during our trip. When we were in the gorge/castle area, it was a little grey and chilly but we sat up top with about 50 people and enjoyed the marvellous sites regardless.

If for some reason you do have to swap ships with Viking, I am now quite comforted by their service to think that it would go pretty easily for you. In speaking to other passengers on board who have had this happen to them in previous years, they said that while they were worried ahead of time, Viking handled it so well for them that they almost enjoyed the change! By that I mean they offered them "extras" during the day they had to be off ship and transported around, and they all enjoyed this very much and felt it added to their experience in some way. We had outstanding customer service on board with Viking, so I started to relax on board and not dread that the water levels would be too low. Of course packing up mid-trip would be a hassle, but that should be the extent of what you "lose".

Have a wonderful trip! I wish I were going again.

Steve and Diane

Ontario, Canada

Hello Daisi,

Thank you for coming back with info. Good to hear your relatives are enjoying their cruise.

Hello CanadianTraveller22,

Thank you for your info and the short review of your cruise, especially regarding the water level situation. It sounds as if Viking have handled this very well "on the ground" in the past and last year's info on them hiring a local company to get people to see the Rhine gorge cruising and not as a bus trip was a very good move that assured me that crews on ships will do the best they can to make this situation as enjoyable as possible.

I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed watching all the castles so much. None of those castles are my favourite ones in Germany, but it is a unique part of the world with so many castles in abundance. One can take what is close to home for granted after a while; hearing CC members' enjoyment of the river has made me realize again what a beautiful part of Europe it is.

@Riversanddale: hope you are enjoying Speyer, it sounds an unsual place to go to pre-cruise. River level is looking promising for smooth sailing. Looking forwar to hearing about your experience. If it is not too much hassle, please inform ua about Danube conditions, but do not feel obliged to report. :)

notamermaid

Just heard from the family, no ship swap yet, and they (I think) have been told they are past the critical area. Cruisemapper still has them in the same spot, maybe it has the problem.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Hello Daisi,

sorry, I was under the presumption that they are going to Basel. As the ship is in Aschaffenburg - or was -, they are on the Main, so I guess they are going to Budapest. They are past the worst bits, the Main is not too bad, the canal should be o.k. anyway, but on the Danube things did not look too bright a couple of days ago. It has been raining, hopefully things will get better there over the next few days.

Viking has taken the notices for the Rhine off the website, but the Danube disruptions can be read online.

notamermaid

Hello Daisi,

 

Thank you for coming back with info. Good to hear your relatives are enjoying their cruise.

 

Hello CanadianTraveller22,

 

Thank you for your info and the short review of your cruise, especially regarding the water level situation. It sounds as if Viking have handled this very well "on the ground" in the past and last year's info on them hiring a local company to get people to see the Rhine gorge cruising and not as a bus trip was a very good move that assured me that crews on ships will do the best they can to make this situation as enjoyable as possible.

 

I am pleased to hear that you enjoyed watching all the castles so much. None of those castles are my favourite ones in Germany, but it is a unique part of the world with so many castles in abundance. One can take what is close to home for granted after a while; hearing CC members' enjoyment of the river has made me realize again what a beautiful part of Europe it is.

 

@Riversanddale: hope you are enjoying Speyer, it sounds an unsual place to go to pre-cruise. River level is looking promising for smooth sailing. Looking forwar to hearing about your experience. If it is not too much hassle, please inform ua about Danube conditions, but do not feel obliged to report. :)

 

notamermaid

We're the folks near Speyer today. German friends brought us down here for sightseeing.

We visited Ribeauville and Strasbourg today - very quaint and interesting.

Significant rain tonight, so the future bodes well for our cruise.

Sorry, CILCIANRQTS, got you mixed up.

There is a band of rain sweeping over Germany, sort of the area from Aachen, Cologne, through the Rhine valley, towards Frankfurt and further East.

Strasbourg I have still yet to see. Ribeauville, I stayed there on a short holiday for a couple of nights some years ago. Such a quaint place, indeed.

Have a great cruise.

notamermaid

thank you to everyone that posts updates on the river levels.

our journey starts 11/03 ams to Bsl. so watching this thread closely.

thank you again

Riversanddale, I've asked the family to keep me posted, the internet has been good for them so far, so hopefully it will remain so. I'll keep you up to date, as they will be ahead of you on the rivers.

Notamemaid, I'm not sure if I should cheer or not for the rain, I know it's badly needed, but for those on holidays, you wish for anything but...well, except snow I guess :)

Hello Daisi,

there will be snow on the mountain called Brocken, it is somewhat in the middle of Germany, close to the old inter-German border. Temperatures will go down to close to zero at night in the hills. But the rain is not forecast to be constant over the next three days. Cloudy and dry, even slightly sunny spells in parts of the Rhine valley are forecast.

Water level looking better, the situation really has eased for now, Kaub is at 94cm, Koblenz at 86cm.

notamermaid

Looks like our cruise from Basel on 31st Oct will be smooth sailing|!!! Thanks for all the updates Notamermaid. Judith

Hello Jay23,

yes, looking good. Levels still rising. It is now misty and slightly sunny in my area. If you are stopping in Koblenz you will be docking right at the Deutsches Eck and when you head up to Ehrenbreistein fortress you can overlook the valley and see the Viking Kara. If that is not possible for you here is my tip: have a look at the website http://www.bafg.de/DE/06_Info_Service/03_Webcam/webcam.html you can enlarge the webcam photo. Get someone at home to take a screen print (uhm, perhaps a mobile phone does it as well, I have no idea of this technical stuff) and store it, then you have a photo of your ship. While I am typing there is a Viking ship docked there. The webcam gives you some nice shots of the area when it is not overcast.

Have a great cruise.

notamermaid