Rhine - water levels and similar topics 2015

Last night (12th) the water level at Koblenz reached a new record low for this year of 61cms. It was confirmed that the day trip boats can still sail. Of course, as I have mentioned some small docking stations cannot be reached. Rain is forecast for the whole of Germany for Monday evening. It is drizzling in the Rhine valley in parts today.

notamermaid

Just returned from Ama Dolce, Luxembourg to Nuremberg (with pre-cruise in Paris and post in Prague). To reference the low rivers. . .

As soon as we reached the Rhine in Koblenz, we were affected by low water. We were told the Ama Dolce ship is much shallower than most, so we were able to continue sailing, however we were told that it would be at a much slower pace. From the Rhine and into the Main, then the Main/Danube canal we were affected by low water.

It did have some affect on our stops and excursions, but nothing worth mentioning. It is a little nerve wracking when an onboard announcement is made that everyone must come to the lounge area for an meeting about a change in tomorrow's itinerary. You kind of look at each other and say "uh oh". But. . .AMA did a beautiful job of stopping along the river a little earlier than planned and busing us to our intended excursions, then as the ship sailed more slowly than usual, we were were on our excursion, then the bus took us to meet up with the ship. Very few excursions were affected, the only one I can think of that was totally cancelled was the bike excursion, since the ship would not be sitting in port. This way we did not lose much time just sitting in a port. I did not realize when booking a river cruise this is the norm anyway, it just made our bus trips to intended cities 5 or 10 minutes longer than they would have been anyway. Most referenced bus trips were only 30 minutes to cities such as Heidelburg & Bamberg.

We did lose power one evening when the generator went out and had to use the ports power. We lost a lot time that evening waiting for the generator to be repaired, but again the crew managed to make up for it without the passengers noticing much change in our itinerary.

When we departed the ship in Nuremberg on Sept 8th, some of the passengers that had been on the ship with us the previous week, were staying on the AMA Dolce and continuing on to Budapest. The crew had every expectation to be able to navigate that area of the Danube which had the lowest water. Again it was at a much slower pace than usual, and I'm sure they had to make some port adjustments on that stretch as well.

We had a wonderful time and any changes made, did not affect our trip or expectations at all. My advice if you are traveling right now with the low waters, just go with the flow and enjoy every city you do get to visit. Be spontaneous and make changes to suit what you love to see and do. It was truly an adventure for us we will never forget.

Have decided to be a maker of Lemonade:)

Have decided to be a maker of Lemonade:)

Lemonade is much easier to swallow than vinegar!! :D

Lemonade is much easier to swallow than vinegar!! :D

You are a wise woman!

We are on AMACerto departing Amsterdam Oct. 12 on Enchanting Rhine cruise. The only change noted in a letter we received from AMAWaterways was docking in Bonn instead of Cologne. The excursions to Cologne will not be affected. We will be bused to Cologne. We will still be able to see the cathedral. No other changes so far!

We are at the airport in Amsterdam and it is raining 👍. Heading home.

Due to some rain in the valley the Rhine has gained a few centimetres in the critical Rhine gorge. It is sunny but will get cloudier towards the evening. Rain is forecast. It is not likely to ease the situation but hopefully will keep it from getting worse.

All the area North of Speyer is still affected. To varying degrees.

notamermaid

Hello travelqueen555,

good to hear that you enjoyed your trip so much. Thank you for reporting on the Main and the Canal.

Just returned from Ama Dolce, Luxembourg to Nuremberg (with pre-cruise in Paris and post in Prague). To reference the low rivers. . .

As soon as we reached the Rhine in Koblenz, we were affected by low water. We were told the Ama Dolce ship is much shallower than most, so we were able to continue sailing, however we were told that it would be at a much slower pace. From the Rhine and into the Main, then the Main/Danube canal we were affected by low water.

 

It did have some affect on our stops and excursions, but nothing worth mentioning. It is a little nerve wracking when an onboard announcement is made that everyone must come to the lounge area for an meeting about a change in tomorrow's itinerary. You kind of look at each other and say "uh oh". But. . .AMA did a beautiful job of stopping along the river a little earlier than planned and busing us to our intended excursions, then as the ship sailed more slowly than usual, we were were on our excursion, then the bus took us to meet up with the ship. Very few excursions were affected, the only one I can think of that was totally cancelled was the bike excursion, since the ship would not be sitting in port. This way we did not lose much time just sitting in a port. I did not realize when booking a river cruise this is the norm anyway, it just made our bus trips to intended cities 5 or 10 minutes longer than they would have been anyway. Most referenced bus trips were only 30 minutes to cities such as Heidelburg & Bamberg.

 

We did lose power one evening when the generator went out and had to use the ports power. We lost a lot time that evening waiting for the generator to be repaired, but again the crew managed to make up for it without the passengers noticing much change in our itinerary.

 

When we departed the ship in Nuremberg on Sept 8th, some of the passengers that had been on the ship with us the previous week, were staying on the AMA Dolce and continuing on to Budapest. The crew had every expectation to be able to navigate that area of the Danube which had the lowest water. Again it was at a much slower pace than usual, and I'm sure they had to make some port adjustments on that stretch as well.

 

We had a wonderful time and any changes made, did not affect our trip or expectations at all. My advice if you are traveling right now with the low waters, just go with the flow and enjoy every city you do get to visit. Be spontaneous and make changes to suit what you love to see and do. It was truly an adventure for us we will never forget.

Yes, it is good to try and go with the flow, who knows, apart from a little adventure, you might also see something on the way that you would not under normal conditions. I am not talking about the old rusty bicycles on the sandbanks, although they can be interesting as well. :D

notamermaid

We are in Frankfurt today, leaving for home after a great week in Germany and Switzerland. For the last 3 days, we were in Mainz, and despite some rain the Rhine still looks lower than we remember. We took a drive to Trier yesterday and saw some of the Mosel, which looked fine to us. Sad to be leaving this beautiful place.

Hello jpalbny,

the lock and dam system is keeping the Moselle at a just about comfortable level, usually from Trier onwards downstream. There is official "low water" at the gauge at Perl on and off, has been for almost two months. That is close to France so will hardly affect river cruisers. They board a little downstream from there at Remich.

Good to hear you had a great time in Germany.

Have a safe trip home.

notamermaid

We had a thunderstorm and a downpour yesterday. It rained heavily in parts which means the water drains off into the rivers without soaking the soil enough. The water level at Koblenz has risen 30cms in 24 hours.

That wave will reach the lower Rhine later today and tommorrow.

notamermaid

The Rhine was still beautiful last weekend despite the low levels. Here was the view from our room in Mainz:

I miss it already.

What do the river levels look like now between amsterdam and budapest?

We sail 10/3

Thanks

Cheryl

jpalbny, that is the view towards the other bank - Mainz-Kastell - I believe. Very nice indeed. The light brown just above the water level before you look at the trees is what indicates the low water level. Normally this stretch of brown will be less prominent or not visible at all.

The water level reached its peak in Koblenz in the evening hours of the 17th and has been going down slowly again since. Water levels appear still lower than usual on the Main. People on that stretch have not reported problems other than ships going more slowly than normal.

I do not think the situation has improved that much on the Danube. Follow JVilleGal's thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2258104

3 October is - unfortunately - quite a few days to go. The weather can vary so much going from Amsterdam to Budapest. Overall trend in Germany at least is for dry and warmish weather.

notamermaid

We were docked in Reudesheim on Saturday morning on the Avalon Vista and as we left at 1pm you could hear the sand and gravel belong kicked up in our bow thrusters. Docking is getting more difficult, however the water is still ok for sailing.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hello gentlemancruiser,

not a reassuring sound. :eek:

Since your return the water level has gone up but unfortunately, has now been falling again for five days. The gauge at Koblenz is getting near the official low level mark. So things are not looking too bright. However, still no big problems when comparing the situation to the Danube or the Elbe.

The Danube is still struggling and the Elbe has become a "non-navigable brook" in parts.

No rain and pleasant temperatures forecast for the Middle Rhine over the next three days.

notamermaid

Another beautiful morning in the Rhine valley. The early wine is on sale; drink with caution as the fermenting process is still going on. It is called Federweisser. It is the sort of drink you cannot really take home as a souvenir. The bottles are - for safety reasons - uncorked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federweisser

The nights are chilly and the foliage is changing colour.

The river levels are still falling. First rain (not much) forecast in my region for Sunday.

notamermaid

We've had Federweißer! Though it was at an Austrian Heuriger, so it was called Sturm. Interesting beverage. The only way I can describe it is that it's similar to tasting incompletely fermented wine from the barrel.

Your weather sounds lovely; perfect fall weather! Wish we were there.

We are docked in beautiful Koblenz at the moment. Our ship is Avalon Felicity (Basel-Amsterdam)we and haven't had any delays or problems with water levels uIt is very low. Weather is what we refer to in Canada as an Indian summer. Loving the temperatures but many others are bundled up! Range from 6-18 Celsius

So many positive experiences and I will do a trip report in a few days.

Another beautiful morning in the Rhine valley. The early wine is on sale; drink with caution as the fermenting process is still going on. It is called Federweisser. It is the sort of drink you cannot really take home as a souvenir. The bottles are - for safety reasons - uncorked: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federweisser

notamermaid

Hi, Mermaid, ;)

Is this Federweisser as sweet as Gewertstraminer? I love Gewerts. From reading the wikipedia, it seems to be sweet. We sail 28 November. Will Federweisser be available at that time? (Viking Var, Rhine). Thanks for all your many helpful posts! :D

The weather sounds lovely! We will be Budapest to Amsterdam in mid-October, and hoping for fall colors and crisp temps... along with generous river-levels. (yes, I want it all!):rolleyes:

Hi, Mermaid, ;)

 

Is this Federweisser as sweet as Gewertstraminer? I love Gewerts. From reading the wikipedia, it seems to be sweet. We sail 28 November. Will Federweisser be available at that time? (Viking Var, Rhine). Thanks for all your many helpful posts! :D

Gewürztraminer isn't sweet -- it is "spicy". Also, there is nothing in your post worthy of shouting. Please stop doing this on every single post.

Koblenz reached official low water status yesterday morning with many gauging stations following suit over the last 24 hours. Apart from the Rhine, the Main shows up as low for quite a stretch now, the Neckar (tributary to the Rhine) has one station showing low, the Weser is low for more than half of its length, the Elbe (see the posts on the specific thread on update on the Danube) is sort of not a river anymore but a small brook.

The Moselle is surprisingly becoming the river to cruise in relative comfort and peace of mind rigth now. Only the station at Perl (first one in Germany when you follow the course of the river) is showing as low.

Please note that all these markings are relatives towards statistics gathered over years. If I told that Koblenz is at 78cm :eek: only it does not really help to put it in perspective as that is not the depth of the navigation channel. That is much deeper, but getting narrower and shallower by the hour. Not good at all. Docking problems have been a concern for two months now. I wonder if there will be vessels that will have to stop sailing.

Hello Iannek,

Thank you for reporting from fascinating Koblenz. I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise also. Save travels.

notamermaid

P.S.: will get back onto the subject of Federweisser later.

Hello DiPrincess,

and everyone who likes sampling wine :). As hostjazzbeau hast pointed out Gewürztraminer has a spicy note to it. "Gewürz" literally means spice or spices.

Federweisser according to my local greengrocers will be available from the vintners in wineries and at shops (even some supermarkets) until the end of October. It is unlikely that you will get it in November.

notamermaid

Grey and rainy morning here in the Rhine valley. The beer gardens will close soon for the season. :(