COLD temps in Danube ports..is river frozen ?

Just noticed the dropping temps along the danube and we leave in 3 wks for a passau to Budapest On a Viking cruise.

I wondered if there was ice on that part of the Danube or likely to be as the long range forecast as the temps dropping even more to -15c or more...yikes!

Any one on the Danube now who could comment? Or a river boat company rep?:confused:

In Prague now and just off Danube cruise. Cold temps but no issues with river.

Who knows in 3 weeks but last year in late December we cruised and had no issues.

remydiva,

The Canal is freezing over with extreme temps as there´s no current. The Danube river usually does not freeze over. It will take several weeks of extreme temps (-15 to -20°C) for it to freeze. It´s sort of an every 20 to 50 years event.

steamboats

I have no idea about right now, but it froze in 2008/2009 Christmas Cruise we were on, and we ploughed on through :) Our boat was going to panel beating after our trip.

We are also off in 3 weeks with AMA, and actually are hoping for the same weather we had last time :)

Hi, I am currently on the Viking Embla doing the Christmas Market cruise & the weather has not been too bad. Bits of rain, mid -30's morning warming to the low 40's by mid-day. Today it snowed for an hour but no accumulation because the ground is too warm.

This is my second time with Viking and this new long ship & the food are amazing!

Enjoy your cruise!

Hi, I am currently on the Viking Embla doing the Christmas Market cruise & the weather has not been too bad. Bits of rain, mid -30's morning warming to the low 40's by mid-day. Today it snowed for an hour but no accumulation because the ground is too warm.

 

This is my second time with Viking and this new long ship & the food are amazing!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Dear momzcruzing,

We’re happy to hear that you’re having a wonderful time aboard Viking Embla! If there’s anything you’d like to share with us at the conclusion of your trip, we’d be happy to receive your feedback at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com. Until then, enjoy the remainder of your cruise!

Best,

Viking River Cruises

Just returned yesterday from the Danube Waltz and the river was fine. Temperatures were in the mid to high 20's in Budapest Saturday and Sunday with a pretty stiff wind. The Christmas Market there is a delight to see.

I had heard that there were airports in Europe affected by the snow and that last weekend Ferenc Liszt Airport in Budapest was closed for awhile due to electrical technical difficulties. The rivers should not be a problem, but flying in and out of certain cities may be met with delays. Can someone over there comment about this?

SOShrink, I´m not sure what kind of comments you do expect ;)!

Sure, snow is always causing problems on airports. But that´s the same in Chicago O´Scare, Dulles, JFK or any other airports in the US during winter time.

A couple of German airports had delays and cancellations during the last few days due to the weather. Plus there was a short strike of the security staff.

steamboats

Steamboats, please...I wasn't picking on European airports......are you kidding? You have the most phenomenal in the world (Frankfurt, Schiphol, Munich, etc.)! I was mainly concerned if the Budapest Ferihegy Airport's brief closure or a problem with any other airport affected anyone's trip this week. Winter travel is unpredictable anywhere, and one should plan on arriving a few days early for any winter cruise because of this. By the way, I hope you have snow in Munich (not ice or rain!) to make the markets even more enjoyable!

SOShrink, no I didn´t understand your post as you picking on European airports. But no one can predict any technical problems either and I haven´t heard of any longer closures in Budapest. I once had a computer breakdown in Munich (never seen any lines like this) and one in Chicago (we were lucky as we got the last seats on our connection). Frankfurt had major problems when they switched to the new tower recently. And better don´t ask anyone in Berlin about airports... They got a brand new one but the opening (which should have been in June) is delayed for more than a year now (I think it´s supposed to open October 2013 but who knows...). They are talking about fire safety issues which have to be solved...

BTW we do have lots of snow and currently -12°C/10°F :eek:! But temps are going up by tomorrow and all the white stuff is supposed to melt away. You can check the webcams

http://kaufhaus.ludwigbeck.de/webcam-muenchen-marienplatz/

http://www.muenchen.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/webcam.html

steamboats

Danke, Steamboats!

We were supposed to be staying at the Louis Hotel and eating Hearty Sausage Salad at the Weisses Brauhaus while enjoying the Munchen Christmas Markets this week! Our trip was cancelled so we will intrepidly plod on and hope for snow once again next year! So enjoy the snow for us and be careful on the ice.....Steve

Steve,

Hope everything goes well and a speedy recovery for you wife!!

steamboats

A short update on the current river conditions:

We had a lot of rain over the last few days and temps are going up. We do expect up to 20°C/68°F for Christmas Eve which is way too warm for this time of the year.

Therefore the rivers are rising. Cologne has already built up high water protection. The Bavarian authorities to expect high water conditions for the Danube river too.

So those who are on a river cruise over Christmas and New Year you might expect some high water. Of course I can´t tell you right now whether and how much this might influence your cruise experience.

steamboats

A short update on the current river conditions:

 

We had a lot of rain over the last few days and temps are going up. We do expect up to 20°C/68°F for Christmas Eve which is way too warm for this time of the year.

 

Therefore the rivers are rising. Cologne has already built up high water protection. The Bavarian authorities to expect high water conditions for the Danube river too.

 

So those who are on a river cruise over Christmas and New Year you might expect some high water. Of course I can´t tell you right now whether and how much this might influence your cruise experience.

 

steamboats

Is high water bad?..I mean not "flooding over river bank high " but high?

It depends on how high the water will be... As Cologne is building up the high water protection they expect it to go over the river banks. An excursion boat company said their landings are still o.k.. When the water is getting too high the ships can either not land anymore because the landing is flooded or the bridges are getting "too low" for the ships to pass under.

steamboats

According to the latest news all traffic will be stopped later today on the Upper Rhine river between Germersheim and Iffezheim due to high water. They expect the river gauge to rise over 7.50 m in Karlsruhe this evening which is the number for shutting down all traffic.

The Danube river is still below the high water marks but only slightly. By this evening they expect it to go up to warning level 2 at Passau. As Passau has a pretty low bridge there might be problems there too.

steamboats

Can you be so kind as to keep posting up dates for the Danube? We are to start our cruise dec 29 at passau so good to know what might be happening.

Fingers crossed this doesn't become a bus tour....

Just noticed the dropping temps along the danube and we leave in 3 wks for a passau to Budapest On a Viking cruise.

 

I wondered if there was ice on that part of the Danube or likely to be as the long range forecast as the temps dropping even more to -15c or more...yikes!

 

Any one on the Danube now who could comment? Or a river boat company rep?:confused:

We returned yesterday from the same cruise on Viking Njord. It was cold at all ports of call (low 20s to mid 30s), but little to no precipitation all week. The week before it was considerably colder and they had quite a bit of snow that had largely been removed by the time we arrived. We saw NO freezing on the river anywhere, although there were a few slick spots on the ramps to and from the ship.

The cruise was great except for fat old guys like me who had trouble with the cold air.

My recommendation is to go and enjoy it - the cruise line will take care of you regardless of what difficulties are encountered.

Currently between Regensburg and Vilshofen the Danube river is on high water level 2 (out of 4). Passau had falling gages and is below the high water mark. But the water is naturally flowing downriver and will arrive at Passau some time. Fortunately it hasn´t rained too much in the South so all rivers coming from the South (like Isar or Inn rivers) don´t have too much water they can add to the Danube river. The rivers coming from the North have much more water but are smaller rivers.

The Upper Rhine river is closed down til Mannheim according to the TV news yesterday evening.

steamboats

We are currently between Durnstein and Melk, due in Passau tomorrow afternoon. We have had a half hour shaved off our times due to the high water, but so far all proceeding as planned.

Had very heavy rain and wet weather all day Vienna 2 days ago and a slight increase in temps which is now filling the Danube.

Quick update from Germany:

Rhine:

The water levels on the upper Rhine are dropping. Downstream of the Main / Moselle river's confluence still rising.

Main:

Still rising levels. Have been close to Bamberg today for lunch, the tributaries of the Main provide plenty of water, does not look so good for the next few days.

Moselle:

Water levels are dropping.

Danube:

Looks like it is dropping, getting better.

Weatherforcast predicts rain and snow.

this is like having my own weather person on location...thank you all for the updates of weather and water levels.

I read on the Viking website that the ship provides umbrellas so I unpacked mine ( remember me? I'm the one trying to do this trip with one 8 kg carryon)

Can anyone confirm umbrellas supplied by Viking?

Merry Christmas, happy Festivus and seasons greetings!

Viking ships do provide huge umbrellas.

The Upper Rhine river is open for traffic again.

steamboats