drisro1

Just got back to US from Uniworld cruise with ship swap. Overall it was a great trip. I’ll be signing off this forum but wanted to thank all who contributed to my education here, particularly notamermaid. Enjoyed it! Best of luck to everyone, hope you have wonderful cruises

Update on Uniworld cruise, we completed ship swap yesterday, left the RIver Princess in Straubing for day’s excursion, then buses to River Duchess in Vilshofen. As we bused by the Danube in that area you could see the sand bars from the low water, and could not imagine a cruise ship being able to navigate it any time soon. Since we are now on the River Duchess, whatever tour this ship was supposed to be on must be cancelled. Also in port was another Uniworld ship, SS Beatrice.

Live update on Uniworld River Princess. Cruise embarked today from Nuremberg (well not exactly embarked, as we are docked here next 2 nights). Got email yesterday evening that we would be on River Princess 3 nights, then bused to River Duchess for the rest of the trip. First part ends in Straubing, second part starts in Vilshofen. So, this is the “ship swap” version of our tour (Authentic Danube tour). Not perfect but better than land touring or cancellation. My biggest complaint about this is they have known this was the plan for several days, if not weeks, and did not inform until the day before the cruise started. It was clear to me based on this forum they could not sail the normal cruise, and if an idiot like me could tell, they could also. Also, since the River Duchess is covering part of this trip, whatever tour that ship was supposed to be covering was probably canceled, I assume. Anyway we are on board enjoying it so far!

Just a couple of notes Re: Uniworld. Even though they refuse to put on their website or in my DM’s with them on Twitter that they have any cruises cancelled, they have several ships that are not moving or not on the correct itinerary, so they have clearly cancelled some. A notice on the site yesterday (gone today) said the port site in Budapest had moved to a different site there (presumably due to water level?) and that the Authentic Danube cruise leaving Vienna Aug 5 would be on River Duchess instead of River Princess. River Princess is stuck upstream in Regensberg, and it looks like they may be doing a ship swap there with River Duchess. Wish they were more honest/transparent about the situation, but I am figuring it out slowly using their ship positions

Based on prior discussion w notamermaid, I think 135m ship probably needs 280 at Pfelling, but she can correct this if needed

Pfelling gauge up to 262, presumably from the rain about 36-48 hours ago, interesting to me the lag between the rain and water rise. Anyway, if it is like the last time, it will probably be a very temporary rise before falling again. Based on the movement of the Uniworld ships in the area, it looks like they may be doing a ship swap across the Straubing/Vilshofen shallow area, which would be a good sign for us. Would rather endure a ship swap than cancel the whole trip I think. Our trip departs Aug 12 from Nuremberg

Small follow up on behavior of cruise lines. I asked our travel agent to see what she could find out about the status of our Uniworld cruise departing Aug 12. She called the Uniworld rep for agents, who said all cruises were running at full speed. How blatantly dishonest. Not a single Uniworld ship has passed the low water area in over a week. I have been on two Uniworld trips previously, and the trips were great. The company, on the other hand, has been hard to deal with on several issues. Once all our cruise credits are used up, we will be moving on. Anyway, I am glad to have found this forum of nice people, makes the frustration slighlty more tolerable.

Thanks for the discouraging update. The River Princess, on which we are supposed to cruise Aug 12-19, was scheduled to go from Regensberg to Straubing today and on to Passau tomorrow. Looks like it went to Straubing and then back to Regensberg. I wonder if they are doing ship swap or “land cruising” the rest of the way to Vienna. No notice of cancellation of our trip at this point. We embark at Nuremberg so at least the ship is on the correct side of the impasse. Hoping for rain soon.

The water levels are not updating at Pfelling or any of the other stations near there since about 1300 on July 31, so I have no idea what they are. Had gotten up to 268 as I was checking yesterday. Not sure if the website is down or what. Still seeing no passage through shallow area, but several ships on both sides, Deggendorf about 5 and Passau about 10.

Update on water levels, after bottoming out at 252 around 0700 there has been slow rise to 258. Looks like there was rain over last 24-36 hours in the watershed area, so I expect more rise over the next couple days. I have seen no ships passing through the low area today, but several docked at Passau, maybe waiting for the rising water to dash through the shallows!

Level at Pfelling gauge at 260. Went up fast after last rain, from about 230 to 288 at 1:30 am, then fell fast to 260 now. Saw several ships passing the low area Straubing-Vilshofen earlier today, none at the moment. Looks like some rain moving in to the watershed of upper Danube, lets hope that helps.

Also, cruise mapper shows a 135 m ship MS Amadeus Silver III moving from Vilshofen towards Deggendorf, first ship I have seen in that stretch for the last week or so. Two others ships now also in that stretch. Either the gauge is broken or there is much more water, currently stating 286🤞

IF I have the right link to Pfelling gauge it looks like quite a rise to 273, presumably from the rain a day or two ago? Hoping for more rain

I have been monitoring cruise mapper for several days, and no ships seem to be traversing the Straubing-Vilshofen stretch at all. What would be a rough estimate of water levels needed to resume sailing through the area, understanding the variation between ship drafts and company policies will impact this? Above, notamermaid mentions 280-290 as levels we need. Seems like a pretty big difference from present 242. Our cruise scheduled on Aug 12. Doing a rain dance here.

Where is the low stretch? Scheduled on River Princess, 110 m, Nuremberg to Vienna next month. hoping to avoid buses. Thanks!