Danube water levels 2017 and similar topics

We have just completed our first "river cruise" with Viking. There wasn't much cruising at all owing to the low level of the Danube. We left Nuremberg and sailed to Regensburg and not much more than 24 hours later (after you can cancel if the cruise is not right for you) we were told we were staying another night in Regensburg then ultimately being bussed to Linz from where we continued having swapped ships to Vienna then to Budapest. I know the river levels are down to nature but surely such a professional and experienced company would have known about them? If we had been told we would miss the Wachau valley we would have cancelled and gone at a later date. As it is we feel let down, not by the river levels but by the lack of communication from Viking. It doesn't look like much is getting to do the whole Danube so beware as the levels are still low- check with your operator whether you will be cruising or on the bus!

I'm sorry to hear about your lack of cruising. We also just finished the Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest but thankfully we made it all the way through on Uniworld as apparently their ships have flat bottoms. The only issue was we couldn't board in Nuremberg so we took a coach about 45 minutes to the next port and embarked there.

In Vikings defense, they did post about all the cruises that could possibly be affected by the water levels and also have it listed on their website, but I do understand how disappointed you must be! [emoji853]

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Thank you for that but I don't see our ship on any of the lists above....the WiFi was so erratic we couldn't check anyway...why couldn't they just tell us?

Glamourpuss1000,

sorry to hear that. If you feel misinformed (river levels do change quite a bit at short notice) or informed too late you could raise this with Viking through their customer service. To give you some info - perhaps it helps - here is the water level for Regensburg of the last 30 days: https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/webservices/zeitreihe/visualisierung?parameter=WASSERSTAND%20ROHDATEN&pegelnummer=10061007&ansicht=einzeln It is always shown for the last 30 days so it is best to download or copy the screen as soon as possible to keep the relevant dates.

notamermaid

Thank you that is very helpful.

When we went through the stretch between Regensburg and Passau on the 19th of June, they said that at the shallowest point that there was only 40cm of water under the ship. This was on the Monarch Princess which has a draft of 1.7 meters (water depth 2.1 meters). Since a Viking long ship has a loaded draft of 2 meters they would have had only 10cm (about 4 inches).

Here's an interesting link that shows the current location of river ships, or search on a particular port to see the ships in the area. I was interested in the Gate 1 Monarch Queen. It appears that they are still being tracked by the previous names under AmaWaterWays before becoming part of Gate 1. The Monarch Queen was originally named the Amadagio.

this link is for the Monarch Queen - http://www.cruisemapper.com/AmaDagio-position?mmsi=211498130

and here's the map with all ships in the area of Budapest ( you may need to click on the map button in the middle of the page) - http://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/budapest-port-4091#livemap

and Regensburg (click on map button mid-page) - http://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/regensburg-port-4006

When we went through the stretch between Regensburg and Passau on the 19th of June, they said that at the shallowest point that there was only 40cm of water under the ship. This was on the Monarch Princess which has a draft of 1.7 meters (water depth 2.1 meters). Since a Viking long ship has a loaded draft of 2 meters they would have had only 10cm (about 4 inches).

Correction: intended to say Monarch Empress.

Thank you that is really interesting!

Correction: intended to say Monarch Empress.

RDC1 -

I'm glad you were able to get through. How was your trip with Gate 1? If the water behaves we'll be on the Monarch Queen, which I believe is similar to the Empress but a couple years older.

Thank you

Dear Glamourpuss1000,

We appreciate the feedback, and regret to hear of your disappointment with a perceived lack of communication. As other have noted, river levels can change on short notice; however, we are committed to keeping our guests updated and well informed on current conditions. If you would like to discuss your experience further, please feel free to reach out to us at TellUs@VikingCruises.com with your booking information so we may address your concern. We look forward to hearing from you, Glamourpuss1000, and thank you for cruising with Viking.

Best regards,

Viking Cruises

We have just completed our first "river cruise" with Viking. There wasn't much cruising at all owing to the low level of the Danube. We left Nuremberg and sailed to Regensburg and not much more than 24 hours later (after you can cancel if the cruise is not right for you) we were told we were staying another night in Regensburg then ultimately being bussed to Linz from where we continued having swapped ships to Vienna then to Budapest. I know the river levels are down to nature but surely such a professional and experienced company would have known about them? If we had been told we would miss the Wachau valley we would have cancelled and gone at a later date. As it is we feel let down, not by the river levels but by the lack of communication from Viking. It doesn't look like much is getting to do the whole Danube so beware as the levels are still low- check with your operator whether you will be cruising or on the bus!

RDC1 -

 

I'm glad you were able to get through. How was your trip with Gate 1? If the water behaves we'll be on the Monarch Queen, which I believe is similar to the Empress but a couple years older.

 

 

Thank you

It was very good. Ship was very nice and crew excellant. Food quality was very good with a European focus.

It was very good. Ship was very nice and crew excellant. Food quality was very good with a European focus.

perfect thanks! Hopefully our captain will be as adventurous and squeeze us through too.

Correction: intended to say Monarch Empress.

Thanks for the update ! Leaving on the 23 of July !

We have just completed our first "river cruise" with Viking. There wasn't much cruising at all owing to the low level of the Danube. We left Nuremberg and sailed to Regensburg and not much more than 24 hours later (after you can cancel if the cruise is not right for you) we were told we were staying another night in Regensburg then ultimately being bussed to Linz from where we continued having swapped ships to Vienna then to Budapest. I know the river levels are down to nature but surely such a professional and experienced company would have known about them? If we had been told we would miss the Wachau valley we would have cancelled and gone at a later date. As it is we feel let down, not by the river levels but by the lack of communication from Viking. It doesn't look like much is getting to do the whole Danube so beware as the levels are still low- check with your operator whether you will be cruising or on the bus!

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. That can be very disappointing. We are going on our very first Viking river cruise and are scheduled to embark from Nuremberg July 7th. We just received notice we might need to have a ship swap as the water levels are low between Regensberg and Passau. We were wondering if the bus stopped in Passau and all the cities that are scheduled until you were able to reach the other ship and continue on to Budapest? Thank you!

Hello FT300 we spent a 2nd day in Regensburg and they offered a day trip by bus to Passau, we stayed in Regensburg as we had arrived on the Sunday when everything was closed. So you can go to Passau but it's not by boat and you don't get to cruise the Wachau valley or go to Krems or Melk. You do have a choice then (if it is the same as us) of a non stop bus trip to Linz or an all day bus trip to Linz stopping at Salzburg for a few hours.From Linz you go to Vienna then to Budapest but because you arrive in Vienna later than scheduled all the excursions have to be fitted in so make sure you don't miss sailing into Budapest. Best of luck- at least you have been told unlike us!

PS I should have said from Linz it was by boat.

I am little puzzled by the fact that Viking did not arrange a boat to get you through the Wachau valley it being the most scenic stretch of the river on that itinerary (from what others have reported). Viking chartered a boat from a local company in 2015 on the Rhine to show people the Rhine gorge. It might be more difficult on the Danube, but there are local ships that sail through the Wachau valley - there are day trippers of course that want to see the landscape. Perhaps it is just to complicated to arrange.

notamermaid

Hello FT300 we spent a 2nd day in Regensburg and they offered a day trip by bus to Passau, we stayed in Regensburg as we had arrived on the Sunday when everything was closed. So you can go to Passau but it's not by boat and you don't get to cruise the Wachau valley or go to Krems or Melk. You do have a choice then (if it is the same as us) of a non stop bus trip to Linz or an all day bus trip to Linz stopping at Salzburg for a few hours.From Linz you go to Vienna then to Budapest but because you arrive in Vienna later than scheduled all the excursions have to be fitted in so make sure you don't miss sailing into Budapest. Best of luck- at least you have been told unlike us!

If I understand you correctly, the boat swap delayed things enough such that you went through wachau valley at night, bypassed Melk and were late into Vienna. I can understand being upset at that. Melk Abby is a highlight of the trip, as is Wachau Valley.

Hello FT300 we spent a 2nd day in Regensburg and they offered a day trip by bus to Passau, we stayed in Regensburg as we had arrived on the Sunday when everything was closed. So you can go to Passau but it's not by boat and you don't get to cruise the Wachau valley or go to Krems or Melk. You do have a choice then (if it is the same as us) of a non stop bus trip to Linz or an all day bus trip to Linz stopping at Salzburg for a few hours.From Linz you go to Vienna then to Budapest but because you arrive in Vienna later than scheduled all the excursions have to be fitted in so make sure you don't miss sailing into Budapest. Best of luck- at least you have been told unlike us!

Thank for taking the time to reply! This has been very helpful to us. We would love to see the wachau valley in the daytime and also are hoping to see all of the towns on our itinerary. We looked ahead at the weather and see rain in the forecast for the 7 th and 8 th in regensberg and passau as well as Vienna.

Who would think we would want some rain for our cruise-- but we do! Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my question. It is greatly appreciated.

Perhaps it is helpful to have a map to get your bearings of where the Wachau valley is in relation to Passau (border of Germany with Austria): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachau

I think I misunderstood you in that you sailed the Wachau valley but without stopping for excursions?

notamermaid

Just to be clear we sailed to Regensburg and the next time we sailed again was from Linz where we had been taken by bus. No Wachau valley, Krems or Melk by boat. Hope this helps, any questions I am happy to help.

FT300 it is going to take a lot of rain to bring the river levels up....I'm still in Budapest and the level is low here.

Just to be clear we sailed to Regensburg and the next time we sailed again was from Linz where we had been taken by bus. No Wachau valley, Krems or Melk by boat. Hope this helps, any questions I am happy to help.

If you got on the ship at Linz, and you went to Budapest you would have had to sail through the Wachau Valley, so I assume that when you say no Wachau Valley it was because the ship went through at night, in the dark.

That's right, we got to Linz about 18.30 got on the boat and off we went. Not what was advertised.