Low Waters Divert Danube and Elbe Cruises

Just heard from my parents. The rest of their Viking Alta vacation did become a bus tour. In their brief email to me , they said that Viking has been putting them up in 5 star hotels and they are eating in wonderful resturants. It sounds like they are being treated well under the circumstances .

Seems to be the Viking Embla in port of Budapest right now if the tracker can be relied on.

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Thank you very much for the information. I would like to know what site this information can be found on.

I believe it can be found on marinetraffic.com You have to seach by port name. You'll find almost any vessel anywhere in the world!!

I think this is what you are looking for!

http:// rivercruiseinfo.com/content/river-levels

 

 

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Yes, this is the site I saw. The only problem is that it shows "lower than usual", but doesn't show what usual is.....so we can't determine HOW far from normal the river is up/down.

I did follow this link tho

http://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/gast/karte/standard

and it does a better job at showing where the issues are. (IMHO!)

Yes, this is the site I saw. The only problem is that it shows "lower than usual", but doesn't show what usual is.....so we can't determine HOW far from normal the river is up/down.

 

 

 

I did follow this link tho

 

http://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/gast/karte/standard

 

and it does a better job at showing where the issues are. (IMHO!)

No wonder I didn't find that one, it's in German! But then the Danube is in Germany, go figure ;)

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Hello beverlyjack,

Notamermaid,

 

My source on dimensions of the ships, rivercruiseinfo.com, agrees with yours on the draft of the Schumann, with a minimum draft of 0.9m and a maximum of 1.26m. Grand Circles Elbe ship the Allegro draws somewhat more water with a minimum of 0.97m and a maximum of 1.30. The Elbe is the shallowest of the navigable European rivers and the most problems at low water, so all of the ships must be shallow draft. It can also have high water problems with low clearance under bridges

Thank you. I have since found a similar range of draft for the Schumann.

By the way, another German company - Phoenix - has cruises on the Elbe as well. They use the ship Saxonia. I do not think they market outside of Germany, really.

notamermaid

@all,

sorry to have raised hopes with the Viking update. I try again :rolleyes::

the Viking Idi is shown out of range on marinetraffic, yet the track indicates the Idi moved from Vilshofen to Passau this afternoon and is now close to the cathedral. That would tie in with the webcam which I interpret as showing a Viking longship (too dark to make out more).

It is still possible for the Idi to get to Amsterdam in time, but that would mean mostly sailing, but I think not the itinerary it is supposed to, i.e. stops in Bamberg, Nürnberg, etc.

notamermaid

@all,

 

sorry to have raised hopes with the Viking update. I try again :rolleyes::

 

the Viking Idi is shown out of range on marinetraffic, yet the track indicates the Idi moved from Vilshofen to Passau this afternoon and is now close to the cathedral. That would tie in with the webcam which I interpret as showing a Viking longship (too dark to make out more).

 

It is still possible for the Idi to get to Amsterdam in time, but that would mean mostly sailing, but I think not the itinerary it is supposed to, i.e. stops in Bamberg, Nürnberg, etc.

 

notamermaid

A friend who is sailing with us on the Idi on 7-1-14 just called Viking. He was told that only 2 ships are having problems and that we will be able to sail on the Idi out of Amsterdam on 7-1-14. I'm afraid she won't make it for our sailing.

That appears to be the case. Cruise Critic's news item has been updated twice and now contains the following statement:

APT Tours, Avalon Waterways, CroisiEurope, Emerald Waterways, Riviera Travel, Scenic Tours, Titan Travel and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, however, are reporting business as usual.

It never ceases to amaze me how CC continually leaves out Tauck in its updates. Once again I checked with the Tauck website and boards and it's business as usual with them also.

That appears to be the case. Cruise Critic's news item has been updated twice and now contains the following statement:

APT Tours, Avalon Waterways, CroisiEurope, Emerald Waterways, Riviera Travel, Scenic Tours, Titan Travel and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, however, are reporting business as usual.

Thank you.

Wouldn't it figure that the one I'm interested in, AMA, is conspicuously absent? :confused:

Thank you wrldcrzr.

That is a fantastic site, giving up to date location speed, etc. on ships throughout the world. It takes a little getting used to, but for example, you can see that, as of 17:00 EDT that the Viking Embla had left Budapest, heading downstream, after arriving in Budapest on Saturday. You can even see that it went upstream after embarking, apparently for a scenic view of Budapest, before turning downstream.

Anyone planning a cruise or in preparation for departure should absolutely use this site. http://www.marinetraffic.com/en. It is also available as and APP on Google Play for $4.99. I am also looking at some free apps. The FindShip app looks OK, but can not compare to MarineTraffic.

Thanks again

The Idi is currently at dock in Passau, after arriving there at 08:18, with an ETA in Amsterdam at 20:14 on 7/1. Good luck.

Grand Circle is another cruise line that CC ignores.

Thank you.

Wouldn't it figure that the one I'm interested in, AMA, is conspicuously absent? :confused:

Our Host did mention APT Tours and they are the Australian partners of AMA so I guess you're covered .....:)

The Idi is currently at dock in Passau, after arriving there at 08:18, with an ETA in Amsterdam at 20:14 on 7/1. Good luck.

 

Grand Circle is another cruise line that CC ignores.

It is now 8.30am here. I checked the Idi 12 hours ago and I believe it has moved under a bridge and to the other side of the river in that time. (in Passau)

Our Host did mention APT Tours and they are the Australian partners of AMA so I guess you're covered .....:)

Thanks.

Good to go for now anyway.

It never ceases to amaze me how CC continually leaves out Tauck in its updates. Once again I checked with the Tauck website and boards and it's business as usual with them also.

Actually, CC did not leave out Tauck . . . Jazzbeau only copied one paragraph from a rather lengthy article. Had two graphs been copied we would have seen . . .

APT Tours, Avalon Waterways, CroisiEurope, Emerald Waterways, Riviera Travel, Scenic Tours, Titan Travel and Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, however, are reporting business as usual.

 

Tauck has experienced only minimal impact, according to a representative, being forced to dock slightly outside of one port and bus guests in for sightseeing tours.

I wonder if it's CC not contacting other lines, or if it is the other lines not responding to inquiries. If it is the latter, sure wish CC would report that they asked, or tried to ask, and got no response. Until they report that way, I have to assume that CC did not ask.

@all,

 

sorry to have raised hopes with the Viking update. I try again :rolleyes::

 

the Viking Idi is shown out of range on marinetraffic, yet the track indicates the Idi moved from Vilshofen to Passau this afternoon and is now close to the cathedral. That would tie in with the webcam which I interpret as showing a Viking longship (too dark to make out more).

 

It is still possible for the Idi to get to Amsterdam in time, but that would mean mostly sailing, but I think not the itinerary it is supposed to, i.e. stops in Bamberg, Nürnberg, etc.

 

notamermaid

The Viking Idi has been in Passau for two full days so I'm not sure if it will make Amsterdam on 7/1/14 or not. I guess we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Actually, CC did not leave out Tauck . . . Jazzbeau only copied one paragraph from a rather lengthy article.

Sorry, my bad. Didn't mean to omit Tauck. I was focused on answering the question without running afoul of the new rule around here that you can't talk unless you have actually sailed on the vessel ;)

My wife and I are scheduled to sail on the Viking Lif from Budpest to Amsterdam on July 26th 2014. We are planning on visiting Prague for 3 days before the cruise which means we fly out of DFW on July 22 2014.

Will we be able to make the cruise based on what I am seeing here about low water levels on the rivers we are supposed to cruise on?

I understand what I will be getting is opinions but I would appreciate your input.

I am also trying to understand the cruise insurance policy and its restrictions on what you can cancel for. I don't see low water mentioned.

Thanks for the assistance.

Sorry, my bad. Didn't mean to omit Tauck. I was focused on answering the question without running afoul of the new rule around here that you can't talk unless you have actually sailed on the vessel ;)

Is that a rule? ;)

My question is, since last year's river cruises had issues with flooding, making it so that the boats couldn't go under bridges = bussing around the problem areas.

This year the problem is low water, causing some boats to scrape their bottoms, again = bussing to avoid the problem areas.

Any guesses what happens next year?

Is it typical that flooding/low water levels happen every year?

Any guesses what happens next year?

 

Is it typical that flooding/low water levels happen every year?

In 2012 we made it without any busing

The river was a bit high but we got under the bridges

You just never know

My question is, since last year's river cruises had issues with flooding, making it so that the boats couldn't go under bridges = bussing around the problem areas. This year the problem is low water, causing some boats to scrape their bottoms, again = bussing to avoid the problem areas. Any guesses what happens next year?

Next year all the river cruises will be cancelled because the weather is too moderate... ;););)

It is now 8.30am here. I checked the Idi 12 hours ago and I believe it has moved under a bridge and to the other side of the river in that time. (in Passau)

8 hours later and the Idi is still in Passau. Just noticed the Magni is also there.

Is it typical that flooding/low water levels happen every year?

Yes, that´s nature! No one can tell you what happens next year!

BTW, there are rivers in the US too and I´ve cruised them (acutally I started river cruising in the US). I had my cruises shortened two times because of high water.

Please, don´t rely too much on Marinetraffic (BTW I got the Android app for free). First, Marinetraffic does not cover all areas regarding the inland rivers. Second, sometimes you know a ship must be in a certain port covered by Marinetraffic and it doesn´t show up. Make a search for this specific vessel et voilà it shows up.

Good news for you (not for me), it currently pours here in Southern Bavaria (actually Munich)! Not sure whether this helps much and how much of the water now going into our Isar river will arrive at the Danube river. But at least it´s raining.

steamboats

Just heard from my parents. The rest of their Viking Alta vacation did become a bus tour. In their brief email to me , they said that Viking has been putting them up in 5 star hotels and they are eating in wonderful resturants. It sounds like they are being treated well under the circumstances .

If I book a river cruise and the company cannot deliver a river cruise, for whatever reason, then by all means cancel it! A bus trip using nice hotels and restaurants is not a substitute. Looking at pavement is not the same as looking a water. I realize that the cruise lines cannot control the river levels but that is one of the risks of their business. If they are unable to deliver their product as promised, then cancel. Will the company loose money, of course but that is one of the costs of this business and it should not be passengers that suffer a loss so the cruise line doesn't.

I am aware that some river conditions happen after a cruise has begun so maybe in that case bussing is the best option. However, I am reading posts from those about to leave home, fly thousands of miles and have no idea if they will be on a boat or a bus. To even the most flexible traveler, that is not a good situation and should not happen. Just my opinion here.

I also wonder why Viking builds ships that seem to be more impacted by low water levels than the ships used by other lines?