Uniworld changes on Rhine

I will start a thread about uniworld changes to itinerary due to low water. Please add any updates.

We will be boarding the River Queen in a couple of days. Have been following her on marine traffic and so far, so good. If they do need to go to a plan 'b' I know Uniworld will treat us right, having done a plan 'b' once before.

RB

We will be boarding the River Queen in a couple of days. Have been following her on marine traffic and so far, so good. If they do need to go to a plan 'b' I know Uniworld will treat us right, having done a plan 'b' once before.

RB

Thank you for those encouraging words. This is my first experience with river cruising so maybe a little more concerned than normal. Hope all goes well with your cruise and you are able to enjoy the experience.

I have been following the ship on cruiseplanner and it looks like the Antoinette is moving down the river as scheduled. Also looks like rain in the forecast. :D

Update from the River Queen... while we were out touring Amsterdam the ship left for Utrecht to get a little further along. We were bussed for 40 minutes to catch up to the ship. Lovely drive to see the green fields and livestock after the hustle and bustle of the large city.

RB

Update from the River Queen... while we were out touring Amsterdam the ship left for Utrecht to get a little further along. We were bussed for 40 minutes to catch up to the ship. Lovely drive to see the green fields and livestock after the hustle and bustle of the large city.

RB

Awesome news. Thanks for the update. Enjoy your cruise.

River Queen is cruising toward Cologne right now. Water level is low...lots of 'new' beaches. A navigation buoy marking something underwater is stranded up on top of a pile of rocks.

A lot of the barges we are passing seem to have only partial loads so they can sit higher.

Good news is it is cloudy and cooler and it did rain a wee bit.

RB

Hello Ritabob,

Thank you for reporting. Sounds promising. The River Queen is only slowed down a bit. The barges are indeed much lighter, often loaded with only 30 percent of what they can normally carry. It has been raining upstream from you, so more water than in previous days is coming your way. Are you in your normal docking location? Viking had to move somewhere else with some boats as one of their docks was inaccessible.

Just across from Cologne town centre there is an infamous shallow called "Deutzer Platte", getting really tricky to navigate round now that the level in Cologne has also fallen so much. Deutz is the suburb you see when you face the river embankment opposite the town centre.

I hope you are enjoying Cologne. Please keep us updated about itinerary changes if you can.

notamermaid

We will be boarding the River Queen in a couple of days. Have been following her on marine traffic and so far, so good. If they do need to go to a plan 'b' I know Uniworld will treat us right, having done a plan 'b' once before.

RB

What was the plan b? We are travelling to Bucharest next week and suspect it may not sail. So what did they do when that happened for you?

What was the plan b? We are travelling to Bucharest next week and suspect it may not sail. So what did they do when that happened for you?

A number of years ago on the last cruise of the season water levels were low. There was enough for the captain to sail, but he would have had to go slower than normal and therefore might not get there in time. We were bussed to our next stop, had the tour there as planned, and then we're bussed to the final destination and put up in a hotel. We had a very early flight, so we're glad we did not have to travel very far to get to the airport, or miss it. We were not out of pocket for anything and were given a voucher to be used toward another cruise. And here we are on another cruise!

RB

Hello Ritabob,

 

 

Thank you for reporting. Sounds promising. The River Queen is only slowed down a bit. The barges are indeed much lighter, often loaded with only 30 percent of what they can normally carry. It has been raining upstream from you, so more water than in previous days is coming your way. Are you in your normal docking location? Viking had to move somewhere else with some boats as one of their docks was inaccessible.

 

 

Just across from Cologne town centre there is an infamous shallow called "Deutzer Platte", getting really tricky to navigate round now that the level in Cologne has also fallen so much. Deutz is the suburb you see when you face the river embankment opposite the town centre.

 

 

I hope you are enjoying Cologne. Please keep us updated about itinerary changes if you can.

 

 

We are docked just north of the Dom. The sun is shining.

Last time we were docked South of the Dom, next to the chocolate museum. Maybe today's location has to do with the extra calories I will need to burn to go to smell some chocolate?:D

RB

Early Saturday the 25th...docked near the Eck in Koblenz 14°C and a bit of rain, but now can see a slice of blue in between the clouds.

Now, if it would rain during the nights and be sunny during the days, life would be sweet!

RB

Early Saturday the 25th...docked near the Eck in Koblenz 14°C and a bit of rain, but now can see a slice of blue in between the clouds.

Now, if it would rain during the nights and be sunny during the days, life would be sweet!

RB

I’m loving your updates. Enjoy your cruise.

Traben- Trarbach(?) 7am Sunday 26th. Clear blue skies and mist coming up off the water. Leads me to think it is quite chilly out. Will have to get out of bed to check.:D

Sailing along the Moselle is fine and water levels are 'normal' as they are controlled by the lock system.

Last evening there was a long wait at the first lock at Koblenz where it was shallow.

RB

Ritabob,

Traben-Trarbach ist a nice place but not a standard port for river cruise ships geared towards the North-American market. Is this a planned stop? The town used to be an important trading place for wine and you can still see it's former wealth in some buildings. I recommend a cup of coffee in the Jugendstil Hotel Bellevue on the river bank with its original Art Nouveau interior.

It is indeed quite cool this morning but the sun is already shining with us.

Interesting that you had to wait at the lock I wonder if it is gravel deposits there or the navigation channel not being kept as deep as after the lock.

Have a great time. Will you be sailing up to Trier or further?

notamermaid

Ritabob,

Traben-Trarbach ist a nice place but not a standard port for river cruise ships geared towards the North-American market. Is this a planned stop? The town used to be an important trading place for wine and you can still see it's former wealth in some buildings. I recommend a cup of coffee in the Jugendstil Hotel Bellevue on the river bank with its original Art Nouveau interior.

It is indeed quite cool this morning but the sun is already shining with us.

Interesting that you had to wait at the lock I wonder if it is gravel deposits there or the navigation channel not being kept as deep as after the lock.

Have a great time. Will you be sailing up to Trier or further?

 

notamermaid

T-T was what I saw out my window at 7am. We were still cruising to our stop at Bernkastel. Originally the itinerary was to stop in Cochem, but because of a festival there today the streets are blocked to traffic, so our cruise director and captain switched things around and we will get to Cochem on our way back from Trier in a few days.

This afternoon either I will take a bicycle and ride along the river or take the tourist train up to the castle.

Yesterday I rode from the village of Lof to Koblenz on an organized tour, but did not have enough time to stop and enjoy the view, so maybe the bike?

RB

I’m enjoying your posts now that I found this thread & sounds good. Even though we are cruising with Viking, we will be doing what is the last leg of your cruise from Trier to Basel. Thanks for posting. Doing the rain dance for everyone.

Thanks Ritabob for your updates. We are departing Amsterdam on 9/10 on Scenic Jewel. We are scheduled for to be in Koblenz on 9/16 to enter the Moselle through 9/18. It is reassuring to hear no problems there so far.

Almost noon ...overcast and cool....rain once in a while, but not much. The Moselle valley does not disappoint no matter what the weather. So beautiful and peaceful.

The River Queen is about to dock in Schweich ( ?) and we will be bussed to Trier for the afternoon and tomorrow to Luxembourg.

Not sure why we are not docking in Trier as we have in past years.

RB

Thanks Ritabob. Will be interested to hear why you couldn’t dock in Trier.

Have a good day.

Thanks Ritabob. Will be interested to hear why you couldn’t dock in Trier.

Have a good day.

The story we got was there is only one dock in Trier and it is owned by Viking. And they need it for themselves. We are a 15 minute bus ride to Trier, so no problem, really.

RB

Tuesday morning 28th...9°C foggy, misty Schweich on the Moselle.

The plans for this morning are to be bussed to Luxembourg with a stop at the WWII cemetery, or straight to the city or to the Roman Villa Borg with a stop to the Saar Bow River viewing point.

While everyone is off , the ship will relocate to Mehring . Later today the ship will sail for Cochem.

RB

Thanks for taking time to provide updates. We are scheduled to be on the Moselle aboard Scenic Jewel on 9/17 and 9/18. So it will be interesting reading your threads.

Thank you Ritabob for your updates. Would love to hear what you or other cruisers think of Villa Borg. I like it and the Saar bow is a highlight of nature in that area. Whichever excursion you have chosen, I hope it is great.

For the others: Mehring is close to Schweich and still in the wider administration district of Trier.

notamermaid

I have been following the ship on cruiseplanner and it looks like the Antoinette is moving down the river as scheduled. Also looks like rain in the forecast. :D

when did you see that the SS Antoinette was moving down river? Our cruise on the SS Antoinette 12Aug to 19Aug Amsterdam to Basel was cancelled!!! Yet we saw photos on IG of "Pretzel and Sausage making" during that time period. I just think Uniworld doesn't want anyone to know they actually cancelled a cruise.