Elbe River

The Viking Beyla has completed her downriver cruise arriving in Wittenberg yesterday, doing the full cruise as scheduled. Same with the Viking Astrild a couple of days earlier.

So, despite relatively low water levels, cruising on the Elbe was well possible and looks like to be in the upcoming weeks, considering the recent rainfalls.

Thxs for current Elbe River status. We board the Viking Beyla on 16 October for (hopeful) river cruise to Berlin. Hoping it rains a lot this week so the 90 passenger river boat can make the trip without busing or deviations. Any comments on cruise hi-lites? We took the Viking Magni from Amsterdam to Budapest last August 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed it. Have booked a Viking Ocean cruise next Jul from Bergen NO to London UK.

Dresden is wonderful. Don't skip any opportunities for tours/excursions. Be sure to try to hear the porcelain glockenspiel in the Zwinger courtyard.

Just received email from Viking on 16 Oct Beyla departure. Even with recent rains, Elbe is too low for boat to depart from Decin (near Prague). Instead passengers will be bused (ok in a deluxe motor coach with on board toilet) to Bad Schandau or Dresden. Passengers will then be bused to visit the ports they missed - but will also miss the gorgeous scenery seen along the way from the boat. Has been raining there this last week but not heavily. On bright side, the weather forecast is for sun and weather in the mid-60's.

This is concerning for us, as we leave the States on the 20th...our trip starts 21st, but of course we spend 2 days in Prague...so plenty of time to get more rain. Wondering if Viking has given you a choice to cancel or not.

Another question I have is about tipping...if we are only on the ship for 5 days.

Another question I have is about tipping...if we are only on the ship for 5 days.

Usually you will tip the ship staff/crew for the 5 days you are there, but your tour guide who is usually with you throughout, for the full length of the trip.

Agree ship's crew is by the day but if you aren't on ship for lunch since you are instead on a bus not sure how that would figure in. I didn't buy their cancel for any reason insurance for this trip - if had I probably would have cancelled. No mention by Viking of offer for another trip, delay or refund. If its only first 2 days impacted, I'll make best of it. From past Viking trip - your glass is never half empty for long before they fill it again!

You can see Elbe River water levels at this web site - but it show good now (after couple days of rain) so maybe things will change before we get on ship. http://rivercruiseinfo.com/content/river-levels

Agree ship's crew is by the day but if you aren't on ship for lunch since you are instead on a bus not sure how that would figure in.

We usually just count the number of nights on board and go with that.

Thank you for your replies. One more question..do we need to sign up for excursions online. I've never done that before with Viking. DH has some walking difficulty so we always go on the slow walker tours, when offered.

Yes - some tours are limited space and do sell out. The first Prague Folk tour sold out before we could sign up - fortunately there was a second one but not exactly when we wanted to go. If there is still space you can sign up on board too - plus there are sometimes cancellations.

Wolfgangdieter...have a great trip...hope the waters cooperate!

We usually just count the number of nights on board and go with that.

That's also what we do.

Viking update page indicates low water on Elbe, but does not indicate that our sailing of October 21will be affected. Does anyone have a reading of what the water levels look like? Thank you for any input.

Hello CasaM,

https://www.pegelonline.wsv.de/webservices/zeitreihe/visualisierung?ansicht=einzeln&pegelnummer=501060

this is the 31-day graph for the Elbe in Dresden. Naturally then, as it its updated regularly, this graph will look different every few hours. You can follow it easily, the graph must not get close to the line with MNW written above it. The closer the graph is the more likely your cruise will be impacted. The gauge at Dresden is a good indicator, note however, that the problem could lie closer to the ports upstream and Viking, although having sailed, might not have your ship where it is supposed to be on embarkation day. They may also inform customers early these days, seeing that some do pre-cruise stays. For accurate information - meaing peace of mind if you feel you need it - I suggest you contact Viking directly. But having compared this year's cruisers experiences to what the gauges have shown it still looks good to me for this week. Not sure about next week...

With there being no rain in the area - we are enjoying a high pressure area all over Germany right now, till Wednesday I believe - the water level will continue to fall.

notamermaid

Our trip North to Berlin leaves today as planned out of Decin. Last week they indicated might have to board further down river at Bad Schanu (sp) or Dresden but fortunately now back on planned sailing schedule. Enjoyed our 4 days in Prague - boarding Beyla this afternoon. Recommend the Prague Food Tour with Hanna - small group with very knowledgeable local Czech. Food and wine excellent - with great history of local foods explained. Try the 11% original Czech Budweiser beer!

That's great news Wolfgangdieter...we got the email from Viking indicating that the water may be low, so hopefully we'll get lucky too...enjoy your trip!

Thank you wolfgangdieter for reporting back. I thought it looked good as the level is still over 1m. Glad to read you are having a great time. 11% beer, oh my goodness! The town is Bad Schandau, by the way, but it is nice that you will be able to sail the whole itinerary from Decin.

CasaM, this is probably too far out for a visit for you, but here goes anyway, the town Budweis (old German/Bohemian name): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8Cesk%C3%A9_Bud%C4%9Bjovice

Enjoy your trip.

notamermaid