Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

What a busy day it has been in Andernach! Andernach, never heard of it? It is a small town and definitely not a tourist hotspot on a river cruise. I have explained a bit about the town in post # 8: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2608575

hernstro yesterday suddenly found himself on the way to Andernach on the Scenic Jewel. Perplexing indeed. All is well now though as the Scenic Jewel has done the passage through the Rhine gorge. marinetraffic lost the signal just after Spay more than four hours ago. A standard occurence as the signal is weak among the hills. If you subscribe to marinetraffic it might be different but I cannot say for sure as I use the freely available data only. The signal should reappear in Rüdesheim or shortly after.

So, Andernach. The Scenic Jewel was docked there overnight next to the Scenic Ruby which is still there as I write. The Arosa Aqua left from there this morning, but now the Arosa Brava is there. The Crystal Debussy has joined them. It is an itinerary dock for neither of those ships, one of the Arosa ships possibly accepted as they have special cruise itineraries that do not follow the norm sometimes. What has happened? Low water certainly plays a part.

Andernach, Engers and Lahnstein have been established as "relief ports" for Koblenz which is very busy these days. The car park is basically full... And I think Andernach got the overflow today. Have a look at the port in Koblenz today: https://www.koblenz-touristik.de/fileadmin/Mediendatenbank/PDF/Belegungsplaene_Hotelschiffe/Belegungslan_2018.pdf You need to store this if you want to keep this dated 19 September as it will be updated soon I should think. The dates in red are fully booked. Just one note: this is the dock on the Moselle. Viking always docks on the Rhine and therefore does not feature in the list. Ships wanting to dock at short notice due to low water are not always easy to fit in.

The Avalon Artistry II was a guest in Engers today which I think is part of her standard itinerary right now. You can find the port in the thread mentioned above. But Engers being so close to Koblenz is ideal for a short coach trip to Koblenz, a point which makes that place with the impressive palace a great way to see the city that everybody wants to go to but dock out of the way. Or a way to plan the passage through the Rhine gorge without having to dock in Koblenz itself. Likewise this is the case in Lahnstein, a dock established by the local council in cooperation with AmaWaterways. See thread above.

The Viking Hild is still docked in Mainz by the way. She is the one that is on the itinerary to Trier. See some posts above.

Stop press: the Crystal Debussy has left Andernach and is on her way to Amsterdam.

The water levels: Maxau 367cm, Kaub 63cm, Koblenz 59cm.

notamermaid

 

The Avalon Artistry II was a guest in Engers today which I think is part of her standard itinerary right now. You can find the port in the thread mentioned above. But Engers being so close to Koblenz is ideal for a short coach trip to Koblenz, a point which makes that place with the impressive palace a great way to see the city that everybody wants to go to but dock out of the way. Or a way to plan the passage through the Rhine gorge without having to dock in Koblenz itself. Likewise this is the case in Lahnstein, a dock established by the local council in cooperation with AmaWaterways. See thread above.

 

She's now entered the Moselle. I don't think she's back on the Rhine and the Gorge until Monday or Tuesday next week. So fingers crossed some rain will help

Thanks, so she is on her normal southbound itinerary. The website had been updated so I could not find her exact scheduled dates in September. Monday or Tuesday looks promising for her to be able to sail through the Rhine gorge. I really wonder how much rain we will get. It is supposed to get stormy as well.

I have just remembered: if anyone is interested in getting Maria Laach into their itinerary there is an Avalon one that has Maria Laach as an optional excursion. At least it did last year.

notamermaid

Aboard Scenic Jewel. Yes, it was quite busy in that relief port, Andernach. Too bad we had to go downstream that far. Caused us to become 5 hours behind our itinerary, thus our stop in Rudesheim was scrapped. No mecanical musical museum or cable car ride. The gorge was beautiful, and we are thankful our tour didn't become a bus tour. On to Mannheim!

Thanks hernstro for keeping us updated.

Such great info and help. We’re looking at Amsterdam to Basel mid November 2019 with Viking but wondering what water issues we need to be looking out for. Are many riverboats sailing that time of year? Thanks for any thoughts.

Hello Riversanddale,

Mid-November for me is an "inbetween-time" of drab weather and remembrance time. While they say this is needed socially and for the soul before the festive season begins, on the river it can be a bit boring with no festivals, landscape in brown (leaves) and grey (sky) and the first seasonal closures of museums, etc. River cruise companies will of course ensure that you see much on the itinerary even in November and the tourist hotspots probably have business as usual. One plus can actually be the weather: you have fewer crowds, fewer river cruise ships (expect to see still quite a few though) and the mist over the river can make for some great photos. Expect the mornings to be frosty/chilly and the temperature in the afternoons anything between 2 and 14 degrees. Snow is unlikely on a seven-day itinerary but can happen, especially in the higher hills (Black Forest on an excursion for example).

As regards ships, here is the current list of who will dock in Rüdesheim: https://www.fremdenverkehrsgesellschaft.de/pdf/schiffsanlegungen_zwei_monate.pdf You can have a look at the list again when it is updated but I think one can already figure out that November looks to be not as busy as October.

I personally would not travel between 31 October and 25 November on the river. If you start mid-November and end on 26 November for example you might get to see one Christmas market. Otherwise you will miss them date-wise. Remember that they are closed on Sunday of the Dead, that is the last Sunday in November.

If you like it a bit more quiet and do not mind rainy, misty days then November can of course be a pleasant time.

notamermaid

It is a cloudy, windy morning in my part of the valley and one can sense that rain is coming. It will mostly come down as lighter rain, although thunderstorms are possible. It is currently raining in Cologne and the region west of the city, called the Eifel. As not much is forecast for the Upper Middle Rhine valley the expectation of a rise in river level at Maxau has been toned down. Sunday and Monday will bring more unsettled weather to the whole region so we need to see how much rain that will bring.

The current levels: Maxau 359cm, Kaub 65cm, Koblenz 57cm.

notamermaid

On the Viking Hild. Raining in Koblenz after a very nice and pleasant sail through the Rhine Gorge. Maybe the river will rise.....

I personally would not travel between 31 October and 25 November on the river. If you start mid-November and end on 26 November for example you might get to see one Christmas market. Otherwise you will miss them date-wise. Remember that they are closed on Sunday of the Dead, that is the last Sunday in November.

 

 

If you like it a bit more quiet and do not mind rainy, misty days then November can of course be a pleasant time.

 

 

notamermaid

As a tourist who doesn't enjoy tourists, I'm looking forward to our Rhine/Danube cruise in late October/early November. You've painted a pleasing picture of just what I'm looking forward to. Rain in October would be nice. Don't fancy buses.

We are on the Viking Idi currently in Cologne (9:30 pm, just leaving). Informed this evening that we will proceed through the Rhine Gorge tomorrow, albeit slowly! Yea-no ship swap!

We are on the Viking Idi currently in Cologne (9:30 pm, just leaving). Informed this evening that we will proceed through the Rhine Gorge tomorrow, albeit slowly! Yea-no ship swap!

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Thank you ~ please keep your updates coming! We are deciding this weekend whether or not to forego our trip. We're scheduled on the Viking Alruna next Saturday! Appreciate all insights.....

 

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Just out of curiosity - do you have cancel for any reason travel insurance? We have Allianz Global so unless Viking cancels or one of us becomes ill, we would be out the cost of the trip if we chose to cancel it.

Just got this from Avalon regarding Oct 11 departure from Amsterdam:

The low water levels on rivers in Europe this summer have affected our deployment for a portion of the Avalon Waterways fleet. Essentially, these ships were not able to transit a river sometime during the summer and were swapped with a sister ship in order to minimize impact to guests and avoid canceling a cruise. This then places that ship and her sister ship for the remainder of the season off of their normal rotation. Thankfully, our suite ships are identical and we can make this change with no disruption to your upcoming cruise experience.

Your new ship contact information is below. Your Cruise Director will be the same listed in your cruise documents.

Your original ship on Visionary has been swapped with its sister ship Artistry II. You will now be sailing on Artistry II. Please take note of this ship change for your upcoming vacation.

The situation in brief:

River levels: Maxau 345cm, Kaub 60cm, Koblenz 59cm.

And this is the infamous gauging station at Kaub: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegel_Kaub#/media/File:PegelKaubRhein.JPG

Notice the markings Roman I and Roman II on the wall. They are the markings for flooding. We are far away from those...

Storm warnings for many parts of Germany tomorrow afternoon. Most affected will be Baden-Würtemberg and Bavaria. The storm will also hit Hesse and Rhineland-Palatine, North Rhine-Westphalia to a lesser extent. 10 or 11 on the scale are indicated for the strongest affected areas for tomorrow (12 would be a hurricane of course).

Stay safe.

notamermaid

@ azbirdmom,

We do have the "cancel for any reason" insurance through Viking, yet we're still undecided as to cancel or not. I'm still trying to get a true picture of what's really happening with ship swaps, bus trips, etc ~ and finding that to be very challenging. I always appreciate NotAMermaid's updates (I've been graphing the water levels for the past month!) ~ trying to make the most informed decision that we can. Sometimes I feel that it would be a "relief" to the whole system to have a few less tourists trying to navigate around the area during this crazy weather.

I'd love to hear others' thoughts and opinions........still deciding.

Thank you all ~ stay safe everyone!

The storm will also hit Hesse and Rhineland-Palatine, North Rhine-Westphalia to a lesser extent. 10 or 11 on the scale are indicated for the strongest affected areas for tomorrow (12 would be a hurricane of course).

notamermaid

The Beaufort Scale:

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale

No storm in Bavaria, we have 22°C sunny and warm.

@ azbirdmom,

 

We do have the "cancel for any reason" insurance through Viking, yet we're still undecided as to cancel or not. I'm still trying to get a true picture of what's really happening with ship swaps, bus trips, etc ~ and finding that to be very challenging. I always appreciate NotAMermaid's updates (I've been graphing the water levels for the past month!) ~ trying to make the most informed decision that we can. Sometimes I feel that it would be a "relief" to the whole system to have a few less tourists trying to navigate around the area during this crazy weather.

 

I'd love to hear others' thoughts and opinions........still deciding.

Thank you all ~ stay safe everyone!

When considering to go or not, the most subjective factor is cost versus fun. No one can help with that because we all have a different perspective. I personally enjoy disruptions in plans (excepting poor planning), so the bus possibility doesn't bother me that much. (Eternal bathroom breaks at bus stops being an exception.) I'm happy to just tag along with whatever happens and enjoy the moment. Unplanned events can often be the things I remember most. I've also invested a lot of time in research and planning. I don't want all that to go to waste. Lastly, I object to letting mother nature get the better of me. Rain or shine, I'm having fun!

Thanks for the scale, G.M.T.. One would not think that it could hit hard tomorrow. Here it is just drizzly and cloudy with little wind right now. The Rhine valley is forecast to be affected from around 1500 hours tomorrow. This is the map as of today, it is a pre-warning, Passau has the storm forecast for 1900 hours tomorrow: http://www.wettergefahren.de/warnungen/warnsituation.html?ort=Passau

It is likely to be worse in the Bayerischer Wald, though.

Annoying thing is I have to work tomorrow.

River levels downstream from Koblenz are actually forecast to fall still which is not too bad just slows down the traffic a little. The depth of the navigation channel at Cologne is 216cm still (the pure mathematical calculation). The problems arise when ships want to dock and leave the navigation channel. See above about Viking docking in the harbour rather than its standard dock along the embankment.

While I am here: Maxau 349cm, Kaub 61cm, Koblenz 58cm.

notamermaid

@ azbirdmom,

 

We do have the "cancel for any reason" insurance through Viking, yet we're still undecided as to cancel or not. I'm still trying to get a true picture of what's really happening with ship swaps, bus trips, etc ~ and finding that to be very challenging. I always appreciate NotAMermaid's updates (I've been graphing the water levels for the past month!) ~ trying to make the most informed decision that we can. Sometimes I feel that it would be a "relief" to the whole system to have a few less tourists trying to navigate around the area during this crazy weather.

 

I'd love to hear others' thoughts and opinions........still deciding.

Thank you all ~ stay safe everyone!

It is a bit unsettling to be at the mercy of the river conditions. I know we would make the best of what we will be faced with but it would be a disappointment not to transit the entire river on the same ship. We would definitely opt out if they told us before we left for Amsterdam that it would be a bus tour the whole way. But we won't throw away several thousand dollars and cancel on our own. Sigh. Hoping it rains a lot over the next couple of days. We leave for Amsterdam on October 2nd.

Soduscruiser,

I understand your predicament. From what I remember you are scheduled to go on the Viking Getaway. It is a great trip I find, a nice introduction to several countries, if you have not been. As Viking does not really cancel this type of cruise - they had to give up trying to offer their cruises on the Elbe for the next few weeks - I think it will be your decision in the end. I like austinetc's attitude and if you are mobile, your nervous system can take a bit of rearranging last minute, and you do not yet know when you will next be in Europe, you may prefer to go... A coach will be the minority of your cruise kilometres if Viking needs to use a coach. Amsterdam to Basel is over 800km and the problematic stretch is anything between 45km and 200km roughly. A ship swap in the middle might even be without a coach at all. Basically get off the boat at Rüdesheim, get an excursion boat to Koblenz and hey, right there is your other ship! I admit, that is the happiest plan B, but it could well be that simple. If you do have to swap a ship at all.

If you are going Amsterdam to Budapest things might get a little bit more complicated.

Hope this helps.

notamermaid

Hi, just my 2 cents, we traveled Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking end July into August, we are totally adverse to bus trips, so when first swap announced we just hired a car, when 2nd change was announced, and told was becoming a bus/hotel tour we left, took flight to Amsterdam, and spent last 3 days of what should have been river cruise there and it was lovely. Notified yesterday our insurance is covering the trip interruption, it was done privately, not through Viking, so happy we did get our own insurance, and made sure we enjoyed our vacation on our own terms, good luck to fellow river cruisers, my philosophy, make the trip what you want it to be, and be willing to make the changes you need to accomplish your wishes

Hi, just my 2 cents, we traveled Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking end July into August, we are totally adverse to bus trips, so when first swap announced we just hired a car, when 2nd change was announced, and told was becoming a bus/hotel tour we left, took flight to Amsterdam, and spent last 3 days of what should have been river cruise there and it was lovely. Notified yesterday our insurance is covering the trip interruption, it was done privately, not through Viking, so happy we did get our own insurance, and made sure we enjoyed our vacation on our own terms, good luck to fellow river cruisers, my philosophy, make the trip what you want it to be, and be willing to make the changes you need to accomplish your wishes

So glad you had a happy ending – and a great attitude. Also, your insurance coverage seems to have worked out much better than some reports here that since the vendor was still operating they couldn't get any coverage. What policy did you have?

Update along the way of our Avalon Expression bus/ship cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest: We're now at Hilton Hotel in Bonn, after two nights at Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam and bus today, with stop in Cologne. We had heavy rain off and on all day, but I fear we're too far down river to help the water level at critical points on the Rhine. Tomorrow we bus to a town in the Rhine Gorge, where we'll take a three-hour tour on a local steamer to Rudesheim; after touring there, we'll bus to Frankfurt for one night at Marriott. Then bus to Passau -- and our ship! -- after a short tour in Nuremberg. (We'll be aboard the ship a day earlier than the first revised itinerary, by the way.) Avalon has added some extra stops in Upper Austria to make up for missing the entire Main River. Avalon is taking very good care of us. (See my previous post about the financial adjustment.) It's not exactly what we bargained for, but it's hard to complain, unless you either truly hate a few days on a bus or just enjoy complaining.

jbeuks,

that is such an disappointment. Amsterdam to Cologne is a bit of a distance to travel. Bonn is a nice place but certainly not where you wanted to be. I am glad to read that Avalon is able to provide you with a scenic cruise on an excursion boat through the Rhine gorge, even if it is only three hours. The Frankfurt Marriott is about 2km away from the town centre. I expect they do not provide any activities in Frankfurt as you will be in Rüdesheim for a while. It is somewhat a pity as Frankfurt does have some interesting features and great museums. From Frankfurt to Passau it is a long day on a coach. I wonder why do not include Bamberg or Regensburg at least. Perhaps hotels in that area cannot provide what Avalon needs for the passengers to be able to get close to the original itinerary. So you will have a more intensive sailing on the Danube. This can also be nice. I hope all goes well with the amended itinerary.

It is getting warmer again over the next three days which sounds promising for some lovely autumn days.

notamermaid