Low Waters Divert Danube and Elbe Cruises

[Mapua]

Soon to begin our cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.....would love any up dates on state of river.......or any ideas on what is happening with other Cruises in this area.....

We start on the 2cnd of July in Budapest on the Avalon Impression...Our first river cruise!!

[crm911]

Just left Nuremberg, heading to Budapest. No change of ship, thank heavens. Light drizzle, on and off, but probably need a downpour to be useful.

[CPT Trips]

A reason I could imagine is that they need to swap ships to get the ships to a certain point and back to their normal schedule (unless they want to mess up the whole year´s schedule).

 

steamboats

 

That would make sense . . .

I doubt that many, any, of us would notice the difference seeing that they are identical. Guess it might matter to the company if locking and docking are pre-reserved.

[rudeman]

Soon to begin our cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.....would love any up dates on state of river.......or any ideas on what is happening with other Cruises in this area.....

We start on the 2cnd of July in Budapest on the Avalon Impression...Our first river cruise!!

 

Hey, Mapua - my wife, Audrey and I (Rudy) are also on this cruise. Staying positive and I'm sure we will be fine. Supposed to get rain the next 2 1/2 days in the areas that have been affected. Keeping fingers crossed.

[Ukalady]

Our Viking "Grand European" cruise (Amsterdam to Budapest) doesn't begin until Aug. 5, but, watching the messages here, I contacted Viking to: a) See how responsive they truly are; b) Make a "connection" at Viking prior to making our decision re: possibility of invoking our "cancel with any cause" insurance in late July; and, c) finding out what a current Grand European itinerary is experiencing in how many nights on ship vs. how many in hotel to get some idea of a worst case scenario ('though I know it could be more "worse"!).

 

I was pleased to get a response within two days from Viking. I quote it here in case it helps anyone else contemplating a similar upcoming cruise. And, yes, I understand that water level situations are fluid (pun intended) and likely can/will change between now and when we leave for our trip in 30 days.

 

Viking's response is below:

 

As we discussed, the nautical team has been monitoring the water levels closely and they do believe that we should be operating business as usual on sailings starting in the next week. The current Viking Atla sailing (departed Budapest June 24) did have to spend 3 nights in hotels (2 nights in Budapest and 1 night in Vienna) but according to the email we received today, Viking Atla has arrived in Vienna to pick up all of her guests and should be back on schedule for the remainder of their Grand European Tour.

 

Of course it is too early to determine what the river levels will be like in August, but I can assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and as we discussed, I will call you on July 28, 2014, to advise if there has been any changes and if there is anything you and your mother should be worried about concerning your upcoming cruise.

 

In the meantime, if you or your mother have any additional questions, please feel free to give me a call.

[Worldcrzr]

Our Viking "Grand European" cruise (Amsterdam to Budapest) doesn't begin until Aug. 5, but, watching the messages here, I contacted Viking to: a) See how responsive they truly are; b) Make a "connection" at Viking prior to making our decision re: possibility of invoking our "cancel with any cause" insurance in late July; and, c) finding out what a current Grand European itinerary is experiencing in how many nights on ship vs. how many in hotel to get some idea of a worst case scenario ('though I know it could be more "worse"!).

 

I was pleased to get a response within two days from Viking. I quote it here in case it helps anyone else contemplating a similar upcoming cruise. And, yes, I understand that water level situations are fluid (pun intended) and likely can/will change between now and when we leave for our trip in 30 days.

 

Viking's response is below:

 

As we discussed, the nautical team has been monitoring the water levels closely and they do believe that we should be operating business as usual on sailings starting in the next week. The current Viking Atla sailing (departed Budapest June 24) did have to spend 3 nights in hotels (2 nights in Budapest and 1 night in Vienna) but according to the email we received today, Viking Atla has arrived in Vienna to pick up all of her guests and should be back on schedule for the remainder of their Grand European Tour.

 

Of course it is too early to determine what the river levels will be like in August, but I can assure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and as we discussed, I will call you on July 28, 2014, to advise if there has been any changes and if there is anything you and your mother should be worried about concerning your upcoming cruise.

 

In the meantime, if you or your mother have any additional questions, please feel free to give me a call.

 

Thank you for posting this update. We are keeping our fingers crossed that our 7-1-14 thru 7-15-14 cruise Amsterdam to Budapest on the Viking Kvasir will go without any problems.

[gentlemancruiser]

Soon to begin our cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.....would love any up dates on state of river.......or any ideas on what is happening with other Cruises in this area.....

 

We start on the 2cnd of July in Budapest on the Avalon Impression...Our first river cruise!!

 

 

Good to know. We are on the Impression leaving Budapest on July 28th. We hope there will be some rain before then!

 

 

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[Gaznjo]

We are currently on the avalon expression and have made it through the danube ok . The river is low so cross fingers for a little rain....... We are really impressed with avalon

 

 

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[purduemom1]

Yes purduemom, APT is all inclusive, even local guides. You do not need to spend another cent on their tours. To us that is very important as you know exactly what the trip will cost, excepting of course, the shopping you do at ports :)

 

 

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That is a nice feature. One less thing for you to handle. Only need to arrange money for your own purchases. Have you used APT for other trips. We might consider booking an AU, NZ tour (land tour) with them. So wondering if they are a good company to work with.

Sharon

[Mapua]

Thank you so much for all your information regarding state of river and possible scenarios that could be....we realize all Cruise Company's will be doing their upmost to sort out any problems that arise.....we are at this time in Italy and fly to Budapest Tuesday x fingers is probably the best anyone can do....

Will watch closely for any updates .......Unfortunately we have heard nothing from Avalon since Friday .......promise to get all 4 of us Kiwis to do a rain dance on reaching Budapest....

[Mapua]

Look forward 2 meeti g you guys on board. Mapua.. .

 

Tony and June

[ellenw]

I truly hope everything works out for everyone regarding the river levels. We are cruising on the Rhine in May 2015 on Viking. Will definitely be watching closely then.

 

I do want to mention that this is the first CC thread where I have ever heard travelers praying for rain and doing the rain dance! Usually, everyone wants perfect sunny weather for travel!

[steamboats]

Seems like the still ongoing rainfall has helped a bit. The levels have gone up and on this map you see less orange and more yellow and green dots. Green meaning no low water, yellow low water, orange very low and red extreme low...

 

Not sure how long this will last on as the forecast for the weekend is hot... 90ies maybe coming back. Rain is supposed to stop tomorrow.

 

steamboats

Edited June 30, 2014 by steamboats

[notamermaid]

Hello steamboats,

 

lots of rain in Southern Germany this morning, great for the upper Rhine and upper Danube. Levels are rising on the Rhine. Hopefully this will be enough to see us through a warm week and even warmer weekend.

 

In 24 hours (7am to 7am) the Passau water level has risen 13 centimetres. Does not sound much but could make a substantial difference towards being able to sail.

 

notamermaid

[G.M.T.]

The outlook for the Donube botttleneck (Straubing) for at least the next two days looks good (see attached), Danube expected to rise to 240 cm. We have had a lot of rain the last two days but that water reaches the Danube within 6 hours, what is needed is heavy rain fall in Southern Germany so that the tributaries supply a steady flow to the Danube over a longer period.

 

Yesterday in Passau, I did see boats arriving and departing both upstream and downstream.

Straubing.pdf

[Crochet Queen]

That is a nice feature. One less thing for you to handle. Only need to arrange money for your own purchases. Have you used APT for other trips. We might consider booking an AU, NZ tour (land tour) with them. So wondering if they are a good company to work with.

Sharon

 

Hi Sharon

This is our first trip with APT, however several others we have met up with since arriving in Europe are on their 5th or 6th APT tour in Europe, Canada & Alaska & Australia & swear they would not use anyone else. They just seem to go that bit extra and make sure it is not only a great holiday but an unforgettable experience.

 

This is our 3rd European River Cruise with APT since arriving in Europe in May & starting in Monte Carlo on the AMAdagio in Arles, to present (Linz, Austria) they have treated us like royalty.

 

So I wouldn't hesitate recommending them :)

 

Betty

 

 

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[sippican]

Thank you for the updates!

[rudeman]

We just arrived in Budapest. Keeping fingers crossed for full Budapest to Amsterdam sailing on Avalon Impression starting Wednesday!

 

 

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[maysdot]

We just arrived in Budapest. Keeping fingers crossed for full Budapest to Amsterdam sailing on Avalon Impression starting Wednesday!

 

 

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Hi Rudeman...We are travelling on Avalon Vista August 6 Budapest to Amsterdam so hope that you will report on your Avalon Impression trip once in a while. As you said, fingers crossed for enough rain to keep the river boats "afloat" for this summer season :):)

[gentlemancruiser]

We just arrived in Budapest. Keeping fingers crossed for full Budapest to Amsterdam sailing on Avalon Impression starting Wednesday!

 

 

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Can't wait to hear your 'impressions' of the trip. Hopefully no problems with water levels.

[Avalon Waterways]

Our collective rain dances worked!! The rain Central Europe received this weekend allowed Avalon ships to return to normal operation. Thanks again for your positive feedback and support last week. It was SO appreciated. Happy cruising!

[crm911]

Evergreen Tours (Emerald Waterways) Emerald Sky will be going all the way to Budapest! It was pouring in Salzburg this morning, but sunny in the afternoon and also in Linz this evening.

 

Forecast for Melk tomorrow is a high of 28C and sunny.

[rudeman]

Maysdot and gentlemancruiser - we'll do our best to keep all informed as we go. So looking forward to it.

 

 

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[steamboats]

To all of those river cruisers flying in from the US:

 

Maybe you can just take a gallon or two of water with you...:rolleyes:. I just got the reports that the Upper Mississippi river is facing a major flood (which is expected to be the second highest ever) :(. Those folks there would be happy if you all take a gallon or two and bring it over to the Danube (Elbe or Rhein) river...

 

For all complainers:

 

I´ve been on the Queen of the Mississippi last year in August. My cruise should have been St. Paul to St. Louis (Upper Mississippi River). Only by chance and thanks to good friends whom I wanted to meet up with I received an email on Monday that my boat won´t go to St. Paul but Cincinnati due to low water. My flights were on Thursday. It took us all day to get the official o.k. from the cruise company and organize everything else. We fortunately were able to rebook our connections from Philly to Cincy instead of Minneapolis. Rental car and pre cruise hotel could be cancelled and rebooked with no extra cost. The (independently booked) flights were a bit more than 500 Euros for the three of us (and no one did refund these extra costs). Compensation given onboard was: all tours were for free (but I wouldn´t have booked them as I´ve been there before - but I went on the tours now they were "included"). So my cruise was from Cincinnati to St. Louis (o.k. I didn´t mind about that as I´ve been there before). I was sorry I missed out all my friends on the Upper Mississippi river whom I wanted to meet throughout the cruise. But I was lucky and contacted a friend near Cincy and we had a wonderful day together pre cruise.

 

Please keep all in mind that when you do book a river cruise it´s always depending on the weather. Yes, your cruise might be diverted or turn into a bus trip. The river cruise company is trying to make the best out of the situation they don´t have under control. Of course this can be handled in different ways - some do it better, some do it worse. Legally they don´t owe you any refund, marketing wise it´s a good idea to calm down the passengers by refunding money.

 

We do have the same discussion about "the cruise line knew ahead and should have cancelled" and "my river cruise turned into a bus trip I want compensation" every season on this board. Take the fact that the river is either low or high and might impact your cruise and make the best out of it! And be prepared when you know about the situation ahead! We are happy to give you information about the river levels and traffic conditions. We are also happy to give you information about alternate options (like on the other thread about the Elbe river - try out the steamboats for a trip to Saxonian Switzerland as they might be able to run longer than the river cruise ships).

 

steamboats

[G.M.T.]

To all of those river cruisers flying in from the US:

 

Maybe you can just take a gallon or two of water with you...:rolleyes:.

 

steamboats

Or drink a few more Weizen, to help the economy and river levels.:)