Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, Jaydub99 said:

 

I’ll say! I don’t quite understand it. Our ship’s sister ship is in Amsterdam and ours is in Strasbourg right now with another 110m near Mainz. If we were to sail to Cologne and bus to Koblenz or Mainz for a ship swap and then sail to Basel it would be a different story - in fact I expected that to be the option we would be given. A bus to Strasbourg with in some cases only a few hours in town for the markets and lunch before being herded back onto the bus to keep going is not what we envisioned when we signed up in January.  Not sure the reasoning for the itinerary they produced. We have a breakfast planning session with the couple we are traveling with in the morning to decide. With only 2 days actually transiting the river, I see a Eurail pass in my immediate future....

As all sections of the river are basically passable apart from the gorge stretch in the middle for a 110m ship I would say it looks as though the logistics for your cruise just were not working for Avalon to stick to the itinerary. I am sorry for to say that what you are offered is far from exciting and I could understand it if you chose not to go ahead with it. Eurail pass sounds good. If you do that take a nice train - not necessarily the ICE - from Koblenz to Mainz and enjoy the scenery, with Christmas markets at both ends of that journey.

 

Sorry to read that you have to make a decision for or against the cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

[kathywin53]

Boarding tomorrow Amsterdam to Basel on first river cruise ever so whatever happens will be an adventure/experience. Today just enjoying Amsterdam and lovely weather compared to snow at home. So appreciate this thread and the shared information, anxieties, rescheduling thoughts and continued participation of posters. Another reason cruisecritic is such a benefit to all traveller.

[notamermaid]

kathywin53,

it is sunny hear in Germany as well. Have a great time in Amsterdam. The mild temperatures will not be with us any more after this weekend, I am afraid it will get colder and there will be snow on Wednesday, even down in the valley possibly.

 

Would you like to share the name of your ship? Have you been notified of any disruptions to your itinerary?

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

[nickbevoz]

The current (stress on current) prediction here is seemingly showing good rain next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

 

No idea of even that would be sufficient to make much of a difference but we can only be ever hopeful....

 

https://www.wetteronline.de/regen-karte?fcdatstr=20181105

Edited November 16, 2018 by nstarrenburg

[notamermaid]

I am looking out onto a sunny valley this morning. It is already cooler than a couple of days ago and this weather will stay with us now. Winter is coming. Yes, rain and snow next week with both frost and snow even down in the valley. The Rhine gorge hills covered in snow do like nice. Yet, rain would be better. Today and tomorrow will bring no rain to Germany and the outlook for next week is not too good as the overall precipitation is not substantial. At least until Thursday. Will next weekend bring more?

 

Back to today. The first filling station in an area served by the petrol depots along the Rhine has completely closed its business - temporarily - as it has run out petrol. Shortages have not come to our town yet but my neighbour was complaining the other about the price she had to pay for heating oil. We can now all feel the events of the last four months in our wallets. Some groceries are up in price as well. Still, we all have food and if we want to safe heating oil, we can always find ways to: stay in a café, spend a suspiciously long time at the neighbours who heat with gas... or if one is desperate just stay overnight in the office.

 

The river levels this morning: Maxau 327cm, Kaub 45cm, Koblenz 42cm. Kaub is forecast to drop a little further, below 40 is possible.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pully8]

Petrol shortages do not sound the best sorry to hear.

Heating costs likewise. We saw a lot of solar panels in Germany, but guess less useful in winter. 

[notamermaid]

22 minutes ago, nstarrenburg said:

The current (stress on current) prediction here is seemingly showing good rain next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

 

No idea of even that would be sufficient to make much of a difference but we can only be ever hopeful....

 

https://www.wetteronline.de/regen-karte?fcdatstr=20181105

nstarrrenburg,

 

Thank you for posting the site. I have actually just concluded from that one (and one other) what I put in my post above! Before anybody thinks the two posts are a little contradictory: I have taken into account where the rain is over the next week, what is likely to come down as snow, and how much it is overall in number. Having put all that together, it does sort of look alriiight but is not substantial in that it will bring us to river levels that make for easy sailing. According to the water experts we will need much more rain than is forecast, to get us where we want to be. If we just want to not have to swap ships we can hope, but I am sceptical as Kaub is forecast to drop before it goes up (the river can always surprise us though). If we want to just not have to think about low water any more - river cruisers that is - we need way more rain.

 

It is already being anticipated that despite any rain that December may or may not bring, this year will enter the statistics as being the driest year ever recorded in Germany.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[pully8]

3 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

this year will enter the statistics as being the driest year ever recorded in Germany.

Very grim indeed.  

[hbr777]

6 hours ago, Hoyas96 said:

I'm scheduled to embark AmaKristina on 11/26 in Amsterdam headed to Basel.  I received the attached update from AMA today.  It's not super clear what this will mean for the itinerary / ports of call in between the cities mentioned, especially for scenario B.  Fingers crossed for scenario A.  No matter what happens, I'll be happy to escape the smoky air in CA and breathe some fresh air in Europe!

 

This is dishonest to say the least. "From Antwerp you will transfer to the Amastella in Stasbourg." Notice how they don't say you will get to Strasbourg in the actual paragraph? Not to mention that your original itinerary doesn't include Antwerp? I would ask that question because if this is a bus trip, it will be LONG. As in 6 hours. And cut out the pretty sections of the river. Why can't these companies be honest? I would carefully ask that question of Amawaterways.

 

"From Cologne we will do a ship swap with the AmaStella in Rudesheim."

 

Again, this cuts the pretty section of the river, and involves a bus ride that they do no mention. At least the bus ride would only be 2 hours.

 

Edited November 16, 2018 by hbr777

[Intlxpatr]

6 hours ago, Hoyas96 said:

I'm scheduled to embark AmaKristina on 11/26 in Amsterdam headed to Basel.  I received the attached update from AMA today.  It's not super clear what this will mean for the itinerary / ports of call in between the cities mentioned, especially for scenario B.  Fingers crossed for scenario A.  No matter what happens, I'll be happy to escape the smoky air in CA and breathe some fresh air in Europe!

 

LOL@ verbiage: "exciting alternative solutions"

[hbr777]

7 minutes ago, Intlxpatr said:

LOL@ verbiage: "exciting alternative solutions"

Right? Exciting! A motorcoach! 6 hours on a highway nowhere near the river! Oh, I cannot contain myself.

 

Honestly though, if that is the only bus, it is doable. Not optimal. But doable. With some compensation lol.

[notamermaid]

59 minutes ago, hbr777 said:

This is dishonest to say the least. "From Antwerp you will transfer to the Amastella in Stasbourg." Notice how they don't say you will get to Strasbourg in the actual paragraph? Not to mention that your original itinerary doesn't include Antwerp? I would ask that question because if this is a bus trip, it will be LONG. As in 6 hours. And cut out the pretty sections of the river. Why can't these companies be honest? I would carefully ask that question of Amawaterways.

 

"From Cologne we will do a ship swap with the AmaStella in Rudesheim."

 

Again, this cuts the pretty section of the river, and involves a bus ride that they do no mention. At least the bus ride would only be 2 hours.

 

Hoyas96,

as hbr77 has indicated both versions of amended itinerary do guarantee a motorcoach transfer unless Amawaterways puts the passengers on a train. The coach ride is likely to be on the motorways. They take you away from the river and cross the hills. In version A Ama could incorporate an excursion boat through part of the gorge (the most scenic part of the river by almost unanimous "vote" among tourists). In version B the time frame normally does not allow this. Version A I would except, Version B I would not. It will not be possible to nail down Ama to saying which itinerary they will do, but they might determine early which one it will be.

 

I know this will not help you but German law clearly states that you are at least entitled to money back (not a cruise-with-us-again voucher) of a figure to be determined if the best section of the river you do not see.

 

I hope that you can be happy with the decision you or the cruise company will take and that they treat you fairly bearing in mind that much money of yours has gone into this holiday.

 

I hope you have a great cruise and things will work out better than the situation we have at the moment suggests.

 

notamermaid

 

[sjde]

I wouldn’t mind a ship swap but our company is so new and small and has so few ships (3?) that I don’t think it’s going to be an option for us .

 

For a different itinerary that is coming up sooner than ours  , I saw what they were proposing to customers . During the bus portion, they would credit you just 10 euro for each lunch and dinner. 

[Hoyas96]

7 hours ago, nstarrenburg said:

 

Thanks so much for giving this update.  It is really good to get a sense of the detail of the plans and, as well, how effectively the actual process is.

 

The option A does not look too drastic given the low water levels.

 

The Option B is a big change as the distance from Antwerp to Strasbourg is almost 500 km (over 300 miles) and that cuts out a huge chunk of the cruise itself.

 

We are booked on the Amakristina from Basel to Amsterdam on 17 December and, to date, have heard nothing at all of substance from our TA or AMA despite having written to both.  The message has been “nothing to see here”.

 

has there been any reference to allowing you to cancel and get a refund or to transfer a credit to a future cruise?

 

best of luck....

No word yet about potential compensation for a disrupted itinerary, though it sounds like that may happen after the trip.  Hopefully this at least gives you a better sense of the timing you can expect for information about your own cruise.

[Hoyas96]

33 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Hoyas96,

as hbr77 has indicated both versions of amended itinerary do guarantee a motorcoach transfer unless Amawaterways puts the passengers on a train. The coach ride is likely to be on the motorways. They take you away from the river and cross the hills. In version A Ama could incorporate an excursion boat through part of the gorge (the most scenic part of the river by almost unanimous "vote" among tourists). In version B the time frame normally does not allow this. Version A I would except, Version B I would not. It will not be possible to nail down Ama to saying which itinerary they will do, but they might determine early which one it will be.

 

I know this will not help you but German law clearly states that you are at least entitled to money back (not a cruise-with-us-again voucher) of a figure to be determined if the best section of the river you do not see.

 

I hope that you can be happy with the decision you or the cruise company will take and that they treat you fairly bearing in mind that much money of yours has gone into this holiday.

 

I hope you have a great cruise and things will work out better than the situation we have at the moment suggests.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Yes, I suppose they are deliberately vague about how the connection will be made, which I hope means they're leaving the door open for an excursion boat in version A.  Version B does sound like a potentially long bus ride and missed ports of call, which would be a bummer and for which I would expect fair compensation.  I've decided I'm going either way, as I'm so ready for a vacation.  And I'm choosing to interpret their vagueness as optimism that conditions could change for the better.  I'm happy that with either version we'll still go to Strasbourg, as the entire point of this trip is to visit Christmas markets and I hear that's the best one on our itinerary.  Living in California and needing to wear a mask during my commute due to the very unhealthy air quality from a devastating fire almost 200 miles away, this week has given me a lot of perspective and I'm feeling like, in the grand scheme of things, I shouldn't be complaining about a disrupted vacation.  If any of you are wishing for rain in the Rhine region, please add California to those thoughts.

[Mark_T]

We have had another unseasonable warm day here in Cocem, great tour of the town and castle. Tomorrow we head on up the Mosel to Bernkastel.

 

A few photos from Cocem today...

 

 

Edited November 16, 2018 by Mark_T

[jeb_bud]

Thanks for the photos Mark_T. They’re really whetting my appetite for our  Rhine/Moselle cruise next October. Now if the weather gods will cooperate...

Edited November 16, 2018 by jeb_bud

[Coli]

14 hours ago, gadugger said:

About 16 hrs. before we drive to the airport to get to Amsterdam for our AMA Rhine river mystery cruise, I break a tooth after dentist office hours. Luckily I got an emergency appt. for a temporary repair before regular office hours tomorrow. Apparently I should have spent less time praying to the rain gods and more praying to the patron saint of travelers (St. Christopher). I will see whether tragedy  plus time  equals comedy when it comes to travel. 18 months ago, my wife broke her toe right before a trip to Amalfi Coast with its hundreds of steps. 

See you there gadugger. Heading to JFK later for our flight to AMS. The mystery tour will be epic! Poor Rhine.

[kathywin53]

10 hours ago, notamermaid said:

kathywin53,

it is sunny hear in Germany as well. Have a great time in Amsterdam. The mild temperatures will not be with us any more after this weekend, I am afraid it will get colder and there will be snow on Wednesday, even down in the valley possibly.

 

Would you like to share the name of your ship? Have you been notified of any disruptions to your itinerary?

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

We are on Amaprima Nov 17 to 24, Amsterdam to Basel. Incidentally no communication from AMA or travel agency about any disruptions. Actually told that everything is good, thankfully we are prepared for disruption thanks to the

 people on this thread. Thoroughly enjoyed Amsterdam today, shopping for cheese and good wine.

 

[nickbevoz]

Attached is an interesting text exchange I just had with a passenger doing the AMA cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  

 

I had posted a “praying for rain” comment on the AMA Facebook page as I follow them and there was a generic “sail the Rhine with us” post made by them.  AMA Then responded with a benign “see you onboard” comment and no mention of the water levels.

 

I was a little surprised to then get a response from an actual passenger telling me what is actually happening.  The situation is that the ship goes from Basel to Strasbourg and stays there for three days and you do daily bus tours.  Then you do a 6-7 hour bus trip to Antwerp for a ship change and sail up to Amsterdam.

 

hmmmmm

 

the Rhine cruise suddenly is no longer a Rhine cruise.

 

 

[nickbevoz]

From the FB page of the person currently doing the Basel to Amsterdam cruise on AMA.

[Mark_T]

Guess what?... yep, another change 🙂

 

The water levels at Koblenz are predicted to fall low enough to cause problems getting back onto the Rhine, so while we visit Bernkastel tomorrow, our ship is going to head back to Andernach where we will join her later.

 

As a side benefit that means the excursion to Bonn that was cut on the way down here has now been restored.

 

The entertainment onboard continues to be excellent, we had just said goodbye to the fantastic duo, Jella & Connie last night and tonight we enjoyed a classical trio who delivered a great performance of opera, operetta and show songs. Can’t wait to see what our cruise director Anja has for us next...

[Intlxpatr]

42 minutes ago, nstarrenburg said:

Attached is an interesting text exchange I just had with a passenger doing the AMA cruise from Basel to Amsterdam.  

 

I had posted a “praying for rain” comment on the AMA Facebook page as I follow them and there was a generic “sail the Rhine with us” post made by them.  AMA Then responded with a benign “see you onboard” comment and no mention of the water levels.

 

I was a little surprised to then get a response from an actual passenger telling me what is actually happening.  The situation is that the ship goes from Basel to Strasbourg and stays there for three days and you do daily bus tours.  Then you do a 6-7 hour bus trip to Antwerp for a ship change and sail up to Amsterdam.

 

hmmmmm

 

the Rhine cruise suddenly is no longer a Rhine cruise.

 

 

I am sorry, I know it is not funny, and we are likely facing a similar situation on our Christmas Markets on the Rhine trip starting November 25th . . . . but that exchange is hilarious. The situation, of course, is not . . . . hilarious.

[squarepi]

We were notified yesterday that we will not be boarding Viking Mani in Basel, but instead it will be Viking Idi. It appears on the Rhine shiptraffic.net site that the Mani is still around Strassbourg (Strassburg?). So far, so good, at least we are still able to arrive in Basel. I'm going to attempt to attach a photo of the Rhine River Gorge area that shows the log jam of ships...the ship traffic website posts the names of every ship. The black areas are the stacked up ships with name posted over name. Praying for rain.

[hbr777]

2 hours ago, nstarrenburg said:

From the FB page of the person currently doing the Basel to Amsterdam cruise on AMA.

This is truly ridiculous. And all AMA keeps saying on their Facebook page is "We are looking forward to seeing you on board!"  Do they think we are all stupid?