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Danube water levels 2018 and similar topics - plus tips and info

notamermaid

By notamermaid,
in River Cruising

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gnome12 Excellent Advice! Rare

gnome12

Posted
Posted
We are scheduled to sail from Amsterdam to Budapest, with stop in Vienna, departing Oct 3; doesn't look too promising

 

 

 

October is a very long time away. Anything can change by then.

 

 

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Flamencacha

Flamencacha

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See this link. The residents think the low water is pretty cool. River boat tourists, not so much. (Reminder! the future is unknowable, especially when Mother Nature is involved.)

 

 

 

https://welovebudapest.com/en/2018/08/21/low-water-levels-in-budapest-reveal-rarely-seen-danube-sights/

 

 

 

Nice! Thank you!

 

 

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Flamencacha

Flamencacha

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We just came back yesterday from Viking's Grand European 14-day voyage from Amsterdam to Budapest. The river levels in E urope especially some portions of Rhine and Danube are critically low forcing many cruise ships to do last minute ship swaps or itinerary changes or cancellations. We were supposed to board Viking Bragi in Amsterdam on Aug 11 but Bragi couldn't make it to Amsterdam due to low water levels so we went on another identical Viking Skadi which happened to be in Amsterdam instead. That went smoothly for about 6 days then we had to switch to Viking Bragi, our original river boat in Nuremburg since Skadi couldn't proceed further due to low water level. We went on by bus to continue our excursions and Viking took care of all our luggage and moved them to Bragi. We thought that was the end of the problem until we arrived Vienna. Danube water level was so low in some spots that Viking had to bus us from Vienna to Budapest instead and put us overnight in the local Ritz Carlton Hotel, Hilton, .... The bus ride from Vienna to Budapest was 3.5 hours but Viking did everything possible to make sure we didn't miss most of the planned excursions. We were hoping to see the grand Budapest Parliament building from a river boat while sailing pass it but couldn't do it due to the low water levels. While in Budapest, we did notice many river boats from various companies all "stranded" in the Danube river harbor. The Viking river boat captain told us the Danube river needs about 3 feet (about 100cm) of rain to bring the river level up to normal level. He is not very confident the river level will improve that much next few months. Weather has been extremely hot and dry in Europe. It was in the 90s throughout our sailing.

 

 

 

Thank you that Captains insight. From what I am reading, on this thread, this is not what I had hoped for. I don’t leave for two months. If the levels don’t normalize I would prefer Avalon cancel my cruise. I can do my own land tour as not to lose my airfare.

 

Still keeping my fingers crossed.

 

 

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Flamencacha

Flamencacha

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In the future if you don't like bus tours I wouldn't book any Danube cruises in Aug, Sept or Oct because of the risk of low water. Our Danube cruise in 2017 we sailed all the way through but came close to not making one of the legs.

 

 

 

It is my first River cruise, lol well maybe. I booked a year and a half ago. I don’t mind the ocasional bus ride, but this is suppose to be a wine lovers cruise. Packing and unpacking is not my thing. My date is Oct 31, so basically November. But if I ever book again I will keep your advice in mind.

 

Thank you!

 

 

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YWW

YWW

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Thank you that Captains insight. From what I am reading, on this thread, this is not what I had hoped for. I don’t leave for two months. If the levels don’t normalize I would prefer Avalon cancel my cruise. I can do my own land tour as not to lose my airfare.

 

Still keeping my fingers crossed.

 

 

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Our Viking river boat captain said Sept and Oct are generally dry months with little rain so he feels the conditions will likely worsen. Our tour guide who rode with us on the bus from Vienna to Budapest said he had never seen Danube turning into sandy beaches with beach goers lined up playing the sand and swimming along the way for miles and miles for the 30+ years he's been living in the area. We've learned from this experience that it pays to book these European river cruises with a company with a large fleet of boats and buses since they can easily swap ships and bus passengers whenever possible to make it work or minimize the inconvenience. However, companies with very small fleet like Crystal with only 5 river boats (4 long ships and 1 extra wide) have experienced huge problems since they have no extra boats to swap passengers with so they either have to shorten the cruise, cancel or continue portions of the journey by bus instead.

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Flamencacha

Flamencacha

Posted
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Our Viking river boat captain said Sept and Oct are generally dry months with little rain so he feels the conditions will likely worsen. Our tour guide who rode with us on the bus from Vienna to Budapest said he had never seen Danube turning into sandy beaches with beach goers lined up playing the sand and swimming along the way for miles and miles for the 30+ years he's been living in the area. We've learned from this experience that it pays to book these European river cruises with a company with a large fleet of boats and buses since they can easily swap ships and bus passengers whenever possible to make it work or minimize the inconvenience. However, companies with very small fleet like Crystal with only 5 river boats (4 long ships and 1 extra wide) have experienced huge problems since they have no extra boats to swap passengers with so they either have to shorten the cruise, cancel or continue portions of the journey by bus instead.

 

 

 

I am booked on Avalon, they have cancelled to upcoming cruises, or maybe current ones. I guess you live and learn. My aunt has raved about river cruising so I thought about giving it a try.

 

It is what it is, and just hope for a good experience.

 

 

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Sjgrod

Sjgrod

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Dollover, I wish I had seen your post about a year and half ago when I was researching the best time of year for a European river cruise. September was suggested as a good time to cruise. Hence we booked our trip of a lifetime with Travelmarvel to leave Amsterdam on September 17th. At least we are prepared for some of our journey to be on a bus. It is so disappointing though that the reason you book a river cruise is to travel , but not have to pack and unpack. We realise the weather is beyond anyone’s control and are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for some rain before we leave. I have been tracking the Travelmarvel boats and the only place they seem stuck is between Vienna and Budapest. Thank you to everyone posting and keeping us informed.

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NewlySingle

NewlySingle

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Posted

Mother nature can be real fickle at times. Hot weather and limited rain along the Danube. Just one year ago me, my family and friends watched in horror as Mother Nature dropped 51 inches (or 1300mm) of rain on our town. Too much in one place, not enough in another.

 

Our cruise starts saturday, we leave for Europe in 36 hours. About a week ago one of our group members (we are a large group) asked if anyone was ready to go even if the cruise was cancelled. At least 8 of us said yes. So we have packed bags and provisions that will work if we are ship based or land based moving between cities either with the cruise or on our own. Europe is a wonderful place with a lot to see and do. Planes, trains and other means of transport are readily available. While I would like to take my first river cruise on the Danube, our group is ready to come, vacation, have fun and not worry about those things we can't control and focus on those that we can, and make the most of our time there.

 

I am sure this is highly stressful for the ship crews and even more so for the office based staff trying to coordinate everything. My prayers go out to you that Mother Nature finds a way to smile on you and drop a bit of rain on central Europe. Several have commented or hinted at the ruination of a trip of a lifetime - the trip of a lifetime is what you make of your vacation, not what others make for you. So go, pack an extra suitcase of patience and adventure, and ENJOY!!

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Malekin

Malekin

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Very much appreciating these posts. Scheduled to board a boat on the Danube 9/15 and beginning to be a bit concerned. We’ve already paid for flights etc so we will go regardless and will also try to make the best of it.

 

Interested in hearing what’s happening with others on the river as well as how people are making “lemonade” of the situation.

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G.M.T.

G.M.T.

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Posted

Weatherwise, it is not looking good along the Danube, with no rain in sight with the exception of MAYBE some slight showers on Thursday.

 

 

Danube levels are falling after some relief from last weekend's rain. The two critical areas in Germany, Pfelling and Straubing are falling and nearing the levels of last week. In Austria the levels are falling fast so maybe the Vienna to Buapest could become unpassable again.

 

 

PS. In a normal year I mow our lawn every 10 days, this year I haven't done it for 3 months.

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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Sounds worse than the Rhine. It is an almost cloudless sky over Germany today and yes, the weather forecast is not too good. I think we might get a little bit more rain around here than you but as of now the experts think it will not be much as they predict the Rhine to fall again slightly in the next two days. After that a rise is indicated but, again, not substantial enough for peace of mind as regards river cruising. It is all a bit unnerving.

 

 

At work my colleagues and I are in charge of keeping some plants in large pots happy and well-fed with water. We could not water them fast enough, they were constantly drying out. We did not stand a chance and lost them. The pots have been filled with new plants now. It being almost September I have a slight hope that they will last.

 

 

I was on holiday in England in July and was shocked by how brown all the fields were. I was standing in the countryside wondering where my lush green England had gone... Heartbreaking. :loudcry:

 

Now if we could just blow a few rain clouds that will come into the sky in the Rhine valley over the hills to the Upper Danube we could send you some water. Both rivers are so close together, only divided by a relatively small ridge.

Desperate times create desperate ideas, I suppose. ;)

 

 

notamermaid

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notamermaid Excellent Advice! Rare

notamermaid

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Drexit, I would say. The river Dreisam that flows through Freiburg has dried out in parts. Here is a photo as a header for the article: https://www.dw.com/en/dying-fish-and-drying-rivers-consequences-of-europes-summer-heat-wave/a-45019500

 

 

The problem with the Dreisam is of course lack of rainfall. But contributing is the fact that the river was given a new river bed. Brutally diverted and canalized after it has passed through Freiburg.

 

 

The river's area is a mere 45 kilometres to the west from Donaueschingen. At that town the Danube officially becomes the Danube, before that it is two rivers. As I said, just over the ridge really. Now if we do not get any rain no wind can carry it over the hills either leaving the Danube to partly rely on its large tributaries along the way through Bavaria. A tough job for Iller, Lech and Regen not being fed much by melting snow by August really. Isar and Inn only contribute after Straubing. So things are a little better from Passau onwards, also due to the effect the first lock at Jochenstein has.

 

 

G.M.T., are you familiar with the river depths from Passau running into Austria?

 

 

 

notamermaid

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D&K travel

D&K travel

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Karen,

Do you mean you’ve changed ships ?

Yes. We are now on the Amber. So far we have had a Scenic tour of the Opal and the Ruby. The Ruby is the same configuration as the Pearl, which we were booked on. The Opal and Amber are newer and the same configuration. Some differences are slight but we prefer what we are currently on.

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