Rhone or Danube in early September

[francoisemem]

I am interested in Uniworld or AMA river cruises. Thinking of early September. I just read a horror story review here about an October 2018 trip Uniworld embark Nuremburg. They switched ships 2 times and still had to spend a lot of time via bus. What are the issues with low water? Is this why I should just do a canal barge and forget big river cruises?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[dolllover]

You are at a much greater risk of low water in Sept and Oct. This year was just terrible for many people if one doesn't like bus rides. We sailed with Viking last year in Oct. and got lucky but came close to not seeing the beautiful Wachau Valley due to low water. It's a crap shoot with low or high water depending on the month you go. I love river cruising so I'll take my chances!

[notamermaid]

francoisemem,

2018 has seen the worst low water situation on the Rhine and parts of the Danube since records began (100+ years ago). You are likely to read many unfortunate stories about the last season. September is normally a pleasant month with few issues. If you prefer to be on the safe side choose the Rhone over the Danube as it is less prone to problems with low water. Where river cruise ships sail it is more controlled by locks and flows through channels than the Danube (generally speaking). For details - if you have not done yet - please consult the thread on the Danube for 2018. I have no details for the Rhone but perhaps past cruisers can help you there.

 

In low water 110m ships do better than 135m ships due to lower draft. During flooding this makes no difference. In flooding a two level ship gets better under bridges than a three level ship. Again, generally speaking.

 

If you want to be on the safest side you need to stick with barge cruising but if you can live with a bit of doubt try river cruising. ☺️

 

At the top of the river cruising board you can find lots of information in stickies, threads by our host jazzbeau, that I highly recommend for reading.

 

notamermaid