Danube water levels 2022 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[Seanm7303]

7 hours ago, drisro1 said:

Update on Uniworld cruise, we completed ship swap yesterday, left the RIver Princess in Straubing for day’s excursion, then buses to River Duchess in Vilshofen. As we bused by the Danube in that area you could see the sand bars from the low water, and could not imagine a cruise ship being able to navigate it any time soon. Since we are now on the River Duchess, whatever tour this ship was supposed to be on must be cancelled. Also in port was another Uniworld ship, SS Beatrice.

was there any compensation for the ship swap 

[barbw427]

We just got home from our cruise with Avalon from Budapest to Passau.  Originally we were to disembark at Regensburg, but water level was too low.  We didn't have any issues between Budapest and Passau.  We boarded in Budapest on 8/4 and disembarked in Passau on 8/11.  It was a wonderful trip and I am very grateful that we were able sail.

[CarolGS]

Best forecast yet!  

[2017newcruiser]

1 hour ago, CarolGS said:

Best forecast yet!  

Tons of Rain!!!!

 

I love it, bring it on.

[steamboats]

The bad thing... those tons of rain come all at once... which means that the soil is not able to soak it up and therefore it may cause floodings. As for the river... It´s just a day of rain... this causes a slight up and a wave but won´t help substantially.

 

The forecast for Munich is 19°C on Friday, storm like winds and 20-50 l/sqm of rain. 20°C high on Saturday and 10-20 l/sqm. Then the rain stops again. BTW todays high is 32°C. Temps are going up again after Saturday.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

Indeed, a short interim thunderstorm rain. Rain in Passau will only help Budapest and all other places that struggle, I am afraid. Not Straubing to Vilshofen. But rain is forecast over Bavaria as a whole so that is good. I see it as a chance for possibly a few more ships getting through the shallow stretch. Quite frankly I cannot see Viking  and some other 135m ships making the passage. Always depending on individual draft/captain/upstream or downstream direction of course. No way of knowing. I am just very skeptical and happy to be proven wrong.

 

By the way, many ships of varying size/length/design/draught have given up sailing the Danube for the time being. One crew member of a ship stranded at Linz harbour (reported on Binnenschifferforum) told a crew member of another ship when asked about not sailing (translated): "Man, we have propellers not wheels!"

 

Pfelling gauge at 221cm. Forecast downward trend, possibly down to 212-210 before the rain takes effect.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[skinnylegs]

Our boat, Uniworld's S.S. Maria Theresa, will leave from Passau to Budapest on September 11. From what I read, we might run into water level problems going into Budapest. Are there any other parts of the river between these two towns that we should be concerned about? Notamermaid's comment about Linz has me concerned. I'd be ok with having some of our trip on the river but I don't want to be on a bus the whole time.  I'm not sure if we can postpone the trip at this point. Is there a chance that conditions will improve in 3 weeks? 

[notamermaid]

46 minutes ago, skinnylegs said:

Notamermaid's comment about Linz has me concerned.

Sorry, I did not mean that to happen. The ships are stuck at Linz because that this the biggest harbour space available (winter harbour) for ships that are idle, i.e. not awaiting passengers and due to sail on an itinerary. They just gave up on sailing and must have cancelled at least one itinerary. Passau to Komarno should be okay (no guarantee of course). I read on Hungarian websites about problems around the bend before Budapest and sailing into the city. River cruisers in the last few weeks have confirmed that bus from Komarno to Budapest is a likely scenario.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[franski]

notamermaid - how are things below Budapest?  We are scheduled to sail the lower Danube (Bucharest to Budapest) but haven't heard much about that stretch?

 

Fran

[notamermaid]

33 minutes ago, franski said:

notamermaid - how are things below Budapest?  We are scheduled to sail the lower Danube (Bucharest to Budapest) but haven't heard much about that stretch?

 

Fran

I have no idea. Reports from cruisers in the last few weeks here have confirmed low water levels but give a mixed, not fully up to date picture. Have a look a few pages back for some info and perhaps there is more among the roll calls.

 

notamermaid

 

[Haqdeluxe]

44 minutes ago, franski said:

notamermaid - how are things below Budapest?  We are scheduled to sail the lower Danube (Bucharest to Budapest) but haven't heard much about that stretch?

 

Fran

We are scheduled to be on the Viking Ullur at the end of September. I recently watched it sail on its current itinerary out of Budapest towards Bucharest. It appeared to make it all the way to the stop before Ruse (Vidin) , the scheduled disembarkation port, without a hitch. However... it then said back up to the Drobeta-Turnu Severin cruise port where it has been parked for more than a day now. The Ullur was the only Viking ship I found active on the lower Danube. The next scheduled cruise passengers should be arriving in Bucharest today (17/08) and onboard at Ruse tomorrow (18/08). There was recent chatter that getting into Ruse was a problem and the embarkation/ disembarkation was happening at Vidin. I would guess then a coach ride to/from the scheduled hotel stay in Bucharest. 

[steamboats]

2 hours ago, franski said:

notamermaid - how are things below Budapest?  We are scheduled to sail the lower Danube (Bucharest to Budapest) but haven't heard much about that stretch?

 

Almost nothing going on there. There are two ships going back and forth but that´s it and only in a small area. Some German river cruise companies have cancelled their lower Danube river cruises.

 

steamboats

[UDChE89]

2 hours ago, franski said:

notamermaid - how are things below Budapest?  We are scheduled to sail the lower Danube (Bucharest to Budapest) but haven't heard much about that stretch?

 

Fran

I’m on the MS Thomas Hardy leaving Passau on the 23rd and heading down to the Iron Gates before turning around and coming back.  Will report what’s going on when I’m on the river.

[franski]

12 minutes ago, UDChE89 said:

I’m on the MS Thomas Hardy leaving Passau on the 23rd and heading down to the Iron Gates before turning around and coming back.  Will report what’s going on when I’m on the river.

Thank you...

 

Fran

[franski]

16 minutes ago, steamboats said:

 

Almost nothing going on there. There are two ships going back and forth but that´s it and only in a small area. Some German river cruise companies have cancelled their lower Danube river cruises.

 

steamboats

Thank you...

 

I know that one of the challenges with the lower Danube is the positioning of the boats.  The river may be sailable - but only if there is a boat there to sail on!!

 

We had a previous sailing cancelled due to this issue a few years ago... the river was there and had water!!  but no boat available...

 

Keeping my fingers crossed.  This is the 3rd time we have this booked --> first booking cancelled due to low water...  second due to Covid.  Am hoping 3rd time is the charm!!

 

Fran

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge as forecast has gone down to 220cm. Air temperature 26.2 Celsius. It is clouding over here in the Rhine valley. This may well be happening along the Danube as rain is forecast. Will this mean humid air turning into thunderstorms today? We will see how the afternoon progresses. It is raining in the Middle of Germany as I write, but not much, a band of rain North of the Danube. Not sure if much water goes to the Northern tributaries of the Danube today. Radar image shows the clouds being pulled over the Main river to the North and away from Bavaria.

 

Remember that the river needs a lot of water and level to get to any decent level to give large river cruise ships a chance. From 220cm to decent is a long way. I would be surprised if the rain today and tomorrow did the trick. If at all, my money is on three ships up, three ships down and then back to no ships. Sorry folks, I am just very skeptical.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

We´re under a weather warning now... Munich is red and the warning says 50 to 80 l/sqm starting tomorrow morning at 6 am til Saturday 9 am. South of Munich there´s a purple warning for almost all of the Alps area with 80 to 140 l/sqm. So there will be a lot of rain with regional floodings. But you never know where the rain will fall.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

An update. Rain for the Danube catchment area? Let us have a look at the radar image. Tada!

 

Not brilliant, but better than nothing. General direction is further towards the river as the day progresses.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, steamboats said:

We´re under a weather warning now...

Oh sh** We feared this may happen. Flash flooding on the Lech and Isar is not going to be good, not good anywhere. Stay safe. We have no warning on the Rhine at all as of now.

 

Why can't we have this in moderation? One thunderstorm will only result in a spike in river levels that is gone in 36 hours.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by notamermaid

[CPT Trips]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

We´re under a weather warning now... Munich is red and the warning says 50 to 80 l/sqm starting tomorrow morning at 6 am til Saturday 9 am. South of Munich there´s a purple warning for almost all of the Alps area with 80 to 140 l/sqm. So there will be a lot of rain with regional floodings. But you never know where the rain will fall.

 

steamboats

I don’t comprehend measurements in l/sqm. We get weather reports in inches of accumulation (depth), sometimes per hour, but more typically in total per day, or per storm. Anyone know how to convert?

[FirstTimeCruiser2002]

2 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

I don’t comprehend measurements in l/sqm. We get weather reports in inches of accumulation (depth), sometimes per hour, but more typically in total per day, or per storm. Anyone know how to convert?

I googled 

 

here is the answer I got

 

There are 0.00064516 square meters in 1 square inch. To convert from square inches to square meters, multiply your figure by 0.00064516 (or divide by 1550.0031000062) .

 

 

so I’d guess it’s about 1/2 an inch of rain

Edited August 18, 2022 by FirstTimeCruiser2002
Added more info

[KOgren]

1 L/m2 = 1mm
50mm = 1.9685 inches
80mm = 3.14961 inches

 

This is the conclusion I get.

[rove312]

Following updates on the River Princess, although our cruise on it is Main-Rhine in two months, the Uniworld site reports:

Embarkation of the August 19, 2022 sailing of the River Princess will take place on the River Duchess. The port location has not changed: Handelskai, Schiffsstation Handelskai 265 A-1020 Vienna, Austria.

[SN26]

Currently on Emerald Sky booked through Scenic cruises. Sailed from Munich and now in Bratislava going to Budapest tomorrow. Rain is expected today we have been told we will be able to dock in Budapest but they have had to empty the swimming pool so we are not so heavy in the water. Small price to pay to complete the cruise down the river without having to change boats or go by bus. We are having a lovely time. 

[steamboats]

Or as the weather guys said in the weather news this morning... We may get a months worth of rain within the next 24 hours and in the Alps it may be even a two months worth of rain.

 

Munich expects a level 2 high water of the Isar river.

 

We had a nice thunderstorm last evening which causes the European Championships to interupt the competitions last night for half an hour. Currently there are only some drops... but there are dark clouds in the South and in the Alps it´s already raining.

 

steamboats