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

[bluestocking7]

I'm in Vienna right now and the rain has finally arrived here.  Rain is in the forecast for the next 4 days as well.  Hoping that the rain makes its way to Hungary, so we can board our Budapest-Vilshofen cruise there and not have to get bus'ed to Komarom.  

[steamboats]

We had some really heavy rain for about an hour. But currently it´s dry again with even some rays of sunshine. But the rain will be back in about 2 hours...

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

With all the god news of rain - and not so good news of too much - let us have a quick look at Pfelling gauge. Air temperature is only 22.6 Celsius, noticeably cooler than yesterday. River level:

 

Yes! 👍

 

247cm is not brilliant for river cruiser ships, definitely need quite a bit more, but it is a start and it is still raining.

 

So could it be too much to handle? For the small rivers and the Isar things could be tricky. Hope it does not get too much in the built-up areas. The Lech will also be transporting lots of water. At Kelheim, that is the Danube just before the Main Danube Canal joins, the Lech has already joined and therefore we will also see a high rise there. This is the forecast:

 

That is admittedly a bit fast. What that will do to the Danube further downstream will be interesting to see.

 

By the way, although we may see a rise of the level at Lake Constance from the rain and the levels of the Rhine should rise, the Middle Rhine valley is bone dry still. Almost all rain so far has come down South of the Rhine Gorge and it looks on the radar video as if the Black Forest hills are blocking the clouds from swirling towards the Upper Rhine valley this afternoon. That of course increases the risk of flash flooding in the Danube catchment area.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

 

[podsnel]

We are boarding Ama Viola today in Vilshofen- as scheduled. We have been in Prague 3 nights pre-cruise and made a stop in Regensburg on our transfer  where it was really raining! Will let you know how it goes on our cruise to Budapest- 👍

[notamermaid]

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

Viking used to have proper updates on sailings on that page, i.e. a few years ago. Now it is just you know, "we are great, we are doing ship swaps". It sounds reassuring, but on the river now I think not everybody will agree. To be fair, the situation is exceptional to say the least. A few bits, quote: "...In the event of low (or high) water, this tactic allows us to implement a ship swap that is typically seamless for guests...our guests are better able to focus on enjoying themselves and having a great journey, rather than worrying about potential changes or cancellations." end quote

 

I just found it interesting to compare it to German companies. All that I saw have a general text (not quite so patting themselves on the shoulder) of reassurance and at least Viva Cruise has a very up date info page on what is cancelled or running.

 

Things should improve now with all that rain but I still cannot see the Grand European running smoothly.

 

notamermaid

 

[UDChE89]

9 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/current-sailings/index.html

Viking used to have proper updates on sailings on that page, i.e. a few years ago. Now it is just you know, "we are great, we are doing ship swaps". It sounds reassuring, but on the river now I think not everybody will agree. To be fair, the situation is exceptional to say the least. A few bits, quote: "...In the event of low (or high) water, this tactic allows us to implement a ship swap that is typically seamless for guests...our guests are better able to focus on enjoying themselves and having a great journey, rather than worrying about potential changes or cancellations." end quote

 

I just found it interesting to compare it to German companies. All that I saw have a general text (not quite so patting themselves on the shoulder) of reassurance and at least Viva Cruise has a very up date info page on what is cancelled or running.

 

Things should improve now with all that rain but I still cannot see the Grand European running smoothly.

 

notamermaid

 

As you can imagine, I’m watching the Viva site like a hawk.  Flying out tonight to Munich then a train to Nuremberg.

[notamermaid]

4 minutes ago, UDChE89 said:

As you can imagine, I’m watching the Viva site like a hawk.  Flying out tonight to Munich then a train to Nuremberg.

Oh my, is it today? Have a good trip. Fingers crossed that you will be on the river all the way.

 

notamermaid

 

[ras5952]

Just now, ras5952 said:

 

We are on the Viola on September from Budapest to Vilshofen. Interested to hear what you have to report. 

[steamboats]

We had some heavy rain for an hour and that´s it... We even had sunshine in the afternoon (and we were out Nordic Walking). Even with the rise I doubt that this will last for a longer time. It will be just a wave and then the river levels will go down again.

 

steamboats

[UDChE89]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Oh my, is it today? Have a good trip. Fingers crossed that you will be on the river all the way.

 

notamermaid

 

I’m flying from the US today.  Cruise departs Tuesday.

[gentlemancruiser]

1 hour ago, UDChE89 said:

I’m flying from the US today.  Cruise departs Tuesday.

good luck!!!

[schoonslawn]

Interesting article:

Will the drought in Europe affect your river cruise vacation?

https://thepointsguy.com/news/europe-drought-river-cruises/?

[notamermaid]

Very quick update: Pfelling gauge at 404cm - what????? Computer must be broken. Or is it? I guess it must be correct! And it is cool, 17.1 Celsius:

 

 

It's like an apparition. Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts and now to

 

hoooraayyyy! 🥳

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

We had some more rain in the morning but just slight rainfall. Although we were advised that our river may go up to level 2 (high water) it never reached the high water mark at all.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

12 minutes ago, steamboats said:

Although we were advised that our river may go up to level 2 (high water) it never reached the high water mark at all.

 

That is good. Better to be prepared and then it does not happen. From looking at the radar video last night I got the feeling the weather may have shifted a little to what had been expected. Also on the Rhine. Thunderstorms were forecast for Thursday and then yesterday, but they did not happen in Rhineland-Palatinate, at least not before midnight. It has not cooled down in my area at all.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

And further downstream?

 

Budapest has risen and the rainfall is expected to make the river react there even more in the next two days:

 

Have a look on: https://www.danubeportal.com/de/waterLevel/details/HUBUD00001G001516465

 

notamermaid

 

[KOgren]

9 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

And further downstream?

 

Budapest has risen and the rainfall is expected to make the river react there even more in the next two days:

Thank you so much for keeping us informed.  I am hopeful to be able to board the Viking Gullveig in Budapest on the 27th.🤞  Also somewhat less hopeful to disembark in Regensburg on the 3rd.  We plan to catch a train in Regensburg, not sure how that will have to happen if the ship is docked elsewhere.

[TXBoiler]

We also plan to take a train from Regensburg to Munich, I  would think we would have to bused back if we docked some place other than Regensburg.

 

 

[steamboats]

We had a pretty heavy thunderstorm with heavy rain for the last hour. So this adds a bit to the Danube river but we have to wait and see whether this will cause a permanent rise or just a wave.

 

steamboats

[drisro1]

Just got back to US from Uniworld cruise with ship swap. Overall it was a great trip. I’ll be signing off this forum but wanted to thank all who contributed to my education here, particularly notamermaid. Enjoyed it! Best of luck to everyone, hope you have wonderful cruises

[Clayton787]

AmaMagna looks to be stopped in Komaron, just short of Budapest.  So, I assume Budapest is currently a problem.  I am scheduled for a trip starting September 11 from Vilshofen to Budapest.

[Flight96]

Hello All

 We are booked on Uniworld leaving from  Nuremberg to Vienna on Sept 9. I have been tracking ships on the marine tracking website. It looks like ships are still moving on that part of the Danube.  Has there been cancelled sailing lately? Also what is the min water level for these boats. I see the River Princess has a draught of 1.6m (~160cm).

[gentlemancruiser]

2 hours ago, Clayton787 said:

AmaMagna looks to be stopped in Komaron, just short of Budapest.  So, I assume Budapest is currently a problem.  I am scheduled for a trip starting September 11 from Vilshofen to Budapest.

There were some reports on another board that Magna was docked in Budapast a few days ago.  She should be on her way to Vilshofen.    

[Clayton787]

1 hour ago, gentlemancruiser said:

There were some reports on another board that Magna was docked in Budapast a few days ago.  She should be on her way to Vilshofen.    

 

1 hour ago, gentlemancruiser said:

There were some reports on another board that Magna was docked in Budapast a few days ago.  She should be on her way to Vilshofen.    

She is supposed to be in Budapest on 21st.   Then hands back to vilshofen.   
she was in Budapest last week.   

[travelcommons]

On the Viking cruise that ended Saturday 08/13, they arranged transportation for 8 of us that needed to end in Regensburg like the original disembarkation port (instead of Passau).  The driver took two of us to a rental car place and the other six of us to the train station by 10:30am.