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

[notamermaid]

Update: Pfelling gauge at 298cm. It is raining in Bavaria, all good water for the Danube. Much again goes to the Isar (which is not helpful for Pfelling) and smaller brooks, but a substantial amount is coming down over the Lech river which drains into the Danube much further upstream so helps Pfelling and therefore ships sailing the low stretch between Straubing and Vilshofen. The area of rain extends into Austria, so rain in Salzburg and towards the Danube there is feeding the river already before any large volume has reached Austria from the Upper Danube. Good for sustaining levels rather than just a wave. Looks to me as if Slovakia and Hungary should get a nice additional amount of water.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[AnotherWanderer]

This is encouraging.

Flying out to Budapest tomorrow night. Then getting on the Viking Var Sept 2nd !

 

[UDChE89]

14 hours ago, franski said:

That is good to know...  when I have looked at Cruise Mapper over the last week, it hasn't shown much movement below Budapest.  While not impressed with the thought of having extended bussing on a river cruise,  it is even less pleasing to think we may not have a boat to get onto!!

 

Fran

We docked in Donji Milanovac to let a tour group of.  I was one of them.  If I recall correctly a Uniworld ship was waiting for us to leave then we saw a Viking ship just upstream (Viking Ullur, I think).  We’re headed back towards Budapest.  Haven’t seen any issue with water levels but it has been hot.

[bluestocking7]

Took the train from Vienna to Budapest today and we went along the Danube from around Komaron south.  The river looked low but still sailable.  I guess we'll find out on Wednesday when we're due to board MS Joy.  (It was raining in Vienna this morning--a bit chilly even.)

[schoonslawn]

Fluctuating water levels have affected the August 30 departure from Budapest on the River Duchess :

" Due to fluctuating water levels on the Danube, the River Duchess will not be in Budapest for embarkation on August 30, 2022. It is therefore necessary to begin the program with one night at a hotel. Uniworld has secured hotel rooms at the luxurious, 5-star Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest: Erzsébet tér 7-8, 1051 Budapest, Hungary; phone: +36 1 429 3777 "

 

We start our trip September 14 (Amsterdam to Budapest) when the River Duchess arrives in Amsterdam on that date.

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by schoonslawn

[bluestocking7]

4 hours ago, schoonslawn said:

Fluctuating water levels have affected the August 30 departure from Budapest on the River Duchess :

" Due to fluctuating water levels on the Danube, the River Duchess will not be in Budapest for embarkation on August 30, 2022. It is therefore necessary to begin the program with one night at a hotel. Uniworld has secured hotel rooms at the luxurious, 5-star Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest: Erzsébet tér 7-8, 1051 Budapest, Hungary; phone: +36 1 429 3777 "

 

We start our trip September 14 (Amsterdam to Budapest) when the River Duchess arrives in Amsterdam on that date.

 

I noticed the Uniworld desk next to Tauck's at the reception at the Kempinski this morning (august 29). So they are already on site here.  We are supposed to embark Tauck's MS Joy in Budapest on Aug 31.

[notamermaid]

Pfelling update: 308cm. Stable. I cannot see rain on the radar this morning to back this up but one model says rain will come on Wednesday, again centered around Upper Austria, extending into Germany which should cover a wide area in the South from Ulm to Regensburg, i.e. much of the Danube basin there.

 

notamermaid

 

[bluestocking7]

I spoke to the Tauck rep in Budapest today and she was confident we would be able to board in Budapest.  The cruise terminates in Vilshofen, so we don't have to worry about water levels beyond that.  She made the point that Tauck cruises have fewer passengers than other lines like Viking, so are able to sail in lower water.  Our particular cruise has only 53 passengers, since more than a dozen cancelled in the past couple of weeks for various reasons (low water, war in Ukraine, who knows?)

[notamermaid]

That is good to read. 53 passengers is almost an intimate party. As Budapest is better than it was two weeks ago and you embark in Vilshofen, yes, should be a complete river cruise with all the planned stops, I can understand your Tauck rep being confident. Sounds like a great cruise, enjoy your time on the Danube. Going to Melk Abbey? I love it.

 

notamermaid

 

[UDChE89]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

That is good to read. 53 passengers is almost an intimate party. As Budapest is better than it was two weeks ago and you embark in Vilshofen, yes, should be a complete river cruise with all the planned stops, I can understand your Tauck rep being confident. Sounds like a great cruise, enjoy your time on the Danube. Going to Melk Abbey? I love it.

 

notamermaid

 

63 on mine.  It’s been great so far.  Did notice as we were near Vukovar that there was evidence of higher water levels previously.  I’d say it was about 40 cm higher than the current level.

[NJPA79]

5 hours ago, bluestocking7 said:

I spoke to the Tauck rep in Budapest today and she was confident we would be able to board in Budapest.  The cruise terminates in Vilshofen, so we don't have to worry about water levels beyond that.  She made the point that Tauck cruises have fewer passengers than other lines like Viking, so are able to sail in lower water.  Our particular cruise has only 53 passengers, since more than a dozen cancelled in the past couple of weeks for various reasons (low water, war in Ukraine, who knows?)

I’m on Tauck starting this coming Sunday.  I will be THRILLED if the passenger count is on the small side.  Sailed with them a few years ago (Mediterranean) with approx 40 passengers and it was great!

[notamermaid]

Just now, UDChE89 said:

63 on mine.  It’s been great so far.

The MS Thomas Hardy is designed for 169 passengers, website says. Lots of space for you folks on the ship then. I can imagine it adds to a good feel on the ship and may also help staff that is not so experienced. At least that is how it felt to me when I sailed, I had a mix of old and new staff and we also had lots of space as the MS Belvedere was only a bit more than half full.

 

Would love to be on a Riviera/Scylla ship, I think the cooperation works great as regards ship design.

 

notamermaid

 

[schoonslawn]

I found this water levels map which may be helpful:

https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.html?fbclid=IwAR1NGNOyWHvlUMxcx5LUQlZ15mwoyqL-9Kum_U_IaNN4fLrNXysQCFmr2p0

[Flight96]

Here is a good website for water levels as well

https://www.danube-cycle-path.com/danube-flooding.html

[bluestocking7]

Doing a bus tour of Budapest this morning we passed the Amadeus Elegant and another riverboat I couldn’t identify moored in the usual spot on the Danube south of the Chain bridge

 

[notamermaid]

Thanks for all the info folks. The BAfG map is actually the one I use regularly, just through a different website and in German. So let us see, update for Pfelling: 303cm. Not brilliant but good enough. There is a downward trend but the forecast suggests that tomorrow the level should stay above 290cm. Rain still forecast for tomorrow. Almost no rain for the Danube basin in Germany on Thursday and Friday.

 

notamermaid

 

[OwenSmith]

Just checking in here, I'm booked on a Christmas Markets cruise on Riviera  MS Thomas Hardy in the middle of December. Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest. I imagine by then water levels should be fine on the Danube, if not then the world is in serious trouble. I've been to quite a few Christmas Markets in Germany but none this far east.

Edited August 30, 2022 by OwenSmith

[OwenSmith]

19 hours ago, notamermaid said:

That is good to read. 53 passengers is almost an intimate party.

We cruised the Seine on Riviera MS Jane Austen in September 2021 with only 47 on board and it was lovely. That was a last minute booking as France suddenly opened to fully vaccinated UK visitors.

[notamermaid]

Brief update on Pfelling gauge: 288cm. Could be getting tight for a few ships. Rain visible on the radar image, sweeping over the southern half of Bavaria. This volume of water should reach the area of the shallow stretch during tomorrow. Perhaps some rain will directly hit Straubing to Vilshofen. But it looks as if it may not be in time to keep the level at Pfelling stable during today.

 

 

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by notamermaid
no edit

[UDChE89]

On 8/29/2022 at 9:38 PM, notamermaid said:

The MS Thomas Hardy is designed for 169 passengers, website says. Lots of space for you folks on the ship then. I can imagine it adds to a good feel on the ship and may also help staff that is not so experienced. At least that is how it felt to me when I sailed, I had a mix of old and new staff and we also had lots of space as the MS Belvedere was only a bit more than half full.

 

Would love to be on a Riviera/Scylla ship, I think the cooperation works great as regards ship design.

 

notamermaid

 

It’s been great from a service standpoint.  Almost everyone knows my preferences not only because there aren’t a lot of people on board but I stick out like a sore thumb.  The ship has never felt anywhere close to crowded and I’ve been able to do whatever I want whenever I want.

[UDChE89]

Well, our arrival into Esztergom is delayed because we need to slow down due to low water on the river.

[notamermaid]

5 minutes ago, UDChE89 said:

Well, our arrival into Esztergom is delayed because we need to slow down due to low water on the river.

That is a pity. With there having been rain in Austria I thought it may hold. Esztergom has got a gauge so let us have a look at it today:

Hmm, really looks to have gone done significantly compared to previous days. But the forecast looks promising.

 

On my cruise we left the ship at Esztergom, saw the Basilica, which is a great edifice, toured the countryside, stopped briefly at Szentendre and arrived at Budapest with our coach being late for lunch because we were stuck in traffic somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Highly interesting morning which gave us a great introduction to Hungary.

 

notamermaid

 

[bluestocking7]

Hooray!  We boarded MS Joy today as scheduled in Budapest.  We saw a couple of Viking ships - Rolf and Vanar (?) berthed next door.  And once we were underway we crossed paths with a couple of CroiseEurope ships, Victoria and another, going south.   We expect to dock in Bratislava tomorrow.  

[notamermaid]

Just now, bluestocking7 said:

We boarded MS Joy today as scheduled in Budapest. 

Lovely. Have a wonderful cruise.

 

It was a great experience to wake up in the morning, open the curtains and see the embankment at Bratislava. Never having done a river cruise before I really enjoyed that new special moment. The castle is really nice, with a great view. We rode a little train up the hill.

 

notamermaid

 

[Lonehiker01]

Good morning.  We are on the Viking Vali (Budapest to Amsterdam, currently approaching Nuremberg) and they have announced the expectation of making the full trip without any ship exchanges.  I still am worried about the stretch after the canal.  But, we snuck thru Pfelling (slowly) so all is well for now.  I just wanted to thank Notamermaid for all the updates!  It has been extremely helpful for this first time cruiser; so thanks again for holding our hands as a guide. 🙂