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

[Yorkshireoldlad]

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

No I am afraid I do not. To be precise I need to say that the Main Danube Canal is officially up to just after Kelheim, not Regensburg. I have always assumed that the locks further downstream, i.e on the Danube up to and including Straubing would keep the level sufficiently high near and in Regensburg. The really shallow stretch is only considered to be between Straubing and Vilshofen where the Danube flows freely. I may be mistaken with the locks. Or Viking has logistical reasons for doing this, you may certainly be right there.

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks. I suspect that Viking have ships and passengers in Passau that have been there a couple of days, so need to get the passengers at least moving towards Amsterdam, so although we could have got to Regensburg, this is better overall for Viking.

[Canal archive]

As I posted on another thread
 

It was only ever a whimsical shall we say aberration 🤪 
 Gliding like a swan above and paddling like a lunatic below.

     
 

    Or Otter class not so many in Europe especially not like this.
 

  
    
 

     
 

    
 

     
 

    
 

    
 
 

[notamermaid]

Update for Pfelling gauge: 262cm. Mild rain along the Alps this morning, drizzle forecast for today and tomorrow. Substantial amounts of rain forecast for Bavaria for Thursday. Temperatures very warm again today, set to rise to 25 and 27 in towns, the Rhine and West of Germany are likely to be even a bit warmer than the Danube valley.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnotherWanderer]

On the way to Passau now.

Will find out tonight if we will go to Regensburg.

Hopes are not high.

 

 

[austin_rindy]

Please keep us posted. Let us know cruise line handles any diversion.

[podsnel]

On 8/23/2022 at 6:13 PM, ras5952 said:

Hope you are enjoying your cruise. How do you like the ship?

We all LOVED Ama Viola. Staff was incredible, food was wonderful (they had the BEST soup and salads, we all had to get them always in addition to all the other yummy food). Our Cruise Manager, Luis, was above and beyond- my phone died when we arrived in Budapest- he took it out to be repaired. Really a fantastic time- I hope you enjoy yours as much!!

[Canal archive]

These youngsters are so up on tech same thing happened to DH on a cruise once.

[ras5952]

5 hours ago, podsnel said:

We all LOVED Ama Viola. Staff was incredible, food was wonderful (they had the BEST soup and salads, we all had to get them always in addition to all the other yummy food). Our Cruise Manager, Luis, was above and beyond- my phone died when we arrived in Budapest- he took it out to be repaired. Really a fantastic time- I hope you enjoy yours as much!!

Thanks for the report. Any glitches due to water levels?

[notamermaid]

9 hours ago, AnotherWanderer said:

On the way to Passau now.

Will find out tonight if we will go to Regensburg.

Hopes are not high.

 

 

 

You are right, not looking too good. Thanks for the photos. That is a lot of concrete exposed.

 

Pfelling gauge update: 258cm. Scattered rain over Bavaria this morning, just leaving Germany towards the Czech Republic now. Does not look too promising for new clouds forming during the afternoon. Not sure how much rain came down overnight.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by notamermaid

[AnotherWanderer]

UPDATE!!

We are making a run for it!

 

They have cut our Passau visit short and we are making a run at Regensburg. Pulling away at any moment. Those that had afternoon tours here will be bussed up the river to meet us.

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by AnotherWanderer

[AnotherWanderer]

Pulling out of Passau.

 

[notamermaid]

Just now, AnotherWanderer said:

UPDATE!!

We are making a run for it!

 

They have cut our Passau visit short and we are making a run at Regensburg. Pulling away at any moment. Those that had afternoon tours here will be bussed up the river to meet us.

 

Good news!

 

Pfelling gauge at 260cm. I think you will hear the gravel under the hull... Fewer people (tiny, tiny bit) and perhaps less water in the tanks (more than a tiny bit),which I reckon they have done, should help you along. You could ask the crew if they have reduced the water in the tanks but first deep breath and no disturbing the captain.

 

notamermaid

 

[Seanm7303]

1 hour ago, AnotherWanderer said:

Pulling out of Passau.

 

May I ask what cruise line you are on?

[steamboats]

No rain so far at my place but it´s in the forecast for the next days.

 

steamboats

[Host Jazzbeau]

40 minutes ago, Seanm7303 said:

May I ask what cruise line you are on?

They had said earlier Viking Var.

[bluestocking7]

We disembarked MS Joy in Vilshofen this morning and boarded buses for Prague.

On the way the Tauck guide explained that our tour had always terminated in Regensburg--until 2018 when low water meant they never made it that far.  So ever since they have terminated in Vilshofen, where they have a good docking position.

She also explained that back in the '80s, a lock upstream from Vilshofen was in fact proposed.  But opposition from environmental groups put an end to that.  I have no idea if she's right or not.

[AnotherWanderer]

Epic fail.

 

We made it a very short distance away and got stopped behind a barge that seemed stuck for about 20 minutes. Then it moved but we backed up and pulled into a side slip where whe have tied up to a non-Viking ship in what appears to be a very NOT scenic fuel depot/industrial yard.

This is apparently where we will sit for the next few days.

HUGEly disappointing because if we had stayed in Passau we could have gotten off the ship at our leisure and explored the town.

 

The plan would seem to be to make a 1:50 hour bus commute to and from Regensburg for the next two days if you have tours booked.

 

Seanm7303- Yes, this is the Viking Var

[Haqdeluxe]

1 hour ago, AnotherWanderer said:

If we had stayed in Passau we could have gotten off the ship at our leisure and explored the town.

 

Not to burst that bubble but this is an assumption. It could be just as probable that your captain was willing to make a run for Regensburg in lieu of being shuffled off to the less desirable mooring your at now. Where the Viking Var is moored now is the typical overflow dock for Viking. Looks like the Viking Rolf is at the city docks now. 

[notamermaid]

Just now, AnotherWanderer said:

Then it moved but we backed up and pulled into a side slip where whe have tied up to a non-Viking ship in what appears to be a very NOT scenic fuel depot/industrial yard.

This is apparently where we will sit for the next few days.

Sorry about that. What a disappointment. We have talked about the unattractive harbour area on this thread before. Is it this one?

 

This is the dock in the winter harbour at Racklau (suburb of Passau).

 

notamermaid

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by notamermaid

[judythg]

38 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Sorry about that. What a disappointment. We have talked about the unattractive harbour area on this thread before. Is it this one?

 

This is the dock in the winter harbour at Racklau (suburb of Passau).

 

notamermaid

 

This is according to Cruisemapper

[AnotherWanderer]

Yes all. That industrial dock is our current location, only now a third ship has pulled along side us so no one will have a view of anything but another stateroom. Lesson there is maybe don’t pay extra for a balcony. 
To be clear I am NOT upset with Viking because we cannot travel onward. They do not control the rain or the rivers.

I am disappointed that with this apparently being such a commen occurrence, not something that caught them by surprise, they have not come up with a better mooring solution than to just “warehouse” us like this.

 

It would maybe be easier to deal with if I hadn’t paid more for this view.

[Yorkshireoldlad]

11 hours ago, AnotherWanderer said:

Yes all. That industrial dock is our current location, only now a third ship has pulled along side us so no one will have a view of anything but another stateroom. Lesson there is maybe don’t pay extra for a balcony. 
To be clear I am NOT upset with Viking because we cannot travel onward. They do not control the rain or the rivers.

I am disappointed that with this apparently being such a commen occurrence, not something that caught them by surprise, they have not come up with a better mooring solution than to just “warehouse” us like this.

 

It would maybe be easier to deal with if I hadn’t paid more for this view.

There are just too many river cruisers nowadays to all have enough prime mooring spots. At popular ports it is common to be docked two or three abreast. We were told on a Viking Douro cruise by someone that they always booked the cheaper cabins on bottom deck because of this and they used the sun deck. 
this is what we did for Russia in 2019 and sure enough at every port we would have had no balcony view, unless we lucky enough to be the outside ship and even then we would have had to have been on the correct side of the ship!

The only reason we booked a balcony this cruise was because I saw there would be a few days when the sun deck was closed due to the low bridges on the Main river.

If  it is any comfort, I am on the Rolf in Passau and my balcony view on middle deck is of the side of the pier, because of the low water level.

if you are going to Amsterdam you should find a few ports further on where there is no double mooring - but you may still find little views. For example in Nuremberg the mooring is in an industrial port area.

[Canal archive]

Depending on the port authority regardless of the river/weather conditions you could be moored in an industrial area, we have several times over the years much to the captains horror. Make the most of it usually technically very interesting you can meet some realyyyyy interesting characters. Okay it’s not visually interesting but on board why bother.

[notamermaid]

On 9/8/2022 at 8:28 AM, Yorkshireoldlad said:

For example in Nuremberg the mooring is in an industrial port area.

Very much so. The reason is the huge commercial harbour they built in connection with the Main Danube Canal enabling traffic from Rotterdam to the Black Sea. River cruising is only a by-product on the Canal really. The Canal is a big by-pass of the actual city centre there. The river in Nuremberg is the Pegnitz which is not navigable and can only be used by non-motorized vessels. To be brutally honest, on most rivers and canals that you sail in Europe river cruising is only a "by-product". In modern times many canals have lost their commercial importance and have barge cruising and stuff but that is a different matter.

 

The harbour master is the controlling element for docking but to be honest Viking is the big player with (too) many ships and have their own landing stages. On the Google map it specifically says that it is a Viking dock, so I have at least the suspicion that Viking may be having too many ships in Passau right now to use only their prime spots in Passau. Reason for me thinking is that on the Rhine at Koblenz it has become apparent that Viking has so many ships now that double docking at their own location at Deutsches Eck is not enough anymore. They more often than not dock double. So several times now I have seen them use a new area in Ehrenbreitstein meaning they have three river cruise ships in town at the same time on some days.

 

Generally, Passau suffers from overcrowding with river cruise ships, well at least in 2019 that was a big topic which was quite inevitably going to return at some point, and I think in this exceptional situation it shows.

 

In short, in this particular instance I am not sure that the harbour master was the sole decision maker, wish I could ask him/her.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by notamermaid
spelling

[notamermaid]

Quick update: Pfelling gauge at 259cm. Rain over much of Bavaria on the radar, sweeping East towards the Czech Republic now.

 

notamermaid