Danube water levels 2023 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[notamermaid]

8 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Pardon my possible ignorance, but is the bottom line that for my Prague-Vilshofen cruise next Tuesday that I should not have any water level issues? 

 

Thanks for the continued updates in this thread.

Let us just say that it is looking pleasant now, Pfelling is at 314cm. Could stay pleasant but as it is "only" 24cm to 290cm from this reading, that can be reached quickly but for now it does not look that way. You say Prague to Vilshofen. Do you mean you start in Prague, transfer to Vilshofen and embark there? If your cruise is going downstream from there things should be fine as you avoid Pfelling and the river should be fine in Austria and most likely in Slovakia and Hungary as well from what I can judge from past years. The figures at the gauges are a marker for the shipping industry and not a perfect way of determining issues for river cruise ships. I cannot point to figures at Budapest but overall - as in my post above - experiences of past cruisers kindly posting from their cruise give us indications of what is still good at Budapest and when a low may be problematic.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

[MisterBill99]

8 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

 You say Prague to Vilshofen.

 

 

Ugh, this is what happens when I post too late at night. I meant Budapest-Vilshofen. I was so concerned about getting the end port correct that I messed up the obvious piece.

 

I recall reading elsewhere about problems past Vilshoften, but maybe not recently.

 

Thanks.

[notamermaid]

4 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

I recall reading elsewhere about problems past Vilshoften, but maybe not recently.

Between Regensburg and Budapest the first problematic section is Straubing to Vilshofen which includes Pfelling gauge and then, from what we have learnt here, next, that is when the level of the river falls further, is a shallow bit around the Danube knee extending into Budapest. That is most likely what you have read about. In last year's thread we have reports of people disembarking at Komarno as their respective ship could not enter Budapest.

 

notamermaid

 

[CruiseIreland]

Diverting to Vilshofen rather than Regensburg for embarkation due to low river levels. 

[Izengolf]

Thanks for the update CruiseIreland. 

 

A little over a month for me for Budapest to Nuremberg on SS Beatrice. Personally, if we can't make it through I would prefer if they were upfront that we can't make it past Passau and added a stop in Bratislava, Melk or Linz to replace the day spent in the Main-Danube canal (actually, I would prefer that anyway but my mother chose the itinerary 🙂). One day bussing to Regensburg isn't bad. I assume they can't do this as it messes up all their port bookings to dock and for tours so are obliged to bus from the last port they can reach. 

 

 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, CruiseIreland said:

Diverting to Vilshofen rather than Regensburg for embarkation due to low river levels. 

Thanks for the info. Okaayyy, I am a bit surprised as Pfelling gauge stands at 322cm. But your tour operator may well think ahead and not risk anything or the ship is running late. Anyway, an individual decision that does not mean other companies do the same.

 

I hope an excursion to Regensburg is possible for you. Transfer to Vilshofen instead of Regensburg should not be a big deal.

 

A hot day in Germany, a few clouds with thunderstorms and rain are still sweeping over the Bavarian Forest and parts of the Czech Republic. Forecast for tomorrow shows 35 Celsius for around Regensburg and Nuremberg.

 

notamermaid

 

[cpl100]

We are on the Viking Baldur Grand European from Amsterdam to Budapest on September 25.  I sure hope we do not have a ship swap!  Are there any people with prior experience in September regarding water levels and ship swap likelihood in late September to early October?

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge doing really well: 349cm, still on the way up.

 

Let us have an "interim middle of the month" screen shot to see the difference to July:

 

You do not want to see the graph at MNW, RNW is tricky, MW is very good.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Plateau was reached shortly after I posted yesterday. Pfelling going down fast, I reckon more water is retained by the locks. I have mentioned before that from the Main Danube Canal water is diverted from the Danube basin to the Main basin. I do not know if one can quantify the effect. All in all with a drop of 30cm possible in 18 hours, Pfelling certainly proves to be annoyingly unpredictable/fluctuating strongly. Now at 319cm. All good still.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge at 296cm. I keep thinking that there is a giant snake in the river that gobbles up the water (blame it on me growing up with Rhine legends) but I gather it really has more to do with what the authorities do at the locks. Anyway, that is getting a bit low. Will it fluctuate upwards or will the downhill slope of the graph continue? Hmmm...

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Here we go again...

 

Low water, meaning a bit low for the river cruise ships with the deepest draft, Pfelling gauge at 286cm. Decision time for ship swaps? Or will all get through today?

 

We could count the days soon when the Danube has fallen below the "comfort line" this year and do the same thing for the Rhine. If we made that comparison now the Rhine would come out better than the Danube. Much better...

 

By the way, the heat has been stronger along the Main, in Bavaria and the Czech Republic in the last four days than along the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[deec]

Can someone remind me what the number is when typically Viking begins to ship swap?  286 now?

 

We are still a few weeks from leaving so I know it is still too early to think about it.  Is there ever a depth problem between Bucharest  and Budapest.

[helo driver]

We leave this weekend for Bucharest to Budapest (so excited), also very interested in any updates on water levels on that part of the river.

[rennebird]

1 hour ago, helo driver said:

We leave this weekend for Bucharest to Budapest (so excited), also very interested in any updates on water levels on that part of the river.

Looking for the same info...

 

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, deec said:

Can someone remind me what the number is when typically Viking begins to ship swap?  286 now?

 

We are still a few weeks from leaving so I know it is still too early to think about it.  Is there ever a depth problem between Bucharest  and Budapest.

290cm was given by a spokesman for the authorities, in a newspaper article, for potential problems for river cruise ships. That appears to be a level we can work with for our purposes.  Viking may swap at 292cm or at 288cm or 286cm or lower, an individual decision that will be up to the two captains involved. Viking does send e-mails informing of the possibility of ship swaps according to past cruisers. Do have a look in the roll calls where a few more people report directly their experiences.

 

Areas between Bucharest and Budapest can be low and we have sporadic reports of this but I have no way of knowing details and cannot relate real-world data to any figures in the graphs.

 

Forecast for Pfelling gives figures of 280cm and below for tomorrow. For now, the level is stable. 287cm.

 

notamermaid

 

[reeves35]

I'm currently on Travelmarvel Vega on the Main heading towards Budapest.  Cruise Director advised tonight that there is a very high chance of a ship swap before Nuremberg on Friday.  Travelmarvel Polaris is currently coming upstream from Budapest and is likely to be stranded on Thursday.  We should receive confirmation of the ship swap tomorrow though warm dry weather means lower water levels are inevitable.

 

All crew will remain with the ship except the cruise director who will transfer with us.

 

Travelmarvel's new ships have a draft of 160cms.  Apparently Viking have a draft on their longships of 200cms and are already affected.  Critical figure for us is 260cms though director told us chance of ship swap is over 90% with no significant rain likely in the catchment before Saturday

Edited August 22, 2023 by reeves35

[UDChE89]

5 hours ago, rennebird said:

Looking for the same info...

 

Based on my experience latest year at this time, there should be no issues between Budapest and Bucharest.  While ship issues were experienced upstream of Passau, we had no issues from Budapest to Donji Milanovac.

[notamermaid]

Pfelling gauge at 274cm. Regensburg gauge has gone into the statistical low range of figures. Not enough water now coming from the Upper Danube. Not looking good. If the forecast is correct the level at Pfelling will be below 260cm by late tomorrow morning.

 

How does that play out at Budapest now?

Still better than in July, when the level was low but not so low that we had reports of impacted cruises here on CC. I think we can assume that the July situation will return, but could it get worse?

 

notamermaid

 

[willbrook]

20 hours ago, rennebird said:

Looking for the same info...

 

We are on the Avalon Passion’s Sept 16th Budapest-Bucharest cruise. Gathering information on Danube river conditions in this area is difficult. Too bad, we don’t have a local source contributing on Cruise Critic.

[Izengolf]

11 minutes ago, willbrook said:

We are on the Avalon Passion’s Sept 16th Budapest-Bucharest cruise. Gathering information on Danube river conditions in this area is difficult. Too bad, we don’t have a local source contributing on Cruise Critic.

I live in Romania but about 4 hours from Budapest and quite far from the Danube. I did find this link in English for water levels, and believe most people will stop at Giurgiu as their port to visit Bucharest. 

https://www.afdj.ro/en/content/danube-water-level

 

Based on this article from 19 August 2022, Zimnicea is the location that caused the troubles on both the Romanian and Bulgarian sides of the river. 

https://www.romania-insider.com/low-water-levels-trap-dozens-ships-romanian-danube-port

 

Looking at the map, Zimnicea (Zim-nih-chay-ah) is quite close to Giurgiu and long after the Iron Gates. I don't know if river cruises would stop at Turnu Măgurele and drive 2.5 hours to Bucharest for the end of the trip (versus 1.5 hours from Giurgiu).  The landscape and villages on either drive would be very similar. Going north from Bucharest for a couple of hours is needed to reach the mountains.

 

Hope that helps!

[willbrook]

Thank-You for your response regarding Danube River water levels in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, the website afdj.ro blocked access, citing security requirements. I was aware of the 2022 low water conditions that severely disrupted shipping - fingers crossed we won’t see similar river levels this fall! Thanks again!

[Izengolf]

Normally it is me being blocked by Home Depot or Shopper's Drug Mart!  Here is a screenshot of the levels they have today. 

[deec]

Willbrook we are leaving Bucharest about that time on a Viking ship.  Fingers crossed!

[island lady]

1 hour ago, deec said:

Willbrook we are leaving Bucharest about that time on a Viking ship.  Fingers crossed!

 

We as well.  Sure would be nice to not have to pack up and move!  

 

"Sea" you on board soon, with our fingers crossed also.  🙂 

[reeves35]

We are on Travelmarvel Vega and departed Wurzburg this evening.  Cruise director confirmed tonight that, due to Danube water levels, we will have a ship-swap on Friday once we arrive in Nuremberg.  We will do a tour of Nuremberg and then be bussed to Passau where we will join identical sister Travelmarvel Polaris for the second half of our 14 day itinerary to Budapest.  Obviously pax doing the reverse itinerary to Amsterdam will leave Polaris in Passau and be transferred to Vega in Nuremberg.

 

The cruise director and 2 onboard entertainers will transfer with us.  It'll be sad to leave the remaining excellent crew of Vega.