notamermaid

Tauck has ships of 110m and 135m length, so draft, also among the lengths, will vary. A pilot, now that is unusual. Almost like back to the old days when pilots were brought onto river ships regularly in the Rhine Gorge. There is a museum dedicated to the pilots in Kaub, very small: http://www.lotsendienst-kaub.de/ I am impressed by Tauck. 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

Now, to the 148cm that Bloomberg mentioned. With an update since yesterday on elwis - where Bloomberg got the figure from - I am willing to look at this. Sunday evening should see 70cm. Monday could see the figure jumping the 100cm mark. That would normally ensure sailing for all river cruise ships, but remember that I cannot know anything about individual decisions as regards logistics and company policy. Going into Tuesday, yes, 148cm is still listed as a probability. I am still skeptical about that figure but it is not what we need for river cruising anyway. It is good to have the buffer above 100cm. If it only goes up to 120cm, I will be happy enough. In short, looking very promising for 135m ships now. Or, another way, looking good for all river cruise ships that right now cannot sail the Rhine Gorge due to low water levels. notamermaid

US travel weekly's river cruise reporter was on the Amalucia christening sailing and not only wrote an article but also made a video, which I have only just found. Here it is: https://www.travelweekly.com/Media/Low-water-levels-slow-river-cruising?ct=river notamermaid

Will this be the last report of this kind this year, seeing that the levels have risen? Probably not, like it says in the text, confidence for short-term bookings is low. I would be very careful about booking short-term myself now and look carefully at which canal and river plus which ship I could sail on that gives me the least risk of disruption. https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/river-cruise-specialists-continue-to-contend-with-low-water-levels notamermaid

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

So have we got a good rise at Maxau? Yes!! Graph of Maxau gauge: If there was any rain in my area during the night I did not notice it, the landscape is bone dry. But what is coming from the South of Germany will be enough to make the level at Kaub rise. The reaction is obviously some hours later than in the South, but is happening. Kaub gauge is now at 49cm and rising well: notamermaid

Due to bad experiences in life I would never ever use my real name online, or post photos from where I live, i.e. anything that puts me closer to placing me on the Middle Rhine. My name stands out from the crowd and I have been tracked and found online (with no bad outcome so far). Anyway, hello to you @OwenSmith . That ship in the Thames estuary is fascinating. When you go from Rochester over the Medway by train you see an old submarine there. I have often thought I should look at it, but have so far never got round to doing so. Been to Upnor Castle to listen to the story of a raid there. Recommended if you are into (old) naval history. Apparently, a ship wreck at Neuss on the Rhine is also exposed now, but the articles are behind a paywall or "throwing advertising at me till I choke" cookie acceptance, so have not read them. 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

LOL. Abschätzung is indeed a computer based very scientific guess. And it is somewhat helpful, as is the probability chart that goes further into the future. From a business point of view it makes sense to have it, for loading your barge or tanker. You can vary that accordingly. Still no rain on the radar for Rhineland-Palatinate, isolated groups of clouds are visible near and at the Neckar and in the Northern Eifel region towards Cologne. Kaub gauge at 40cm. I have mentioned Emmerich gauge on the Lower Rhine. It is the last gauge in Germany, not far into the Netherlands is the next one, called Lobith. The reference points in the Netherlands and the gauges are different, so I cannot calculate as I do on the German Rhine. But it is clear that the river must be low there also. The river will have a good depth but I have no details of how similar it is to Emmerich, I mean is the navigation channel depth the same as on the Lower Rhine in Germany or deeper? I will have to leave it at that question but I can say that the Netherlands is experiencing a drought and Lobith made it into the Dutch headlines as - just like Emmerich - having reached a new record low. Here is the article: https://nltimes.nl/2022/08/18/rhine-falls-record-low-water-level-dutch-entry-point-measures-readied-waterways A screenshot of the webcam photo at Koblenz. Important is what you cannot see: A Viking river cruise ship. They have been absent for days. Clearly I may have missed one, but in normal times you may find it difficult to take a screenshot without a Viking ship docked. And many times it is two as they here meet in the middle of the Amsterdam to Basel itinerary. May we see them again next week? Update from me around lunchtime or a bit later. notamermaid

Update on weather. Still no rain in the Middle Rhine valley. Small clouds forming over the Upper Rhine valley. Rainy area has expanded, but for now little is reaching the catchment area of the Main river. At least two thirds of the rainfall is still going to the Danube basin. notamermaid

I have just referred to that in my post above as treating that with extreme caution. It is not a forecast, but what I call tentative, a prediction based on something like 90 parametres. I saw that Bloomberg has picked this up, as a business site they would obviously. I will cross that 100cm bridge when I come closer to it, i.e. tomorrow after the forecast has been updated. But it is clearly promising for large river cruise ships! notamermaid

Update on river levels - part two. Cologne 75cm: Emmerich -3cm: Both are little more than just fluctuating. So what is the forecast for Kaub if Maxau looks so promising? Well, I will not look towards next week yet as it is all tentative and the forecast will be adjusted tomorrow morning. For now we can say that it is looking good and promising. During the night the level will noticeably go up at Kaub and may reach 50cm tomorrow evening. Sunday will see a good rise most likely and that brings the 90cm into view for Monday. Everything better than that I treat with extreme caution. notamermaid

Yes, it needs explaining to newcomers to the subject, so I am happy to explain again or refer back to earlier posts. Again, thank you for your help. Tidal estuary, that is definitely a very different environment. I live so far inland that I can easily forget about tides and the tide clocks in restaurants along the English coasts (the only ones I see) are a wondrous sight for me. notamermaid

Right. Update on river levels - part one. Not that much has happened yet. As I said, rain stuck in the Danube basin and beyond. I am hoping for proper rain in the valley from Breisach to Cologne tonight. We will see. The Lake is getting rain and it has rained a little in the valley, but not enough yet. Here are the graphs: Maxau up to 359cm after a dip yesterday. Forecast sees a fast rise: It looks enormous, but only brings the level well out of official mean low water. If it happens like this, it will obviously result in a rise at all further gauges but how much we will need to see tomorrow. Kaub at 36cm: and Koblenz at 32cm: so no real change since yesterday, just two centimetres up. notamermaid

Now that you say it, I have not spotted any Ama ships at Rüdesheim in the last few days. They had done the ship swap from there before, when the river was at around 50cm. Perhaps I just missed them but all ships that I now still see are CroisiEurope or the small Dutch ones. Yeaah, that is quite uncertain. I doubt Kaub gauge will go up enough in time for them to make the passage. notamermaid

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

Yes, rain in Basel and Lake Constance will benefit the Rhine. However, with several locks and dams in the Upper Rhine valley that need water, the authorities may decide to regulate the flow. I am not sure how well they have maintained the standard depth there in the last few weeks. The land being so dry and the weather being hot, it may well look like considerable rain on the radar but not a good enough amount may reach the Rhine itself to give a good rise at Kaub. Right now, the rain is staying East of the Black Forest, so the Rhine will only get the water from the High Rhine and Lake Constance and later on from the Neckar. It is raining in the Upper Neckar valley. Still, the good news is that Lake Constance has gained 4cm since last night and it looks to me to be more than fluctuating. Update on Kaub, etc. to follow. 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

Thank you for the info. I do prefer it when a company says they cannot keep enough of the original itinerary and decide to cancel. https://www.viva-*****/en/information notamermaid

I certainly hope the view improves from here. What a boring and slightly scary place to be in. A long way up the river for you today. Not that it is much consolation but at least they take you through the valley with a stop at Lorelei and Bingen. notamermaid

I think @RDVIK2016 has officially taken over from me explaining this 👍. I have nothing to add! notamermaid

Thank you for taking us along on your journey through Europe. Have a great cruise, we all know it is going to be a bit adventurous in this drought. Looking forward to the next installment. notamermaid

Viking is actually based in Switzerland, but you book with a different entity of Viking that means you book with Viking A and sail with Viking B. Or something. NDA's make my blood boil, at least when it comes to the general public consumer on one side and a big company on the other. To be frank, I would not silence myself with a pen and the promise of 500 dollars. From Wikipedia, in German but obvious: based in Switzerland. "Viking River Cruises AG ist ein weltweit agierender Anbieter von Flusskreuzfahrten. Der Hauptsitz des Unternehmens ist in Basel, Schweiz." and from the T&C on https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/2-220413_BookingAndSaleTermsAndConditions.pdf comes: "THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS GOVERN THE BOOKING AND SALE OF YOUR CRUISE TOUR THROUGH VIKING RIVER CRUISES, INC." Your carrier is different again and depends on where your ship is registered, i.e. Rhine, Douro, Nile, etc. Complicated stuff and well worth reading before you book. It also says that if you have any disputes with the company you do legal action as an individual and with signing the terms and conditions you sign away the right to use class action. I have not read the details but I get the feeling that if you leave the ship because you do not want to be on a coach or in a hotel, you are completely and utterly on your own, financially and legally... That does sound much better. 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