hbr777

The water levels actually look good. For now. More rain, please, although I don't think any is in the forecast at the moment.

As notamermaid intimated, some places are winners, some losers on the levels.

More gorgeous rain

I am trying to take the levels in the morning here in the USA. But...life...work..intervenes lol.

Yes, we are learning tons about this river. I feel like I will be cruising along and giving lectures, "Well, we are headed to Speyer, which has had a consistent water level of 190 cm." HA! No, not really. Imagine though?

Happy halloween!

I started graphing the levels. It will be interesting to see what happens with some more rain.

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

In brief this morning: situation in the industry unchanged, more shortages being reported. No new bomb finds reported as far as I know. Emmerich gauge still worryingly low. Rain forecast for today still stands.

The river levels: Maxau fallen, currently at 338cm, due to rise again. Kaub as forecast has been reached by the wave and has risen to 50cm. Koblenz also better at 39cm.

 

notamermaid

 

Will the same wave of water also reach as far as Emmerich, which is crazy low at 7 cm? I see Worms was once 7 cm is now at 37. It is still raining and it is a beautiful thing. Fingers crossed this rain makes a difference. It seems like it has already.

5 hours ago, Where’s Waldo said:

We left Koblenz last night about 9pm on 10/29, was scheduled for 1am on 10/30 but I was told last night the captain wanted to leave at 8pm. We were told before reaching Koblenz we didn’t have to bus as far north due to conditions improving. So I wonder if the improvements were short lived. We are docked in an industrial port in Cologne and supposed to be a 10 minute shuttle. Without the obvious downside to the water levels is docking of boats. We have been docked along or docked to nearly everyday.

Which cruise line are you on?

All this rain is moving north (see still shot or go to accuweather.com, it is terrific for radar - here is the forecast for Koblenz with radar) so if the rain holds it together, this would be a steady, slow-moving rainfall (albeit on the light side in places).

A note about accuweather. Accuweather is especially useful to get an idea about what the weather was like the previous year so you can plan for this one!  Under the "month" view for any location, choose the month and year. You can then see that month in calendar view with high/low temps, or toggle to list view, and that will include the precipitation. 

If all I have to do on Amawaterways is a ship swap, I will be delighted!

56 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

hbr777,

 

we have just crossed paths. See my post above. We do need more rain to back it up. Lake Constance is so low it has got another island - exposed huge amounts of gravel.

It does not have to rain in Basel, but it is better to have widespread rain of course. The Vosges mountains the side of Strassbourg, the Neckar valley, Lake Constance and most of Switzerland all together, not forgetting the small rivers coming down from the Black Forest would be great.

 

I mentioned the figure of 50cm at Kaub as an indicator of when the large river cruise ships might get ready to sail through, when the first 135m ships will attempt it is down to captain and company. The river is never closed by officials (a few harbour areas excepted). There are small Dutch ships sailing through.

 

And here is something positive to follow up on:

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Thank you for explaining the graph of Kaub and situation on the river to hbr777 so well. I would just like to add one more thing. While Maxau, Kaub and Koblenz do need levels close to the GlW figure and above, the gauging stations from Andernach and further downstream are alright with less, as the navigation channel is considerably deeper there. At the GlW line Maxau is 210cm, Kaub 190cm, Koblenz 210cm, Andernach 250cm, Cologne 250cm and Emmerich even 280cm. So being a little under the GlW line is most worrying at Kaub.

 

notamermaid

 

 

If I were sailing on a river cruise ship from Basel to Amsterdam tomorrow, the ONLY bottlenecks would them be Kaub and Koblenz  because the navigation channel is not as deep and water is so shallow at the moment? Just trying to understand how a cruise company would handle this. If that is the only bottleneck, it seems like most of the cruise would be accomplished with (1) ship swap, assuming ships are available for that?

Geez, I feel like I am going to be a quasi-expert on this river and its depths :) I have learned so much here.

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

This morning  I can say that we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel, finally. How long the tunnel still is we cannot be certain...

 

Following the rain yesterday the level at Maxau has risen to 337cm. That is a start as that wave will reach the Rhine gorge tomorrow. 350cm is forecast by the authorities. Kaub and Koblenz are still extremely low at 30cm and 19cm, respectively. It is currently raining a light to moderate rain around Basel and the Upper Rhine valley, so that rain will continue to fill the river during today and tomorrow. Now if we could only back this up with more rain.

 

notamermaid

 

Well, yay! As of now, Maxau = 354cm, Kaub = 29 and Koblenz = 24. Is it reasonable to assume that might rise more as the water flows down the river from Basel? It seems like the rain is over...

34 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Try looking at all three countries' train websites. If the train starts in Amsterdam and goes via Paris before ending in Switzerland, each country's train company will sell tickets. Often, the prices will differ, and sometimes the difference is substantial. So look at prices on the Swiss, French, and Dutch sites. (sbb.ch, sncf.com, and ns.nl, respectively). Some itineraries probably go through Germany, so check their site too: bahn.de. 

 

In general, prices rise as the journey gets closer and cheaper tix sell out. Swiss tickets are generally the most expensive. I don't have experience with Dutch tickets. French and German tix are cheaper when you buy in advance. Exceptions can be found but these generalities usually hold IME. It is also generally cheaper to buy direct from one of the national train services, and not from a reseller.

Excellent advice you have give.n I would also add: stay far, far away from buying tickets from Rail Europe, and as said, buy directly from the rail sites themselves. You'll also save a lot of money going second class. I find second class to be fine.

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

Fortunately you have nearly 6 weeks so I'd have thought there is a good chance that you'll get the water you need.

 

We leave in 2 weeks so rather more uncertain for us, but at least we don't have long to wait for a decision as APT have said they'll let us know end of next week.

Fingers crossed for you, Mark. I hope you get to take your cruise!

Thanks Mark.

I don't leave until 12/3 on AMA Basel to Amsterdam so I have so more time to freak out. Or not.

I feel badly for those scheduled for the coming week. They must be on pins and needles.

I would be somewhat sanguine about the whole thing but I am group leader for 11 others, some who have not been to Europe ever. I am hoping and praying to the rain gods that this works out.

43 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

The depths you see there are not the actual depth of the navigation channel, so you need to pay attention to the lines on the graphs, look for a level that is around the GIW line as a minimum, and preferably higher around the MNW line that you can just see above. Here is the graph for Kaub as an example:

 

Thanks again to notamermaid for explaining this yesterday.

Yes, thanks. I appreciate the interpretation. I was actually paying attention to the color coding, and all of the orange areas.  Which make me sad 😞

What is not clear from anything I have read is...are river cruises still moving on the Rhine, are they doing ship swaps, bus tours, or what? I'd like to get some idea of what the situation is now. 

21 minutes ago, Intlxpatr said:

We are on a Tauck trip in late November from Koln to Basel, visiting Christmas markets in Germany and France. I am guessing we will do part of this on bus, which means a whole different way of packing, but as our main object is walking and eating good winter French and German food (we lived in the area for several years) we are prepared to roll with the punches. Horrified by the photos and videos of the low levels of water, and expecting this will be a very strange adventure :-)

Maybe not. There is rain in the forecast for which there was almost none for the whole month of October.  So if it rains, all hope is not lost!

It looks like the area is getting some rain; Basel up through Heidelberg is getting rain, although it is drier further north.

I am fervently hoping that the rain continues in November.

I really like this site since it gives an idea of water levels, and areas that are not faring as well as others for river depth.

What I would like to understand is how much water does a river cruise ship need in depth? I know it varies by size and even by cruise line, and I *think* I read on here that 50 cm is a possible minimum? In looking at the river depths in the link below, you really can get a feel for depths at various points on the rivers. 

And as always, thank you notamermaid for you information, interpretation, and perceptions.

https://www.bafg.de/EN/06_Info_Service/01_WaterLevels/waterlevels_node.html;jsessionid=BB6C4479144C6D8B21E1FB79175A4B90.live21303

This radar shows some hope!

Hi Notamermaid,

Thank you for all your help with these river levels and such. I read this thread every day hoping for some rain. We do not sail until Dec 3 from Basel to Amsterdam, but I wondering if normally November is a wet month?

Thank you!

yes will definitely hit a store to get one. Rather do that than take a risk

baf

Very smart. using an adapter on these is not a great idea even if they are dual voltage, and with a European one, it will be safe.

There are many dual voltage curling irons available online.

Dual irons are not very safe for 220 voltage.

Company issued curling iron/flatirons would be a great solution, such as is the approach to hair dryers. It is my understanding that curling iron/ flatirons draw less electricity than hair dryers and many have automatic off switches.

I would be agreeable to dropping my own off at the front desk and picking it up when I need it.

Picking up your own iron won't help if the voltage is different. The fire danger comes from different voltages and current draws. Heat appliances draw a lot of current.

Much of the fire risk comes not from the fact that these appliances get hot and can catch something on fire, but that they get draw a lot of current. If the voltage is different from the outlet and you try to use a converter/adapter, it really can wreck havoc. Even dual appliances that draw a lot of current (like a hair dryer) are a fire risk if used with an adapter; they draw so much current that it can melt the adapter.

Some ships have outlets that are 110 and 220. Others just have 220 (we have 110 in the USA).

Those that are committed to hair and are sailing on a cruise line that does allow hair heat appliances should consider buying an appliance in Europe. Then you don't have to deal with adapters that could melt for a dual appliance, or with a converter/adapter for a non dual appliance.

As someone with wash and wear hair (so please take my comments with a grain of salt) I can't imagine choosing a cruise line because it lets you bring a curling iron.

LOL, everyone has wash and wear hair. It is just about adjusting our perceptions!

hbr777 from my two experiences, it didn't matter what time of year we went, people dress way more casual for dinner than on ocean cruises. Your outfits you describe would be perfect for the Christmas market time of year for cruising. Men and women dress very casual for dinner except for the Captains Farewell dinner night which is a little more dressy. But not over the top. We always had plenty of time to change for dinner and the cocktail hour before dinner. The only time we didn't have time was if an excursion ran a little late.

Thank you very much! This will help with packing, which will be minimal because we are traveling by travel both before and after the cruise. I could wear my dress for the captain's dinner and it would be fine? Is the farewell the last night, because I think we will be missing that dinner for a dinner in Amsterdam.

How about Christmas market cruises? Do you think they are more casual than those in the summer for dinner hours, or more dressy? Generally in Europe, I dress how I would for work: corduroy slim pants, ankle boots, long tunic sweaters, chunky scarves. Will that work for dinner, or do I need to plan on something more dressy? I had planned for at least one comfy wool dress with leggings and ankle boots.