Rhine/Danube River Levels

[steamboats]

The Danube river is looking pretty good right now. No low water but not much above the low water mark. You can check here

 

http://www.nid.bayern.de/abfluss/karten/index.php?gknr=2&wert=abfluss&thema=niedrigwasser

 

As long as the dots are green you´re fine! It´s just the Bavarian part but that water is flowing downriver :D.

 

Here´s the same for high water

 

http://www.hnd.bayern.de/ (click on the Danube/Donau river)

 

As long as the dots are green there´s no high water.

 

There´s some rain in the forecast for today and the next few days. The Rhine river should be o.k. too (no low water but not much above this mark).

 

steamboats

[frac]

We're considering a Christmas Markets cruise mid December from Nuremberg to Vienna. Are river levels likely to be a problem at this time?

[steamboats]

Larry & Pat,

 

Cruising during the winter months is relatively new. But over the last few years watching this board there haven´t been any problems of that kind. High water is pretty unlikely. But with a dry winter there is a very slight chance of low water. But actually you can´t say that any month is a safe month for cruising. Usually October is. This year proofed us wrong.

 

steamboats

[greatimes4ever]

Thank you Steamboats for the update. It appears that the water level is looking better than the last month or so.

 

I have just over 2 weeks to go before our cruise starts and we are getting very excited. :) :)

 

 

Leanne

[Bapak]

Steamboats,

Thanks for the heads up on sites to check for water levels. I am sure that it will be a great aid for those who will be travelling in the future.

Blu*Donau,

I was on the bus with Wolfgang. I had my own GPS and wondered about the choice of route taken in Budapest. Unfortunately I did not have my GPS with me when we got lost going to the Concert in Vienna.

From your post I gather that Scenic did not have any contingency plans in place.

This smacks a little of very poor planning (I was going to use a single word to describe Scenic's planning). If this true then it only makes Scenic more culpable.

I must ask if Scenic supplied the wines to the International Riding School Hotel in Vienna why they only supplied one drink per head.

Also can I ask did they supply the wine to the lunch venue in Budapest that also only supplied one drink per head in addition to the no choice menu?

[Bapak]

Hi Steamboats,

 

My German is not up to finding the archive of water level readings for the Danube on the website address you gave.

 

Can you assist here?

 

Thanks in advance.

[lmrumley]

Hello there lmrumley, my husband and I are also heading off on our first river cruise from Basel to Vienna. We are so excited and justing hoping that the river levels will have risen enough to allow us to spend the whole time on the boat. We are from Australia and may see you on the boat.

 

Look forward to seeing you if you are on the Nov 9th sailing.

[steamboats]

Hi Steamboats,

 

My German is not up to finding the archive of water level readings for the Danube on the website address you gave.

 

Can you assist here?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Bapak,

 

There´s no real archive. But when you click on one of the dots you get a diagram covering the last few months. But the data is not very detailed. And this website only covers the Bavarian part of the Danube river (from Kehlheim to Passau).

 

Here´s a website covering the Austrian part of the Danube river (in English):

 

http://www.doris.bmvit.gv.at/en/

 

Slovakia:

 

http://www.povodia.sk/dunaj/en/index.htm

 

Hungary:

 

http://www.hydroinfo.hu/Html/hidinfo/duna.html (actually it´s showing the levels of the Danube river from Ingolstadt/Germany downriver, and the website is in Hungarian)

 

I haven´t checked if there are any water level archives on the other websites (especially not on the Hungarian one as I don´t speak that language).

 

steamboats

[bassfisherman]

Hi Steamboats,

Thanks for all of your information on the water levels. Do you have an update on the water levels for the Rhine? Do you know is Viking doing "river" cruises or "bus tours" down the Rhine? Any updates, as always, would be greatly appreicated. Thank you.

[Rebecca J]

We leave tomorrow for the Avalon Romantic Rhine, my sister and me. Hope people don't think we are too romantic. Just kidding. ;) We are finishing our packing and fly out tomorrow. Depart Basal on Sunday. Any info on Rhine levels and Avalon appreciated. Thanks, Rebecca

[webfoot]

Have a wonderful trip!!!

[Rebecca J]

Thanks Pat, looks like you are an Avalon fan. This is our first river cruise. Rebecca

[steamboats]

Hi Steamboats,

Thanks for all of your information on the water levels. Do you have an update on the water levels for the Rhine? Do you know is Viking doing "river" cruises or "bus tours" down the Rhine? Any updates, as always, would be greatly appreicated. Thank you.

 

I haven´t heard anything during the last view days. And as news do only report about the "bad" news I assume that´s good news:). The river levels have gone up during the last view days so it should be much better now.

 

steamboats

[bassfisherman]

Thanks. Maybe in this case, no news is good news. Perhaps some folks returning from trips very recently will post some information.

[Rebecca J]

Thanks Steamboats, I hope so. We are so looking forward to our trip along the Rhine. Thanks for all the info from everyone about what to expect. We will enjoy whatever happens. Does anyone know if the leaves have changed or already fallen? Thanks, Rebecca

[steamboats]

Rebecca,

 

Do not expect the colors of an Indian Summer. The leaves over here are changing pretty quickly. And they are falling pretty quickly. Can be done within 2 weeks.

 

And let´s say half of my oak leaves are still up and the rest I was picking up from my terrace and flower beds this morning :eek:. But oak trees are the ones which seem to last forever regarding the falling leaves.

 

steamboats

[Cappiccino]

Hello Bapak,Steamboats and Blu*Donau

 

We too were on the Scenic Diamond September 12 cruise from Amsterdam. We experienced the Scenic Detour in Vienna en route to the concert - 70 minutes without an explanation from the CD who was sitting next to the driver, other than to tell us we were going to be late and would have to forego our Champagne reception before the concert as the musicians had to leave at 9 for and other engagement. We spoke to the musicians after the concert and learned they had no engagement to go to. When we returned to where the busses were parked the CD was miffed because we didn't want to go back with the wandering driver. We were some surprised when the CD also decided to return on one of the non-wayward buses! Return tip took 12 minutes instead of 70.

 

What really ticked us off was the way the CD and Scenic Tours failed to be frank and honest with us. I recall speaking to the CD shortly after we boarded. She told me that she wasn't supposed be on this cruise and had been called in at the last minute. In retrospect it was a good plan by Scenic. She was a master of spin!

[penang32]

Hi Cappiccino

 

Can you tell me where the Scenic boat was docked relative the Central Station in Amsterdam. We are staying at the Victoria Hotel opposite the station prior to boarding on the 21st December. I understand that there are a number of spots that can be used however interested to know where you left from

 

Cheers

[Cappiccino]

We were berthed on the Rhine close to the Movenpick Hotel. I have included a link which will show its proximity to the Central Station http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=0,0,8260418601549718490&fb=1&hq=movenpick&hnear=amsterdam&daddr=Piet+Heinkade+11,+1019+Amsterdam,+Amsterdam+(Noord-Holland),+Netherlands&geocode=12829811611933090279,52.377382,4.913126&ei=5ETqSt6_H5O0NvWx9ZQN&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=directions-to&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQngIwAA

 

Have a great cruise!

[Rivercruiseresource]

Gary Bonds and letsgo 39,

 

sorry if my first post appeared to be evasive. It was not my intention. The only reason I thanked Steamboats is because of the perspective provided. With the exception of very rare cases, water levels are simply not as predictable as one would like. No, we did not have hotels booked in Basel at the time you arrived in Amsterdam. Yes, we did believe there was a reasonable chance that we could salvage a decent part of the itinerary. And we base ourselves not on wishful thinking, but on a combined 50+ years of experience. I do not wish, in any way, shape or form, to diminish your dissatisfaction with what this cruise turned out to be. But I would like to point out what you experienced is simply not the norm. The cruise after yours, after a rocky start, was back to normal sailing within days and experienced limited disruptions. The threads here have inadvertently created the impression that it is more rule than exception that ships do not get to sail because of water problems. I'd like to point out that Viking organizes about 400 cruises in Europe alone. This year saw some rather unusual dry spells and still only a small number of our cruises got affected.

 

Refunds etc. are dealt with on a case by case basis and as such, we do not make the resolutions at which we arrive public. Based on your comments and those of others, we are re-assessing how we communicate in situations like these - it is obvious that we failed to reassure you and others that we were doing the best we could with the hand we were dealt. Let me emphasize that we do not consider it in our interest, or anyone else's for that matter, to knowingly and willingly mislead anyone.

 

If you have already contacted us by e-mail or by letter, we will respond within the next week, if we have not yet done so. Again, I want to invite you to use Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com to continue the conversation, should you wish to do so.

[Rsm11001]

Gary Bonds and letsgo 39,

 

sorry if my first post appeared to be evasive. It was not my intention.

 

No, we did not have hotels booked in Basel at the time you arrived in Amsterdam. Yes, we did believe there was a reasonable chance that we could salvage a decent part of the itinerary. And we base ourselves not on wishful thinking, but on a combined 50+ years of experience. I do not wish, in any way, shape or form, to diminish your dissatisfaction with what this cruise turned out to be. But I would like to point out what you experienced is simply not the norm. The cruise after yours, after a rocky start, was back to normal sailing within days and experienced limited disruptions.

 

Refunds etc. are dealt with on a case by case basis and as such, we do not make the resolutions at which we arrive public. Based on your comments and those of others, we are re-assessing how we communicate in situations like these - it is obvious that we failed to reassure you and others that we were doing the best we could with the hand we were dealt. Let me emphasize that we do not consider it in our interest, or anyone else's for that matter, to knowingly and willingly mislead anyone.

 

If you have already contacted us by e-mail or by letter, we will respond within the next week, if we have not yet done so. Again, I want to invite you to use Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com to continue the conversation, should you wish to do so.

 

Rivercruisersource,

 

Please add rsm11001 [Robert] to the list of complainers for the Viking Sun 10/4-10/11 cruise.

 

While you may not have had the Basel hotel booked ahead of time, you DID have the 10/4 hotel in Amsterdam booked and the 10/5 Marriott in Koln hotel booked prior to Sunday, October 4th when you told us to leave the dock and go to the Radisson Blu in Amsterdam. Why could you not have also told us at the dock on Sunday that we were booked at the Marriott Koln?

 

No one here is disputing that Viking can't control nature and water levels. What we are all trying to nicely say is that it only seems fair of Viking to offer up accurate information in a timely manner so their customers can make an informed decision. You and your staff failed to do that on Sunday, October 4th at the Amsterdam dock.

 

How can a customer even consider taking advantage of your generous 24 hour money-back guarantee if they are not given accurate or correct information?

 

Additionally, I have done as you have stated here and contacted Mr. Joost Ouendaag and Mr. Harald Seebacher, neither or whom have responded to my concerns in a timely manner.

 

I don't think anyone really wants to hear/read about my and Mr. Bond's problems with Viking via cruisecritic.com, but it seems like Viking, and their lack of timely responses is leaving us no choice.

 

Robert

[Rivercruiseresource]

Rsm11001:

 

Hi Robert. If you can give me your e-mail and name on Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com, I will get you a status update and possibly a complete response later today.

[letsgo39]

Well at least they are responding. I hope it gets resolved to the satisfaction of all involved.

[Bapak]

Well it is good to see that Viking, at least, are now willing to open up a dialogue with their passengers.

It’s a great pity that Scenic Cruises are not similarly proactive.

It seems a common thread that the cruise companies are not open, honest and timely in their communications with their passengers.

This seems, at least to me, very strange when you consider that the passengers are the life blood of their company and having disgruntled passenger’s communicating their frustrations to all and sundry is surely not in the best interest of the cruise company.

This criticism applies equally to the time immediately prior the commencement of the cruise, during the cruise and during the upheavals that resulted from the river cruise being cancelled and a bus debacle being substituted.

As I have not been contacted by Scenic Cruises in the month since the River Cruise was cancelled I will be chasing up Scenic Cruises with an expansive compensation claim this week.

[Bapak]

I have received a reply from Scenic Tours regarding my claim for compensation ( I claimed under $AUD500 per passenger - under 5% of the fare I paid for the cruise -for Scenic Cruises not meeting their end of the contract i.e. suppling all the services that we provided on the boat in the same quantity and quality). In a nut shell Scenic blamed everyone else for lost busses, poor service, inadequate meals and having to tour in cramped busses. I quoted Scenic “the circumstances which impacted your tour were outside our control we do not believe that compensation is warranted in this instance. We do however regret that your tour was negatively impacted” I the letter did not address all the issues that I raised yet on the issues that they did address they blame others rather than accept responsibility Scenic admit that the tour was “negatively impacted” yet will not address the issue in a positive manner. Shame Scenic Shame. I will be pursing the matter further with Scenic (and beyond if necessary) and will keep this site posted.