Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

[Tom47]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

 

I have actually only found this website wetterkontor today. I am playing around with it a bit. Here is a page on which I put Dresden in for you: https://www.wetterkontor.de/de/wetter/deutschland/rueckblick.asp?id=49&datum=19.10.2018&t=4

You can see for 2018 the precipitation "Niederschlag" of 310.9 l per square metre. Now change the date to 2017 and compare the figure. Around half of last year's (so far)! Official summer days in 2017 were 45, in 2018 77. Says it all really, too hot, to dry.

 

You can play this game on both web sites, just put in place names near or on the Elbe. On wetterkontor for example Sachsen is one of the Länder (Bundesland) you can put in on the left, on the right towns are then suggested.

 

The river levels on the Rhine now: Maxau 321cm, Kaub 29cm, Koblenz 22cm.

 

Emmerich on the Dutch border is on 13cm. Sounds as if the Rhine is drying out down there, but it is just how the figure has been calculated. The navigation channel is still deeper than upstream from Cologne. In the Rhine gorge traffic is reduced now, even some barges have had to stop sailing as the propellers get too close to the riverbed.

 

Till tomorrow. 

 

Quote

 

notamermaid

Thanks

 

 

Edited October 20, 2018 by Tom47

[Laura Macky]

1 hour ago, Fourmiler said:

I wonder just how long it will take the river water levels to get back to normal.  Huge amounts of snow fall and lots of rain in the spring perhaps?  I am already getting nervous about our August Jewels of the Rhine, Amsterdam to Basel cruise next year.  Surely the problems this year can’t be the new normal.

 

Lets hope the area gets a lot of rain!  I’d stay close to this forum starting in May of next year to see what people are saying.  I can’t imagine the conditions would be the same but I think August is a better time.  It’ll be hot but at least it won’t be late in the year when the water can be at its lowest.   

[Tom47]

2 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

There is one, just search for Elbe on this forum.

Thanks, it was very helpful.  If we do this cruise, it will be with CroisiEurope.

[Begete]

3 hours ago, notamermaid said:

 

I have actually only found this website wetterkontor today. I am playing around with it a bit. Here is a page on which I put Dresden in for you: https://www.wetterkontor.de/de/wetter/deutschland/rueckblick.asp?id=49&datum=19.10.2018&t=4

You can see for 2018 the precipitation "Niederschlag" of 310.9 l per square metre. Now change the date to 2017 and compare the figure. Around half of last year's (so far)! Official summer days in 2017 were 45, in 2018 77. Says it all really, too hot, to dry.

 

You can play this game on both web sites, just put in place names near or on the Elbe. On wetterkontor for example Sachsen is one of the Länder (Bundesland) you can put in on the left, on the right towns are then suggested.

 

The river levels on the Rhine now: Maxau 321cm, Kaub 29cm, Koblenz 22cm.

 

Emmerich on the Dutch border is on 13cm. Sounds as if the Rhine is drying out down there, but it is just how the figure has been calculated. The navigation channel is still deeper than upstream from Cologne. In the Rhine gorge traffic is reduced now, even some barges have had to stop sailing as the propellers get too close to the riverbed.

 

Till tomorrow.

 

notamermaid

 

Notamermaid, I saw a reply from you to another Uniworld passenger that referred him to a thread. I tried to find the thread to which you referred, but cannot. We are scheduled to cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam on November 9. Our travel insurance requires advance notice to obtain the cancel for any reason 75% we paid for. There a medical reasons I cannot do buses and hotels, and Uniworld has not replied to my requests for information. Can you please give more specific directions to that thread? Thank you.

[notamermaid]

9 hours ago, Begete said:

Notamermaid, I saw a reply from you to another Uniworld passenger that referred him to a thread. I tried to find the thread to which you referred, but cannot. We are scheduled to cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam on November 9. Our travel insurance requires advance notice to obtain the cancel for any reason 75% we paid for. There a medical reasons I cannot do buses and hotels, and Uniworld has not replied to my requests for information. Can you please give more specific directions to that thread? Thank you.

Ooh, sorry. My memory is failing me here. As regards insurance I have mentioned lately that European laws are more favourable as regards problems with river cruising. ABTA is the organisation that is helpful for the UK.

 

With a bit more time and when I am on my computer I will try and find more.

 

notamermaid

 

[BillPizzaiolo]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Ooh, sorry. My memory is failing me here. As regards insurance I have mentioned lately that European laws are more favourable as regards problems with river cruising. ABTA is the organisation that is helpful for the UK.

 

With a bit more time and when I am on my computer I will try and find more.

 

notamermaid

 

 

14 hours ago, Begete said:

We are scheduled for Uniworld ‘s European Jewels, November 10, leaving from. Budapest to Amsterdam.

 

Despite writing to Uniworld, I have received zero information.

 

We cruise because I have a medical condition that makes me extremely allergic to all scented products. I can handle that on ships, as we did last year on Uniworld, but a long bus ride could, literally, kill me.

 

Has anyone heard or experienced anything recent from Uniworld?

The ship swaps we experienced were seamless. It also gave us a chance to experience three different Uniworld river cruise boats.  We started on the Empress, went to the Princess and then to the Queen.  The staff on each were over and above to make the switches as pleasant as they could. We were scheduled for various tours on the dates of the switches.  When we returned to our boat it was the next one at the next stop beyond the very low water.  Some folks hiked the distance, some rode bikes the rest rode in a bus at one of the swaps.  Hope that the water levels improve soon and that it doesn't become a new normal for that part of the world.  

It would be weird if Germany develops a climate like Sicily.  Could you imagine German olive oil as a new crop or hearty red wines replacing Riesling?

[Dance momma]

We are scheduled for the Uniworld River Empress on November 5th, I would much rather swap ships several times then be on buses and hotels!  Im trying not to worry about it all and just roll with it!  Hoping they don’t cancel all together! UGH!  I may never do another river cruise!

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, BillPizzaiolo said:

It would be weird if Germany develops a climate like Sicily.  Could you imagine German olive oil as a new crop or hearty red wines replacing Riesling?

And the much more efficent German Mafia.

 

Dear MiL could be the German Mt. Etna, she eruptes everytime she sees me.💣💥⛑️📿

[BillPizzaiolo]

5 minutes ago, Dance momma said:

We are scheduled for the Uniworld River Empress on November 5th, I would much rather swap ships several times then be on buses and hotels!  Im trying not to worry about it all and just roll with it!  Hoping they don’t cancel all together! UGH!  I may never do another river cruise!

Say hi to Preston, he was our Cruise Director.  He and the staff made everything happen wonderfully despite the low water.  It is a mixed blessing to have low water.  It  means warm sunny days and really good photos. Lots of days up on deck relaxing and enjoying the cruise.  That is until you run out of water. Hope you have a good trip.  We did.

[austinetc]

The is rain forecast!  Reliable amounts.  But is it too late?  The rain is forecast to begin falling on the 27th, from Cologne to Basel.  My  ship is scheduled to pass through the Rhine Gorge on the 30th.  It's not going to help?

[Laura Macky]

16 minutes ago, austinetc said:

The is rain forecast!  Reliable amounts.  But is it too late?  The rain is forecast to begin falling on the 27th, from Cologne to Basel.  My  ship is scheduled to pass through the Rhine Gorge on the 30th.  It's not going to help?

 

Not to be pessimistic but the water levels are so low that the showers predicted will probably not do much for the water levels.

[austinetc]

2 minutes ago, Laura Macky said:

 

Not to be pessimistic but the water levels are so low that the showers predicted will probably not do much for the water levels.

Oh, be a pessimist.  Let the cruise lines own optimism.  I'm sick of their rosy predictions.  While I'd agree that the Danube's low water is not going away with just a few showers, the Rhine Gorge hasn't been closed nearly as long.  So I'm going to wonder about the science.  Neither pessimist nor optimist.

[notamermaid]

30 minutes ago, austinetc said:

The is rain forecast!  Reliable amounts.  But is it too late?  The rain is forecast to begin falling on the 27th, from Cologne to Basel.  My  ship is scheduled to pass through the Rhine Gorge on the 30th.  It's not going to help?

This week the level at Kaub has fallen from 41cm on Monday to 27cm today. The stretch was already impassable on Monday. A forecast for Kaub, or rather a prediction for further than the 25th is not available today. No real rise of any sort will happen before then. Maxau will react to rain on the 27th. I have described it as to rise from catastrophically low to very low on another thread. I personally doubt that the stretch in the Rhine gorge will be passable for large river cruise ships (the very small ones can sail) by the 30th.

Sorry. But I would be very happy to be proven wrong.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited October 21, 2018 by notamermaid
added sentence

[austinetc]

I agree, but hope springs eternal.  I'm less than completely pessimistic because 1) a rapid drop presages a rapid rise, 2) the Rhine's catchment area seems less absorbent, meaning more rapid runoff, and 3) I want it to happen.

[Begete]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

This week the level at Kaub has fallen from 41cm on Monday to 27cm today. The stretch was already impassable on Monday. A forecast for Kaub, or rather a prediction for further than the 25th is not available today. No real rise of any sort will happen before then. Maxau will react to rain on the 27th. I have described it as to rise from catastrophically low to very low on another thread. I personally doubt that the stretch in the Rhine gorge will be passable for large river cruise ships (the very small ones can sail) by the 30th.

Sorry. But I would be very happy to be proven wrong.

 

notamermaid

 

How long will it take, do you think?

[notamermaid]

36 minutes ago, Begete said:

How long will it take, do you think?

Haven't a clue. Just depends on how much rain comes down where.

 

Here is a photo gallery of the situation in various places in Germany: https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-disappearing-rivers-and-lakes/g-45951565

Notice the last line in photo 5: "Experts are unable to predict when the autumn drought will end."

 

I would like to think it is the first week in November but I have been disappointed by the amount of rain that came down one weekend in September, so I am not optimistic, just hopeful. I could be completely wrong... It cannot just keep on not raining, can it? Sigh...

 

You asked about the thread I mentioned to another cruiser. I seem to remember it was Bill who kindly replied above and I think I was referring to the thread started by vino100 about Uniworld changes on the Rhine.

 

notamermaid

 

[sarararah]

On 10/19/2018 at 10:57 AM, Mark_T said:

Just to close this one off, both ships (AmaVenita, AmaVerde) continued on straight back to Amsterdam where they are currently moored with no cruises scheduled for the next three weeks as their next cruises were cancelled.

My brother was on AmaBella and he just sent me a message to say they got flown to Amsterdam and changed to AmaVerde and are going to spend the next week around Belgium and Holland. Pretty nice of APT to make the most of a bad situation and to keep them on the water and not in buses. 

[Mark_T]

I noticed and AmaVerde had wandered off south-west of Amsterdam, so that explains that then.

 

If your brother is enjoying himself then it is all good and it makes commercial sense for APT as well to have the ship occupied and keep the guests on their original return flights home, so a win-win I guess.

[notamermaid]

Tonight I would like to teach you a new German word: Niedrigwassertourismus - low water tourism.

 

It is an actual word used in the media and tonight I saw a video of these "Niedrigwassertouristen" barbecuing on the riverbed! It has been a warm, sunny day, probably the last Sunday this year, so many people headed to the great outdoors, i.e. hills and embankments along the Rhine to watch the spectacle - for a day forgetting that this is actually an extreme event that nobody really wants to see happening. And I decided to join them.

 

I went to the river's bank looking for treasures - any kind of rare bottle, unusual stone... I stepped into the area which is normally the riverbed and felt as if I was standing in a mix of pebble beach and metal scrap yard. There were no treasures to be had, I found modern bottles, clothes, a corrugated metal sheet, a bycicle, a shopping trolley, car tyres, metal rods and cables, and a - ghettoblaster! Needless to say that I took none of it home.

 

Here is a photo I took from Urmitz bridge today. I am facing upstream towards Engers and Koblenz. None of the gravel and sand in the photo is normally exposed. The navigation channel is between the red and green buoy and is much reduced in width.

 

The river levels tonight: Maxau 317cm, Kaub 26cm (a new record, hooray (big sarcasm...)), Koblenz 21cm (a new record, hooray etc., been that low for much of today really).

 

And with that I shall retire to my hot chocolate and more snooker on television.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[BillPizzaiolo]

You need to take shovel and dig down a bit to discover old stuff. Even take a gold panning tray and pan for gold dust in the mud below. Especially in the Danube where it was possible to make a good living at it. 

[notamermaid]

The river levels this morning: Maxau 318cm, Kaub 24 cm, Koblenz 18cm.

The figure at Worms is slowly reaching non-existence, 4 cm! On paper, this means the navigation channel there has a depth of 142cm.

 

Is there actually anybody out there still sailing between Worms and Rüdesheim?

 

Container barge traffic in Basel has been suspended according to newspaper reports. Too dangerous.

 

notamermaid

 

[Mark_T]

Thanks once again for the updates, they make for sombre reading, but hopefully you will be the bearer of glad tidings in the future.

[acwmom]

On 10/19/2018 at 1:15 PM, RiverCruiseKim said:

We are currently on our Uniworld cruise which departed Basel on 10/14 on S.S. Antoinette. We only sailed for 2 days then sat in port in Strasbourg for 2 more days. Ship could not go any further due to low water levels so on Thursday we were taken off the ship for the remaining 4 days to finish the trip with bussing and hotels. I know the water levels are not in anyone’s control but I believe Uniworld has handled this very poorly. The amount of time spent on buses has been ridiculous. Not to mention when we found out our time on the ship would be coming to an end we inquired through our cruise director about cancelling the rest of our cruise to try and cut our losses. It took the head office 2 days to respond and they responded if we did that we would receive no compensation. Ridiculous that we are given no choice. So we spent a ton of money on our “river cruise” that lasted all of 2 days. 

Kim,

I am so sorry you weren't able to complete your cruise on the Antoinette. Can you let us know how the rest of the trip went? Were you able to sail the castles section on a tour boat? Where did Uniworld put you up in hotels? Were you still able to do the planned excursions? How did they handle the meals and "unlimited" drinks?

 

FWIW, having done this itinerary, I might have liked an extra night in Strasbourg. The Mannheim port/area wasn't very nice, and we still had to be bused to Speyer/Heidelberg. 

 

Hoping Uniworld makes it right for you. $1000 to be used within the next 15 months on a future cruise doesn't seem reasonable. Did you book using a travel agent?

 

Robin

[RiverCruiseKim]

Hi Robin,

 

We we’re driven through the Rhine gorge section on a bus to see the castles - not exactly the best vantage point. I did notice the smaller tour boats going up and down the gorge while we were driving so I wondered why they didn’t try to arrange something like that for us. 

 

As as far as hotels they put us up in Cologne for two nights at a Marriott and one night in Amsterdam at the Sheraton at the Airport. Most people were really unhappy with the Sheraton since we were so far away from the heart of Amsterdam with very limited food choices - most ended up eating in the airport. 

 

There were quite a few excursions cancelled - I can’t remember all of them off the top of my head but we never made it to Speyer, the castle Vollrads wine tasting was cancelled, and I think there may have been something else in Koblenz that was cancelled. Some of the other excursions like the Marksburg castle tour still happened but there was not a lot of participation as it was a 2 hour bus ride there and 2 hours back - most people I talked to who didn’t do it said the long bus ride was why. 

 

As as far as food and drinks there was an included buffet breakfast at the hotels each morning but for lunch and dinner you were on your own and just given money - I believe it was $30 euros each for lunch and $50 for dinner. The unlimited drinks we completely lost out on and were not compensated for in any way. 

 

We did use a travel agent and I talked to her right after finding out the cruise ship would not continue and she said we would talk again when we got home. If she can’t help then I plan on contacting Uniworld as this was absolutely not up to the standards for what we paid for this trip. 

 

Kim

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, RiverCruiseKim said:

As as far as food and drinks there was an included buffet breakfast at the hotels each morning but for lunch and dinner you were on your own and just given money - I believe it was $30 euros each for lunch and $50 for dinner. The unlimited drinks we completely lost out on and were not compensated for in any way.

This is one of the reasons why hotels really are no substitute for the ship...

 

The cruise lines make grand statements about the service, the facilities and the different cabin grades and then dump the entire ship into a hotel with none of the facilities, identical rooms and no 'open bar'.

 

Not surprising that people get upset by this sort of thing.

 

The cruise experience is about so much more than just getting to the right town on the right day...