Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

[Mark_T]

Plenty of 135m ships braving the passage through the gorge this morning.

 

Viking Hild, Amadeus Silver III and Grace, all heading north, and Viking Hlin currently moored at Braubach is poised to head south.

 

 

 

 

[notamermaid]

30 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Plenty of 135m ships braving the passage through the gorge this morning.

 

Viking Hild, Amadeus Silver III and Grace, all heading north, and Viking Hlin currently moored at Braubach is poised to head south.

 

 

 

 

Three cheers to that!

 

Thank you fort tracking the ships. That is a great help in assessing the 

situation.

The corresponding river levels: Maxau 367cm, Kaub 61cm, Koblenz 62cm.

 

With a bit more time I will catch up with all of you later. So many interesting posts. Thanks everyone for contributing. 

 

notamermaid

 

[Mark_T]

55 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Thank you for tracking the ships. That is a great help in assessing the 

situation.

 

Happy to help.

 

Excellence Melodia is another good one to watch, she left Cologne this morning head for Passau.

[Mark_T]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Viking Hild, Amadeus Silver III and Grace, all heading north, and Viking Hlin currently moored at Braubach is poised to head south.

 

Hild and Grace have both made it through in good time, Silver III should be reappearing any moment now as well.

 

Edit: ... and right on schedule Silver III reappeared, she has just passed Braubach where Viking Hlin is still moored for the moment before heading south through the gorge.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Mark_T

[notamermaid]

9 hours ago, Wannawander said:

We were on the Hild in mid Sept. We heard from the program director, Emma, and our captain on the first or second night that He was watching the levels in the gorge very closely. We did lose some time out of Basel in the middle of the night because of lines at the locks. Therefore we got into Strasbourg later than expected and our tour started later and it was 86 degrees midday and humid.That spoiled Strasbourg for me because it was crowded as Disneyland and the cathedral was not open until later. Others were not quite as bothered by heat. So then we were told that we were going to make it through the gorge but we’re going to leave Mainz earlier than expected, just before dinner. At that time Koblenz was at 59cm which I believe it is now or was this morning. Then it rained a little in Koblenz. Make sure you go in the gondola in Koblenz.

The Mosel is deeper I believe and the water was full. It is very winding and a joy to be sailing. The locks there keep the water levels navigable. If you have Emma, she will tell you why the Mosel is this way. Very interesting. As Notamermaid has informed us continuously, the levels change constantly throughout the day and night and a few centimeters make a difference. Good to see the Hild has not been affected as much as others until just lately. Love that ship and the crew is absolutely TOPS! Wishing all a wonderful voyage, even if some is by bus. Hey, you get to see some beautiful countryside! 

 

The Viking Hild has made it! As I write she is approaching her dock in Koblenz, where the Tauck Grace is at the moment (well at 13.05):

 

This is the link to the webcam with photo updated nearly every minute: https://www.bafg.de/DE/06_Info_Service/03_Webcam/webcam_node.html;jsessionid=58AEBD041FB92B50317582F028751D3F.live21304

 

Rain is sweeping over the Moselle area, with little rain in the Upper Rhine valley today. It is warmer than yesterday. It was another mad weather day yesterday with the Nürburgring Northwest of Koblenz at minus 1 degree Celsius while Berlin got warm weather with 22 degrees Celsius.

 

Wannawander, so glad to read you enjoyed the Moselle. I am reminded of your family story again... The river is indeed much deeper and in no danger of running as low as the Rhine. From the levels I read that they have been struggling a bit to keep the level in the river stretches at a near minimum as, of course, it has hardly rained in that area either. Which has kept them from releasing much water into the Rhine.

 

More later.

 

notamermaid

 

Update: The Grace has left already and is heading North. Now that was a short stop!

 

Edited October 31, 2018 by notamermaid
Update

[hbr777]

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

 

[notamermaid]

Wow, you are really getting into this!

 

Are you sticking to a certain time of the day for recording them? I know you are getting good at manoeuvering around the pegel online website...

 

Thank you for your efforts, impressive.

 

notamermaid

 

[Mark_T]

Pegel is also great for spotting the 'waves' or surges as they move downstream.

 

We are all learning far more than we ever imagined necessary about the rivers in the area 🙂

[hbr777]

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!

[Mark_T]

Excellent Allegra is heading south through the gorge right now as well.

 

Doesn't seem to be anything impeding these 135m ships today.

[CILCIANRQTS]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

 

Hild and Grace have both made it through in good time, Silver III should be reappearing any moment now as well.

 

Edit: ... and right on schedule Silver III reappeared, she has just passed Braubach where Viking Hlin is still moored for the moment before heading south through the gorge.

 

Hallelujah!!

Time for upcoming cruisers to celebrate big time!

[Mark_T]

We need these levels to hold and we also need the cruise lines to have the confidence that they will hold since some of them can't afford to have the wrong ships stuck the wrong side of the gorge, but it is good news for sure, no denying that.

 

 

[notamermaid]

And now for something different and as a weird coincidence happening just around this time of year. The Rhine has unearthed a lot of things from bicycles and cars to shipwrecks and bombs. What has not been found yet are remains of Roman life. That stuff was found recently in Mainz near the harbour where that sort of thing is expected, the city being 2000 years old. A recent find, published yesterday, has stunned archeologists - and I dare say a few locals. A mass grave in a suburb from the 19th century: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/mainz/Knochenfunde-bei-Bauarbeiten-Massengrab-in-Mainz-gefunden,skelette-gefunden-100.html

 

I cannot find a satisfactory English news story yet, so I refer you to translation gadgets.

 

In short: during construction work a digger hit upon human remains and it is currently believed that it was a mass burial for soldiers who died of a disease. Construction work has been halted and the archeologists have moved in. Possibly for a while.

 

notamermaid

 

[Mark_T]

Letters are going out to UK APT passengers on the 10th November sailing as I type this.

 

They explain that although the water levels have improved and right now the entire Amsterdam-Budapest route is open, that could change between now and the cruise itself.

 

So they are offering three alternatives.

 

1. Stay booked on the cruise and accept that if necessary they will offer an alternative extended cruise around the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany followed by the use of hotels/coaches in Vienna/Budapest and they will also give a voucher equal to 20% of the current cruise cost to be used on a booking with APT within the next 2 years.

 

2. Even swap with a booking for 2019 in Oct/Nov subject only to availability of the same cabin grade (.. and airfare class where appropriate)

 

3. Full refund with the option to keep the air travel that has already been booked if you prefer (at a cost).

 

Hard to complain about the open approach they are taking, especially when compared to some other cruise lines we've been hearing about on here...

 

 

[notamermaid]

Mark_T,

 

although sorry to read this, under the current conditions I find this a very good and honest approach by APT. 10 days out is really good and any more notice would not make sense in my opinion - unless it is a "generic pre-warning" letter. With all your knowledge of the situation the question is: what will you do?

 

It is best to be realistic in this situation and APT is being such that. I will come back to sobering realism after today's celebratory mood later.

 

notamermaid

 

[dancefan8]

41 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Letters are going out to UK APT passengers on the 10th November sailing as I type this.

 

They explain that although the water levels have improved and right now the entire Amsterdam-Budapest route is open, that could change between now and the cruise itself.

 

So they are offering three alternatives.

 

1. Stay booked on the cruise and accept that if necessary they will offer an alternative extended cruise around the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany followed by the use of hotels/coaches in Vienna/Budapest and they will also give a voucher equal to 20% of the current cruise cost to be used on a booking with APT within the next 2 years.

 

2. Even swap with a booking for 2019 in Oct/Nov subject only to availability of the same cabin grade (.. and airfare class where appropriate)

 

3. Full refund with the option to keep the air travel that has already been booked if you prefer (at a cost).

 

Hard to complain about the open approach they are taking, especially when compared to some other cruise lines we've been hearing about on here...

 

 

We received this from our TA too. We have decided to go with Option 1 and keep our fingers crossed lol.

[bebtwice]

16 hours ago, DonnaMW said:

Yes got our call tonite.  You were told your hotel. They did not inform us. My only concern to them was that I be in same hotel as my neighbors.   They said we should be. Hopefully.    Go with Flow.  Maybe more changes coming. But at least I can finish packing tommorrow. 

Interesting that you, Donna, and ural guy were told the Dorint, where as in our call, we were told either the Dorint or Hyperion. Too bad we all can't be in one hotel. Both look decent.

[Begete]

Has anyone seen a Uniworld boat anywhere? 

[Mark_T]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Mark_T,

 

although sorry to read this, under the current conditions I find this a very good and honest approach by APT. 10 days out is really good and any more notice would not make sense in my opinion - unless it is a "generic pre-warning" letter. With all your knowledge of the situation the question is: what will you do?

 

It is best to be realistic in this situation and APT is being such that. I will come back to sobering realism after today's celebratory mood later.

 

notamermaid

 

The choice was relatively easy, option 1.

 

I think that APT are being realistic, the current surge of water will not last much longer without more rain and we need these levels in about two weeks time which is certainly not guaranteed.

 

Shifting the cruise to next year could just be a repeat of this year.

 

A refund at this point just gives us last years money and next years prices with little ability to do anything better right now.

 

So on balance continuing is best I think, but it shows the quality and professionalism of ATP that they gave us all three options 10 days out...

[DonnaMW]

1 hour ago, bebtwice said:

Interesting that you, Donna, and ural guy were told the Dorint, where as in our call, we were told either the Dorint or Hyperion. Too bad we all can't be in one hotel. Both look decent.

Well I wrote them this morning and kindly ask which hotel. My hubby is in assisted living and I truly need the info in case of emergency. 

She wrote me back and she had just gotten the list  we are at the Hypernion. 

So Boston does know now. 

[Roz]

I'm was supposed to sail on the River Empress from Amsterdam to Basel on November 5.  Here's the email I just received from Uniworld:

 

Dear Roz:

 

We are writing with an update for your upcoming cruise with us on Remarkable Rhine beginning November 5^th, Uniworld booking XXXXXXX.

 

Due to low water on the Rhine, this cruise will operate on the River Princess instead of the River Empress. While the River Empress will be docked in Amsterdam, we have decided to replace her for this sailing with a vessel that has a lower draft. This will allow us to sail with few, if any, changes to the itinerary.   

 

The River Empress and River Princess are sister ships with nearly identical deck plans. You will have the same stateroom number in the same location onboard, with the same amenities.

 

As both ships will be in Amsterdam when the guests arrive, please be sure to board the River Princess. There is no change to the embarkation port location in Amsterdam, which is listed here. The River Princess phone number is as follows: +49 15 222 6 999 60

 

Thank you for your understanding and we cannot wait to welcome you in Amsterdam.

 

Kind regards,

Emily Rolon
Reservations Services

[notamermaid]

31 minutes ago, Begete said:

Has anyone seen a Uniworld boat anywhere? 

Yes, the River Princess has gone through the gorge and is now sailing past Bonn towards Amsterdam. The fact that she has not stopped for the last 150km suggests she is travelling without passengers.

 

notamermaid

 

[Roz]

43 minutes ago, Begete said:

Has anyone seen a Uniworld boat anywhere? 

 

See post #996.

 

Roz

[Roz]

16 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Yes, the River Princess has gone through the gorge and is now sailing past Bonn towards Amsterdam. The fact that she has not stopped for the last 150km suggests she is travelling without passengers.

 

notamermaid

 

That's my ship!  See post above. This is very comforting to know.

 

Roz

[notamermaid]

7 minutes ago, Roz said:

That's my ship!  See post above. This is very comforting to know.

 

Roz

Yes, our posts crossed each other. She will be there perfectly on time at her current speed with time to spare, I should think, to get in perfect shape to greet you.

 

marinetraffic is my favourite site for tracking ships. But I have been using it for so long now that I have used other features as well. Here is an example of what else one can do. I have mentioned Köln-Niehl in response to a post a couple of days ago. Viking is using the port at Niehl as an alternative to the docking location on the Rhine at Cologne city centre. But Niehl is actually a harbour where lots of ships go for the winter break. Currently already many ships are there - for whatever reason. As I write the Viking Eir has just left and is heading North: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ports/4195/Germany_port:NIEHL

 

notamermaid