Rhine water levels 2018 and similar topics

[gadugger]

On 11/29/2018 at 7:58 AM, Valley Girl of VA said:

Which AMAPrima sailing are you on?  We are on Dec. 8th.  I too would like to know what the Amsterdam to Amsterdam covers.  Unfortunately we had already booked and paid for a tour outside of Amsterdam for our two days after the cruise.  If we go to Antwerp, there is a Christmas market there.  I wonder if this ship does the same itinerary as the Tulip Tour?

 

Jane

Below is the AMA PRIMA route from our Nov. 17 -24 cruise.  AMA did a very good job with this alternative route. However they did a poor job about communicating what was going on with the low water levels. 

 

[hbr777]

It is interesting that we are still doing a ship swap even with high water levels. I am assuming AMA needs to position ships, just in case. I need to ask about this. How I would love to not swap ships!

[masonpips]

Good morning from Zurich!  On our way to Basel where Uniworld will bus us to Freiburg for Night 1. Rest TBD. I tracked her (SS Antoinette) this am and she has made it to Mannheim so even if we have to bus there tomorrow we will be able to board!  

 

Many thanks to all who have posted over the last few weeks. I have learned so much and appreciate all your input. Especially notamermaid of course!

[hbr777]

57 minutes ago, masonpips said:

Good morning from Zurich!  On our way to Basel where Uniworld will bus us to Freiburg for Night 1. Rest TBD. I tracked her (SS Antoinette) this am and she has made it to Mannheim so even if we have to bus there tomorrow we will be able to board!  

 

Many thanks to all who have posted over the last few weeks. I have learned so much and appreciate all your input. Especially notamermaid of course!

Why are they  busing you to Freiburg when the river levels are good?

[peasmith]

Let's just hope we don't have the reverse problem - all this rain may cause the rivers to swell and the ships won't be able to get under the bridges due to high levels lol!

[peasmith]

Have noticed this morning that the Mani is in Niehl - may be going to stay a while so that it doesn't get to Amsterdam too early.  I don't think it is carrying passengers at the moment as it has only just started to move since the 9th November if my investigations have been correct.  There is no time for it to get to Amsterdam and Basel and back again before our cruise on the 14th December.  I am, therefore, hoping that when we arrive early in Amsterdam on the morning of the 14th December we will be able to get in our cabins and leave our valuables whilst we go exploring Amsterdam.  I have not known Viking River to store hand luggage before if we have been unable to get into our cabins and don't fancy carrying our passports and all our euros around with us in such a busy city. 

[masonpips]

1 hour ago, hbr777 said:

Why are they  busing you to Freiburg when the river levels are good?

They did not leave Cologne in time I believe. As of last Friday (last note from them) we weren’t sure where we would meet the boat. At that time they had not moved   

[G.M.T.]

1 hour ago, hbr777 said:

Why are they  busing you to Freiburg when the river levels are good?

River levels do not enter the equation when there is no ship there.

[jo-b]

Thanks to GMT and Notamermaid for their time and local knowledge and for everyone else posting about their experiences. We have been home for 2 months so it really is time I weaned myself off this thread!! 

 

Enjoy a peaceful Christmas and hopefully a good season in 2019.

[hbr777]

1 hour ago, G.M.T. said:

River levels do not enter the equation when there is no ship there.

But they have been saying since last week that they will start in Freiburg instead of Basel. Last week I could understand it,  but since the levels came up on Monday, since Monday the ship cannot get to Basel from Freiburg? I believe the distance is less than 100 kilometers. Surely that can be covered in four days?

[nickbevoz]

I noticed the level at Strasbourg seems to have fallen back into the Orange Mode of (presumably) lower than preferred.

 

is this potentially problematic over the next week or so?

 

 

[G.M.T.]

2 hours ago, nstarrenburg said:

I noticed the level at Strasbourg seems to have fallen back into the Orange Mode of (presumably) lower than preferred.

 

is this potentially problematic over the next week or so?

 

 

More rain is needed to maintain the current levels and idealy to keep it at a minimum of 190 cm. Over on the Danube the cruisers have contibuted to the increase in water levels with their consumption of glühwein.

[G.M.T.]

2 hours ago, hbr777 said:

But they have been saying since last week that they will start in Freiburg instead of Basel. Last week I could understand it,  but since the levels came up on Monday, since Monday the ship cannot get to Basel from Freiburg? I believe the distance is less than 100 kilometers. Surely that can be covered in four days?

The question "why are they being bused" was posed and I gave the answer that their was no ship. I am not getting involved in the whys and why not of the logistical nightmare that the cruise lines are facing.

[vivivi]

7 hours ago, peasmith said:

Have noticed this morning that the Mani is in Niehl - may be going to stay a while so that it doesn't get to Amsterdam too early.  I don't think it is carrying passengers at the moment as it has only just started to move since the 9th November if my investigations have been correct.  There is no time for it to get to Amsterdam and Basel and back again before our cruise on the 14th December.  I am, therefore, hoping that when we arrive early in Amsterdam on the morning of the 14th December we will be able to get in our cabins and leave our valuables whilst we go exploring Amsterdam.  I have not known Viking River to store hand luggage before if we have been unable to get into our cabins and don't fancy carrying our passports and all our euros around with us in such a busy city. 

Hello Peasmith,

We expect to be on the Mani on the 14th about lunchtime. Like you we hope to leave our luggage then wander around Amsterdam for a while.  It would be good if we could use the room safe even if the room itself wasn't ready but if not we'll just carry our passports, etc with us. That depends of course where the  Mani is moored, last time our Viking ship was very convenient for walking to the centre but some-one we know was less fortunate.

Perhaps Viking look at the arrivals info and clean the rooms to facilitate entry for the early arrivals - we can always hope!

 

[ganski]

Have noticed this morning that the Mani is in Niehl - may be going to stay a while so that it doesn't get to Amsterdam too early.  I don't think it is carrying passengers at the moment as it has only just started to move since the 9th November if my investigations have been correct.

 

We departed the Mani in Basel on November 9th, from what we were told the Mani was being sent away for repairs, the shaft was bent, something happened when the water was low. We started on the EIR and ship swapped to the MANI and in Basel everything on the MANI was transferred to the IDI, we had a departing lunch on that ship.

[peasmith]

14 minutes ago, ganski said:

Have noticed this morning that the Mani is in Niehl - may be going to stay a while so that it doesn't get to Amsterdam too early.  I don't think it is carrying passengers at the moment as it has only just started to move since the 9th November if my investigations have been correct.

 

We departed the Mani in Basel on November 9th, from what we were told the Mani was being sent away for repairs, the shaft was bent, something happened when the water was low. We started on the EIR and ship swapped to the MANI and in Basel everything on the MANI was transferred to the IDI, we had a departing lunch on that ship.

I thought something was up as it hadn't moved - thanks for the info!

Edited December 5, 2018 by peasmith
Grammar

[orchidj5]

12 hours ago, hbr777 said:

It is interesting that we are still doing a ship swap even with high water levels. I am assuming AMA needs to position ships, just in case. I need to ask about this. How I would love to not swap ships!

  I would imagine this is a logistical decision-if you do not do a ship swap then both the Stella and the Kristina will be at the wrong end of the run to being their sailings next Monday ( we are scheduled on Stella out of Basil on the 10th).  Assuming the river does not go low again they will then be 'out of synch ' for all future sailings until they reposition.  I am sure it makes the most sense to to a ship swap this week and get everyone back on track so to speak.

[pully8]

16 hours ago, gadugger said:

Below is the AMA PRIMA route from our Nov. 17 -24 cruise.  AMA did a very good job with this alternative route. However they did a poor job about communicating what was going on with the low water levels. 

 

As an observer and interested engaged customer soon to travel, inclined to agree.

The onboard experience is excellent. however the off board organisation, post payment decision makers, responsible for disseminating information, need improvement. At least with this forum and other social media we and others have been assisted to get important updates. 

[Bake apple]

Wow. What an amazingly helpful, insightful and educating thread this has been! The things I've learned about cruise lines, water levels and fellow cruisers. The sharing has been wonderful. We  cruised the Grand European route with Viking in late May and came out the other end without a hitch. Now, however, I will very very carefully study and consider all I learned  here before booking a 2019 adventure. To Notamermaid and the other expert contributes THANK YOU! You are all awesome. I am going to miss this thread, it's been my  morning coffee reading since at least August. Safe travels everyone and I hope we all have enough water next year to float a boat, but not too much!

[bww00]

We received email from Viking that we would be on th idi and not the mani Friday 12/7 in Basel.

viking also had stated there could be a ship swap Strasbourg to cologne on day 4 and 5 of trip from Basel to amsterdam

Looks like traffic through the gorge is moving. I hope viking is just hedging their position and setting expectations 

 

cheers

[nickbevoz]

Question to the local German posters...

 

how critical is the river level at Strasbourg?  I ask as I notice it is the one marker that seems to be fluctuating between green and orange.

 

i has assumed that it was the Rhine Gorge that was the bottleneck before the rain came.  That area seems ok now though.

 

The level at Kehl-Kronenhof (at Strasbourg) seems to be a bit fickle.  Is it potentially a bottleneck if it does not get more rain or is the chart not as concerning as it may seem?

 

Thanks....

 

 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, nstarrenburg said:

Question to the local German posters...

 

how critical is the river level at Strasbourg?  I ask as I notice it is the one marker that seems to be fluctuating between green and orange.

 

i has assumed that it was the Rhine Gorge that was the bottleneck before the rain came.  That area seems ok now though.

 

The level at Kehl-Kronenhof (at Strasbourg) seems to be a bit fickle.  Is it potentially a bottleneck if it does not get more rain or is the chart not as concerning as it may seem?

 

Thanks....

 

 

The Kehl-Kronenhof gauge near Strasbourg is within the canal/lock system of the Upper Rhine. I do not why it still appears as low. If I could find the figure it relates to I could probably explain but a reference is not published like it is for Maxau. The navigation channel is deep, in normal conditions kept at 3m.  As it is never mentioned in the news here and Maxau always given as one of the stations to look at by the authorities I would say that we can probably ignore the daily fluctuations at Kehl.

 

Just a quick update on the levels. It is looking good with all stations now having profited from the rain. The forecast for Kaub has changed and 200cm is no longer mentioned but with figures staying well over 100cm and more rain forecast it looks like plain sailing for quite some days to come.

 

Companies still have logistical problems to get round though which could still mean embarking at a different port or swapping ships.

 

notamermaid

 

[vivivi]

4 hours ago, bww00 said:

We received email from Viking that we would be on th idi and not the mani Friday 12/7 in Basel.

viking also had stated there could be a ship swap Strasbourg to cologne on day 4 and 5 of trip from Basel to amsterdam

Looks like traffic through the gorge is moving. I hope viking is just hedging their position and setting expectations 

 

cheers

Hi bww00

Can you please tell me which date you got the email that you might still be doing a ship swap?

Don't really understand why Viking would be still saying this.

[Mark_T]

2 hours ago, vivivi said:

Hi bww00

Can you please tell me which date you got the email that you might still be doing a ship swap?

Don't really understand why Viking would be still saying this.

It is entirely possible that Viking may need to get particular ships back in the right place over the next couple of weeks so a swap is still plausible even if the water levels are fine.

 

 

[notamermaid]

On 12/4/2018 at 5:38 PM, Crusin Kelly said:

I will add my thanks and well wishes to ms. Mermaid for a Blessed Christmas and Bountiful New Year. 

 

and we must all offer up a prayer of Thanksgiving to St. Nicholas for his gentle hand in making our sailings safe and worry-free.   "May St. Nicholas hold the tiller."

 

 

 

Cruisin Kelly, Thank you.

 

And today is perhaps the best day to give thanks to Saint Nicholas, as it is his special day in the Church calendar of patron saints. In western Europe his day is celebrated in many ways today. Most widely known is probably his connection with children and when the children put a shiny boot out they find it filled with goodies. The naughty ones get coal (or nothing). But he is also the patron saint of seafarers and inland waterways sailors. You could look up Nicholas on wikipedia, but as regards traditions I quite like this info from the Christmas museum: https://www.weihnachtsmuseum.de/en/die-ausstellung/gabenbringer/heiliger-nikolaus

 

Quite a few churches are dedicated to Sant Nicholas and along the Rhine there are some chapels that are or have been used for pilgrimages by sailors and those connected with the river in other ways. Some decades ago a pilgrimage was revived and now takes place every year on the Sunday after Saint Nicholas Day. The old chapel stands at the place where the dangerous passage through the Rhine gorge starts or ends depending on the direction you travel in. Praying for a safe passage or giving thanks for a safe passage. It is very small but perhaps you can make it out from the river when you sail past as it supposedly stands right underneath Ehrenfels castle on the main road: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/galleries/gazetteer/4781/

 

The new chapel is this one: https://www.stnicholascenter.org/galleries/gazetteer/4782/1/

 

Both traditions of giving treats to children and giving thanks by the seafarers and boatmen is lovingly combined when St. Nicolas visits the barges and tankers and hands over treats from his boat to the children, well adults mostly. This is what it looks like: https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/ludwigshafen/Motoryachtclub-Germersheim-beschenkt-zum-50,nikolaus-binnenschiffer-100.html

 

The headline says that even low water cannot stop Saint Nicholas. On the Rhine he cannot quietly appear though, too dangerous, so the ships are informed beforehand. They slow down so that St. Nicholas can hand over a bag with the help of a pole.

 

And here, taken from the 1840 book by John Snowe - The Rhine: The Most Interesting legends..., is a (warning) poem:

Never mock St. Nicholas and do be kind to Mother Nature.

 

I wish you all a safe and uninterrupted journey.

 

By the way, I have read in the past that on some river cruises, people have found little treats on St. Nicholas Day in their cabin or just outside the door... Have you found any?

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by notamermaid
Wrong word