Danube water levels 2018 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[G.M.T.]

We're sailing on AmaCerto in 5 days, Nuremberg to Budapest. I've been watching cruisemapper and haven't seen any ships docked in Nuremberg. Ama said as of today there are no changes to the schedule. Has anyone docked in Nuremberg this month? Any other website to check for ships in port? It looks like Ama has been starting from Vilhofsen. Appreciate any info.

Welcome to CC.

 

Nuremberg to Regensburg is doable with some restrctions if the ship has a shallow draft, also that the ship is in the right place. This would be a 1 1/2 hour bus journey.

 

Regensburg to Vilshofen is the most critical stretch of Danube, with extremely low river levels around Straubing. This would be a 1 hour bus journey.

 

Vilshofen (20 Km upstream from Passau), I was there yesterday evening and saw the Danube had water (and it was flowing - in the right direction). Vilshofen to Vienna, there should not be any problems. Vienna to Budapest, it has been reported very recently that some boats could not make it to Budapest or leave it. Vienna to Busapest is about 3 hours bus drive.

 

You have some good points in your favour:

 

AMA boats have some of the lowest draft boats on the river.

 

Vilshofen to Viena, there has been no reports of problems during this long hot summer.

 

As from this friday (24th.) we are expecting 5 days of rain and temperature drop from 30°C to 20°C.

 

Have a good cruise, if you need any further information let us know.

[Marjan1]

It might be a good idea to cross-check where the ships are on the site Marinetraffic. However, there are holes in the signal coverage, you will need to look out for when the latest signal was sent. Nuremberg and Regensburg are in the troubled stretch of the Danube as such but companies might opt to make those towns the embarkation ports (if they are not already) due to logistics and the lack of docking facilities elsewhere.

 

notamermaid

 

Just checked Marinetraffc. Says Scenic Jade in Regensburg, track shows it came from Nuremburg. Latest position shown as 2 minutes ago dated 2018-08-20 18.14.

???

[notamermaid]

Time is given as a stamp when she left Nuremberg I think. When you have got the box with the ship details click on the button "past track". On the map a line will appear with small arrows. The Scenic Jade is shown as being underway using engine but it looks as if she is about to dock in Regensburg at this moment.

 

In my post above it should read "... Nuremberg and Regensburg are not in the troubled stretch as such ..." Sorry.

 

notamermaid

[paysonfa]

Thanks, everyone! Info is very helpful. I will post any updates I receive from Ama. The itinerary has tours of Nuremberg on first full day and Regensburg second so 2 nites in Nuremberg hotel with hour bus ride to Regensburg for tour and then, possibly another hour bus to Vilhosfen where Ama has been docking is certainly doable.

[steamboats]

Seems like the ships are now stuck in Vienna. I read reports that the ships aren´t able to leave Budapest either.

 

 

It´s supposed to get colder by the weekend with some snow in the Alps. But no major amounts of rain in the forecast.

 

 

steamboats

[KathyK13]

Thanks, everyone! Info is very helpful. I will post any updates I receive from Ama. The itinerary has tours of Nuremberg on first full day and Regensburg second so 2 nites in Nuremberg hotel with hour bus ride to Regensburg for tour and then, possibly another hour bus to Vilhosfen where Ama has been docking is certainly doable.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing how AMA is dealing with the low water conditions.

[Upset traveller]

22aug 10:00 currently on bus from Budapest to Bratislava. Then boat to Vienna. Riviera river cruise.

[G.M.T.]

22aug 10:00 currently on bus from Budapest to Bratislava. Then boat to Vienna. Riviera river cruise.

 

Are you due to cruise to Passau or beyond?

 

Vienna to Passau there should be no problems.

[dcr_78704]

Update on my Aug 25th Romantic Danube (Viking from Budapest). Got an email yesterday....We are in a hotel one night in Budapest, drive to Vienna, sail to Passau. We dock in Passau the remaining part of the trip. Not happy, but rather be on one place then moving ships.

 

On a separate note...why does this site always cause my Mac book to freeze/crash? Ok on my phone though.

[Megpat]

Booked on Scenic’s Gem of the Danube on 23 August.

Have been notified that we will embark on a different ship in Nurenberg. Then will charge ships at Regensburg on 26 August.

Hope that there are no further complications.

[D&K travel]

We are on the pear from Amsterdam to Budapest and have just been told that we may have to change to the ruby on the 25th due to low water in the Rhine. We may also need to change again due to low water on the Danube. We did a rain dance today.

[pete_coach]

Posted this on another thread but is is worth repeating about our recent experience on Scenic Budapest to Amsterdam cruise.

"Well, we just got back. We spent an extra week in Belgium and Germany.

Long story short. We Left Budapest on the Amber as opposed to the Jasper becasue the Jasper could not make it to Budapest.. We had to change ships 3 times and had to take a ferry through the Rhine Gorge as none of the Scenic ships could get there.

 

Amber to Regensburg, then the Ruby to Rudeshiem then the Opal to Amsterdam (Oh and the Boppard Ferry down the Rhine Gorge in between. Imagine, a regular ferry for local folks and then another 160 people from a river cruise ship getting on.).

Nothing you can do about Mother Nature but it was too bad and the trip was, in my opinion, spoiled by lots of bus rides and transfers and packing, unpacking and re-packing.

From the sounds of it, Scenic did a lot of bus transfers for a lot of ships and customers. Some even ha to stay in hotels for part of their trip. To be fair, Scenic was not alone in having difficulty getting up and down rives. All other cruise lines had the same problem with the longer cruises. The shorter ones may not have been affected. We met people in the hotel in Amsterdam that had their cruises cancelled. They found out when they checked in.

A pretty big disappointment over all."

[brokermartinplom]

My wife & I are doing the Danube: Passau – Budapest – Passau on MS Carrisima- bike barge - departing 16 Sept.

I do not understand how the Danube water flow works - if it rains does the water flow straight out to sea or are there locks along the way so the rain is captured and therefore the river level is higher & controlled? Appreciate somones wisdon - thank you. So I am trying to determine is a solid few days of rain will fill up the river ok

[cinsct]

Hi all

 

We've been tracking Viking Aegir's progress and it appears to be stationary at Mohaks. Is there a problem with the Danube towards the Black Sea as well as near Passau? We are due to board in Bucharest on September 6th and keeping our fingers crossed for sailing.

 

 

We're due to board Sept 6 also. 2 couples from Virginia Beach. Hoping for Lemonade instead of Lemons

[pete_coach]

My wife & I are doing the Danube: Passau – Budapest – Passau on MS Carrisima- bike barge - departing 16 Sept.

I do not understand how the Danube water flow works - if it rains does the water flow straight out to sea or are there locks along the way so the rain is captured and therefore the river level is higher & controlled? Appreciate somones wisdon - thank you. So I am trying to determine is a solid few days of rain will fill up the river ok

There are locks along the way. The Danube flows to the Black Sea.

 

We made it from Budapest to Passau so you should be OK.

[notamermaid]

Night time river closure at Budapest

 

I found quite a bit of info on the current situation on the Danube in Hungary on this page today. Among it the mention of ships not being allowed to sail in Budapest during the night. A safety measure due to the low water level. Intended for the commercial shipping industry it nevertheless is an informative read: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/record-danube-hinders-shipping-hungary-320731

 

 

notamermaid

[brokermartinplom]

There are locks along the way. The Danube flows to the Black Sea.

 

We made it from Budapest to Passau so you should be OK.

 

Thank you - appreciate your comment

[austinetc]

See this link. The residents think the low water is pretty cool. River boat tourists, not so much. (Reminder! the future is unknowable, especially when Mother Nature is involved.)

 

https://welovebudapest.com/en/2018/08/21/low-water-levels-in-budapest-reveal-rarely-seen-danube-sights/

[paysonfa]

AmaWaterways called to confirm change in schedule for Danube(7 day Nuremberg to Budapest) cruise on Amacerto this Saturday, 25th. They expect the ship to be docked in Passau, not Nuremberg. They are providing transportation by bus (appx. 2 1/2 hour) at noon, 2p and 4p.

As we are flying into Munich, I asked if we could change our train tickets to direct to Passau to avoid the bus trip. Agent explained that there could always be last minute changes and they wouldn't want us to be at a different port. When I mentioned that our train wasn't arriving until 4p, she said Ama would provide transportation anyway.

The cruise manager will update us on changes in itinerary once we're onboard but, my guess is tour of Nuremberg (1st day) and Regensburg (2nd day) will be offered as bus tours.

I prefer to be on the ship (rather than hotel) and will spend the 1st day enjoying a little down time and exploring Passau. Nuremberg tour was the one I was least interested in so not upset.

.

[Alesund09]

Thanks for info, wife and I on Uniworld, Passau to Budapest Sept 2 hope no interruptions.

[M and L]

Booked on Scenic’s Gem of the Danube on 23 August.

Have been notified that we will embark on a different ship in Nurenberg. Then will charge ships at Regensburg on 26 August.

Hope that there are no further complications.

 

When were you notified? Were you given an option to opt out of cruise? We are scheduled to board the Amber on the 30th in Budapest but I’m not so sure that will happen — it’s been docked in Vienna for the last several days & it doesn’t look like there are any boats going to Budapest ( or much movement on the river)

[Cpt.Elixer]

Hi all

 

We've been tracking Viking Aegir's progress and it appears to be stationary at Mohaks. Is there a problem with the Danube towards the Black Sea as well as near Passau? We are due to board in Bucharest on September 6th and keeping our fingers crossed for sailing.

 

Since I am on Avalon's Passion which is scheduled to depart Amsterdam on Aug 31, I have been tracking the Passion which is also between Budapest and the Black Sea. That area is what I like to call the "twilight zone" because the tracking signals apparently can't be picked up when in that area. The last position received from the Passion was on Aug 14 and they were churning along at at a speed of 1.2 knots/hr. There definitely appears to be a problem with low water on the Danube at Budapest, and some people have reported being bused from Budapest to and from Vienna.

[taxare]

When were you notified? Were you given an option to opt out of cruise? We are scheduled to board the Amber on the 30th in Budapest but I’m not so sure that will happen — it’s been docked in Vienna for the last several days & it doesn’t look like there are any boats going to Budapest ( or much movement on the river)

M and L, we are on the same cruise. I would appreciate if you could post to the new Scenic thread. I will be posting there if I hear anything. Hoping for the best!

[Megpat]

M and L, we are on the same cruise. I would appreciate if you could post to the new Scenic thread. I will be posting there if I hear anything. Hoping for the best!

Could you please tell me how to find the scenic thread

[D&K travel]

We are on the pear from Amsterdam to Budapest and have just been told that we may have to change to the ruby on the 25th due to low water in the Rhine. We may also need to change again due to low water on the Danube. We did a rain dance today.

I'm not sure how the Opal turned into a pear. 🤔

The ships are having to take turns traveling in the deeper part of the river and that is slowing us down. We docked north of Cologne and were bussed for 1 hour into Cologne. Then the ship met us there. We went a little further down the river and then were bussed (again 1 hour) to Markham castle for a medieval dinner. But we had a 25 minute drive back to the ship at Andernach. Today we are being bussed to Rudesheim (1.5 hours) and then again the same time back. As you can see, a lot of bussing.