The Elbe river 2018 - not just water levels

[notamermaid]

The Elbe has fallen to a historic low at a town called Barby. Here is a photo gallery of the river and area: https://www.mdr.de/sachsen-anhalt/magdeburg/salzland/elbe-bei-barby-tiefststand-100_showImage-pegelstand-barby-100_zc-082346cf.html

 

 

Apart from all the problems with agriculture, risk of fires, fish dying and reduced income from the lack of river traffic there is another rather unfortunate problem. WWII weaponry/ammunition gets exposed in the river bed and needs to be safely disposed of. The authorities have issued a warning not to touch any finds and to inform police immediately. So far in Saxony-Anhalt alone 21 finds have been reported.

 

 

notamermaid

[AnhaltER1960]

Things are not getting any better on the Elbe, still no(t enough) rainfall in sight. No sailing possible.

 

 

 

Apparently Viking have reacted now by cancellation their Elbe cruises starting August 6th and Aug 11th altogether. Certainly not good news for those, who booked their flights individually.

[notamermaid]

AnhaltER 1960,

 

 

With the Rhine joining the rivers affected by drought badly enough to cause river cruising problems my thoughts have turned to the Elbe again. I guess Viking had no choice but to admit to themselves that there is no hope of their ships sailing any stretch of river during this week. Any news on the excursion boats? After sweltering heat which you will have to endure over there for a day longer than we on the Rhine it seems, what is the outlook according to the weather experts and river's authorities?

 

 

notamermaid

[steamboats]

The Dresden steamboats still try to keep up an hour schedule for the sightseeing cruises. But only the Leipzig and the Dresden are able to run at all as they have a lowest draft of all steamboats.

 

 

August 18th is the annual steamboat parade. So far I can´t see this happen.

 

 

steamboats

[AnhaltER1960]

Recent thunderstorms have left a little bit of rain in the area - fsr not enough to lift the water level sustainably, just a short peak. Forecasts are calling for further dry summer weather.

 

 

Viking have hoisted the white flag now and apparently have cancelled all Elbe cruises for the rest of August. Sent home (some of) the crew, the hungarian bus drivers and locked the ships. Looks like quite a financial buff for Viking, as the cruises had been well booked.

[AnhaltER1960]

The year is 2018 A.C. Europe is entirely occupied by the draught. Well, not entirely... One small company of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the elements. CroiseEurope are holding out against the Elbe and are, well, not cruising, rather bussing guests up and down the river with the Elbe Princesse having sailed from Berlin on the canal to Burg (near Magdeburg) and doing bus tours from there. Eventually there is a bussed ship swap to the Elbe Princesse II, which is stuck in Melnik for, maybe, sailing into Prague then, whilst another flight is doing the opposite direction.

No changes on the Elbe so far and on the weather. No rain, no cruises on the river..

[G.M.T.]

The year is 2018 A.C. Europe is entirely occupied by the draught.

 

Totally agree. In 10 minutes off to my favourite beer garden for a few draughts of b eer to quench my own drought.:halo::beer-mug::beer-toast:

[notamermaid]

Just send some rain over from the Rhine valley to the Elbe, we did not want keep it all to ourselves. ;)

 

It has been a long time since the weather map showed "wide-swept rain all over Germany today" as it is doing right now.

 

 

I am not as hopeful as those Gauls from Argentorate, they would really fit well into Asterix' village! :D

 

 

Let us hope the rain at least helps the fish and fields, for river cruising it will not be enough.

 

notamermaid

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just send some rain over from the Rhine valley to the Elbe, we did not want keep it all to ourselves. ;)

 

It has been a long time since the weather map showed "wide-swept rain all over Germany today" as it is doing right now.

 

 

I am not as hopeful as those Gauls from Argentorate, they would really fit well into Asterix' village! :D

 

 

Let us hope the rain at least helps the fish and fields, for river cruising it will not be enough.

 

notamermaid

 

A Gaul who is unwilling to bend from his original decision would be Asterix's friend Idéfix!

[AnhaltER1960]

Just send some rain over from the Rhine valley to the Elbe, we did not want keep it all to ourselves. ;)

 

Thank you. It helped me, I did not have to water the garden yesterday (still dont know what to do with that extra hour). The impact on river level of the Elbe, however, was negectible.

 

 

Navigation situation is still unchanged.

[AnhaltER1960]

Conditions on the Elbe have not changed so far - still no sailing. Weather forecasts are calling for some rain/thunderstorms (not only) in Eastern Germany and Bohemia. It remains to be seen, if and how long these rainfalls will affect the water level.

 

 

 

Viking have cancelled all their Elbe cruises in August. A report on tripadvisor suggests the cancellations to continue into September (see https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187399-i889-k11514560-o80-Elbe_River_Low_Water_Level-Dresden_Saxony.html ).

 

 

CroiseEuropes Elbe Pricesse I is still sailing on the canal from Berlin to a place near Magdeburg and Elbe Princesse II between Litomerice and Prague with plenty of bussing and ship swap in between.

[SBJB8184]

To our friends in Germany, my wife and I were scheduled on the Viking Beyla on Sept 10 sailing from Berlin to Prague. We were advised today that this cruise has now been cancelled. FYI

[Paulchili]

To our friends in Germany, my wife and I were scheduled on the Viking Beyla on Sept 10 sailing from Berlin to Prague. We were advised today that this cruise has now been cancelled. FYI

 

Now I am worried. Our cruise is Berlin to Prague on Sept 15th. Called Viking today - not cancelled yet. As I have my own flight arrangements I am anxious to make alternate plans ASAP.

[SBJB8184]

Paulchili, you can read the Viking words in my post on this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2558595&page=5

 

We had paid Viking for our air transportation, so we are covered.

[Paulchili]

Paulchili, you can read the Viking words in my post on this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2558595&page=5

 

We had paid Viking for our air transportation, so we are covered.

 

Thank you. We could “live” with the cancellation of the Elbe cruise but we are also booked on the Cities of Light (Prague to Paris) afterwards. I now see that this cruise may also be in danger. The double hit would be harder to take. We have award flights that can be cancelled at a relatively small fee of returning the miles, but....

[gnome12]

Just a little tidbit I saw on the news tonight.

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/drought-reveals-ancient-hunger-stones-in-european-river-1.4064934

 

The last sentence is kind of apropos.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Paulchili]

Just a little tidbit I saw on the news tonight.

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/drought-reveals-ancient-hunger-stones-in-european-river-1.4064934

 

The last sentence is kind of apropos.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks.

Sounds like I should start working on alternate flight plans :)

[notamermaid]

The Elbe at Dresden reached a new record low for this year during last night, 42cm. Rain is sweeping over the region and the level has already risen again. But it will take quite a of rain to make this a substantial rise and improvement.

 

 

Paulchili, somewhere in this thread (or link to a website) is a figure that is needed for sailing, I do not remember exactly, but it is more than 78cm as that is for the steamboats with their shallower draft... Here is a link to a story with imbedded link to the levels (at the bottom of the article). It says by the 16th of August Viking had already cancelled six sailings: http://worldwidewave.de/elbe-bleibt-fuer-flusskreuzfahrt-laenger-gesperrt

 

 

notamermaid

[AnhaltER1960]

Now I am worried. Our cruise is Berlin to Prague on Sept 15th. Called Viking today - not cancelled yet. As I have my own flight arrangements I am anxious to make alternate plans ASAP.

 

The first three days of your trip will be on land anyway (Berlin, Potsdam, Wörlitz, bussing to Wittenberg). Actual cruising on the Astrild is scheduled to start Sept 18th. Still more than three weeks to go and it needs a large crystal ball to look ahead that far.

 

However, yeasterdays/todays rainfall was way short of giving a sustainable impact on the water level. Weather forecasts for the next 10 days do not call for much additional rain. Of course one may doubt the reliability of long term forecasts, but the water deficit of the Elbe is enormous. It needs several days of continuous rainfall esp. in Bohemia to bring the water to a level, which allows sailing to resume. And even the worst long-term weather forecast cannot be that wrong to oversee the required rain.

 

Yes, it is a good idea to push plan b ahead.

[Paulchili]

Thank you both for your updates.

It certainly does not look like we will be sailing on Elbe as planned this September 15th.

Now I have to hope that our second segment on the Moselle river will not be cancelled as well.

[AnhaltER1960]

It certainly does not look like we will be sailing on Elbe as planned this September 15th.

 

Viking have cancelled almost all Elbe cruises in September by now, so you should gotten the notification on the cancellation of your Elbe sailing in the meantime.

 

There had be some raindrops into the Elbe recently, lifting the water table from "donteventhinkaboutcruising" to "no chance to cruise", but falling again now.With no change of the weather pattern and a continued massive water deficit I start to doubt, whether there will be any cruises on the Elbe in the remaining season at all.

 

Croisieurope are still fighting and continue ther cruise/bus-mix as described earlier.

[Paulchili]

Well - I have not heard from Viking as yet. I called them 2 days ago (it was still a “go”) and written to them yesterday.

I have already made alternate plans anticipating a cancellation.

[Paulchili]

The dreaded e mail arrived today. Our Sept 15th cruise Berlin to Prague has been officially cancelled with full refund and 25% voucher to follow.

I am glad I made alternate arrangements a few days ago as the award ticket I was able to get a few days ago is no longer available now.

Will make lemonade out of lemons :)

[SBJB8184]

The dreaded e mail arrived today. Our Sept 15th cruise Berlin to Prague has been officially cancelled with full refund and 25% voucher to follow.

I am glad I made alternate arrangements a few days ago as the award ticket I was able to get a few days ago is no longer available now.

Will make lemonade out of lemons :)

 

Paulchili, what did Viking do about your Cities of Lights tour that followed the Elbe?

[Paulchili]

Paulchili, what did Viking do about your Cities of Lights tour that followed the Elbe?

 

We have not heard yet. Of course, that cruise is not till 9/26 so I wouldn’t expect to hear anything yet. Hoping that that cruise will be a go. We are flying for miles and I was able to get an award ticket to Prague for the second cruise and will deposit the miles back into account for the Berlin flight (different Alliance). The insurance should cover the cost of that.

No matter what happens with the Moselle cruise we are flying to Prague and do some land trip if the cruise is cancelled.

What have you decided to do?