Danube water levels 2024 and similar topics - plus tips and info

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 minutes ago, cruisr said:

i have friends who were to be going with Tauck River cruises on the Esprit from Budapest.

In true Tauck style my friends have already received from Tauck a lengthy email detailing the situation and advising that the itinerary will possibly be modified, stays may be longer in places and parts of the trip may involve motorcoach and hotels.  Whilst disappointed the fact that they will not be surprised upon their arrival in Budapest is greatly appreciated by them.

I have always said that when things go well, almost everybody likes almost every river cruise.  It's when things go pear-shaped that you find out which river cruise lines really stand out above the rest.  I'm not surprised that Tauck is handling this so well.

[RDVIK2016]

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

A German video with subtitles, for fans of machinery, that is helicopters. The military is securing a dam near Tulln:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btERET3nHQ4

 

And a short private video from Slovakia. I do not recognize the location but I can tell you that judging from seeing "my" river flood, this is a very strong current:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtr2c0URH6c

 

One can tell that something is still not right in Germany, if three river cruise ships are docked at Straubing. The TUI Isla has just joined the River Princess and the S.S. Beatrice:

 

I have not looked at the details but notifications have been sent to river traffic of lock closures and traffic bans over the last few days. I am not sure what still applies but it appears that Hofkirchen gauge is too high and a ban has come into effect there. The figure is 484cm, HSW (highest level permitted for traffic) is set at 480cm. Likewise Vilshofen looks too high.

 

Must admit that I had not expected that much of a rise at that spot, Passau is somewhat coping with the waters from its three rivers.

 

notamermaid

 

notamermaid,

Thank you for the interesting info.

 

I think you posted about a couple of Viking ships tied up at Tulln a day or two ago. There is apparently an interesting museum there about Roman settlement in Tulln.

 

The video from Slovakia is Bratislava. The tallest buildings at the start of the video (that reappear later) are on the right bank of the Danube - the Austrian border is not far beyond those buildings.  Later the video shows the spire of the Cathedral of St Martin where many of the coronations of Austro-Hungarian Empire were held.  Also seen are the domes of a building of the Comenius University.

 

The three boats at Straubing are a bit out of the city. That area might be somewhat marshy even when not a flooding situation and seems to be a waiting area for the lock. It it were mid-August and you could get off the boat and across the river it would be a cool place to stay for a couple days for the Gäubodenfest.  The fest grounds are just the other side of the lock. Gäubodenfest is a fantastic alternative (better in some ways) to Munich's Oktoberfest.

 

RDVIK

 

 

[RDVIK2016]

8 hours ago, luv2trvlmep said:

We are doing a pre-cruise in Prague from 9/21-9/23 and are scheduled to board the Viking Ingvi in Passau on 9/24. According to the Viking WEB site everything is fine, I am looking forward to having a first hand view of the Viking magic and can’t wait to see how they make the flood disappear 🫠 I will continue to post as we arrive as I have appreciated all of the information that has been shared on this forum and would like to reciprocate.

Hello luv2trvl,

My wife and I boarded Viking Ingvi at Passau/Lindau in October 2019 to start a Danube Waltz cruise. Whether or not Ingvi makes it to Passau on time for your cruise or a different Viking Longship does not matter. Prior to our Rhine cruise two years ago there had been ship swaps due to low water in the Rhine gorge and our ship was changed. All longships are the same so you still get the same stateroom number and notice no difference. The Danube should be good to go for you starting at Passau on the 24th. Meanwhile enjoy Prague and please report on the situation there. We did the Viking post cruise extension there in 2016 and were in Prague on our own this past May and took a short sightseeing cruise on the river. Love that city!!

RDVIK

[Kenster]

5 hours ago, JOR70 said:

Is there any way to find out where the Uniworld ships are now? We’re supposed to go from Budapest to Passau starting this Sunday. I’m assuming that’s not going to happen but wondering if they might be able to bus us to the ship a little farther up the river. 

That cruise is very unlikely to happen. 

[Izengolf]

JOR70, the SS Maria Theresa shows as docked in Linz on Cruisemapper.com right now. 

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

Later the video shows the spire of the Cathedral of St Martin where many of the coronations of Austro-Hungarian Empire were held.  Also seen are the domes of a building of the Comenius University.

Thank you. My four hours in Bratislava were apparently not enough to recognize the city. Oops.

 

Must have a look at Tulln.

 

notamermaid

 

[brian1]

14 hours ago, Kenster said:

Viking is infamous for lying to its passengers regarding irregular ops. Their typical MO is to tell pax that everything is good. Then the minute you step on board, they drop the hammer. 
They are currently stating there are no issues or cancellations when, in fact, their ships are dead in the water, like every other line. 
They should stop this culture of corporate disinformation and the general spreading of BS to their customers. 

Back in the day us Brits never trusted the Vikings either.

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, RDVIK2016 said:

The three boats at Straubing are a bit out of the city. That area might be somewhat marshy even when not a flooding situation and seems to be a waiting area for the lock.

Lock waiting makes sense to me, a widened embankment with infrastructure where a ship can be moored for a long time. I guess the two Uniworld ships were waiting but waiting for the lock or waiting for the whole river section to be good for sailing did not become clear. They had already been there for more 24 hours before the TUI Isla joined them. So not the standard waiting time of 20 minutes to a couple of hours or so. My educated is that it was the low railway bridge at Bogen that made them stay at Straubing.

 

Passau level has fallen nicely to 714cm. Vilshofen is down to 482cm (HSW* is 470cm), Hofkirchen is at 468cm (HSW* is 480cm). *highest water level up to which river traffic is allowed, as set by the German authorities.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[JoyMBee]

9 hours ago, cruisr said:

i have friends who were to be going with Tauck River cruises on the Esprit from Budapest.

In true Tauck style my friends have already received from Tauck a lengthy email detailing the situation and advising that the itinerary will possibly be modified, stays may be longer in places and parts of the trip may involve motorcoach and hotels.  Whilst disappointed the fact that they will not be surprised upon their arrival in Budapest is greatly appreciated by them.

When are your friends leaving from Budapest?  It was nice they got a heads up on the changes.

[The Hudson Co. Landlubber]

10 hours ago, cruisr said:

i have friends who were to be going with Tauck River cruises on the Esprit from Budapest.

In true Tauck style my friends have already received from Tauck a lengthy email detailing the situation and advising that the itinerary will possibly be modified, stays may be longer in places and parts of the trip may involve motorcoach and hotels.  Whilst disappointed the fact that they will not be surprised upon their arrival in Budapest is greatly appreciated by them.

 We received a similar email from Scenic about our trip from Budapest on the 26th.

[notamermaid]

Time to check on Austria:

 

Getting better... But Vienna still not accessible.

 

notamermaid

 

[moonriver54]

I just took this screenshot of the live webcam on the Buda side of the Danube in Budapest.

 

 

[hermione8181]

We did get an email yesterday from Viking. Not embarking in Budapest; rather in Bratislava (which wasn’t part of trip so bonus city). ship change and also how excursions will work. That is for a trip starting the 21st.

[luv2trvlmep]

3 minutes ago, hermione8181 said:

We did get an email yesterday from Viking. Not embarking in Budapest; rather in Bratislava (which wasn’t part of trip so bonus city). ship change and also how excursions will work. That is for a trip starting the 21st.

That’s good to hear they are making plans and COMMUNICATING them, we don’t get onto our ship until the 24th in Passau. Just glad to see they are doing some communication as you get closer to the cruise date.

[hermione8181]

7 minutes ago, luv2trvlmep said:

That’s good to hear they are making plans and COMMUNICATING them, we don’t get onto our ship until the 24th in Passau. Just glad to see they are doing some communication as you get closer to the cruise date.

It was a relief. And I was glad it was detailed. The plan makes sense. We are following up today to now see if some Bratislava excursions might open to us (was not part of itinerary) in case we do not want to bus back and forth to Budapest.

[Kenster]

3 hours ago, brian1 said:

Back in the day us Brits never trusted the Vikings either.

Can’t say as I blame you. Damn Dane law!! 

[Kenster]

24 minutes ago, luv2trvlmep said:

That’s good to hear they are making plans and COMMUNICATING them, we don’t get onto our ship until the 24th in Passau. Just glad to see they are doing some communication as you get closer to the cruise date.

If you’re going eastbound on the 24th, you should be in good shape. 

[adkturn]

Just received this blast from our tour operator about water levels impacting Danube river cruises: 

 

"As you may be aware, parts of Europe have been experiencing high winds and unusually heavy rains due to a low-pressure system, Storm Boris. This has resulted in flooding across central and eastern Europe. While Budapest levels are due to peak in the next 24 hours we have seen significant drops in river levels in other parts of eastern Europe."
 
"As a consequence, water levels on sections of the Danube River are higher than normal, impacting navigation for all vessels, specifically for our cruises visiting Vienna and Budapest. These levels may lead to temporary halts in navigation in some areas."

 

Our booking is with Emerald, but will be following this thread for any news prior to our Sept. 29 embarcation from Munich to Budapest.   

[ural guy]

2 hours ago, hermione8181 said:

It was a relief. And I was glad it was detailed. The plan makes sense. We are following up today to now see if some Bratislava excursions might open to us (was not part of itinerary) in case we do not want to bus back and forth to Budapest.

If you decide to get adventurous with your extra time in Bratislava, this castle is worth visiting and is 13 km from downtown Bratislava.  High on a cliff with great views of the Danube and Morava River.  Very moving memorial to those who died trying to escape communism by crossing the river to Austria.  A taxi or Uber will get you there, I was able to take a ship's bike.

 

https://hraddevin.mmb.sk/en/

[hermione8181]

We conferred and decided to throw Budapest out. No need to do 4 hours of bus travel. We decided to just embrace where we will be, so explore Slovakia is the way we will go:)

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Kenster said:

Can’t say as I blame you. Damn Dane law!! 

Well, we the German tribes fought them off, especially in Mainz. They had come up the Rhine River. Or perhaps they did not like the sausages... They went to England and settled in Normandy.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Isar river looking much better. Passau gauge has left flood warning level (may go up again just a little).

 

No change to navigation channel in Austria.

 

Those three are still waiting near the approach to Straubing lock:

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

As I mentioned yesterday or the day before, this is a long plateau of high water in Austria. Budapest authorities confirm this for their city: https://hungarytoday.hu/the-most-challenging-and-difficult-phase-of-flood-protection-has-begun/

 

In Germany on the other hand things are moving, at least one ship, that is. The Viking Tor is approaching Pfelling. Will she fit under the next bridges? Exciting!

 

notamermaid

 

 

[brian1]

31 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Well, we the German tribes fought them off, especially in Mainz. They had come up the Rhine River. Or perhaps they did not like the sausages... They went to England and settled in Normandy.

 

notamermaid

 

Yeah,then they came back speaking French.They like Lincolnshire and Cumberland sausages though😉.

[luv2trvlmep]

So I’m just curious, what is the problem at Lock Wallsee, is it still just a water level issue or is  there some other problem with the lock?