The Elbe river 2024 - not just water levels

[curmudgeon98]

So we are about half way through our cruise on Elbe Princess II from Prague to Berlin. We met the other CroisiEurope boat heading upriver today.  We are taking a quiet afternoon, so I will give some notes on the cruise now, and plan to follow up with more after we finish.  This is our first river cruise, so I don't have a lot of perspective for comparisons to others.

 

The boat is relatively small for river cruisers, 75 passengers and 25 crew.  Cabins are on two decks, so the lower deck (which we are on) still has pretty good views (the river level outside is probably about knee-deep when in our cabin, and the bottom of the cabin window about waist-high on me).  All cabins are 140 sf; fairly tight, but manageable.  The bathroom/shower is tight but functional (better than R-class ocean cruise ships like Azamara).  It is a modern diesel-electric paddle wheel boat (to better handle shallow water conditions).  

 

The passenger demographic is mostly from France/Belgium, but also parties from Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Germany.  Announcements are made in French, followed by an abbreviated English version.  There are eight of us English-speakers in two parties on board, so they have us seated at one large table for meals.  We've enjoyed the company, but I suppose that could be awkward in some situations.  Meals are a buffet breakfast and fixed menu 3-course lunch and dinner. They will adapt things on request (one person at our table doesn't like fish, so they get an alternative for fish courses.  Food has been quite good.

 

I'm quite happy to have taken the CroisiEurope trip that goes along the actual river from Prague (Vlatava at that point), as we found that section of the river and the upper Elbe to be very scenic.  The Viking cruises use a bus from Prague and meet their boat somewhere on the Elbe (we saw the two Viking boats yesterday in Dresden, they are similar size to ours, but don't use the paddle wheel propulsion).  The cruises sold in the US include excursions (also in some packages sold in Europe).  The excursions have been pretty well designed, with good guides, but being Easter week there have been some some limitations and closures.  We've skipped some excursions that were less interesting or duplicated what we've done on our own.  The English speakers got a guide of our own which has been nice in making the group a comfortable size (if we were in a group of 30, I would have skipped more of the tours).  

 

Weather has been very nice, with the exception of a lot of dust in the air (from dust storms in the Sahara!).  Several days were 70f, while others were low 60's.       

 

 

[notamermaid]

It is April and time to have a look at what the river did in March. Dresden gauge:

 

The month started on a high but good level. We can see the level steadily going down. The month ended below the mean. As the Czech authorities retain water, i.e. with the drinking reservoirs control the river flow, how much further down the graph will go will depend on not just rain but also how much of this the authorities prefer to keep in the reservoirs. Rain is forecast Tuesday to Friday in Saxony in only relatively small amounts.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[AnhaltER1960]

Rush hour on the Elbe, Easter Monday at Wittenberg: The Elbe Princesse 2 (Croisi Europe) pulls out of Wittenberg en route to her next stop at Magdeburg, passing the Viking Astrild, just berthed at Wittenberg after having completed her Elbe sailing.
Both parties will end up in Berlin - Croisi by boat on the Elbe to Magdeburg and canal to Berlin, Viking guests by bus to Berlin directly after a stop in Potsdam.
PS @ curmudgeon98 : If I calculated correctly, that is the Elbe cruise you reported about.

[AnhaltER1960]

On 3/31/2024 at 4:23 PM, Cg52 said:

We are sailing the Viking Elegant Elbe early May. No tours are included for Decin. Does anyone have any suggestions for while we are there?

 

also, should we expect water level concerns at that time of year? And can you recommend a site to follow for this?

 

Thanks in advance

Early May is usually not a time for concern about water levels. But what is usual with weather these days ? After an exceptionally wet winter with high water we say an almost completely dry March brought the water levels down to the long time average (see the post by notamermaid yesterday). No concern for sailing, but another dry month will make things look differently. Too early to give reliable predictions. Just follow this blog here... 
As far as Decin is concerned. Decin is located on both banks of the Elbe and rather an industry town and transportation hub. Not much of an historical old town. On the right bank of the Elbe there is a Renaissance castle, which looks more impressive from the outside than from the inside - it was military barracks since the 1930ies and ruined inside. They did some renovations in the last years, but you will see better buildings during your cruise.
On the other side of the river there is a massive rock with a white mansion on top, there also is a small zoo. The mansion houses a restaurant, their quality does not match the view though. But the view is really hard to beat. Quite steep walking, cab might be an alternative.
 

[curmudgeon98]

We are indeed on Elbe Princess 2.  Some discussion with the crew says that water levels are a definite concern for the cruise going upstream next week.  The ship draws 90cm of water, but in sections of the river with rocky bottom, safety requirements are to have an additional 1 meter of water depth.  This mostly affects the section of the river from just past the last lock in Czech Republic down to Dresden.  I don't think there were any locks or river level controls from the border until Magdeburg. 

 

We didn't stop in Decin, but instead had an excursion in Litomerice (which didn't really have a lot for tourists either).   

[Cg52]

2 minutes ago, curmudgeon98 said:

We are indeed on Elbe Princess 2.  Some discussion with the crew says that water levels are a definite concern for the cruise going upstream next week.  The ship draws 90cm of water, but in sections of the river with rocky bottom, safety requirements are to have an additional 1 meter of water depth.  This mostly affects the section of the river from just past the last lock in Czech Republic down to Dresden.  I don't think there were any locks or river level controls from the border until Magdeburg. 

 

We didn't stop in Decin, but instead had an excursion in Litomerice (which didn't really have a lot for tourists either).   

Thank you. Fingers crossed it’s ok in May.

[thetravelsofmrsb]

Just found this thread 😀 We are sailing on the Elbe in 3 weeks on Viking Beyla, we are fairly confident by going at that time of year the water levels will be ok. 

 

I am planning to write a few reviews on our holiday, including one one the itinerary so I will be sure to share them when complete. 

[Cg52]

3 minutes ago, thetravelsofmrsb said:

Just found this thread 😀 We are sailing on the Elbe in 3 weeks on Viking Beyla, we are fairly confident by going at that time of year the water levels will be ok. 

 

I am planning to write a few reviews on our holiday, including one one the itinerary so I will be sure to share them when complete. 

Thank you. We sail May 4 on the Astrilde so I’ll watch for your reviews.

 

where are you located in England?

[thetravelsofmrsb]

2 minutes ago, Cg52 said:

Thank you. We sail May 4 on the Astrilde so I’ll watch for your reviews.

 

where are you located in England?

We are in Nottingham. 

 

This will be our second Viking river cruise, we are really looking forward to the scenic sailing that we are hoping the Elbe will give us.

[notamermaid]

The last few comments about water levels have made me a tiny bit worried so I have had a look at the weather. It is raining in Saxony, as forecast, but it looks dryer in the Czech Republic.

Saxony weather: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/weather_climate_local/saxony/sac_node.html

The levels look stable according to the forecast but overall the tendency to decrease is indicated by the Czech authorities. For now it does not look like much will happen in the next three days that could be a worry.

 

Current level at Dresden is 135cm. So still good.

 

notamermaid

 

[Cg52]

3 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

The last few comments about water levels have made me a tiny bit worried so I have had a look at the weather. It is raining in Saxony, as forecast, but it looks dryer in the Czech Republic.

Saxony weather: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/weather_climate_local/saxony/sac_node.html

The levels look stable according to the forecast but overall the tendency to decrease is indicated by the Czech authorities. For now it does not look like much will happen in the next three days that could be a worry.

 

Current level at Dresden is 135cm. So still good.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you. Keeping my fingers crossed for May.

[Poopsie54]

2 hours ago, thetravelsofmrsb said:

Just found this thread 😀 We are sailing on the Elbe in 3 weeks on Viking Beyla, we are fairly confident by going at that time of year the water levels will be ok. 

 

I am planning to write a few reviews on our holiday, including one one the itinerary so I will be sure to share them when complete. 

We'll be on the Viking Astrid end of May!!  Looking forward to your posts.

[curmudgeon98]

A few more comments to wrap up my review of our CroisiEurope cruise of Elbe river on Elbe Princess II.  We very much enjoyed it, but it wouldn't necessarily suit everyone.  The fixed menus for lunch and dinner would be an issue for some folks.  English was definitely a secondary language for the cruise, but it didn't cause any issues, and many of the French and Belgian guests spoke English quite well.  The wine served at meals was pretty generic French table wine.  

 

The included excursions ranged in quality from so-so to quite good, but we would probably have enjoyed the cruise just as much visiting towns on our own without excursions (except that at times the boat was moving during the excursion so we couldn't have just done the town on our own).  Our Wittenburg visit was definitely enhanced by a good guide.  Dresden is becoming quite attractive to the tourist; I could have happily spent several days there with the Zwinger museum complex and the restored old palace and market square.   

 

The crew were fantastic, always friendly and eager to help.   

[BVeritas]

I will be on the Viking Beyla beginning 5 May.  So, too, I am keeping fingers crossed for a normal water level.  Thanks to all who continue to provide information on that.

[BVeritas]

On 4/4/2024 at 9:43 AM, thetravelsofmrsb said:

We are in Nottingham. 

 

This will be our second Viking river cruise, we are really looking forward to the scenic sailing that we are hoping the Elbe will give us.

We will be on that same cruise, mrsb.  We are gathering with friends on this cruise who are from Ashford, Kent (actually, one of them is originally from Scotland).  You'll be able to pick me out in conversation if you happen to hear me speaking in my native Tennessee hillbilly twang.

Edited April 5 by BVeritas

[Microman123]

On 4/4/2024 at 10:14 AM, notamermaid said:

The last few comments about water levels have made me a tiny bit worried so I have had a look at the weather. It is raining in Saxony, as forecast, but it looks dryer in the Czech Republic.

Saxony weather: https://www.dwd.de/EN/weather/weather_climate_local/saxony/sac_node.html

The levels look stable according to the forecast but overall the tendency to decrease is indicated by the Czech authorities. For now it does not look like much will happen in the next three days that could be a worry.

 

Current level at Dresden is 135cm. So still good.

 

notamermaid

 

Any water level update 10 days later? I appreciate your river watching. It provided useful information and entertainment before our first Viking river last year (Grand European B to A mid May 2023). Thanks

[notamermaid]

6 hours ago, Microman123 said:

Any water level update 10 days later?

Seeing that we have had dry days here, this is a very valid question. I am being to see a slight problem that hopefully will not turn into a real problem. The level at Dresden shows a fast drop (20cm) which suggests that the authorities in the Czech Republic may be retaining water now. No way for me to find out, but the dry water has drained water out of the Elbe basin. The level is now 107cm. The weather has changed and rain is coming into Europe. A band of moderate to heavy rain is sweeping over southern Germany East-North East so today getting into the Czech Republic. Water for the Vltava and the Elbe and a good sign.

 

notamermaid

 

[Microman123]

On 4/15/2024 at 4:21 AM, notamermaid said:

Seeing that we have had dry days here, this is a very valid question. I am being to see a slight problem that hopefully will not turn into a real problem. The level at Dresden shows a fast drop (20cm) which suggests that the authorities in the Czech Republic may be retaining water now. No way for me to find out, but the dry water has drained water out of the Elbe basin. The level is now 107cm. The weather has changed and rain is coming into Europe. A band of moderate to heavy rain is sweeping over southern Germany East-North East so today getting into the Czech Republic. Water for the Vltava and the Elbe and a good sign.

 

notamermaid

 

What is the "too low" level at Dresden? We board the Viking Astrild on May 17th, so I'm starting to watch the details. Thank-you

[Cg52]

7 minutes ago, Microman123 said:

What is the "too low" level at Dresden? We board the Viking Astrild on May 17th, so I'm starting to watch the details. Thank-you

We are going May 7. I’ll post when we see what happens.

[AnhaltER1960]

3 hours ago, Microman123 said:

What is the "too low" level at Dresden? We board the Viking Astrild on May 17th, so I'm starting to watch the details. Thank-you

In the last years trouble for the Viking ships started at Dresden readings below 90 cm. Keep in mind, these are readings of a fixed gauge against the water table, not the measurement of the depth of the water channel.

[AnhaltER1960]

After a long period without rain ( see notamermaids post #42) there had been a bit of rain in the recent two weeks, which stabilised the Elbe water levels at a level, which is a bit below the long-time average. Ups and downs at Dresden are controlled by water releases from the czech dams, apparently supporting ships downstream, which need it (so there is still enough water upstream to do that). 

Cruise ships are affected differently, depending on their itinerary. Viking sail the Elbe between Wittenberg and Decin (covering Berlin-Wittenberg and Decin-Prague by coach) and do not have any problems right now. Croisieurope sail all the way from Prague to Berlin and they are already in trouble, as they cannot negotiate the stretch from Decin upriver to Usti (where the first -or last if looking the other direction- Czech barrier is located; thus have to do ship swaps now.

[deec]

Has anyone kept track from the last couple of years of how often the Viking ships can not complete the itinerary?

[thetravelsofmrsb]

Hello from Viking Beyla, we are having a wonderful time sailing on the beautiful Elbe river. 

 

Lots of exploring and being very well looked after by Viking

[Cg52]

3 minutes ago, thetravelsofmrsb said:

Hello from Viking Beyla, we are having a wonderful time sailing on the beautiful Elbe river. 

 

Lots of exploring and being very well looked after by Viking

Thank you for posting…we leave a week on Saturday.

[Cg52]

Can anyone suggest a nice restaurant near the Art Nouveau hotel? Nothing too expensive but we’d like to try local food.