When all is said and done, there is no way to accurately predict whether your river cruise will be affected by low-water or high-water levels for river cruises in Europe. But in general, high water occurs in the spring while low water occurs in heat of the summer, usually August. The summer of 2018 saw record low water levels for river cruises in Europe on the Danube. However, contrary to the conventional wisdom, I saw record lows on the Rhine in November of 2015. While high or low water can impact your river cruise, in 50+ river cruises, I’ve never experienced a major disruption because of high water or low water. I should add that I did not river cruise in the summer of 2018. In the comments below, some readers say their dream vacations were disappointing because of low water levels for river cruises in Europe. Others had their trips scuttled altogether because the river cruise companies could not operate due to high or low water levels for river cruises in Europe. My hope is that this page will serve as a useful forum for sharing information about the conditions on the rivers and how the cruise companies are handling adverse water levels for river cruises in Europe.– Ralph Grizzle
Whether a river has high or low water levels is something you’re unlikely to consider when planning your river cruise – until it happens to you.
Unlike ocean cruising, river cruising is all about narrow margins. Low bridges make the air draft of a ship – how much of it sticks out of the water – critically important. Most river cruise ships have collapsible upper deck railings, removable furniture, and even navigation bridges that lower completely into the floor.
Being aware of water levels for river cruises in Europe can greatly enhance your travel experience.
Understanding water levels for river cruises in Europe is vital for ensuring a smooth and enjoyable journey.
Monitoring water levels for river cruises in Europe is essential for a trouble-free adventure.
What’s under the keel – or hull – of your river cruise ship also makes a difference. In some cases, there can be less than a foot of water under the keel. River cruise ships have incredibly shallow drafts to begin with, and river cruise operators construct their ships as efficiently as possible. They’re the high-performance sports cars of the cruising world.
Understanding Water Levels for River Cruises in Europe
Understanding the significance of water levels for river cruises in Europe can help travelers make informed decisions.
Unfortunately, low water and high water conditions can exist – and they can throw a real wrench into an otherwise flawless cruise.
For current updates from river cruisers currently on the rivers (or from those who have returned recently) be sure to see the comments at the bottom of this post.
In fact, keeping an eye on water levels for river cruises in Europe could save your trip.
The Rhine is perhaps the most dependable river when it comes to being able to continue navigation due to low water. I felt the boat scraping the bottom of the Rhine in Rudesheim in November of 2015, but we made it past. See Is AmaWaterways The Champion Of Low Water?
Water levels are unpredictable. In many cases, the cruise line may only find out on your actual sailing, or a few days beforehand, that a particular stretch of water isn’t navigable.
See related article: Low Water Levels Continue To Affect River Cruises; Plus Why This Happens In The First Place
Water levels aren’t uniform. That is to say, if there’s low water on the Danube, the entire Danube isn’t affected. In 2014, water levels were too low for many ships to pass between the German cities of Passau and Regensburg. In past years, the stretch heading across the Austria-Hungary border has been problematic.
History isn’t a good indicator of high or low water. In June of 2013, Passau was hit by the worst flooding – and the highest water levels – since the Middle Ages. In 2018, the Danube was so low that many cruise ships terminated their journeys in Passau.
What happens if high/low water levels affect my sailing? River cruise lines will typically attempt to keep your itinerary as operational as possible. Generally, when high/low water levels hit, three options are available to cruise lines:
- Continue the affected itinerary by having guests ‘swap ships’ – typically, being bussed from one town to the next, where you will embark a sister-ship or similar vessel to continue the rest of your journey. Read about our ship swap on Viking.
- Complete the itinerary as far as possible aboard your ship, and then transition to hotels (on the company’s expense) to complete the remainder of your itinerary.
- Outright cancellation. This is the rarest option, exercised when no other options are available.
I’m not sure if I should cancel my river cruise because of high/low water levels. What do I do?
Unless you have travel insurance that covers cancellation, do not cancel your river cruise over high/low water. Wait for the cruise line to either pull the plug or offer alternatives. If your sailing commences in a few weeks, cancelling your sailing will result in you losing all monies paid. If you wait for the cruise line to pull the plug, offers typically include the ability to switch to another sailing at no cost; the offer to complete your cruise as scheduled at a discount or rebate; or the offer to cancel with minimal or no penalties. Of course, such offers are determined by the cruise line, but typically favor the guest.
Curious as to what the current conditions on the rivers of Europe are? A reader has provided us with a map showing the water levels on rivers in Germany. From reader “Sabine” see this link: https://www.wetteronline.de/pegelstaende?gid=HES
We have found the Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (BFG) to be helpful. The organization published maps like the one below and forecasts. Find BFG’s 14-day water levels forecasts here and the six-week forecasts here.
It’s advisable to check the latest updates regarding water levels for river cruises in Europe before you travel.
To see what our readers had to say about how their trips were impacted by low water levels, click here.
Additionally, understanding how different seasons affect water levels for river cruises in Europe will enhance your planning.
In summary, staying informed about water levels for river cruises in Europe is crucial for a rewarding travel experience.
What makes the water levels drop 10 feet in 24 hours??? …and what about a 12 foot rise in a day??
From looking at levels and webcams, believe Jeanne is correct. Also fyi – We received our refund back from Viking 12 days after canceling our Elbe cruise.
Yes we sailed July 31 from Budapest, was supposed to be Crystal but was in fact Jasper. Apparently an issue earlier on with a lock caused the switch. Jasper was awesome…
Hi Lynne, The Elbe water level has been so low that the 2 Viking ships have not moved since June. We’ve been checking websites for info on ship movement, water levels, rain forecasts, etc. There is not enough rain expected … It would take a monsoon to get the water levels up! So you will not be cruising. Others in this forum have told us they do not get the notice from Viking until 2 weeks prior to your cruise date. Viking has been offering a full refund or, if you do not cancel & accept the revised itinerary with buses, you will receive a 50% off voucher for a future cruise. The only good news here is the distances are short so probably not long bus trips. Hope this helps.
Hi there. Scheduled for the Elbe cruise in October. Is there any update on river level?
Good point UB….
Thank you Tim, that’s good news. Heading out from Amsterdam on Sept. 10 heading to Budapest.
Hi UB. Scenic has still not replied to be even though I have sent them a reminder. The silver lining for you is that your vessel will be Jasper, a newer and better vessel. Pretty perplexing. Perhaps transponders were mixed up in GPS.?
Has anyone been on the Viking Elbe “cruise” recently? We know the ships have not moved in several months due to low water. We expect to receive the email from Viking soon offering a refund or 50% voucher for future cruise if we do not bail out. We are considering going …but just wondering if anyone has done the “bus” revision. Short bus trips? Are the ships docked at Wittenberg & Dresden? And do the ships have any view or will we be facing a dock? Any other problems? Thanks for any input.
On Viking Lif, Amsterdam to Budapest. Left Amsterdam August 28th. Amsterdam to Bamberg has been good. No water problems and good weather. Just informed tonight that there will be no water issue and we will be able to make it all the way to Budapest. As indicated in other comments reportly water level actually increased recently.
I’m also a little perplexed that the Scenic Crystal is listed as the ship on The Sept 11- 28 Amsterdam to Prague run. It certainly can’t be in 2 places at the same time. Ah well, time will tell.
Jeff Paglialonga, owner of Teeming River Cruises. Had our first water issue this season on the Danube at Pfelling. Water levels dropped 10′ in less than a 24 hour period. Our ship cannot pass until later this evening. The river is predicted to rise over 12′ in one day. This will put us back on schedule for the remainder of our Danube Tour.
Thanks Xerxes. Tomorrow both ships arrive in Nuremburg and it will be interesting to see if they swap to get back on the correct itineraries. I guess ultimately it doesn’t matter, they are the exact same ships……. as long as they both keep sailing, fingers crossed.
Mary our bus trip from Salzburg was about 2 hours.
Hi UB
I have raised the same query with Scenic. They have denied any ship swap via travel agent. Have written to them directly last night and waiting to hear a reply. Very dissatisfied and disappointing
Hi UB. We were set to sail Budapest – Amsterdam on 11 September on Jasper. To me it looks as though Scenic has swapped Jasper with Crystal. My travel agent spoke to Scenic who deny any such change. I have written to Scenic directly last night and am waiting to hear from them. I use Vessel Tracker and it confirms that Jasper is docking in Amsterdam 10 September. I fail to understand why Scenic does not come clean….. Bon Voyage
We were notified today that the Viking Aegir will go through to Amsterdam; no ship swaps. We are having a slight modification to our Regensburg, Germany stop, but all shore excursions are proceeding as planned. Later cruises may not be so lucky unless there is more rain.
We only had 2 hours from Salzburg – didn’t go to Passau because the captain pushed through so we didn’t have to do ship swap. Now in Nuremberg .
Does anyone know if the Scenic Crystal and Jasper have swapped itineraries? We leave on Scenic Crystal 9/25 Budapest Amsterdam and have been looking at the ship tracker http://www.anyoverip.de/scenic/index.php?ship=Jasper&d=02&m=9&y=2019 andit seems that way based on their positions. Thanks to everyone updating us on the water levels. I have been checking every day for as much info as I can get.
Interesting day in Amsterdam during our pre-cruise extension. I had a little problem at the airport upon arrival (no fault but my own). It was amazing how attentive and helpful the Viking staff was in helping me get back to the airport from our hotel to straighten things out. They were all great. Our wonderful Viking Host at the Mövenpick hotel, Maxime at the airport. They really bent over backwards for me to help things get back on track! My wife and I are now looking forward to a drama-free cruise in a couple of days. Still praying for good water conditions!
Did you have to travel 4 hours by bus?
We are on the Scenic Ruby. Left Budapest August 26 heading to Amsterdam. We got through Passau yesterday but thought we were going to have to do a ship swap. Fortunately the Captain was able to get through yesterday while the passengers were all off on tours and we were met by the ship further down the river. Captain said the water is very low but moving ahead 4 hours made all the difference. Having a wonderful time!
That’d be fun! If not, see you onboard.
We are flying out today for same precruise and Gefjon. Perhaps we will run into you.
We are flying to Amsterdam from Colorado Springs via Dallas TX in about an hour. After a couple of days in Amsterdam, we’ll embark on Viking GEFJON to Budapest on Sep 3rd. We’re praying for good water conditions. PRETTY DARNED EXCITED!
We are on the Aegir docked in Vienna. Just saw the Skinir departing. We will be in Melk tomorrow. Our crew is reporting no problems yet from water levels but rain would help.
Aegir is in Vienna. Just saw Skinir’s departure. We’re in Melk tomorrow. So far, our crew is reporting good water levels but rain would make it better.
Dennis – just saw your ship in Vienna. We are on the Aegir headed to a Melk. Hoping for good sailing. Enjoy Budapest.
Crystal Mahler and Amaviola made it past Pfelling with 10 cm clearance this morning and just now arriving Regensburg. We heard we (Mahler) did offload fuel and water supplies to lighter the ship.
No problems Colleen. We did modify our Regensburg program to get through. Worth it. Hopefully it now rains.
Sorry, that should have been Amsterdam on September 8th. In Passau now and leaving for tours at 2:30. Crystal is repositioning the ship upstream a bit while we are off the ship and we will be reunited with it somewhere upstream later in the afternoon. No further word on what happens overnight and tomorrow when we should be in Regensburg.
Read this with some relief Chris. Thank you for your post.
We’re on Scenic Opal. Made it through from Regensburg to Passau last night.
On Crystal Mahler. Left Budapest August 24th for Amsterdam on August 8th. Left Melk this evening. Headed to Passau for the morning, but were told tonight that without rain we can not get to Regensburg Friday. With 10 days still to go, we have no plan beyond tomorrow. It is raining now, but we need rain upstream to get past Pfelling. We were on a Crystal cruise last October from Amsterdam to Basel that had to detour to the Moselle because of no water in the Rhine. Crystal was great and we enjoyed the new itinerary. But, there is no detour available here.
That’s right, I’m on Tier now going to Amsterdam. Was suppose to be Vali but there was a ship swap earlier this summer. They probably just informed you now because we Tier/Vali did not have to ship swap this time. Vali continuing to Budapest and Tier continuing to Amsterdam with no swap this trip only once earlier this year to flip flop which ship.
The information you are being given appears to be wrong. Viking Ve is behind you in Passau and made it through with no ship swap. I am on Viking Tir going reverse, made it thru the critical spot near Regensburg and have seen cruise & freight ships going past us in the other way. Our sister ship, Vali is with us in Nuremburg and is expect to make it later today/tonight or they would have had stopped us to swap today.
Inside information from crew member, we cleared with 30 cm (12 inches) to spare without any tricks having to be used.
Markings on shore show water level down from normal but all Viking ships are making it though fine at this time. Rain is predicted this afternoon in Nuremburg.
We are on the Viking SKirnir, in Melk, heading for Budapest. We made it through Regensberg and Passau. We were told last night that we were the last boat through and that ship swaps had resumed in Regensberg. Pray for rain.
Where do you check? We are doing the Scenic Amber -Black Sea Explorer leaving Budapest Sep 24th. Check this site very day in hope that we will be able to stay on the ship. Thank everyone for your posts.
Our notification didn’t give a time constraint either, but they gave me the 1 and 2 year info on the phone. The Elbe river level continues to look unchanged and I can see that the Beyla location has been and is in Dresden. For the near future, all of us Elbe travelers will be in the same boat (pardon the pun).
On Viking Budapest to Amsterdam. Finished Danube River and now on Danube-Main canal. Questionable spots (Passau-Nuremburg) are behind us. Until we hit the canal, we were just told it could go either way but now officially told clear sailing to Amsterdam with no ship swap.
Good luck to all to follow.
Just received notice from Viking that the Grand European Tour from Budapest to Amsterdam embarking on Sept 5th will now be on the Vali rather than the Tir with a possible ship swap.
Dennis,
We just heard from Viking that our Sep 11 sailing would be a stationary ship swap + 50 % discount on future river or ocean cruise. Our email did not indicate a time constraint on the future cruise but I assume there is one. Alternately, we can cancel for a full refund, which is what we plan to do. Strangely, as recently as yesterday, they would tell us nothing.
Thanks for all your input and good luck to those of you booked on later Elbe cruises. I guess the routine now is about 2 weeks notice.
On the Rhine on Viking Tialfi at Speyer sailing Amsterdam to Basel Aug 24-31; no problems at all nor, as best can tell, with Viking traffic Basel to Amsterdam. Has been hot and dry but river level seems fine. Another website to check for German river levels is bafg.de, select wasserstande in list of services in little box on left side; levels updated hourly(?) each day on comprehensive map.
Currently cruising down the Main river on Avalon Tranquility ii.Left Budapest August 18th for Amsterdam.No issue with water levels.Due Rudesheim Thursday 29th.All good so far.Very warm days.
Just arrived (Aug. 27, 2019) in Koblenz from Trier on Moselle. So far water level about 6″ lower than “normal” so no problems.
Thanks, We are scheduled to sail from Nuremburg to Budapest on August 31st. on Viking, hoping for good water levels on the Danube.
I didn’t see an answer to Jeanne’s question on how long the 50% is good for. I was told the following when I was in the process of canceling: The 50% voucher “requires” you to “book” within one year, and travel within a year. So the maximum time to complete the travel would be two years. Additionally, it’s my understanding from reading other posts that the 50% is applicable to only the “cruising part” of the itinerary. I guess this makes sense because the pre- and post-land parts remain unchanged; in the case of the Elbe itinerary, this would be substantial.
WHY AREN’T POSTINGS LISTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER????????????????????
No issues on the Amsterdam >> Basel Rhine River. Gorgeous weather so far and River is flowing well. having breakfast on the bow tied up at Boppard. On the S.S. Antoinette.
We are in to our third day and are at Boppard. No issues at all so far. Even had a light shower last night. Food is wundebar ??