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.
Thank you for the helpful replies!
Is this on Viking? Did u have the Paris extension. Hope it goes well!
I would say definitely bring some Euros, especially with current favorable exchange rate (assuming you can get them from your bank with no/minimum charge). Some shops prefer cash, plus many places I’ve been charge a half Euro to use their restroom…ie. exchange some paper Euro for 50 Euro cent coins before you head out to explore. If you’re staying in hotel before cruise I’ve always gotten a good exchange rate from the better ones. Amount you bring depends on spending plans, but ATMs are usually a good choice if you need more cash.
Thanks Bob. Great info for lots of travelers. Were you still able to go on all the planned excursions?
We are traveling Bucharest to Budapest Oct 1, do wondering the same. Will you all keep me posted if you hear anything?
There is a Water levels site at the top of this page. https://www.bafg.de/DE/06_Info_Service/01_Wasserstaende/wasserstaende_node.html
This opens the map you see above the link. You can zoom into the different locations on the river. Once you open the window for a particular location, there is a graph in the upper left corner. Click that and you see water levels in real time updated every 15 minutes.
Thanks for the update. We are doing
Basel to Amsterdam on Viking Oct. 4. Hoping the level is good but not crazy about a lot of rain when traveling. What is that like?
Never thought I’d be hoping for rain but we cruise the Rhine in October and perfect would be rain before and stopping when we start!1
Yes definitely bring some euro’s
They charge a lot at the ATM’s
As we are going to Prague first and ending in Budapest we are bringing some of there currency also
A lot of small restaurants and shops only take cash
We are going on the Romance of The Rhine and Mosel with Grand Circle Cruise. We leave the US on Sept. 9. Our IT is as follows:
Belgium: Antwerp The Netherlands: Willemstad, Kinderdijk, Nijmegen Germany: Bonn, Cochem, Trier, Bernkastel, Boppard, Speyer France: Strasbourg Switzerland: Basel
We would appreciate an update on current water level conditions along the Rhine. We have heard of “bus tours” and disembarking if the water level is too low, and are not particularly looking forward to it. We are thinking about cancelling but would like to hear about water level conditions from people who have cruised along the Rhine recently. We know that this is a once in a lifetime experience and would not really want to miss out unless necessary.
I am thinking of going from Budapest west to Deggendorf with Avalon on 15 September. Does anyone have news of Avalon on the Danube?
Your going to be in Europe! Might be a good idea to have European money!
We are scheduled on Viking’s European Sojourn Bucharest-Amsterdam with a pre-extension in Bucharest. Any water level info would be great on this trip boarding Lif on Sept.20th
Hi Michelle, thx for the link to Cruisemapper.com, I can see the ships, but don’t see where you can see water levels real-time. If you could elaborate for us we would be grateful!
Good news re the Danube !
On Emily Bronte – see earlier post but ignore time of post. I put the post on at 2-45pm but the time shown is hours earlier……Now it is 5-30pm.
Just had another briefing from Cruise Director who told us that no problems all the way to Budapest so Danube levels are fine.
Thanks to Riviera for excellent organisation and information, and superb service from everyone involved in this cruise.
In Strasbourg today. Beautiful weather with cool mornings and warm afternoons. We passed another Viking ship in a lock last night and they yelled across that they had made it all the way with no ship swaps or bussing. Our fingers are still crossed!
The ship charges 10% to exchange so it’s pricey to use them. I didn’t bring Euros but just used one of the ATM’s in town at our first stop. You will need some for incidentals in town and tipping the guides. There are a few places that don’t take credit cards but not many. I just got $100 and if I need more I’ll just hit the ATM machine at one of the stops.
We are departing Sept. 11, 2022 from Prague to Budapest for seven days on AMA Waterways. Any ideas how the water levels have been recently?
Thank Bob. Finger crossed for us all. Happy sailing!
We are scheduled foe the same cruise. Hopefully we will have the water levels we need.
Thank you, Kevin. Would love to hear additional updates if you have time. Have a wonderful trip!
It would be a good idea to bring some euros with you. I recall reading that you can not exchange money on the ship. Your other options would be to use an ATM or bank off the ship.
Mike,
So sorry to hear, please keep us update and wishing you the best moving forward.
Today is 29th Aug and we have just left Nuremberg on Riviera Emily Bronte….no water level problems at all from Cologne….we have had rain,some torrential, which must have helped. Still on Main- Danube Canal but will reach the Danube tomorrow at Kelheim above Regensberg. No talk of any difficulties.
Hello Graham, check out Cruisemapper.com for real time photos of the water levels and boats. It is a very helpful website. Best of luck on your trip!
This is encouraging as we set sail off to Amsterdam from Basal Sept. 28. Touck Tours.
Thanks for the update Kevin. We are first time cruisers and will be taking the same ship on 9/9. Do we need to bring Euros with us? If so, how much do you recommend?
It is good news. We start 10 days after you so it would be great if you do an update on your cruise Garry.
Thank you for the update on Regensburg to Budapest cruise.
Getting info on the Rhone is not easy. We are going next week. As far as I can tell the level is low but OK. The water is exceptionally warm – too warm to cool the nuclear reactors – and the salt level is going a long way upstream but I can’t find anything about cruises being affected.
Fingers crossed!
I can’t speak to Viking but our trip on Uniworld from Basel to Amsterdam beginning 8-28 has been a mess. Poor communication pretrip and what information we have received has been inaccurate. We left US 8-25. Before departing, we checked for the umpteenth time—are there going to be changes? Told unequivocally no. Arrive Europe 12 hours later to email saying we won’t start in Basel. They will bus to Strasbourg and put us in a hotel. Meet ship Monday morning in Strasbourg. Get to Strasbourg on Sunday and they tell us boat can’t make it to Strasbourg so on Monday afternoon we have to be bussed to somewhere further upstream. It’s Monday morning now so we really have no idea what’s going to happen. On the ground, it’s been complete amateur hour. They were totally unprepared and disorganized—no information, mediocre hotel, rooms not ready, take luggage and then can’t get it back for hours, said they would provide meal allowance but no plan on how to do it etc. They actually have people walking like 6-8 blocks on a hot summer day to meet the bus instead of picking up and dropping off at hotel. The whole trip (and pre trip) has been misinformation and bumbling—and we are only on Day 2. It has been nothing more than a money grab. We will make the best of it but for the prices we paid, we expected a whole lot better. I would never do this with Uniworld again.
Hi Di, good luck with your cruise. We are travelling with APT in October and would love to hear how your trip goes in September.
It sounds like the ship swaps are fairly easy with Viking but let’s hope we end up just passing in the night! Hoping for more rain!
We board Sept. 26th in Budapest to Amsterdam on Oct. 11th on the Viking Ve. Looks like if we swap ships it will be yours!
We are bringing your ship to you from Budapest on 8/31. From what I see looks encouraging except perhaps the last day to Ruse. Will let you know how it goes.
Hey Jan.F
We are on same boat
Fingers crossed
Tony B
We are doing the reverse, Regensburg to Budapest starting on September 4th on Viking. We are hoping that we will have an uninterrupted trip with no ship swaps. If anyone has information in regards to the area around Passau I would like to know.
We’re on Alruna now. We were scheduled to be on the Tialfi but when we arrived at the dock it was the Alruna.
We’re on Alruna now. We were scheduled to be on the Tialfi but when we arrived at the dock it was the Alruna. I posted an update about the trip but they said it appears that we’ll be able to make the whole trip to Amsterdam without a ship swap.
It’s 8/28 and we left Basel yesterday on Viking Alruna to Amsterdam. We’re in Breishach today. The evening was cool on deck when sailing and today has been fairly warm. Water levels are still holding with the cruise director saying she’s 99% certain that we will be able to go the whole way without a ship swap or have other excursion disruptions. I hope she’s correct! I’ll post updates on the journey as I can.
Is anyone currently on the Viking Alruna or Viking Tialfi? Did the two ships swap itineraries this week? It appears from their current locations on cruisemapper.com that they may be traveling opposite their original itineries. Are they expected to sail through their respective itineraries, or are ship swaps and busing anticipated?
Is rain expected in the next week to help alleviate the current low water levels?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can respond! I hope you have a wonderful experience!
Fingers crossed our cruise will go as planned. Basel is due to get rain this week.
Susan,
Thank you so much for your post. Have been watching water levels for a mid-Sept B-A on Viking. Great to know that current and predicted rain in Basel can help us as we sail downstream through the areas with less rain. Hope you enjoyed a fantastic trip!
Currently on Scenic Pearl, left Amsterdam on the 25th Aug. About to stop a Miltenberg. No issues, no itinerary changes thus far. No indication that there will be. Awesome cruise thus far.
Will do Jan
Hi Judi, we are travelling the same day from Amsterdam with APT. 🤞as I have not seen any comments from APT travellers
Awesome news!!
We are doing same route on Emerald departing 9/10. Hope the rain keeps up!
Hello I am currently on the Viking Var heading to Budapest. We met our ship in Regensburg as scheduled but due to expected changing conditions we left immediately stopped in Passau and then retuned by bus to Regensburg the next day for the tour. It was a 1.5 hour ride in the autobahn but ok. Our ship left Passau and headed for an unexpected stop in Engelhartzell while we were in Regensburg on tour. We took a bus from Regensburg to Engehartzell it was a beautiful drive though the Black Forest and the scenery was spectacular. This ride was 2.5 hours by bus. Now the ship will return to Passau during the night and we will tour Passau tomorrow as planned. We are having frequent rains we were told the remainder of the trip should be as planned ending in Budapest. The river actually looks good and there are lots of ships on it. We are always rafted to other ships in port. It has been a great trip so far. I will let you know if we get to Budapest!
Thanks for the update- we cruise on Viking Sept 13 from Basel. End in Amsterdam. Forecasted temps in high 60s. Is it cool or still fairly hot? River level sounds encouraging! Nancy
That’s great news.
We are doing the same trip, but in reverse with Gate 1.
Starting in Prague on Sept. 8
Hopefully the rain keeps up till then.
Thanks for the update