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.
We have the same concerns. Leaving on an Amsterdam to Basel cruise on June 26th. Strasbourg seems to have thunderstorm or flood warnings everyday.
Yeah! We are leaving Basel on June 22 for the same trip. How has the weather been? I’m seeing lots of rain in the forecast.
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Great to know! We leave in a week. Any tips on the destinations we visit?
We are on day 7 of a 15 day Avalon cruise to Budapest and arrive in Bamberg tomorrow morning (June 14). Water levels have been no problem. However, we have been notified that a Viking ship damaged a lock gate south of Nuremberg and traffic cannot continue until approximately the 19th. We will be bussed from Nuremberg to Vienna on Monday. Not happy, but Avalon will give a 50% refund for the days not on the ship.
Started June 9th on Viking Legend on the Danube from Budapest to Passau. Today, June 13 on the way to Linz. River is high but no problems thus far.
Thank you for posting this!
We are cruising from Basel to Amsterdam on the Avalon Vista. Water levels have been just fine. We are leaving Strasbourg this evening.
Just completed Paris-Normandy-Paris cruise on AmaLyra on Seine River.
Water level ok.
We were just on the Elba river and water levels were fine. June 3to 8, 2019
Viking Beyla wonderful ship and crew
Thanks for update Cheryl. Please keep us posted. I depart same itinerary in a couple weeks.
We are on a Gate1 cruise on the Danube from Regensburg to Budapest from June 3 to 9. Water levels are very high. Sunshades have had to taken down numerous times but we made it under every bridge although with very little clearance.
We were on the Viking Cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg May 25-June 2. We had some rain the first 3 or 4 days. River levels were high but ok until getting close to Passau, and we were alerted that there might be a need for a ship swap. Fortunately we made it through based on the efforts of a great crew. The cruise was wonderful and hope yours will be too!
Hey Barb – how is it going. We are booked for the Danube Waltz cruise from Budapest beginning June 8 on the Viking Legend. Would appreciate hearing of your experience.
We are on Avalon right now, started in Budapest heading as I write this out of Vienna, water is high they put the sunshades down but still are able to get under the many bridges.
Thanks James that would be great
I just seen on the news a river boat has collided with another river tourist boat in Budapest at 9 pm last night killing 7 people and 21 still missing. The Danube is raging in Budapest. Stay informed people. This is real.
We leave Amsterdam on June 8th to Budapest on Avalon. We are looking for updates now. We will try and keep you informed how our cruise is going.
We cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest on Viking from 12th June and would appreciate any updates anyone has on levels/need to be bussed etc.
May I ask how far downstream you were bused? Passau? Thank you.
We are doing same trip in August. We will wait and see on the water levels – not too much you can do about it, this far out.
We too were scheduled to depart last August, and Grand Circle called us the day before. We were reimbursed within 48 hours for all of our costs. Giving it the ole College Try for this year!
Just ended a Scenic cruise in Budapest. High water on the Danube south of Regensburg prevented passage and forced bussing us to a ship-swap downstream. Water in Budapest is high, bust passable. It’s water upstream – and low historic bridges that are problems
Currently traveling on Rhône river from Arles to Lyon France on AMACello with APT.
River levels have been fine
Thankful I found this site. Husband and I will be sailing the Danube on “U by Uniworld” Ship A from Budapest to Regensburg. If anyone has updates please help by replying. Oh, June 8 thru June 15.
We depart from Amsterdam to Budapest in 12 days (Avalon). I will be very interested in any information you might post on your journey concerning water levels.
Viking didn’t warn us a few years ago that the rivers were low and they knew because they had been bussing people on previous cruises. They bussed us all over Europe which caused us to pack and unpack multiple times. No cruising, just bussing. It was our second Viking cruise. When we complained they said they would give us 25% off a future cruise. As if we’d ever use Viking again! Going on a Tauck cruise in a week.
We are currently on the Danube (just started a Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. In Vienna today . No problems so far. But are hearing comments because of the warm weather ( up to 28 in Budapest 25 in Vienna . Snow may be melting and rivers rising but nothing official.
We depart from Amsterdam to Budapest on a 2-week Viking river cruise. Keeping our fingers crossed about the water levels ???
If you use Google Chrome as your search engine, and are logged in, there will be a prompt by Google asking if you wish to translate to English.
Sabine, thank you for the info! How can I get the website translated into English?
how do you translate to English on wetteronline.com ??
We are currently on a Viking Grand European river cruise – departed Budapest May 16th and due to arrive in Amsterdam on the 30th. Water levels on all 3 rivers – Danube, Main and Rhine – are high with noticeable flooding in Regensburg. Our ship only managed to arrive in Regensburg from Passau thanks to the captain cranking up the speed significantly in the night. Apparently we just made it under one bridge with inches to spare. Our ship stayed in Regensburg for a few nights and we were bused to Nuremberg for our tours and back. Then they told us we had to pack up and do a swap with our sister ship in Bamberg so we were again bused from Regensburg to Bamberg for our tour. Viking did an outstanding job keeping our itinerary in tact. Much of our weather has been cool and rainy with a few days of sunshine.
We are leaving Budapest on the 27th- Viking Grand European and have heard of no possible changes,delays,etc. Interesting that others have.
Anyone have any information?
We are on route on Avalon Envision from Budapest to Nuremberg, currently in Linz where we diverted due to high water levels on the Danube. Only a slight change to our schedule, now finishing our cruise in Regensburg rather than Nuremberg. This morning, however, we noted the Scenic Pearl which was travelling virtually along with us from Budapest to Amsterdam offloaded passengers and luggage this morning, (25th May) in Linz. Avalon have been most professional and kept us informed. It’s been a fabulous cruise!
Hey Paul I found a site that breaks it down. It’s called wetteronline. You can change to English. It shows as of today. All of the flow meters along the way. Are up,some a little from the mean water level to today. Some are up a lot. This is going to be trouble. There is rain in the forecast. And Austria had more snow also which is melting. I will be checking daily.
Our Avalon cruise was canceled last July (or we could have done the bus tour). We were given a full refund, including trip insurance, but we were NOT offered any credit toward another cruise. We couldn’t get the same cruise but are leaving May 29 from Amsterdam to Zurich on the Rhine and Moselle (same # of days as previous reservation). This cruise is about $2000. more per person and no discount offered. I’m not sure why because we asked for discount due to cancelled cruise.
Could you post any updates of changes or cancellations. As we leave on the same trip June 8th
Paul, My relatives are currently on a Danube Cruise – Nuremberg to Budapest and the levels are too high so they had to do a ship swap near Passau.
Thanks KathyD for the update.
We were just notified by Viking that our cruise embarkation on May 28 in Budapest may be delayed due to high water. Please let us know if anyone has done the Budapest to Amsterdam recently and can comment
On 23 May 2019 I rode my bicycle along the Danube between Deggendorf and Straubing. The river level appeared to be fairly high. That is it was just touching the lower path adjoining the river. The current appeared strong, there was quite a bit of flotsam and the regulating weirs appeared to be controlling river levels. Strangely I did not see a single tourist river cruise or commercial barge all day. See what tomorrow brings on the way to Regensburg.
Just returned from a Rhine/Moselle cruise. Water levels good … high on the Moselle but no problems.
Currently in Rhine…. no problems. If anything, levels are higher than
normal. Beautiful weather!
We just completed a river cruise on the Gironde estuary, where the Bordeaux river cruises go to the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. Water levels were just fine, and we had no problems. It was another great river cruise in France!
Here’s a good map of Germany showing the actual water levels. The technical term is “Pegelstand” or “Pegelstände”
https://www.wetteronline.de/pegelstaende?gid=HES
At present I’m on the River Main near Wuerzburg and it’s raining hard. But the Main is generally a regulated river anyway.
Sabine
There are limited tools online for checking and predicting water levels. (See https://www.elwis.de/DE/Karte/#) It takes some effort to discern information and to translate. Most knowledge comes from local Dockmasters and Captains in the area. Like Ralph is saying it can be very unpredictable. I like to quote our friend and longtime Cruise Director on the rivers, Roland Noordermeer, “The Danube can at times rise/fall 3 or more meters in 24 hours.” Just an hour of rain can make the difference on whether a ship can pass a certain point. I just looked at the above link and there are no High/Low water issues between Frankfurt and Nuremberg.
We were booked on Grand Circle river cruise Vienna to Amsterdam last July 2018. We were never notified that there was possibility that the water level in the Danube might be too low before leaving and it wasn’t until we were in Vienna that we were informed the cruise was cancelled and a bus trip substituted. We decided to bail out and eventually GC reimbursed all but our airfare to and from Vienna. Since we’d had good luck with GC in the past we are trying again for the river cruise June 18 starting in Amsterdam and have fingers crossed for good water levels. Anyone else booked at that time?
Great article and information. We just booked our first River Cruise which is scheduled for early September 2019 on the Rhine. Being from the States, we had no idea that there were issues with water levels on the Rhine. I guess we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a wet summer in Europe… 🙂
Your comment was very helpful. Given the choice between bus tour and river cruise, Avalon allowed us to cancel our October 2018 cruise from Basil to Amsterdam, with a full refund including trip insurance and a credit toward any Avalon cruise in 2019. We’re going in July from Luxemberg to Amsterdam.
Great to hear Cindy! Thanks for letting us know.