Rhine river changes?

[ngl]

Anyone getting information regarding flooding on the Rhine? We are going in July and heard ABD had to move a dock location due to the flooding. Curious if anyone has any other information. Thanks!

 

[sayhello]

ABD doesn't make those kinds of decisions, AmaWaterways does. So ABD may not know anything yet. From what I have heard, if the rivers are impassible due to too much or too little water, they seem to change docks and bus folks to where they need to be for excursions.

Sayhello

 

[eds04]

We are on the same River cruise - Looking forward to it regardless!

 

[samsteele]

Water level is a chronic issue on both Rhine and Danube cruises regardless of the cruise line. I took a Viking river cruise on the Danube 5 years ago in October and unfortunately water level and whether the ship could even navigate the river became the daily issue. I could hear the bottom of the ship scrape the river bottom at night when trying to sleep. The ship we were supposed to embark upon was swapped 24 hours before with another because they couldn't get the original ship to the dock. We were bused to following ports on a regular basis. The Elbe river is even worse. If you're already booked, try your best to make peace with it before you get onboard. Understand a bus will be part of your vacation. That's tough for many as they've chosen a more $ river cruise instead of a bus tour for a reason. Make sure you have a backpack or day bag handy so you can pack with overnight toiletries, change of clothes, evening dinner clothes, etc. All of the European river cruise companies should make this clear. They don't. I still had a very good vacation but learned to stay away from other passengers who were surprised, angry, worried and discussed it non stop. Water levels are beyond my control and clearly beyond that of the river cruise lines.

 

[ngl]

Appreciate the feedback. I agree - properly setting expectations is key so to know this going in is very helpful. Thank you!

 

[aggiedog]

Different ships, and lines, have different thresholds for when the ship can no longer proceed, due to hull depth or height. Viking, with it's myriad ships, many of which are on the large side, is more likely to do ship to ship swaps. Other companies may just turn it into a bus trip.

Docking locations even in normal water levels are fluid due to the nature of river traffic (no pun intended!)

You can check over on CruiseCritic for specifics on how AMA is handling the water levels. There's a specific river cruise forum.