Q – How often, after all of the hype, are river boat sailings in Eastern Europe cancelled due to water levels? Are there certain months when this is more of an issue. Some of the forums seem to have contradictory information.
A – Forums do not generally present “information”. Instead, they give you the personal views of people who may or may not be actual travelers. They may have a vested business interest in disseminating their “information” and, quite often, they are living in countries where amenity and service expectations are far different than those of the sophisticated American traveler.
River boat cruises become bus tours when portions of the river have high or low water. High water can be caused by sustained rains or the melting of ice in the Alps or similar mountain ranges. Low water is most often due to sustained drought, most often during July and August.
You really can’t predict this occurance but the pros like to avoid late April, August, and October sailings. The chances of any European river cruise encountering water-related operational problems averages out to about 3%..
