Europe’s Drought May Mark the End of River Cruising

Just as Europe was beginning to recover from the pandemic’s impact, the continent faces an even bigger crisis: what is shaping up to be its worst drought in recorded history. Last week, the European Drought Observatory reported that 63% of land in the EU and UK was under drought warnings or alerts – a figure that was updated before the UK declared drought conditions in eight of its fourteen regions. New alerts are being issued daily.

With the land parched and water levels rapidly dropping, Europe’s rivers and lakes are drying up. The resulting impacts on trade and industry are severe, but tourism – already struggling from the pandemic – is also facing a major blow. Experts warn that this could be a troubling sign of more extreme weather to come.

Crisis on the Rhine

Stretching 766 miles, the Rhine is one of Europe’s key trade routes, with container ships navigating its winding path.

It’s also a popular river cruise destination. But now, many of those scenic cruises may soon come to an end.

On Saturday, the water level at Kaub, a critical point along the German stretch of the river, fell to just 36 centimeters (14 inches), according to official reports. This is dangerously low – at just 40 centimeters, commercial shipping becomes financially unviable.

According to Clare Weeden, principal lecturer in tourism and marketing at the University of Brighton, this situation comes as no surprise.

“Anyone involved in operating river cruise vessels would have anticipated this shift, given the climate changes over the past two decades,” she explains, noting that low water levels on the Rhine and Danube have forced cruise lines to bus passengers between stops for the past five or six years. However, while the cruise operators were prepared, the customers were not.

“River cruising is gaining popularity, especially among those who enjoy an active lifestyle,” she adds.

“You arrive at a port, spend the day exploring a city, then return to the boat in the evening and continue sailing. It’s a more serene experience compared to large-scale cruises. But the rise in river cruising has coincided with the worsening droughts and climate change,” she notes.

She cautions that, due to the climate crisis, Europe’s traditional river cruising is “certainly going to face challenges,” and predicts that “the industry will likely undergo a significant transformation as a result.”

An Expanding Industry – For Now

Helen Prochilo, from cruise agency Promal Vacations, describes European river cruising as “the hottest trend in our sales this year.”

However, it’s getting a bit too hot: While none of her clients have been impacted yet, one of her colleagues had a client’s cruise canceled recently, and another had their itinerary altered. Changes to river cruise plans are often last-minute, due to unpredictable water levels and rainfall.

Prochilo notes that many river cruise ships are designed with flat hulls to better handle low water levels. In case of trouble, boats with swimming pools can drain them, while features like railings, furniture, and even the captain’s bridge are built to be lowered when passing under bridges in high water, adds Rob Clabbers, president of Q Cruise + Travel, a Virtuoso member agency in Chicago.

That doesn’t eliminate all the challenges. In 2017, Prochilo booked a Rhine river cruise with Emerald, only to encounter “extremely low water levels.”

“To lighten the ship’s weight, they drained the pool, and we could actually feel the bottom of the river tapping the ship,” she recalls.

“We didn’t see the captain after the first night. He remained on the bridge to ensure the ship navigated carefully,” she adds.

Not everyone was so fortunate. Prochilo remembers passing another cruise line that was unloading passengers onto buses.

“The ship’s design and the experience of the captain are crucial in conditions like these,” she says. Given the declining water levels on the Rhine this past month, she’s advising prospective travelers to hold off and consider booking for next year instead.

“I’m also advising clients to book their cruises earlier in the season, as river levels tend to be more favorable in May or June, compared to the more problematic months of July and August,” she explains.

For those who have already made their bookings, she regularly checks in with river cruise lines to stay updated on the water conditions.

The conditions are grim – water levels are “exceptionally low” in certain areas, German officials informed Dinogo on Friday.

In fact, Weeden predicts that Rhine river cruises may soon become a thing of the past.

So what’s in store for this year? CLIA, the cruise industry association, has this to say:

“River cruise operators are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with the appropriate authorities to respond accordingly,”

“The safety of passengers and crew will remain the top priority when making any decisions regarding itineraries. If changes are necessary, operators are working diligently to minimize disruption.”

River cruise company Riviera Travel shared in a statement: “So far, we’ve experienced minimal disruption by implementing solutions such as ship swaps and slight changes to itineraries, ensuring that guests can continue enjoying their cruises.” For instance, a ship might depart a destination a few hours earlier than planned.

Viking Cruises’ website mentions that “low water levels will affect select river itineraries.” Passengers affected will be contacted by the cruise line directly.

To address potential issues, Viking deploys sister ships running the same itinerary but in opposite directions. If one side of the river faces problems, guests can be transferred to the other vessel.

Clabbers explains that “many cruise lines” implement this strategy. “If low (or high) water blocks passage at a specific point, the line simply transfers passengers (and their luggage) to the opposite ship. The ships then return to their starting points with their ‘new’ passengers, allowing the journey to continue with minimal disruption.”

And if things really go awry, they use the boat as a floating hotel and bus passengers to their destinations each day. It may not have the same charm, but it gets the job done.

“River cruise distances are relatively short, so sometimes passengers end up seeing more as buses can travel faster,” says Clabbers, sharing from his own experience.

“On a Uniworld cruise a few years ago, high water stranded the ship in Vienna for three days. However, the company did a great job arranging extra tours to show us sights that weren’t part of the original itinerary.”

Got a Rhine cruise planned for this year? Don’t cancel, advises Clabbers – you could face penalties. Instead, try to go with the flow. But if you haven’t booked yet and still want to travel this year, he suggests considering alternatives like the Seine or the Douro.

No river is left untouched.

Unfortunately, things aren’t much better elsewhere. The outlook is grim for all of Europe’s major rivers.

In France, parts of the iconic Loire River have nearly dried up entirely. Several canals have also been shut down. “Canals seem to be off the table,” says Weeden, predicting a bleak future.

In the UK, the Thames' source has shifted five miles downstream for the first time in recorded history.

And then there's the Danube. Europe's other major river for tourism is facing its own struggles. Emergency dredging is underway along the lower river in Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Although Austria reports no major issues, authorities told Dinogo that Hungary, which hosts one of the most famous sections of the Danube, is facing more serious challenges.

The drought has already crippled trade – a typical 1,600-tonne vessel can now only pass through the river without cargo, according to the Hungary Tourist Board. For now, tourist boats are still operational. Mahart Passnave Passenger Shipping Ltd. continues to run cruises along the Danube, though some stations north of Budapest are closed. Between Szentendre and Visegrád, about 15 miles north of the capital, the river forms a sharp bend. "Several stations there have been closed for about a month due to low water levels, making it impossible for ships to dock," says a Hungary Tourist Board representative.

However, not all companies are managing to operate smoothly – and not all are experiencing the same success with alternative transport as Clabbers did.

Julia Kravianszky, a tour guide, recalls a situation where travelers couldn't reach Budapest by boat – they had to board their ship in Komarno, Slovakia, about an hour away.

The travelers flew into Budapest, were bused to Komarno, and after their city tour in Budapest, were bussed back to the ship the next day after the tour.

Budapest, perhaps the most picturesque city along the Danube, is already showing signs of the low water levels.

"The Danube is significantly lower right now. It's been unusually low for two or three weeks," Kravianszky says.

"Margaret Island seems larger because the rocks at the bottom of the river are now exposed. Some parts of the old Margaret Bridge, destroyed during World War II, are also visible for the first time in years."

However, there's no need to cancel your trip just yet. Despite the current situation, the river still appears 'grand and majestic,' not like a dried-up stream. For now, it’s the locals who truly feel the difference.

‘If the situation remains like this next year, I might retire,’ says one concerned observer.

In Italy, the Po River is at an unprecedented low, with some sections nearly vanished. This is disastrous not only for the country but has also halted tourism along certain parts of the river this summer.

For two decades, Stefano Barborini has been renting out boats to tourists on his stretch of the Po River, near Parma. This year, however, he hasn’t been able to run even a single tour.

‘I’ve been on the Po for 40 years, and this is unprecedented,’ he says. ‘We’ve faced droughts before, but never have the water levels been this low. The erosion has actually made the riverbed deeper. Normally, it's navigable all year long.’

This year, the problem started early: ‘There was no rain, and everything dried up,’ he explains.

Barborini’s boats typically zip around the river, often taking visitors up close to the beaches to explore. During excursions, he highlights medieval artifacts, and has even found buffalo bones and mammoth teeth while out on the water.

He typically rents boats to fishermen, but now, he wonders, ‘Where can they even go to fish?’ Anyone venturing out on the Po today must be highly experienced— even professional fishermen are struggling to navigate these waters.

Barborini has around 30 excursions planned for September, hoping that the water levels will have risen by then. Even so, boarding and disembarking passengers may be challenging, as they will need to navigate steep walks to and from the boats.

‘If next year is the same, I’ll retire,’ he says.

Drying Lakes

It's not just rivers being affected. Italy's largest lake, Garda, is approaching its lowest levels on record, revealing additional land around the Sirmione peninsula, once home to impressive Roman ruins – though not anymore.

Parts of Lake Tisza, Hungary’s largest man-made lake, are now inaccessible by boat, says Kravianszky. 'At Abadki, a popular rental area, the water level is 50 centimeters (20 inches) lower than the minimum required,' she explains.

'They stopped renting boats, and many owners had to pull their boats from the water. The Tisza lake cross-swimming event scheduled for August 13th was also canceled,' she adds.

Tisza borders the Hortobágy National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its plains and wetlands. For around 2,000 years, animals have grazed here, but now the drying lake threatens this iconic landscape.

'It's one of Hungary’s defining features… It’s heartbreaking to watch it slowly dry up, with birds starting to avoid the area or nesting less in the National Park,' Kravianszky says.

From droughts to flash floods

The flip side of drought is flash flooding, as seen recently in the US. In June, Yellowstone endured a rare, once-in-500-years flooding event, and this week, flash floods in Las Vegas tragically claimed two lives.

Barborini expresses concern for the Po River this fall. 'Two years ago, water levels were unusually high in January and February, because when snow fell in the Alps, it melted rapidly, causing abnormal water levels,' he says.

The climate has changed dramatically over the past five or six years.

An uncertain future ahead

‘Travel is witnessing climate change firsthand as it affects the places we visit. If these conditions become the new normal in summer, they will profoundly impact our industry. Without immediate action on climate change, extreme weather will continue to affect the destinations and communities we travel to.’

Susanne Etti, environmental impact manager at Intrepid Travel, believes this summer has been a major 'wake-up call' for the entire industry, and she's not alone in that view.

Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel, warns, 'The areas where we can ski are shrinking – in 20 years, river cruising will face the same fate. There won’t even be snow cannons to help mitigate it.'

Weeden predicts that as Rhine tourism dwindles, river cruise operators will seek new destinations. 'Ships are mobile, and companies aren't loyal to specific places. They'll move and explore new regions for river cruising beyond traditional European routes,' she says. She also notes that industry leader Viking has been heavily investing in ocean cruising in recent years.

This year has underscored a critical truth for Weeden: 'Climate change is not just about rising temperatures, it's also about the unpredictable availability of water.'

With increasingly erratic weather, Weeden believes the travel industry is heading for a major 'reset'.

Photo credit: Raphael Lafargue/Abaca/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)