Low Water Levels Return to Rhine and Danube, Threatening Late-Summer River Cruises

After a brief respite, which saw some European river cruises able to operate almost normally, water level on the Rhine and Danube are again falling, forcing river cruise operators to once again alter or cancel sailings. This past summer was one of the worst on record for river cruises, with large numbers of sailings canceled. Those that weren’t canceled required significant itinerary alterations including ship swaps, hotel stays, and city-to-city bussing.

According to data from the Cleveland Research Company, the Upper Rhine River in the Strasbourgh/Breisach area has dropped quite a bit in the last week. The current water level reading at Maxau, a monitoring station on the Upper Rhine, stands at 305 centimeters (about 10 feet) – 67 centimeters below the benchmark level used to assess conditions.

Just a week ago, the water level was at about 347 centimeters, so the river has fallen approximately 42 centimeters (or 16.5 inches) in a week. The current level of 305 centimeters is, however, still above the most recent low in this area of the river, which was at 295 centimeters on Aug. 12, 2026.  

On the Middle Rhine in the area of Kaub, water level readings stand at 29 centimeters, versus a reference point of 77 centimeters, and down from roughly 68 centimeters on Sept. 1, 2026. However, forecasts predict this area will stabilize, approaching roughly 35 centimeters on Sept. 9 and possibly 35 to 41 centimeters by Sept. 11/12.

On the Lower Rhine, in the area of Cologne, water level readings stand at about 75 centimeters, versus a 139-centimeter reference, down from roughly 120 centimeters on Sept. 1, 2026. This is only slightly above the previous historic low of 69 centimeters. The forecast predicts water levels will continue to fall to roughly 69 to 70 centimeters on Sept. 9, before recovering slightly toward the low 70s later this week.

On the Danube, conditions area slightly better but still deteriorating, particularly in the German sections.

The Pfelling area is about 223 centimeters, versus a 290-centimeter low-water reference, down from abut 255 centimeters on Sept. 1 and only about 2 centimeters above its old historical low of 221 centimeters.

According to the Cleveland Research Company, this level is low enough that Regensburg to Passau ship swaps and bussing remain a real risk.

At the Kienstock river gauging station on the Danube River in Austria, water levels measured 102 centimeters on Sept. 8, versus a reference level of 161 centimeters. However, levels are expected to go back up to 125 to 134 centimeters over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Closer to Vienna, in the Wildungsmauer area of the Danube River, water levels are at 86 centimeters versus a 155-centimeter reference but are forecast to go up to as high as 96 centimeters.

In Hungary, Budapest has also fallen back to extreme low levels – measuring about 7 centimeters on Sept. 8 versus 33 centimeters on Sept. 1, 2026. The low-water level reference point for Budapest is 93 centimeters. The immediate forecast predicts water levels in Budapest to fall even further before bouncing back – up to possibly 46 centimeters by Saturday.