Danube River Water Levels Outlook, Week of November 17, 2025

Published on Jun 22, 2025, 7:01 pm CDTUpdated on Nov 16, 2025, 8:42 pm CST

8 min read

Upper Danube gauges around Regensburg and Passau are running just above their low water reference marks but still inside the normal navigation band, so cruises are operating with thinner than ideal margins rather than outright disruption.^1,2,5,7 A series of cool fronts should bring about 0.5 to 1.0 in (13 to 25 mm) of combined rain and wet snow to the upper basin over the next week, which is likely to stabilize or modestly raise levels rather than trigger fresh low water closures.^8,9,10,11 Travelers sailing in the next three weeks should hold plans, monitor their cruise line's notifications in the 48 hours before departure, and consider Cancel For Any Reason coverage only if they want extra flexibility rather than because a disruption looks likely right now.^7,12,13,14

Current Conditions

Primary gauge: Pfelling (Pegel Pfelling).

Recent readings show Pfelling around 10.4 ft (3.18 m), with the local low water reference near 9.5 ft (2.9 m) and the high water benchmark for shipping suspensions near 20.3 ft (6.2 m), which means the river is sitting only modestly above its low water mark but still well below any flood threshold.^1,2 That translates to reduced under keel clearance for deeper draft vessels on the Bavarian Danube between Regensburg and Passau, yet standard cruise vessels are still able to operate, so the practical risk for passengers is mainly tighter operating margins rather than widespread cancellations.^1,2,5,7,12

Farther downstream in Austria, the Kienstock gauge in the Wachau valley is sitting near 5.5 ft (1.67 m) above gauge zero, comfortably below the high water levels that would close navigation on the Austrian Danube, which typically occur when the gauge approaches its high stage plus safety buffer.^3,4 Combined with basin wide monitoring from German and Austrian authorities and the DanubeHIS system, there are no official high water or low water closure notices for the main cruise corridor between Regensburg, Passau, Vienna, and Budapest for the week beginning November 17, only the usual localized work related restrictions at individual locks and moorings.^4,5,6

Risk level: Caution for navigation between Regensburg and Passau, mostly due to leaner low water margins, and Normal for the Austrian and Hungarian reaches that most cruise itineraries use between Vienna and Budapest.

Seven-Day Outlook

Gauge records show Pfelling dropping from mid November highs above 11.3 ft (3.46 m) to just over 10.4 ft (3.18 m) now, with official forecasts indicating a modest rebound toward roughly 10.7 to 11.1 ft (3.3 to 3.4 m) in the coming days as new runoff arrives from upstream rainfall.^1,2 This is consistent with a pattern of cool, unsettled weather across southern Germany, where Passau's forecast shows several days of rain and snow mix with daily totals often in the 0.2 to 0.3 in (5 to 8 mm) range, which adds up to roughly 0.5 to 1.0 in (13 to 25 mm) of precipitation over the week.^8,9,10

Downstream, ensemble outlooks for Vienna and Budapest keep temperatures in the upper 30s to low 50s °F (3 to 12 °C) with periodic light rain, which is typical for November and more likely to provide a slow, steady inflow than the flashier high water spikes seen in spring snowmelt seasons.^10,11 Taken together, this supports stable or gently rising water levels along the key cruise reaches, although stretches between Regensburg and Passau remain more sensitive to any surprise dry spell later in the month.

Seven day risk call: Caution for Days 1 to 7, driven by thin but improving low water margins on the upper Danube rather than any sign of imminent closures.

Three-Week Risk Forecast

Period	Likelihood of Disruption	Confidence
Days 1 to 7	Caution	High
Days 8 to 14	Normal	Medium
Days 15 to 21	Caution	Low

Short range forecasts keep an active Atlantic jet feeding periodic fronts into central Europe, which supports a generally mild and moist pattern through late November, so a gradual recovery toward mid range water levels on the upper Danube is more likely than a new low water crunch, while high water risk remains limited compared with spring snowmelt season.^7,8,10,11,12 Forecast skill drops sharply beyond about ten days, and standard travel insurance Cancel For Any Reason options generally need to be purchased within 10 to 21 days of the first trip payment and only reimburse about 50 to 75 percent of prepaid, nonrefundable costs, so travelers looking at late December or 2026 cruises should treat CFAR as an extra flexibility tool, not a hedge against any specific water level signal at this stage.^12,13

Cruise-Line Responses

Spokesperson for Viking Cruises continues to sell standard Romantic Danube and Danube Waltz sailings between Budapest, Passau, and Regensburg for late November departures, with water level language in the terms emphasizing that high or low water may trigger ship swaps, hotel nights, or bussing but without any system wide Danube cancellations posted for the week of November 17.^7,12,14

Spokesperson for AmaWaterways and sister brands in the advisor and consumer materials stresses that while the Danube is seasonally most vulnerable to high water in March to May and low water from July into early fall, late autumn departures like these typically see more stable conditions, and that their standard contingency plans include ballast adjustments, alternative docking points, bus links between ships, and in rare cases hotel overnights if a stretch becomes temporarily too shallow or too high.^7,8,12,14

Spokespeople for Uniworld, Tauck, and other luxury and premium operators are taking a similar stance for mid November, with no public notices of Danube trip suspensions, and with their river guide material instead reiterating the general rule that unforeseen high or low water can prompt route tweaks, bus segments, or vessel changes, and that the companies prioritize preserving the core city program even if specific stretches of sailing are shortened.^7,8,12,14

Overall, there is no indication from major cruise lines or trade press of a systemic Danube shutdown for the week beginning November 17, just the usual blanket warnings that river levels are variable and that itineraries remain subject to adjustment if thresholds are crossed.

Traveler Advice

If you are already booked to sail the Danube in the next three weeks, keep your plans but stay in close contact with your cruise line or travel advisor, especially in the 48 hours before departure when operators will have the clearest sense of whether any shallow sections near Regensburg and Passau could require short bus links or minor port swaps.^1,2,7,12,14 Build extra buffer into flight arrivals, aim to reach your embarkation city at least one day early where possible, and sign up for your line's app or SMS alerts so you can react quickly to any late adjustments without scrambling at the last minute.^7,12,14

If you are shopping for a near term departure in late November or early December, treat the current Caution rating as a prompt to ask smart questions rather than a reason to avoid the river entirely, because ships are sailing and water levels are trending stable to slightly higher, but you should understand how your chosen line handles ship swaps, what compensation policies look like, and whether your existing travel insurance covers transportation disruptions outside of classic trip cancellation triggers.^{1,2,5,7,12,14} This is also the moment to decide whether a Cancel For Any Reason upgrade makes sense for your risk tolerance, bearing in mind that CFAR usually must be purchased within 10 to 21 days of your initial deposit, requires you to insure 100 percent of prepaid, nonrefundable costs, and typically only reimburses 50 to 75 percent of those costs if you cancel for a non covered reason.^12,13

For travelers planning Danube cruises well beyond the three week window, especially in higher risk seasons like spring high water or late summer drought, focus on choosing itineraries with some slack built in, such as routes with strong rail and road alternatives along the river, and work with an advisor who watches European river conditions and trade reporting so you are not surprised by seasonal patterns that recur year after year.^7,8,11,12,14 Booking early gives you access to more cabin choices and promotions, and pairing that with well timed CFAR or robust standard cancellation coverage can provide a reasonable balance between flexibility and cost, but remember that no insurance product can remove all inconvenience if a future water level event forces last minute changes.^12,13,14

Methodology

This outlook blends official gauge readings from German and Austrian waterway authorities, basin wide data from the DanubeHIS hydrological system, long range European weather model guidance, and climatological normals for key Danube cities, with centimetres converted to feet using standard 0.0328 ft per cm factors and all risk calls mapped to internal thresholds for Normal, Caution, and Disruption used consistently across our river reports.^{1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12}

Disclaimer

Forecasts beyond ten days are probabilistic and may change without notice. This information does not constitute financial or insurance advice.