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Basel to Amsterdam Rhine Cruise: HUGE 2026 Itinerary Changes | Viking & AmaWaterways

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Basel to Amsterdam Rhine River Cruise 2026: HUGE itinerary changes are happening as historic low water continues to disrupt the Rhine. We’ve followed the river cruise disruptions affecting the Rhine, Main and Danube all summer, but this common Rhine itinerary is being handled very differently.

In this update, we look at how Viking River Cruises, AmaWaterways, Scenic, Avalon and Uniworld are responding to low water on Basel to Amsterdam itineraries, including major itinerary changes, coach transportation, ship swaps, and even moving a cruise to Holland and Belgium.

What would YOU prefer: flying to a new city to start your cruise, or spending a day on a motor coach with a ship swap?

👉 For better images and more information, look at this blog post: https://www.luxurytraveldocs.com/2026...

If there are any images you can't find just email us at: luxurytraveldocs@gmail.com

👉 Need help deciding what to wear on your European River Cruise? Grab our full guide plus a printable packing list here: https://www.luxurytraveldocs.com/2025...
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20 Comments

@lynneross5848 3 weeks ago

I'd rather get my money back in full then spend the day on the bus or begiven a discount on future travel. I won't be taking another river cruise again for awhile.

@balunr 3 weeks ago

We did Amsterdam to Basel on Viking about a month ago. We ended up in Rotterdam for 2 nights on the ship, and then had a bus day that took us to Cologne for lunch and a quick walking tour than through the Rhine gorge, so we drove past the castles instead of floating past. They had a local guide come on the bus to tell us about the castles and vinyards.

Yes, we had to pack again, but all of our bags were in the same cabin on the new ship. Our program director worked her butt off getting excursions set up in places we were not supposed to be according to the original itinerary, and she also did the ship transfer with us, so she also had the bus day.

@dellaschnell5048 3 weeks ago

Booked our first river cruise this year and we canceled. If Viking had offered a change of starting point we would have done it. Some of us can not manage a log bus ride

@winnetka600932 3 weeks ago

We’re leaving on our Vikings Rhine Getaway from Basel on 10/11. Crossing fingers!

@davidfairchild1640 3 weeks ago

We did a Rhine river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam on Gate 1 from 8/27 to 9/3 with a boat swap and two hour bus ride around the gorge area. They then chartered a smaller tour boat for the day and took us back up the gorge for a few hours to see the castles. Given everything, I think they did a great job for us. But hearing river conditions may be deteriorating again now, unfortunately.

@shelley-m4x 3 weeks ago

We're scheduled for late November on Viking, Amsterdam to Basel. The other issue that needs to be addressed is the already booked one-way airfares to Europe, matching embarkation and debarkation points. Cancelling the cruise also means cancelling airfare which usually means getting a credit with the airline for future travel. Hotels (if you booked outside of Viking) also have to be canceled, It's an act of God situation with the water levels but none of these work-arounds are entirely favorable. We pray for the best!

@albatross0175 1 day ago

Excellent video, I have subscribed. We are travelling Basel to Amsterdam late November on scenic jewel. Debates are ongoing about refund, partial or adjusting to different itineraries. What I know 100% for sure is that I do not want to sit on a bus for five hours if I paid for a river cruise so my better option would be Amsterdam to Belgium on a boat. Have a great day.

@ChrisHowgego 3 weeks ago

As per the contract .. “significant” change warrants a FULL refund. That is preferable to a long bus ride or a change of location.

@Illiad140 2 weeks ago

We sailed from Amsterdam to Basel starting on August 26 with Tauck. We were expecting a ship swap and at least one day on a bus, but were very fortunate to sail the entire length. The best part was that due to the planned changes, we only had 25 passengers on our ship!

@texasboy5117 12 days ago

Two years ago we did the Viking Amsterdam to Budapest. All the rivers were at flood stage. Had to change ships as the water was too high to go under a bridge. But it was still a great trip.

@BrianNaslund-v8w 3 weeks ago

First: thank you for the information. We’re scheduled for a November Basel to Amsterdam cruise. My main frustration at this point is the radio silence from Viking. It seems to me that if there was ever a time to keep customers up to date, it’s now.

@patricksweeney5250 3 weeks ago

Rhine geteway Basel to Amsterdam (September 4). In the middle of ship swap right now. Made it as far as Strosburg and they are abandoning the Rhine and moving west to our original scheduled ship. Missing a lot of what we signed up for. Hope Viking makes it right after we get home. Last year we signed up for same cruise in January and had our pre and post stays scheduled ourselves vand the abruptly cancelled the entire cruise because a ship wasn't ready. I guess we're snake bit

@MichaelKelly-d8p 3 weeks ago

We took the Viking Mani from Basel to Amsterdam and no bus tours were used. We cruised the entire trip on the Rhine. The first completed trip in 6 weeks. The Viking Eir was able to pass us so they also comp,eyed the entire trip themselves

@jencooke6555 2 weeks ago

We are booked from Basel to Amsterdam 7th November 🤞lots of rain through October to bring the water levels up!!

@DebBunnell-n2v 3 weeks ago

Amawaterways is also sailing Basel to Strasbourg then a ship swap via bus and a stop in Luxembourg City.

@IrinaShapiro-xl6gg 3 weeks ago

We have Danube cruis on September, 21. Have a hope for water level rise in next two weeks.

@DBChirpy 3 weeks ago

If I wanted a bus tour, I could do that. If I wanted an ocean cruise, I could do that. If I book a river cruise, that’s what I paid for. Money should have been returned.

@Jup1ter-1 3 weeks ago

River cruise in July. Never again. Spent 5+ hours a day on a bus (which felt like a coffin) and walked 1/2 mile just to get on the bus. Terrible experience.

@BrianNaslund-v8w 3 weeks ago

You can get a credit for a future cruise. A ruined cruise doesn’t seem like a very good marketing strategy to encourage people to take another cruise in the future.

@mikiburza 3 weeks ago

Budapest current danube water level 5 !!!!!!! 5 cm !!!!!! 95 cm its missing 🎉 no rain for the next 2 ish weeks 🎉 dosent looks right right now 🎉 hope the magic and more