Have heard of a severe drought in Italy? My
wife & I are scheduled for a Po River Cruise
and am concerned that a "low" river will be a
real problem for cruise ships? Anyone there now with advice?

If you are scheduled to cruise the Po before the fall rains, you are out of luck. Northern Italy is in the middle of one of the worst drouths in more than a century. All major rivers, except for the Adige, are near or at historical lows. It is possible to wade across parts of the Po which is at its lowest level since level gauges were installed in the 1880s.

I suggest contacting the tour operator in order to find out your options.

I am concerned but tour operator feels
we will be ok since we are not going
until the end of September? What do you
think?

If your cruise isn't until the end of September I wouldn't worry. August is typically a rainy month.

Compared to April and May, August is only moderately rainy, if looking at historical rainfall data for Northern Italy. Considering this year has followed anything but historic patterns, I wouldn't count on the rainfall, if any, of August and September to be enough to bring the Po up from its record low point. See:
http://www.esa.int/export/esaSA/SEMZ...D_earth_0.html

I'd cancel.

Yeah, but since the tour operator thinks or says) things will "be OK" will cancellation bring a full refund?

Were it me, I'd send the operator a letter, citing the evidence (see Grinisa's post) as the reason for the cancellation. Suggest that you'll take the trip next year. Hopefully they're reputable and honor your request.

We are planning a Po River cruise in May, 2005. Have the 2004 low river conditions improved? What about water travel in Venice?