ural guy

Notamermaid- I'm sure Viking will figure Christmas out nicely. Just an odd note, we were in Washington DC for Christmas a few years back. Mount Vernon, George Washington's home in Virginia, was open on Christmas day. It's owned by a private foundation, so no government restriction, just the drive to make $. Netherlands is not as religious as Germany, or at least doesn't have 'Blue Laws', so a better chance for Viking, then if we were in Colonge. My daughters were so disappointed years back when we were in Wurzburg on a Sunday. Shops were all closed.

Dianng- Sounds good! Spouse and I will be with our youngest (25) daughter and her boyfriend, so we'll be easy to spot. Should be a great trip. I think your being from Montana, and us 30 miles south of Canada, the weather won't phase us as much. Just bring the grippiest boots you have. Cobblestones may prove interesting.

Hello- we're on this cruise. Haqdeluxe is probably correct in that markets won't be open after the 24th. Are you able to fly in a few days early? We're going to stay in The Hague for a few days pre-cruise, they are supposed to have a nice market. The Hague is just a 30 minute train ride from Schipol airport, the train station is in the airport. I'm wondering what Viking will do on Christmas day. We're in Arnhem, which has tons to do: zoo, open air museum, Operation Market Garden museum...all great places we've visited and I would like to see again. Pretty sure they'll all be closed.

Notamermaid- The Donaushiffart link may be perfect for the OP. They have a variety of options where you can cruise from Passua to Linz or Vienna, stay overnight, return by bike or train...I noticed them when we were in Passua and went down a rabbit hole. There are a few sailing options that don't show up in American web searches unless you are very specific in your query. So very good of you locals to help out. I always see ships on the river I've never heard of. Thanks.

I just want to add that the Douro river valley is not only gorgeous, but easily done on your own. This is from 2 months back, we stayed at a Quinta, $110 usd a night. Quinta da Guimaraes (about an hour from the city of Guimaraes) is part of a 4 vineyard group that bottles their wine together. gorgeous property and grounds. The building is from 1722 and had it's own chapel. Our room opened onto boxwood gardens, with this amazing view on the far side of the pool. The Douro is zig zagging below us. We saw Viking and other ships during our drives along the river. Pretty amazing, 4 visits to Portugal and I always want to see more. Jazz- I'm sure you know about the history of the Knights Templar and their Tomar connection. So I'm guessing you'll visit the Convento de Cristo. If you have the time/knees, and don't mind heights, the aqueduct outside of town provides good views of the valleys, and is pretty typical or Portuguese tourism. They let you climb up and over/around everything. The history of Portugal, the influence of the Moors and their presence bringing about the Knights Templar, and all the castles they built along the 'frontier', that you can now visit (and be one of the few people there when we traveled), pretty sweet. Listening to podcasts about the Knights history added to the vibe. Then running into a site from the TV show 'Sharp', that follows the Peninsula campaign in Portugal...the history runs deep. (btw, Sharp stars a young Sean Bean, and tons of British actors before they were big, Elizabeth Hurley, Mark Strong...a good historical fiction with Russian horesmen standing in for the French/Spanish). Enjoy your trip.

I booked a Viking cruise last month on line, for a 'special' cruise/flight deal. Pretty easy. A week later, decided to bring daughter and her boyfriend. I told her the deal with the referrals, gave her our customer #, and told her that she could go on-line and book it herself. It was 3 days before the 'special' expired. She wound up calling, and got everything booked in 10 minutes. They instantly gave her the $100/person off. I had been holding off paying the balance of our cruise until I had her booking number. This was delayed until she completed the passenger info section. I think two chat sessions later, with her booking #, the referral $200 had come off my invoice. So our experience went pretty smooth, it might have been karma payback for our Vantage headaches? Funny/odd thing, this is a Christmas present, and I gave my daughter my credit card info. Viking wanted her balance paid immediately as she booked so close to 'special' ended. They took payment no problem, even with card not being in her name. Concombre- Glad to hear you could work out a fair enough swap. I hope you have a great time. We sailed with Viking in 2014, looking forward to bringing another young person into cruising.

Notamermaid- Yes, we did get to Quedlinburg, with it's many half timbered homes to ogle. And we did find all the people enjoying their 4 day Ascension Holiday. It was a nice atmosphere. Wernigerode was about 12kms west of us, and was another nice town to explore. No idea we'd get lucky with the line dancing competition. Nice to watch from the side with a bowl of Gulasch soup. And this is the view from 'my' balcony. $450 for 3 nights, 3 bedroom apartment, two of the bedrooms were 18' x 20'. It would have been double in one of the better known towns. We just didn't have as many bakeries, and the houses still had the duller paint colors. Just as neat architecturally. Daughters brought back loads of Haribo gummies and Ritter chocolate, all (kinda weirdo) flavors not available in states. They were in heaven, and luggage had to be reshuffled for weight. I was happy with the gulasch, so all good. Great trip. Hopefully Weimar and Erfurt next.

Hopefully fires don't start in Hartz region. A borer beetle has been devastating some of the pines, we saw dead forests throughout the region last month. A lot of the trees have been felled but remain on the hillsides. A very sad scene. The villages we stayed in and visited were nice, the coutryside looked rough. We stayed 3 nights in Blankenburg, which is 10kms from Quedlinburg. We had a 3 bedroom apartment, my room had a small balcony looking at the 16th century Rathaus. A quieter town, half timbered homes that hadn't been given the fancy coats of paint and had all the plaster repaired yet. We were above a Bulgarian restaurant (they owned the bldg, and had migrated in 2007), where we had an amazing meal. Very nice people, my girls gave me high praise for this lucky find.

First, I can't believe Vantage is still able to sell cruises. That is awful. I'm not sure what value they could offer a new owner, their name has minimal good will. Our November 2022 sailing had a large number of repeat customers saying never again, they were only on this cruise to use up a credit. We were the lucky ones, and had a great time. Kinda to your question, Yes, Vantage was ideal. You asked before why people choose Vantage over other lines, and speculated that maybe people stayed with the first line they sailed on. We sailed Viking once, then three times with Vantage. We liked Vantage in that their cruises were typically longer; 9 nights versus 7 for Tulip cruise, Basel-Ams was 14 nights, with 4 nights on the Mosele, Christmas cruise of 8 nights versus 7. The $ jump from aquarium to French Balcony was half of other lines. They had a second dining venue similar to the Aquavit lounge we liked so much on our first Viking cruise. About 18 fewer passengers than VIking on the same sized ship. E-bikes whenever you want to use them (Viking is charging $120 for a 3.5 hour optional bike tour on the Ams-Bud cruise). Lastly, the level of service we want, which is pretty basic. We're not fancy people. I think the tours are pretty similar, some lines are better for the number of options offered. We set out on our own sometimes, so included tours aren't a huge factor. I would cruise on a line that hit those marks, without Pullman beds. We're on a Viking cruise in December, and their admin team has responded to any question or change we've had right away. When my 25 year old daughter decided to come along, she called in, and had her reservation completed and linked to mine for referral credits in about 10 minutes. Vantage, yeah, that wouldn't have been nearly that smooth, even pre-covid. Down the road, maybe bike and barge for us (once spouse learned she can stay on board, knitting or reading, while others sweat).

We won't be so lonely now, youngest (25) daughter and her bf will now join us.

I'm booked to take this cruise over Christmas with spouse, boarding 23 December. It's 9 nights. Our adult kids are scattered to the winds, so this will be nice. Lived in Germany so aware weather will be blah...also I currently live 9 miles east of Lake Ontario, so chances are it will be worse at home. Yes, we are on Tialfi. Interested to see what they do with us Christmas day. We have a scenic cruising day scheduled for 'pretty part' of Rhine. Nice if they have some of the polar parkas and mulled wine on the Sun deck. The guy running the grill with some brats would put it over the top.

JP- Quite a few things to do in the region, hiking/biking leading the pack. You can take a 1890's tram up a small valley 8 kms from Bad Schandau, with various stops for hiking trails and hotels along the way. There is a small waterfall at the tram end point to check out. Here are a few pics from my daughters from both the Castle: And Brucke: Today, the girls rented canoes and went downstream from Decin, Czech Republic to Bad Schandau. It was 52f, cloudy and windy. They were happy with their adventure, and even got to ride the ferry across the river at one point. After dropping them off, I went backcountry roads through the Czech mountains to find a restaurant that had wood carvings and old tanks, according to Atlas Obscura. What an amazing spot, the restaurant had license plates from all over, and various knick knacks hanging...along with anti tank rocket launchers from four different armies, it looked like. Along with all the sculptures and good food, I was happy with my choice. The width of the roads.

We are in Bad Schandau now, and this morning we see the Viking Astrild docked. Viking's included tour is to the Bastei Brucke, which we also visited this afternoon, and we again saw Viking as she was sailing away. Saxon Switzerland, as this area on the Czech/German border is called, has huge rock 'outgrowths', along with the steep Elbe valley, make for a picturesque scene. We had a cloudy day, but you get the idea. Here is the Brucke: Rocks: This part of the river is from morning visit to Konigstein Castle, which was well worth it's 4.7 on google, after 20,000 reviews. And the elevator in Bad Schandau, along with a view of the town itself. Very pretty part of the world.

Jazz- this is exactly on topic in this thread....thanks for making it!

Thanks for writing this up, a very enjoyable read. We cruised this route in 2016 and took the train up to Brasov post cruise, so you brought back some fond memories. We were docked a few ships down from the Magna in November in Passau. They were getting ready for Christmas, the ship looked very festive.

Wurzburg: Also where The Three Musketeers was filmed, including scenes in the Residence. We were told this by our proud friend, whose son Karsten was an extra in one of the scenes, although not with Orlando Bloom, to mom's disappointment. "The Three Musketeers is a Constantin Film AG feature film directed by Paul WS Anderson and starring a star cast. It was shot in Würzburg between September 13 and 23, 2010 . The filming took place at the fortress , the Old Main Bridge and in the area of the residence . Würzburg is intended to represent the metropolis of Paris. The film is said to have cost 80 million euros, was shot in 3D and was released in cinemas in 2011 . In addition to many Würzburg extras, the main roles are Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz and Milla Jovovich. Since extras were needed for the Würzburg film locations, a casting took place in August 2010 in the Odeon Lounge . A total of up to 2000 extras were said to be needed in Würzburg, which led to long lines forming in front of the Odeon. Male extras over the age of 18 were particularly in demand. Striking faces were sought; Tattoos, piercings or dyed hair were not allowed to be seen."

Last November we went to Gellert baths, and as we were leaving a small tour was following the Viking Lolipop. They were checking out the fancy entryway, it didn't look like they were entering. Maybe a special walking tour. As far as Gellert goes, it was convenient, but crowded and noisy, with teenagers taking selfies in the pools. In no way relaxing. We're on a November Viking Grand European ending in Budapest and it does list Szechenyi baths as an optional tour, for a hefty price. It is pretty easy to get to using public transportation if you want to go it alone. The zoo is nearby and a nice way to spend time if you are castle/cathedraled out.

Keukenhof is very special, and its good that you have a chance to stay longer. The gardens are large, but still fill up quickly. If you have the chance to either stay, or return later in the afternoon, the crowds seem to clear up a bit. OR, no idea if you could swing it (taxi with your new friends), Leiden is 10 minutes from Keukenhof, and their Botanical garden was founded in mid 1550's, and they were huge in cultivating and popularizing tulips. I went from the crowds of Keukenhof one day, to the tranquil Botanical gardens the next, chilling on a bench w/ a book, surrounded by nature in their sunken fern garden, when a cat decided to sit on my lap and visit. Well worth a visit, as is the town of Leiden itself.

Jazz- Mother Nature does seem to be making up for the milder winter. My motorcycles are not happy. This '04 German Beauty was brought back from being mostly dead at 99,000 miles and wants to run. Notamermaid- Thanks for the clip, pretty remarkable all around. Some more info on where U17 is going. Constructed in 1935, she was used as a training ship after 1942. I visited a US WW2 era sub in Buffalo. The hot summer sun brought out the diesel and grease/sweat stank, enough to get me quezzy with the boat docked. No way in anything I could go underwater. Even in peace, just nope. Submariners, even my buddy Scotty, are a different breed. https://www.technik-museum.de/en/u17

YoungDubFan- I hope your trip is smooth, and flowers in bloom are plentiful. Sounds like you're off to a good start.

We stayed in Prague prior to our November sailing, as part of the Vantage pre-cruise package. The hotel asked for a credit card for incidentals, we didn't eat there except the included breakfast, so no charges. The hotel had the orange juice squeezing machine and the rest was pretty great also. Made up for the ship food kinda being meh. Very good news for those who are sailing.

The were sending out 25% discount deals for e-transfers.

Negative, I was just in Berlin on a 5 day 'Orientation Tour'...they would send guys over from the Federal Republic/West Germany to show us the reality of what was 'over there'. I was selected for winning a board (against one other soldier), and the 1SG knew I liked history and had picked up a book. That fact that he was my old Platoon SGT, and he and his family would cat sit for us on Spouse and my many adventures through Europe, I'm sure played a big part, as this is the way of life. I had to look this medal up, it is for people stationed 30 days or more in Berlin when the wall was up. We were the speed bump 30 ish KM's from border. That's why my trip is so fascinating to me, just like Czech last November...all places on the other side, where we could not go. Cool fact: all have turned out to be very nice/neat people,

Shmoo- I think we would have been on that tulip cruise together, boarding 28 March I think? We were flying into Ireland on 20 March, air corridors shut down the 13th and the dark times happened. Very fortunate that we were able to use credits for a Passau-Budapest cruise with them last November. We really enjoyed our 3 cruises with them, I liked the longer stays in ports, and having more nights on board. Taking 14 nights to go from Basel to Amsterdam and take in so much of the Mosell was great, and a trip we wanted to redo. Having said that, you could definitely see cost cutting with the food on board. Keeping their oldest river ship and selling the newer, version 2 model River Voyager with it's improvements, hinted at cash flow issues. I hope that people are still able to get some value for their money, and they somehow figure this out. We had our own stress with low water issues, but these stories are horrific. We got told small lies about boats being able to float on mud (2018 Fall low water, the call agents sticking to their everything is OK script, when anyone with the internet and the ability to type can see that it is not OK...if you can't ship needed supplies/materials/gas through a river system, how can a cruise ship sail?), ya'll got told whoppers.

Thanks all, the boat ride on the Spree, that does look nice. Negative on being there for the wall coming down, we left in October of 1989 and just missed it. Daughters, no worries, we made it a year alone when Mom was in Korea. Ice cream and bad hearing get you through quite a bit. Last overseas trip together: