Sturmin

Thank you Jeff for another great review.  I'm looking forward to your next one.  We just booked the Miracle for next December for Hawaii.  Hope to learn a few things from your experience.  Hope the hip surgery went well.  Happy 25th to both you and Patti a little early.  

2 hours ago, pully8 said:

Excellent question. Wondering about the reports of other lines offering cruises through the Rhine gorge to see the castles, a dinner cruise would be in the dark, are the castles lit up? Have cruised in the daytime and even then on occasions the weather conditions, or available daylight  can inhibit the view, but still nice. 

Sorry, I should have said lunch cruise.  We have dinner and supper here😁. I believe the buses left at 9:00 and returned at 18:00 from the gorge. Still a lot of bussing for 2 hr cruise and an hour tour(Marksburg). Not blaming Viking, that's just how it is this year. 

2 hours ago, peasmith said:

Sturmin - when you arrived on the Tialfi in Cologne and then "the following day,  a 2 hr ride back to take a dinner cruise through the Rhine gorge, an hour ride to Marksburg Castle followed with a 2 hr ride back to Cologne"  If you didn't want to do Marksburg Castle, dinner cruise through rhine gorge and then the two hour bus ride back to Cologne - is it possible to just spend the day in Cologne itself.  We have done the itinerary before so not that bothered about seeing the castles up and down the rhine gorge as we have seen them before and would rather not have to spend too much time being bussed about.  We are doing the reverse Amsterdam to Basel on the 14th December.  

Yes, you can. Since we had done this before we stayed in Cologne, but the people we were traveling with did the gorge. I think,  do to the low water,  we were docked to the NW of Cologne.  Viking claimed a 20 minute walk, but it seemed a bit more.  They had a shuttle bus running in the afternoon but we didn't use it.  The last time we were there was a Monday so the museums were closed.  This time we were able to explore the Roman museum by the cathedral.  We also explored the ruins under the new town hall and Roman sewers.  The second day in Cologne, we had booked the Top of Cologne and if not sold out, highly recommend it. Hope this helps, probably more info then you wanted. 

Just back from the Viking Rhine Getaway. We sailed from Basel on the Viking Alruna to Strasbourg Nov 17th. Then a ship swap.  2+ hr bus ride to Heidelberg, followed by a 3+ hr ride to Cologne and Viking Tialfi. The following day,  a 2 hr ride back to take a dinner cruise through the Rhine gorge, an hour ride to Marksburg Castle followed with a 2 hr ride back to Cologne.  Viking did what they could, but still not as relaxing as past crises with them.  Cruise director was also kind of weak, but hotel managers on each ship made up for it.  

Pic#1, Kinderdijk. Pic#2, Heidelberg from across the river on philosopher's way. 

We did this cruise in Dec of '17 with Viking. Read Fuel Science's review. It matches our experience on the Douro part with the same stops except we went round trip from Porto. I think most companies subcontract to Azul the Portuguese company and itineraries are the same. If possible, I would do a one way trip and do the Spain extension as well as Lisbon. Lisbon was included with Viking. It was one of the highlights of the trip. Gladly answer any questions. 

I get that it was a joke, but the OP and her husband who couldn't sleep in their bed because they had no curtains probably don't find much to laugh about.

You either laugh at problems or cry about them. I prefer to laugh.

Eal7, hoping that is your one and only hiccup for your vacation.

Here is the link for the 2018 Rhine Getaway roll call. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2525038&page=34

Join if you want.

There is a lot of good info and we are hoping to hear back from people on the ships now to see how Viking is handling the low water.

I also would not worry too much yet about low water. With a month to go, a lot can change with the weather.

Cruise Critic has started a dedicated roll call page for Viking River cruises only. In order to find it you can now look under the Roll Call link and scroll down to Viking River Cruises. All the individual Viking threads are being moved to this dedicated roll call.

Other river cruise lines may also have their own roll calls as well but I haven't checked on those.

Sturmin,

 

We also took the Predjama Castle and Postojna Caves excursion from Koper. I admit to loving castles, cathedrals, museums and Old Towns of all sorts, but this excursion was unique. We have never seen anything like either place.

 

Our two favorite stops were just included excursions, in Dubrovnik and Santorini. We added time on our own after both tours. Viking's provision of free shuttle service makes that very easy to do in many ports.

I enjoy the old architecture and history. I am always amazed by what was accomplished with simple tools and manual labor. The whole cruise was great from Athens, with its history and monuments, to the Krka National Park in Croatia with its natural beauty. My favorite was Kotor with walking the wall to the old fortress and then following a small trail to the opposite wall and walking halfway up again. Like someone also mentioned, it would have been nice to have one sea day to just enjoy the beautiful ship.

My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe for our 20th anniversary next year. We are considering a Rhine River Cruise, but aren’t sure if it’s a good fit. We like the idea of not doing any planning, seeing multiple amazing cities and unpacking only once.

However, we are 42, pretty active and like the idea of really experiencing the towns, exploring on our own at times, eating where locals eat, etc.

Any input or suggestions is appreciated, especially if there are cruise lines that might work better for a younger, active couple. Thanks!

We did our 1st river cruise for our 20th anniversary. It was a great experience. There was one couple younger on their honeymoon, one couple the same age and two different couples of parent and adult child traveling together. The remainder were older but maybe not any more mature:D. Just about all were great to visit with and travel with. They had great stories and were willing to listen as well. One lady told us we were doing it right by traveling when we are younger(more mobile and able to be more active.)

River cruising is as active as you want it to be. We climbed three cathedral towers; Cologne, Heidelberg and Strasbourg. On most days we walked around ten miles, excluding Kinderijk(1/2 day cruising) and Koblenz(1/2 day cruising Rhine gorge.)

As for a cruise line, Viking for us has the right amount of inclusions(included walking tour, wine/beer with meals, free internet) to make it a good value for us. Check other lines as well for any deals.

Thanks and other tips. We are going end of September?

Join the 2018 roll-call for the Rhine Getaway:D. Lots of helpful information.Here is the link.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2525038&page=33

We did this cruise in December of '16 in reverse (Athens to Venice).

Athens, docked at Piraeus, about 20 minute shuttle ride to Athens. Walking tour in AM ended near Parthenon and shuttles ran hourly back to the ship.

Katakolon, docked at pier and AM tour to Olympia for about 40 min bus ride, I think. After the tour returned to the city and could walk around the town until departure.

Corfu, docked at pier with AM tour, 10 minute bus ride to old town. Could walk around town with shuttles running back to the ship every hour.

Kotor, docked right next to old town walls and gate.

Dubrovnik, fifteen minute ride to old town and shuttles returned every hour.

Zadar and Koper dock in old town area at the piers.

At Koper friends did optional tour of caves and castles and said it was wonderful. At Zadar did optional tour to Krka park and it was also good. Both highly recommended.

For the other stops, just did included tours and explored on our own after finding out where the shuttle pick up spots were.

It doesn't make any sense to have the cruise line make your hotel or flight for that matter.

 

We stayed at the Hilton Diagonal Mar in Barcelona and we loved. It was a great area. And a quick 5-10 minute cab ride to port.

You seem to be making a broad statement without knowing other people's situations or cruise line incentives.

For our first river cruise, Viking offered free air. The Lucerne post extension was $500/pp. When I checked hotels and transportation to and from Lucerne, walking guided tour and air deviation, Viking was appx $100 more per person. With this our 1st trip to Europe, for $200 and no worries, it was definitely worth the extra money. Our next cruise, Empires of Med with Viking, the post excursion was $700/pp. I was able to book a B&B suite plus private water taxi to airport(two couples) and air deviation for half the price of Viking. Do your research and decide how much convenience you're willing to pay for. Viking also had free air on that cruise as well.

Check into your room and then ask the front desk what time they are departing. Viking business office may give you the general time but due to locks and other variables, that time may change.

When rooms are available varies, 3:00 is the latest. Ours was ready at about 9:00AM.

If you book an excursion, when you get to payment it will give you the option to use your OBC. I have used OBC for our river cruise in August, so I know it works!:D

We have also booked an optional excursion this way. The OBC was from Viking. When asked to pay, it gave an option to us OBC.

Thanks Peregrina for starting this thread. I am also interested in this itinerary but may have to wait a while before I can do this cruise.

Thank you for taking the time to post. Someday when kids are out of school we we'll be taking a Northern European cruise. For now I will enjoy reading about your experiences.

It was our first river cruise, and loved it. The tour spent a 2 nights in Prague prior to joining the ship. Good Hilton hotel with excellent breakfast and restaurants nearby. We could walk to Old Town along the river.

 

We stayed three nights prior to joining the tour at Hilton and stayed in a nice Euro-type hotel in Old Town Prague - The Metamorphis - and wandered on our own. We bought 3-day tickets to use the subway and buses/trams through Prague. Wonderful city. One of the few that weren’t bombed in WWII so has many original classic buildings. When joined the ship group at the Hilton, had excellent walking tours of Prague Old Town, and up to the Palace and Cathedral, and lunch listening to a 4-string group. Fantastic.

 

Bussed to ship Via a tour or Nuremberg and then started the cruise. Lovely ship and good tours. I’m a bit use to Ocean cruises where you have a few at sea days and a bit more relaxing than a tour-intensive river cruise, but did fine. All excellent tours. On this river portion, the tours weren’t all right in port, but areas that took bussing an hr or so to get to it, but still well worth it. We took the tour of Heidelberg that was an additional cost and loved it.

 

All river cities were interesting and fun. At the end, we bussed to Paris, going through Luxembourg, a city and the Amercain war cemetery tour. Again very interesting and well lead.

 

Paris was two nights and as always, never enough time. Excellent tours and gave us good time on our own to wander. Our hotel was near the Arch d’Trimph. Nice sidewalk cafes and classic walking Paris areas. Again, enough time on our own to enjoy, and good overall tours.

 

Loved the cruise, loved Viking.

 

Den

Thank you for the great info. River cruising is definitely more tour intensive. I really liked being docked in the old town areas and being able to go explore on your own though.

Hi Lois

 

We love Paris. We did the Prague to Paris Viking Cities of Lighhts cruise, and there are great wine cruises in S France that start from Paris and bus down to the river start.

 

We did a bus tour with GoAhead Bus tours that we liked. It was all done from Paris. Each day had a 1/2 day tour around Paris or somewhere nearby. Stayed in one hotel and had a lot of time on our own. Many ways of enjoying Paris.

 

thats always the problem, so many great choices!

 

Den

Just curious how you liked the itinerary on City of Lights. We are looking at that as our next river cruise although it may be a year or two away.

We are doing the Rhine Getaway this year in November. Second time but different direction. Part of a family get together.

I also have looked at other river cruise lines but keep returning to Viking because of past experience and lower price points. Any questions about the Rhine cruise please ask.

Dave

Stud

 

Yes! That’s the one! Looks awesome. We’ll be on the same ship, same stateroom.

 

Current perks are $200 or $500 p.p. discount based on length of cruise, $200 p.p. credit for booking within 12 months of last cruise. The old voucher program is gone. Final payment is waived until 6 months before sailing.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Russ

Thanks for the quick response. Other people had mention on-board credit for the current cruise, but on river cruises that is not worth much unless they have changed the rules for using it as tips for the crew( I believe Ocean you can but not River, the last info I read).

Our VO cruise was also Athens to Venice but will gladly answer any questions on Empires of Med. once you are done enjoying your current cruise:D.

Dave

Thanks Jamman for another great review. We did this cruise with our 4 kids over Thanksgiving last fall. The kids had a great time with a wonderful itinerary for parents(no needed excursions, just enjoyed the beaches and pools.)

That being said, I found the service to have gone down hill. Deli and Pizza Pirate were understaffed and slow. Workers did not have their usual cheery selves. Room attendant seemed overworked and did not do both morning and evening room checks as requested. (He may have misunderstood when I asked for both. I just wanted PM beds turned down, fresh towels after pool and beaches and towel animals.)

The bright spot was the MDR with a wonderful wait staff of "V" from India, "A" from ? and I've forgotten. They were wonderful.

Also seemed like a lot of entitled people on board as well. Could just have been the time of year. Still, a great time and good value for a family.

So as previously noted we are in Tromso today, having crossed the Arctic Circle around 3:00 p.m. The ship held a Blue Nose ceremony (similar to the Neptune Ceremony held when crossing the Equator). The jacuzzi next to the main pool was filled with ice and people who wanted to could dunk themselves in and when they got out they were given a dollop of blue-dyed whipped egg whites on their nose and a small shot of aquavit. Tons of folks participated! Yesterday afternoon we booked time with Sharon, the future cruise consultant, who is very knowledgeable about Viking, both River and Ocean. Long story short: we booked a Venice to Athens cruise for September ‘20. She’s booked solid, so if you are thinking of booking another cruise get on her schedule early.

Thank you for your great info.

Just a quick question, what perks are there for booking while on board? I've seen other posts, but they seem to vary so curious what the current bonuses are for booking on board.

I hope you are doing the Empires of Mediterranean. We did this in Dec 2016. It was the best cruise we have been on so far. Make sure you spend extra time in Venice. It is easy to do on your own and much cheaper then Viking pre-stay.

Last December, we were on Viking from Athens to Venice. Venice's port was fogged in. The ship returned to Trieste(we were in Koper the previous day). Viking bused all embarking passengers to Trieste and took all the disembarking passengers to either the airport, train station or port where we were due to dock. We missed our sail in and about 12 hrs in Venice but felt well taken care of. Those with flights through Viking were found alternate flights. Viking also gave everyone affected $250 for a future cruise if booked within a year. It was not a perfect ending but feeling very grateful to Viking after hearing of this fiasco.

how did leaving later the next day after Porto impact on your day's touring? did they have to shorten up or delete anything?

 

We are sailing early November.....

The ship went through the first two locks and then docked. We then took about a 2 1/2hr bus ride to Mateus manor house. We had an 1/2 hr tour of the house and then an 1/2 hr to explore the gardens while the other 1/2 of the ship toured the house. The port tasting was dropped but later added on at the end of the tour the day after Salamanca(Favious day and Bean of Portugal, excellent day). In my opinion, the tour was not worth the bus ride. Lot of people not feeling very good after the long ride through twisting valley side of the river with light flashing between trees lining the road. Mateus palace is just not that interesting and the gardens in late fall (early winter really) were very dark by the time we saw them and full night by the time we left.

My tip, we really liked the Favious wines and should have bought a bottle or two to bring back home.

Lisbon, Porto and Salamanca were the highlights but the day after Salamanca with Bean of Portugal and the Favious winery was an unexpected pleasure not to be missed.

I think Viking continues to tweek the itinerary so days may switch around some.

We did Viking last December. Tour parked near the Se. There was a quick tour of the Se, but not the palace, and then we walked down to the train station for the tile art work. After returning to the bus, the tour went to the old town area near the Porto tower and famous bookstore. After a short walking tour and 1/2 hr on your own the bus went on to the port cellar tour. Afterwards people walked to the ship for lunch. After lunch you could go into Porto on your own for the rest of the evening. The ship left the next morning, although we had heavy fog and could not leave until nearly noon. Any questions just ask.

Porto was easy to walk around and we would have loved to spend more time but we had other scheduling conflicts(Christmas:)).