pontac

According to Vikings website "You might like to take a Seine cruise on board a bâteau-mouche this evening to see some of the city’s landmarks and lovely bridges lining the riverbank." It's possible to book a private bateau-mouche, according to their website - www.bâteau-mouches.fr - but what sort of cruise are you getting? Just a cruise or a dinner cruise? And booking a boat for just 20 people sounds expensive, but Viking probably get a huge discount. As one can easily book these tours one self, using the bâteau-mouches web site, I'd compare what's on offer and prices. I took Mrs P on a surprise trip to Paris, we had dinner on a bateau-mouche while it cruised through Paris and it was a highlight still fondly remembered.

Yes. You are free to walk off the boat any time the boat is moored. You should be back 15 minutes before boat is due to depart. If you go to the Opera for a 6pm performance then you will miss dinner which is usually served 7pm. Although the boat may be moored over night in Budapest they may cruise for an hour or so in the evening so guests can see the lights of the city. Details will be on the Viking Daily news-sheet which will be on your bed when you check-in, so if boat is not moored when you return from Opera it will be back. The phone number of the boat and the mooring address is at the foot of the Viking Daily, so take that with you or photo it in case of queries. Have a great time, I'm sure you will. Viking give a good experience

Such good sense in four words

Looking at the rooms pics on the Scenic site the TVs are wall mounted so sockets on the edges ought to be available @Canal archive is currently aboard a Scenic boat, perhaps you could ask her to see if there's an accessible USB socket on the TV. She's posting about her cruise here

Thanks to @gnome12 and @Kristelle Then it appears to be some thing at my end. As to @Got2Cruise's question I get unavailable - as shown in this quote - and when I click on it I get this I'll try a different browser

Thanks for the explanation. Tip of the hat to the greeter for not asking you to wait for the next train's arrival. Re young tykes, I mean valued guests, from Scenic T&Cs

Why was the greeter surprised? Surely she was expecting you.

This cruise is very tempting, and I think I'm not the only one. When I looked at Uniworld website a few days ago I saw massive discounts for 2023. I went back to the site just now and those discounts have gone. There are a few, but they are nowhere as big as before.... BTW - am I the only one seeing the word 'unavailable' under all the movie files?

Which cruise line are you going on?

Where is the cruise from - and to?

I've looked at the daily schedules for the Scenic cruise I did last October. There was 'morning exercises' from 07:30 - 08:00 (don't ask me what they were like - I didn't go near them) The bikes are electric; they're big and heavy and the battery didn't obviate the need for pedalling up hill. Some riders found them too much work. Walking back to the boat in most towns is easy, even if you can't see river. Keep heading down hill, the river will be at the lowest point. While some other cruise lines give out bottles of water to guests leaving the boat, Scenic supply a water bottle in the room and it's your responsibility to fill it and take it with you.

Rules are different in different markets...but.. we realised we didn't want to go on a Viking Expedition cruise in North America which cost a lot. If we'd cancelled we'd have lost our deposit which was a great deal of money, however they told us we could change our booking so we chose a European cruise on another date. All the deposit went to that cruise, and it covered that deposit and a fair chunk of the entire cruise price. We lost £100 per person 'admin fee', but since £100 is the discount given to repeat cruisers that is shrugged off. £200 versus thousands? No brainer!

Re toilets on mainland Europe. You can get a coffee in a café and use the facilities there, otherwise the public toilets don't have a standard fee. Sometime the guides will give out coins to those needing them. Over many cruises I've found that sundecks are closed on the judgement of the crew, unless clearance is very little they may just warn you to sit and not stand. On wheelhouse tours - speaking for Viking, except during Covid they always had a wheelhouse tour. Some cruises one had to book it, other times anytime the Captain wasn't busy docking, going through a lock or manoeuvring a tight bridge. Our trip earlier this year the Captain announced he had an open wheelhouse policy - my son spent 45 minutes there quizzing the First Officer. I found there was nearly always something to do and I missed more on-board activities than I attended.

'Fraid so, it's a monster on a weeks cruise, so how much data it'll be on yours I dread to think. And you use it (and thus your phone) for hearing the guide. I got fed up with my phone constantly being on recharge and borrowed a device from reception, but they have only a limited number to loan.

Not necessarily in the morning. your chosen cruise, Amsterdam to Budapest has several afternoon excursion with the morning cruising. It may be the other way round in on opposite direction cruise. Also an all day excursion with included lunch. Yes and yes. A note re Scenic cooking demos. These have to be booked on board and you don't know what the cook will be demonstrating. Also there's a limit of 10 on the demo, so if there's 140 pax on the boat and everyone want to attend one demo, 14 demonstrations are needed. So, if you want to attend one, book as soon as you get on board.

Viking Ukraine cruise ships had a doctor, but that's academic now. The European cruises Viking are now operating (i.e. not Ukraine or Russia) do not have medical staff on board, but I couldn't say if ALL the many river cruise companies, operating in many countries, are the same.

Can't help on the flights questions, but when you land in Basel airport make certain you take the correct exit from arrivals hall. The airport is physically in France and the arrivals hall has exits to France and to Switzerland. you need to take the Swiss exit, here you'll pass Swiss customs (a mere formality) and you'll meet the Viking reps outside the arrivals exit, they'll be wearing red tops, and will direct you to the correct coach. (there may be more than one coach as sometimes there are more than one Viking boat starting cruises from Basel.)

Pardon me.

I'm assuming @CDNPolar isn't concerned about about washing his/her hands but other peoples. (People can wash their own hands in their cabin before meals.) Lunch & dinner on Viking are waiter served, so there's no touching by other passengers.

No. I have been on two Viking river cruises since the pandemic and eleven Viking river cruises in total and all of them had sanitiser dispensers at the entrance to the restaurant, but none had soap and water (and towels?).

Yes, we've taken two, but from Basel to Amsterdam both times, and neither at Christmas. If it's of any interest, my review of our April 2022 cruise is here Viking Tialfi Cruise Ship: Review, Photos & Departure Ports on Cruise Critic

Final payment on UK bookings is due 11 weeks before departure. It's probable all the paperwork will go to your mum's email address, so unless you've paid the full amount now, I suggest you put a reminder in your calendar for 12 weeks before departure to pay the balance. Thanks for updating us on your success. I'm sure @*Miss G* who first suggested using a VPN is as delighted as I am. Enjoy the cruise - all of you 🙂

The OP days the aunt will have a cabin to herself. So is storage of a wheelchair that difficult? Cant it go, collapsed, by the side of the bed? That's an issue with Scenic Spaceships (and I'd have thought their narrow steep gangway was a non-no) but not with Viking, the OPs first choice.

Great, thanks for the feedback. Now you can relax and enjoy your cruise - in your upgraded cabin. 😁

There have been wheelchair bound customers on Viking cruises I have been on. The Danube cruises are on Viking Longships. Information on Longship floor plans may be seen on the website. You need a cabin on either the upper or middle deck as they are connected by a lift, and one has the restaurant, the other has the lounge, bar and Aquavit terrace. There is no lift on the lowest floor and that and the sun deck are only accessible via stairs. I'm assuming your aunt can manage the few steps needed to board a coach and to cross the short gangway - a couple of feet - that bridges the gap between boat and the rest of the gangway which is wheelchair usable. If the Viking boat is rafted on the outer side of a boat that doesn't have a reception on the same level then she may not be able to get off the boat - as in such a case one has to go upstairs to cross to the other boat via the sub deck and go down its staircase. Whether such rafting will happen is not known in advance. Have you seen 'What are your wheelchair accommodations? Do the ships have elevators?' in Viking River Cruises FAQs? That has wheelchair size limits