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Yes. No complaints against Scenic who did their job of transporting us and we did have it exclusively, but I wouldn't go again. Boring. See day 7 of my report Review of Beautiful Bordeaux 11 day cruise on Scenic Diamond from 17 August to 27 August 2022 with comparisons to Viking - River Cruising - Cruise Critic Community I don't understand what ONC means As you enjoyed the Bordeaux trip, and you went a long time ago, why not go again. Advert offering 45% off in yesterdays Sunday Telegraph. (Sister line Emerald was advertising in Sunday Times standard rooms at £1,499 and 'Panorama' balcony rooms at £1,849 for 7 nights in June-August 2024 on the Rhine & Danube.)

What's your most important criteria? Why have you selected these three, there are many more sailing Europe's waterways? Cost depends on cabin chosen, Cruise line chosen, Time of year, and current discounts. I suggest you 1) Decide which river you want to cruise on and how many days cruising you want 2) Decide what sort of cabin you want 3) Decide how much you want to spend Then use a spreadsheet or sheet of paper to work out what cruise line offers what you want. OR Just pick any one, you are sure to enjoy the holiday and next time go on with the same company if you're happy or - now you know what you're wanting - another line OR If you are in the USA go to a travel agent and get them to advise. Don't expect that we will be able to advise as we all have favourites and I don't think anyone has been on all the cruise lines.

I'm sorry to hear that @Canal archive as you really enjoyed your Scenic cruises, and I thought those with your ranking in their loyalty club still get a chauffeur car to/from the airport. Scenic have yet another discount advert in today's Telegraph for a cruise with standard rooms at £1,999 and balcony suites at £2,599. But I agree the site is dreck. I can't see a floor plan of the rooms but it appears a balcony suite isn't a suite, i.e. it doesn't have a separate living room from the bedroom, its just a cabin with a balcony. The Scenic cruise I'm going on (in a balcony cabin) in August was an impulse buy as they discounted by 35% and included BA Club Class flights. (I'm keen to see if the service differs from that on the Bordeaux cruise I went on in 2022, as there are no other Scenic boats on the Bordeaux route and I wondered if the crew were 'doing their own thing' so far from management's eyes.)

UK 2025 brochure not available until 17 April 2024 You could photograph it with a smartphone and upload the photo. But it seems you are saying that the cabins haven't changed, but some are now cheaper in the USA. And costs vary in different markets. But I have noted that Scenic in the UK are no longer including free air travel to the cruise, but only a credit to the air fare. If the air fare is greater than that credit then the guest has to pay the difference. And it goes without saying that credit may go down in future years. After the bags, then the chauffeur car to the airport, what else is this budget "ultra-luxury" cruise line going to cut?

I didn't ride one, but several people who did on our 2022 Bordeaux cruise found they had the pedal a lot as the motor wasn't powerful enough. The bikes were very heavy and some found them too much work.

I didn't see it but it affected timings on our Bordeaux cruise.

Whenever you arrive, Just walk on board and check in at reception desk to left of entrance If they've been cleaned. Explorer and Veranda suites are guaranteed room access at midday, all others at 3pm, but if they're ready before they're made available. If your cabin is not ready when you arrive, then the lounge and bar, Aquavit lounge and sundeck are places you can wait. There will also be guests who are waiting to depart in those spaces. (The downside of this is felt at the end of your cruise when you need to vacate your cabin by 8am.) Yes. There is a limited embarkation/disembarkation lunch with drinks for guests arriving and guests leaving who are waiting their departure time. Yes. Yes, you can walk off boat anytime you want when it's moored. Just be sure to be back before it departs. The daily printed newssheet supplied to you everyday will state the departure time, and double check with reception before you go. Use your room key to swipe the machine at the entrance when you leave and when you return so they know who is onboard. Maps of the place where you are moored are available for the taking at reception along with cards showing the address of the mooring - take one to show a taxi driver - and phone number of boat in case you need it. Remember to register for excursions - even included ones - on My Viking Journey before the cruise. If you change your mind and decide not to go on a included excursion just miss it. There's no compulsion. Enjoy your trip.

I have always booked directly with the river cruise line over the phone and they have been generous with discounts, but I am in UK and the host of this forum @Host Jazzbeau is based in the USA and very much recommends using a travel agent - nay - he says they're essential. Read his reasons here I've not been on an ocean cruise but from reading this board I understand they are quite different experiences in which each offers something the other doesn't. There is a lot of info on posts on this forum and especially here

If there is one thing you can rely on when asking for advice on CruiseCritic is that the replies will disagree with each other. I can see three basic things in your questions, whether to have a Douro or Rhine Cruise, which cabin type to have – which determines the cruise taken, and your concern that you’d be bored cruising the Douro. I’m first going to consider the last of your concerns. Why should you be bored when cruising the Douro and yet not bored on the Rhine? The Douro has spectacular scenery, and as @Host Jazzbeau says, the boat moors over night and cruises only in the day so you can really enjoy the views. It cruises inland from Porto along an ever narrowing river in with sides covered with trees, or steep terraces with rows of vines. It passes through some of the deepest locks anywhere and close to the Spanish border the narrow river passes through steep granite gorges that you feel you can touch from either side of the boat. The boat stops at the border, the following day there’s a full day tour of the historic city of Salamanca in Spain about a two hour coach ride away. Then the boat returns to Porto. The big towns on the trip are Lisbon, Porto and Salamanca. Places you are taken to along the Douro are small villages, some ruined and abandoned, wineries, palaces and monasteries. The Douro is renowned for Port (sold as Porto in the USA) but increasingly table wine is made which is excellent. The boat Viking uses on the Douro is a smaller version of their Longships, built to fit in the locks and to navigate the river. You can get floor plans and a 360 degree view of the Veranda suite by selecting Ships/Europe/Douro. The Veranda Suite has a bedroom with en-suite bathroom and French balcony and separate room with a desk, settee and veranda with table and chairs. There are many Rhine cruises on offer. There was mention of the Rhine-Moselle cruise. I went on that last year, it travel between Trier on the Mosel and Basel on the Rhine and passes the many castles of the Middle Rhine and the vineyards of the Moselle. I suspect the one on offer is the one between Basel and Amsterdam. Both that and the Douro have as many nights in the cabin but the Rhine covers a greater distance, so a lot of cruising is done at night. It’s not clear if visiting sights is more important to you than watching the scenery pass from a boat. The Black Forest, which you mention, is visited on a coach tour. Lastly, the cabin type. The Explorer Suite is the largest. Again it has a French balcony bedroom and en-suite and a much larger separate living room with wrap round veranda. To see a 360 degree view of this on the Viking website select Ships/Longships/Viking Longships 360 degree tour/upperdeck. You don’t give what your wants are from a river cruise, so I agree with @Host Jazzbeau to take the Rhine cruise to enjoy the Explorer Suite and its perks and use your own money for the Douro. If it was the same cabin I’d suggest the Douro. (You’ll notice from my signature that I’ve cruised once on the Douro, one Basel>Trier and twice Basel>Amsterdam all with Viking and we’ve got an upcoming Amsterdam>Basel cruise with Scenic. So you might wonder, since I do liked it, why I haven’t done the Douro again. Both of us have worked many times in Lisbon and so we didn’t want to go there again. Also we’ve been to Porto and the Douro with our wine club visiting wineries. But now Viking are offering just the Porto>Porto cruise we’ll be booking it.) My report on Basel>Amsterdam Viking Tialfi Cruise Ship: Review, Photos & Departure Ports on Cruise Critic And Basel>Trier A few pix taken on Douro cruise

Another day, another invitation to cruise at a deeply discounted price. We've already booked an extra cruise this year because we had a flyer from Scenic. Then in the past month there was a Uniworld cruise I really wanted to go on across the Venice lagoons discounted by 50% and just now I've received an email from Viking with the offer of a deeply discounted Danube cruise. Since we're now repeating routes I'm wondering if we should wait till 2025 to book discounted cruises. We booked our two Viking cruises long ago last year and got the dates Mrs P wanted but apart from the Venice cruise I don't think I'm bothered enough to ensure a place by booking early. But it's a bit risky - there might not be discounts next year.

Hi @zebs If you've not already done so you might like to search this foum as there is much info in Christmas markets, e.g. and (I haven't done a Christmas Markets cruise myself and have no intention to because I loathe the cold and dark plus I don't want to buy anything at a Xmas market but my cruising friends went with Riviera and enjoyed themselves)

First select river cruise, the the country or region (e.g. Centra Europe), then from that page select the cruise you're on, the on that page select View Itinerary

Are you looking at the 2025 itinerary? Just this year - 2024 - it seems they cannot moor at Arnhem and are stopping at Nijmegen instead. See my OP at top of thread for itinerary changes received from Viking

I'm with @franski River cruisers are often thinking about where to go next and if someone at the table has been on a route you're thinking about, then you can ask them questions about it. We're not big conversationists and are happy to listen to others talk, but will happily answer or ask questions. If it's someone's first time on this cruise line but they've been on others, how are they finding the two compare.

Viking have a vegetarian dish on each of the three courses at lunch & dinner, marked with a leaf symbol and gluten free dishes are also marked. (Breakfast is a self serve buffet so you have your choice).

@Ladyshopper23 Further to my note above I am reminded that on my last cruise we were delayed at the airport and didn't get to the ship to about 20:20 and after checking-in went straight to the restaurant for dinner

Thanks for your comment @SFSing The Van Gogh t-shirt has now been through many washes and the colours are as bright as they were when bought, so it's good quality. Suggest you do what we now do which is to put 3 days worth of necessary clothes in your husband's case and pack same of his, so if a bag gets delayed you'll have a change of clothes. If your bag doesn't arrive on the carousel you must report it missing before you leave arrivals hall I always find flying from the USA to Europe more of a strain than vice versa as Europe bound planes usually land early morning and all I want to do is go to bed but if I do then I don't sleep well that night and it takes several days to right myself. It's worse for you as if you're staying in a hotel the first night then the check in time will be in the afternoon. I am sure you'll have a most enjoyable cruise. Not long to go now!

I agree 100%. I don't want to spend a meal with people ponging of scent. A shower before dinner will do.

Which line are you asking about? On Viking and Scenic the main restaurant opens at 7pm. Most people are seated by 7:30 in order to get the table they want or sit with the people they want. The restaurant hours are 7 - 9 pm and I don't think you'd get a meal if you turned up at 8:55pm. We tend to sit when service starts and enjoy a leisurely meal Scenic offer in-room dining but I think you'd need a larger than standard cabin to make use of that and I don't know what hours that's available. The galley is tiny and turns out multi choice 3 course hot lunches and dinners plus a breakfast. Oven space has to be booked by the various chefs, the baker needs over time to produce the breads while the meat cook needs oven time to roast joints. Having toured galleys I am amazed what they manage to do.

Time zones and other commitments meant I have only just read your response on the other thread, to which I responded, and won't repeat here. I agree with you completely that cabin size is one of the many considerations that potential cruisers should look at. There are so many cruise lines operating now that we have a great choice.

😁Not every cruiser can afford to travel in a Royal One-Bedroom Suite like your good self

One of the most memorable and enjoyable dining companions we had on a cruise were two American couples who were friends. The men were both pastors of a church in northern California on the border with Oregon. They had not met people who didn't believe; we had never met anyone who believed every word of the bible was literal truth. We had some good discussions. We both could sit elsewhere at subsequent meals but didn't as we had such interesting talks. We perplexed them and vice versa, and no-ones beliefs were changed. Another time a simple 'what do you do' brought forward the info at we were dining with a couple of eye surgeons. Talking with them gave me the confidence to go ahead with eye lens replacement surgery. For the first time since I was 9 I don't wear spectacles. One meets all sorts on a river cruise. Viking used to give out name badges with the state you were from, now they don't enquiring after the state is usually the first question American ask each other.

Excuse me, because I've also posted this under a post made in another similar thread but I contend the French balcony and aquarium class cabins have exactly the same floorspace. Viking include the bulkhead width in their aquarium room dimensions. The only use that can be made of that space is the window sill in the bulkhead.

I don't it's a legal requirement in the UK because we had to pay in full on booking 10 months in advance for our upcoming Scenic cruise. I think it's the market. Whilst US customers continue to accept their payment conditions, they'll continue taking the money.

Unfortunately the OP doesn't show their location on their profile as terms and conditions are different depending where you book. T&C on the UK and Australia sites differ from the US site. Bookings on the UK site do include gratuities, air (or train if preferred) travel and transfers. And immediate payment is not required. The boats are the same no matter where one books 😁but I contend the French balcony and aquarium class cabins have exactly the same floorspace. Viking include the bulkhead width in their room dimensions. The only use that can be made of that space is the window sill in the bulkhead.