jrkstl

Greetings.

You might find this link helpful:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskxTrAP7

There are the Viking Dailies from our A-B cruise in April of 2017. Your times are likely to vary, but it should be close to what was shown on our trip.

Really wonderful cruise that I liked so much that I'd repeat it 🙂

Jeff

We too have done both.

While I really LOVED Budapest (and cannot wait to see it again in a couple of months) I would absolutely pick Prague.

No question.

Jeff

Yes, you may skip the included city tour. In our Paris extension, we did half of the tour, then left the group so that we could continue on to Ste Chapelle, etc. 

Simply inform the Viking staff of your intentions. 

FYI - Viking also offers a guided trip to Versailles that you might want to look into. 

Jeff

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

Does anybody know? Is Viking still offering future cruise vouchers? Or will I be able to book a future cruise on board my next river cruise and get the same benefits I would be getting if I booked a future cruise on board an ocean sailing? TIA

We bought the certificates on our cruise in March of this year, so I assume that they’re still available.

Jeff

7 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We've read so many horror stories on CC about both CDG and Frankfort, would like to avoid them if possible.

CDG is a beautiful, architecturally interesting airport that I love to use - but only if there is more than 90 minutes for connections. 2 hours is ideal. 

It’s huge, and busy but great food and shopping choices if you have the time 😀

We learned the hard way that 90 minutes was barely enough time, especially when the border crossing was only staffed with two agents  

Happy travels!

Jeff

Thought that I'd add to the mix...

We have only cruised on river cruises, and so far have only used Viking. The 4 cruises taken have been a little different, but all great. Wouldn't hesitate to try a different line, but Viking has offered the itineraries that we've wanted, and I'll admit that the Longship aesthetic really suits our style. We are also in our 50s...

I had similar concerns about cruising and spending time with a bunch of strangers - but on our first night's dinner on cruise number 1, we met a couple that we have become friends with, and have done (so far) three cruises together. I was worried about dinners being too formal, but as it turns out the evening meals might be one of my favorite things about our cruises. 

We have always has dinner in the main dining room, but other couples we've met over the years like to occasionally have dinner upstairs in the Aquavit Terrance/Lounge. If memory serves me correctly, along with the casual buffet you can get most main dining room food options.

So - we have been very pleased with our Viking trips, and look forward to cruises 5 and 6 in the next couple of years 🙂

Jeff

Here is a link to copies of the Viking Dailes from our 2017 A-B Rhine Getaway. Such a wonderful cruise!

https://flickr.com/photos/26128118@N08/sets/72157666829953708

Jeff

17 minutes ago, Judy1985 said:

Which has been your favorite cruise with Viking?

Hello again!

Hard to pick an absolute favorite as they have all been pretty great - but if forced to choose I’d have to say the Rhine Getaway was my favorite - probably due to picture perfect weather, the Top of Cologne tour and the post trip to Como, Italy.

Jeff

1 hour ago, Judy1985 said:

Hello

My husband and I went on the Rhine River Cruise (on Viking) and I was wondering when is the cheapest time to book a Danube River Cruise with Viking?  January?  Or maybe as soon as the next's years dates are released? 

 

Thanks,

 

Judy

Hi Judy,

In our experience, the cruise price doesn't vary too much, but of course you can save a little by travelling in early season, and or late season. We've only really noticed that airfare prices change, and this is where you can save money. My advice is to book as soon as your time/room choice/airfare deal, etc. is available.

Jeff

Peregrina651, 

I found these pics that you might want to see. These were taken from near the bridge in Tarascon, and then on the bridge. You can see the Viking Delling just slightly up river 🙂

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

No "official" notification yet. We have been left to discover it for ourselves, so far.

 

Gotta love Google! A quick visit and satellite view explains it all.  There is a dam  on the river just north of Taracon and a lock. Jeff, did you go through the lock there or did they just park the boat and let you off?

We went through the lock, and were docked at Port de Tarascon, which is just north of Chateau de Tarascon.

Jeff

7 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

Has anyone else, particular past passengers on this itinerary, had their cruise schedule changed from Avignon-Avignon- Arles to Avignon-Arles-Avignon? How did that work out?  How late did the ship stay in Arles?

 

TIA

Our itinerary changed to Arles first, then Avignon. Honestly, if they hadn’t sent out a notice regarding the change, it would have been unnoticeable. FYI, for the day in Arles, you are docked in Tarascon and coached the brief trip into Arles.

Jeff

23 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

 

Quick question about the included tour in Avignon. Is it all walking or do they bus you to a starting point? Do they just leave you in the center of town when the tour is over or do they guide you back to the ship?

 

On our trip, Avignon was all on foot. And you could certainly stay in town after the tour. The ship was parked very close.

Jeff

Hopefully Viking will chime in here to clarify their (new?) policy.

We too have traveled quite a bit with Viking, but our TA has always been able to get our due dates extended for us, when necessary. This will not go over well with most potential customers, so I cannot imagine it will be policy for long.

Will take a wait and see attitude about this for now.

Jeff

We've only traveled with Viking so far, but a friend is currently on the Danube with Gate 1 and is raving about the experience. Will certainly look at them (as well as others) in the future. 

No complaints about Viking, BTW, as they've been excellent. 

Jeff

9 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Jeff, I see from your sig file that you are doing Eastern Passage and China. IMHO extend you stay as best you can. There is not enough time in Bucharest and I am really sorry that we did not add a few days there. We did the Prague extension but not Burcharest and I regret it. As for China, if you change to one of the longer itineraries or add time on either end.

For Passage to Eastern Europe - we are doing the trip extension on the end, which has more time in Bucharest and the trip to Transylvania. And for China, after the 14ish day cruise/trip, we are extending time in Shanghai on our own to spend a couple of days at Disney Shanghai as well as to have more city time in Shanghai.

Jeff

We went to Famile Perrin on the CNdP tour.

Jeff

Jeff, not an issue. Let them know in advance of departure and then when you arrive, let your group escort know, so that they can confirm with each kitchen that there will be dishes that you can eat. You won't be the only one on your sailing with dietary issues and yours is relatively easy to deal with.

 

 

China is a cruise tour with more than half the time spent on land, so there will be multiple kitchens each day--hotels or catering venues. Expect to eat a lot of Chinese food on this trip--wok cooking with sauces, rice on the side, etc.

Thanks Peregrina651 for confirming what I was hoping was the case :)

Happy cruising!

Jeff

We are planning to book Viking China for a cruise in 2020.

Re: food - both of us are vegetarian (not vegan, so eggs and dairy are okay). Will there be food options for us? Thankfully this hasn't been an issue on our past Viking trips but might be a deal breaker if it is in China.

Thanks in advance!

Jeff

Hello,

Room 125 is actually next to the crew rooms, and the engine should be further back. On our first Viking cruise, we were close to it, but didn’t hear a thing. Each of our other cruises with Viking have been in the “Aquarium Class” rooms and engine noise has never been an issue.

Hope this helps!

Jeff

Thanks for the info! We are looking to do the Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary. As that is a longer cruise, it seems to have more opportunities for the free/reduced air. For the past promos I have seen, if we were sailing in 2019 there would have been several suitable dates and cabins. I am still debating between several lines and free airfare might be enough to make the difference.

Thought I'd add my 2 cents.

The Grand European itinerary is very popular, and I doubt that Viking will go with a free airfare deal to fill the cabins as I believe they don't have trouble selling. We were able to take advantage of a free airfare deal this year for the Lyon & Provence cruise, but the sale was emailed to us (prior cruisers) in November of 2017, and the deal was for a small block of time in March and April of this year.

You could potentially find a deal of like $399, or maybe $500 which is a good deal, considering most Europe RT itineraries are selling currently for about $1600-$2000 each, depending on gateway city.

Jeff

Interesting write up. Thanks!

FYI, as a gay couple, my husband and I have found river cruising (all with Viking so far) to be a wonderful and welcoming experience. We definitely prefer for the cruise to be a regular mix of people and I doubt that we would ever be interested in a gay-specific cruise (river or ocean).

For anyone gay that may be unsure about how comfortable you'll be: you will find yourselves surrounded by well-traveled people from all walks of life (mostly straight couples, but yes, other gay couples as well). We have developed wonderful friendships with couples from each of our cruises and (for example) our cruise to Eastern Europe next year will be with a couple that we became friends with on the Rhine. And our other cruises have been with a couple that we became friends with at dinner in Budapest on our first night of our first cruise. While the cruises are great, we really look forward to spending time with new friends as well.

Jeff

Note to Viking: if you are following this thread and keeping track, I vote no on the buffet at dinner in the Restaurant! [emoji50]

Absolutely agree - 1000 %!!

The regular table service dinner is one of our favorite parts of our past Viking cruises. If this is changing, our cruise next year will probably be our last with Viking River.

Really do hope that this was a rare exception to the norm.

Jeff

I concur with what those above me said. Our first Viking river cruise was in 2015 and we’ve been fortunate enough to take one per year since. No deterioration in quality as far as we’ve seen, and we look forward to cruise number 5 next March! I would happily try out most other river cruise lines, but so far Viking has been our answer.

Jeff

How many months before the cruise does air become available from Viking?

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Typically, Viking will send you the flight details at about 90 days prior to your departure. That's the way all of our previous trips have been anyway...

Jeff