Suncrow

Just got back from the Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg (6/29/18). The river was block in the middle of our cruise on the Viking Tor just on the other side of Passau. Fortunately, the Viking Var was on the other side of the blockage and Viking opted to swap passengers to the ships. While not an idea situation, Viking did an excellent job is making this happen in a very short period of time. We lost a little time in Passau, but they made up for this with a meal at a local establishment. We were bused to the ship and around the blockage. I understand that other cruise lines did not have this option and ended up putting passengers in buses and to hotels. Nothing but good things to say about Viking. If you read the contract for the passage, they are very clear about possible changes to the cruise for a variety of issues. As the Danube and Main channel are dependent on river levels and locks, this is occurrence is always a possible situation.

Snowynights: My wife and I were on the Var going the other direction and swapped over to the Tor!

I agree, Viking did a stupendous job of switching us over, very little time lost and the worst part of it was leaving behind the crew we had gotten to know, but the crew on the Tor was just as amazing!

We leave for our trip on the Romantic Danube in two days, but as far as I can tell they do not. But, there is a Metro station right across from the hotel, and you can connect to Historic Tram 23 from there to get you to Castle, Old Town, etc. I've attached a link to a very helpful video from The Honest Guide on YouTube.

Also, a link to Prague Transit Website with map of Metro & Trams:

https://czech-transport.com/index.php?id=38

Hope this is some help!

First river cruise was 2016 w/Viking and we did pre-cruise in Bruges, Belgium. Got to know 6 other couples since it was a such a small group on the pre-cruise, and ended up hanging out with them all the way to Freiburg, dinners and all, including a few the concierge arranged onshore. We have kept in contact with them all and hope to do another cruise together someday!

On the ocean cruise to Alaska we did, we just grabbed table for two and kept to ourselves. Easier to do on a ship w/2000 people on it, I think.

I tend to get up early, so I head to the Aquavit Terrace on Viking and usually breakfast alone.

Thanks for the reply, Clay Clayton- some good insight there and I enjoyed reading your blog!

I totally understand not wanting to "have" to do a daily blog, Lois R! I write a daily journal most of the time, but never force myself to do it or want anyone waiting on my daily entries. Even logging my photographs at the end of the day can seem a bit much at times.

Thanks all for the replies and info! So much good info available on your posts and in this forum. Been checking out the "New to river cruising" post and the links there.

Lois R, loved your narrative! You should do a blog! Great stuff. Looking forward to experiencing Amsterdam, especially after reading your review.

I definitely always seem to have fun, no matter how I'm traveling!

CPT Trips- Last trip to Europe (driving) I stuck to your rule, always tried a different beer every night. As one travels through Germany, it's easy, since different regions specialize in different beers!

notamermaid, thanks for the suggestion for the cable car in Koblenz. Will definitely give that a whirl!

doglover3, love your handle, first off, :) That's the hardest part for us, leaving our pup behind. But she's in great hands as we have friends taking care of her! We arrive in Brussels on June 6th and sail on June 11th from Kinderdijk on the Viking Eir. We decided to do Salzburg on our own post-cruise. Was there on our last trip but basically drove through, so looking forward to spending the weekend there to soak up more.

Thanks again!

Mark

Hey folks,

My wife and I are going on our first river cruise in June. We'll be sailing with Viking going up the Rhine after a few days in Brugge, Ghent and Amsterdam. After the cruise, we're spending the weekend in Salzburg after training there from Basel.

This is not our first cruise, as we did an Alaska trip with Norwegian in 2013. Loved the service, the food, the entertainment and the shore excursions, but too many people and too much emphasis on keeping one on board for us. Looking forward to the smaller boat, fewer people and getting onshore in Europe.

Any suggestions for a first-time river cruiser?

Thanks!