meg1021

We will be on Insignia for our first cruise with Oceania for 48 days in Jan/Feb 2023. You mentioned fitness classes. Do you recall what types of classes they offered? Anything like zumba or any type of aerobics? Do they charge a fee for the classes? Thanks for any information that you can provide!

We just got back from Viking's Grand European Tour, which originated in Amsterdam on July 31st, and were in Amsterdam the day before the cruise. We printed out the health declaration, as Viking directed us to do. At Passport Control, we were told that that is no longer a requirement, and he didn't even look at it. Everything was open. No Covid test requirements anywhere. Your bigger issue might be the low water levels, unless it rains substantially before you travel. We had to swap ships in Passau, and only followed our original itinerary on 4 of the 14 days. Many optional tours cancelled, one stop added, others shortened considerably.

We had been traveling on another cruise line in Europe, when I received the email about the ship swap, and didn't want to take away vacation time to deal with it. We got home yesterday, and I called the redeployment desk, as some have suggested. It was very frustrating. I booked Enchantment on a B3B to Australia and New Zealand, the first day that the itinerary was released, so that I could stay in the same balcony cabin the entire 2 months. When I called yesterday, I found out that I had been assigned 4 different cabins, requiring moves with each segment. So I asked how to fix this. I was on the phone for 2 hours and 17 minutes, and still haven't resolved it. I spoke with 3 different agents, was disconnected twice, asked to personally speak to a person on the Resolutions Desk, instead of being on the phone, as I listened to an agent type, while live chatting with her Support Team. This shouldn't be this difficult! If cabin assignments are not even being made until after August !8th, why can't I just request the same thing that I wanted when originally booked? And I haven't even looked at the pricing, because I was assuming that it would be the same, because of the "price protection". If anyone has any ideas of how to get this resolved, please advise

Thanks for your great posts! I'm looking forward to your post on the food available on your cruise!

StartrainDD, I have been following every one of your posts, since we are boarding the Baldur (or maybe a substitute ship) in Amsterdam on July 31st, for our first river cruise. I would like to thank you, once again, for your detailed and informative posts. I am looking forward to our cruise, but not looking forward to air travel. We paid the extra fee to get Viking custom air, so that we could have more of a choice in our flights. Viking has already changed our air itinerary 3 times. At first, I was irritated, because they took us off a one connection flight on British Airways, through LHR, directly to PIT. Now I'm not quite as upset, since LHR seems to be a mess. Maybe flying through Zurich on SwissAir will be better. Anyway, not much any of us can do at this point about travel nightmares, other than canceling our trip. I am going to adjust my expectations for the cruise itself. Staffing shortages are everywhere, so Viking is probably having those issues as well. Barring the end of the heatwave gripping Europe, and rain replenishing the rivers, I should be prepared to switch ships. I will also be prepared for the Sun Deck to be unavailable at times. I noticed that you followed Rick Steves recommendations in most places. We have signed up for all included tours, and booked additional tours in most ports. I'm hoping that communication between the Viking tours and the ship, will be better than your experience, and we won't be left standing, and waiting for the ship to arrive. I'm glad that you made it home safely, and wish you safe travels on your upcoming trip!

Thanks, once again, for your informative post. I didn't realize that there were so many drop off points, where the ship keeps moving to another location. I suppose that's necessary on this itinerary. As for the rain, it does put a damper on any tour that involves walking outdoors. But I suppose that the upside is that it helps the river levels, and keeps the surrounding scenery green. Can't wait for your post about Nuremberg. My husband is a history buff, and this port is something that he's especially looking forward to.

I have not joined the roll call page, but will check it out. As for the Van Gogh Museum, StartrainDD mentions that the ship may, or may not be docked by it. I don't know when Viking lets us know about docking location, since we're not taking their transportation to the ship. If it's close, we'll most likely go to the museum. If not, the Viking walking tour seems like a good choice as well. We've been to Amsterdam before, but there's always the possibility of seeing or learning new things. I hope to meet you as well. As newbies, we can learn from each other.

Thanks for the information. Please keep up your posts, if time permits. I am finding out some information about river cruising which is not in the brochures, or anywhere else for that matter, except these message boards. As I mentioned, we signed up for all of the included tours (with the exception of Wurzberg, since we are planning on going to Rothenburg for the day, plus signed up for additional tours in quite a few of the ports. If you hear any reviews, good or bad, for the Surviving Art (Nuremberg), Bavarian Cruise (Passau), Klimt Workshop, Schonbrunn Palace (Vienna), and Life Behind the Iron Curtain (Budapest), mention it, if you can. Once again, appreciating and enjoying your posts!

After traveling for the 4th of July holiday, I am now catching up on reading Cruise Critic posts. We are first time river cruisers, and first time Viking cruisers, who booked the same itinerary as you on a whim, when an email was sent to me from Viking, advertising their Anniversary Sale. We will be traveling on the Baldur from Amsterdam to Budapest on July 31st. I appreciate your posts (especially the detail), as it gives us a better idea of what to expect. We have taken numerous ocean cruises, on various lines, but have been told to expect a different experience on a river cruise, which we're open to. I have a few questions for you, if you might know the answer. You had mentioned an optional walking tour in Amsterdam on embarkation day. Is this provided by Viking? We are arriving in Amsterdam a day ahead of time, and I already purchased tickets for Anne Frank House/Museum. On embarkation day, we were considering touring the Van Gogh Museum, since it is supposed to be near the ship. Now I'm wondering if we should plan on the walking tour instead. Also, I signed up for all of the included tours, but have also purchased additional tours in many of the ports. You mentioned the Beer Pub tour in Cologne (which I didn't purchase, since we're not beer drinkers). If you take any of the additional tours, or here reviews of some of the supplemental tours from passengers, please include a note about those. Otherwise, thanks once again for your informative posts. They are very helpful, and I will continue to follow along.

We are booked on a Viking river cruise, leaving Amsterdam on July 31st. I follow the message boards on river cruising, since this is our first experience with Viking or with river cruising. There were many posts on the number of people testing positive for Covid, and being sent to quarantine hotels. TBH, it was concerning for me, but after 2 years of having trips canceled because of Covid, we decided to go ahead with it. We took B2B on Odyssey OTS in Jan/Feb, during omicron. We followed Royal's Covid protocols, and managed to get through the cruise, and afterwards, with no Covid. Viking, up until last Saturday, had some of the strictest protocols out there. We would have had to do a pre-cruise test, then have a PCR test every day of our 14 night cruise, plus a negative test to fly back to the US. When the CDC lifted the negative test requirement to fly back to the US, Viking posted on their website last Saturday, that all tests would be recommendations, but not requirements. Because European river cruises are so near land based medical facilities, they don't have the same limitations as ocean cruises would, in order to get passengers urgent care, if needed. BTW, we are in our 60s, have 2 doses of vaccines and 2 boosters. I still managed to get Covid in mid-May, probably from an unmasked exercise class. I managed to be Covid free for the first 2 years, 3 months of the pandemic. Fortunately, my symptoms were very mild, a stuffy nose for 4-5 days, very similar to seasonal allergies. We'll be smart when traveling, and mask up in the airports, airplanes, or in large indoor crowds, but feel that we've come a long way in treating Covid, and we must move forward with life!

Thanks for the information. We did use Viking Air, but we're going to Amsterdam a day early, and booked our hotel independently. I guess that my best option will be to call Viking, to make sure that we're complying with their requirements. If it is necessary to test in Amsterdam, hopefully they provide you with some assistance in booking your tests. If not, perhaps I'll email the hotel and they'll provide options for testing in Amsterdam.

In reading through the posts on this topic, many opted for the proctored home tests. Some got tests once in Europe. Reading through Viking's website, a Rapid Antigen test, 24 hours before boarding your flight is acceptable. Our flight leaves PIT At 12:43 on 7/29, and leaves ATL for AMS at 5:35. I guess that to be on the safe side, we can get a rapid antigen test at MedExpress anytime after 5:35 on Thursday 7/28. Has anyone done this? Or is it best to call Viking, just to be sure? If Viking hasn't been checking tests results when boarding, like some have said, I'm assuming that our plan would be acceptable.

When I'm browsing through the message boards, I always make it a point to look at your sunrise/sunset pictures. It reminds me of the beauty in nature, which I find, is a calming thought in this crazy world! Enjoy your current trip on Adventure of the Seas!

I'm glad that Viking finally sorted out your air reservations. Did you get your first choice of flights? Did you get any explanation of why this matter was in Quality Control for such a long period of time? Have a great cruise, and post your impressions, if you can. As I mentioned, we are first time river cruisers, and first time Viking cruisers, so this would be of interest to me.

We are first time river cruisers, and first time Viking customers, so I'm no expert on how these things work. I can only tell you what our experience has been. We are a little further out than you, since our cruise doesn't leave until July 31. When we booked, we opted to pay an additional fee for custom air through Viking. I gave our TA my top 3 choices of flights. Within a day or two, the airfare was booked with my first choice. A few days ago, Viking changed my airfare to less desirable flights, and I'm not exactly sure why that happened. But we do have confirmed flights, with record locater #s from the individual airlines. I would call you TA, or Viking . I'm not sure what flight itineraries in Quality Control means. With everything else going on with Covid and Ukraine, you really don't need the added stress of not having confirmed flights! Good Luck! Please post what happens with Viking and educate the rest of us as to how these flights are handled.