RiverCruiseLover

In 2018 Emerald Waterways, a spinoff of Scenic, reimbursed everyone for not being able to cruise on the Danube for 5 of the 15 days of Spendors of Europe due to low water conditions even though they footed the bill to put up a fully booked ship in 4-5 star hotels in Hungary and Austria. They were able to do this BECAUSE THEY'RE INSURED. I would be insistent that they refund your money in a timely matter. Deal with  a customer service supervisor  through email and not a regular phone rep.

Stay away from Viking which is usually a great cruise. However right now they are requiring daily Covid testing and quarantining positives and companion in hotels for at least 5 days or until after that time you test negative. Then you have to return home. We cancelled our May 3 cruise because of this policy and rescheduled with vouchers in  October. If still testing daily we will cancel again. Good luck!

Oh I just remembered being told by Viking Air prob 5 years ago that if you don't use AIR Plus services the "machine" ( not a person) just schedules the flights which basically is the cheapest way to get to destination.

I think the pandemic is playing havoc with air travel. We always felt confident booking air  with Viking (6 times during past 5 years and never had an issue)However I do book my Comfort seat assignments directly with Delta.  In 2015, our first river cruise, Lufthansa went on strike less than 24 hrs before we were to leave Logan ( our traveling companions were in Boston already).  Viking got us to Prague later the same day with no effort on our part. 

But we had our 2nd cruise with Emerald booked this summer and I had paid for Comfort upgrade thru them and flights were changed to KLM and I was told I'd have to book seats thru KLM website. Straw that broke the camel's back.. Decided to switch to cruise next year when hopefully at better new norm. Not the river cruises we loved.

Just now, lnwest1 said:

No but call your airline or if too long a wait on phone ask airline when you get to airport if possibility to sit together. Someone may have canceled or a kind soul may switch so you can travel together. 1 1/2 months out many seats are already booked.

You should have been able to pick your seats when you paid extra for the plus. 

1 hour ago, turner678 said:

We are booked on Frances Finest from August 21st until October 5 from Paris to Avignon.  We booked our air fare through Viking and paid extra for Comfort Plus seating.  We booked this 1 1/2 months ago. Today we got our air details and my husband and I are not sitting together.  We contacted Viking but they refuse to do anything about it. Very poor customer relations!

 

Has anyone else had this problem?

 

No but call your airline or if too long a wait on phone ask airline when you get to airport if possibility to sit together. Someone may have canceled or a kind soul may switch so you can travel together. 1 1/2 months out many seats are already booked.

I've had this happen before. Viking claimed fixing problem but it took MANY days!

My husband and I did Vikings's Tulips and Windmills river cruise in Holland and Belgium the first 2 weeks in May 2016 aboard the Skirnir. Everything about the trip was fantastic. We had a veranda room and it was worth the extra. Our friends have done the standard rooms and also been happy with them. All new longships have the same most comfy queen beds and great bathrooms

We had also done the Elegant Elbe the previous Sept 2015. I did not see anyone with jeans on that trip. But on the Skirnir. which accommodated more,jeans and tees were worn on excursions by some men and women who then wore them to lunch. But no one wore them to dinner. Dinner on a river cruise is more casual than an ocean cruise. Men wear slacks and a nice shirt and women " dress up" with scarves and jewelry and better shoes than sneakers.

I highly recommend using Travelons's quilted polyester RFID crossbody bag with wire in strap for excursions I used mine on both trips and will also this Sept on Viking's Paris to the Swiss Alps with Glacier Express extension in Switzerland. At dinner on board I use a small handbag and lock the other in the room safe as your room gets tidyed up twice daily. Never heard of any thefts but best to be safe than sorry. Our friends carry hidden wallets on neck cords under their clothing.

They also only bring carryons while we also check 1 bag for both of us esp for an 18 day trip. Laundry service is fairly reasonable if needed. So far we have not.

Upon arrival do not nap. Rick Steves, the well known traveler, recommends going out to check out the town. That's what we did in Amsterdam when arrived on board at 10 am. On the first trip we didn't arrive at Prague hotel until 7 pm so went out to dinner then to bed for the night. In either case we did not have jet lag.

Viking has always been wonderful so we have not tried any other cruise line. Have a fantastic trip!

My husband and I did Vikings Tulips and Windmills on the Skirnir the first two weeks in May 2016. Everything about it was fabulous. We had a veranda room which was well worth it.

I would think jeans would be too warm in June and no one wore them at all on our first river cruise in Sept 2015 in Germany.Last May, some men and women wore jeans and tee shirts at lunch but not dinner nor was dinner really dressy. Men wore slacks and a nice shirt, ladies "dressed up "outfits with a nice scarf and jewelry.

A crossbody bag is a must for daily excursions. I highly recommend Travelon's quilted polyester RFID crossbody with wire in shoulder strap. I took mine on last two river cruuses and will again in Sept on Viking's Paris to the Swiss Alps with Glacier Express extension. We each took a carryon with one checked bag for both. But our friends going this time and on first cruise take ONLY a carryon each. We could not survive 18 days like that but they make it work.

Do not nap when you arrive. Explore the city and get to bed early. We weren't tired at all coming from Boston On our first trip we arrived in Prague late so just had dinner and went to bed. Food was delicious both on and off the ship.Have a great time!

quote=videolady;52908268]My husband and I are going on our first ever Viking River Cruise in June - The Grand European Tour. We'll be cruising on the ship Skirnir. Since this is our first time we have questions. For example:

• What do most passengers wear for dinner? Can you wear jeans and t-shirts? Or is it best to wear dressy attire?
  
• How did you cope with the vast time difference? Our departure is from Minneapolis.
  
• Since we are flying and can only take so much clothing, is it expensive to have the ships crew do your laundry? Did you wash some of your own clothing then hung to dry?
  
• How was the food?
  
• Anyone sail on the ship Skirnir?
  
• When you were touring off the ship, did you get sick from eating in any of the restaurants?
  

Sorry for all of the questions. Just trying to avoid any pitfalls.

I didn't see any roll calls for any of the Viking River Cruises on this website. If there is one, can you please let us know.

Thanks!

Videolady