OBCtraveler

My wife and I are booked on the Viking Sea for January 6, sailing to Manaus Brazil.  We choose our trips according to itinerary and available shore excursions (among other things).

Viking has various stateroom classes and the higher the class the sooner one can book excursions and specialty dining.  I understand this but did not understand the full implications of this policy.

We are booked in a Deluxe Veranda.  One-third of the ship’s staterooms are of a higher category (Penthouse Verandas or Suites).  By the time reservations opened up for shore excursions for the Deluxe Veranda guests, many of the offered shore excursions were already sold out (including one included one).  This means that two-thirds of the guests had no shot at booking many of the excursions that were “offered” in the pre-cruise information provided by Viking.

Also, specialty dining (The Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s) was completely booked before we were permitted to book a reservation (I tried minutes after our window “opened”).  Again, the upper one-third snared all the reservations meaning the other two-thirds are unable to make specialty dining reservations.  I understand from Viking that once I am on board the ship, I can talk to someone who can squeeze us into the specialty restaurants but I don’t know what flexibility there will be regarding dates and times.  Same with the sold-out included tour – we can check once on board and Viking will make additional spots available.  But why can’t they do these things before hand and save the anxiety in hassle?

My wife (Jan) and I are booked on  Viking Orion for the upcoming Bangkok, Bali & Beyond in November.  There are five different currencies to contend with:  US Dollar, Thai Baht, Malaysian Ringgit, Singapore Dollar, and Indonesian Rupah.  I wrote a program for my phone to handle the various conversions (see screenshot) but I was wondering if anyone had a tip on how to deal with these in a practical manner.  For many purchases, of course, I can pay by credit card but what about the really small ones?  The best hotdog I ever had was at a small stand in a small village in Italy - but of course I had Euros.  What if I just want to but an ice cream or something like that?  The only thing I can think of is to get $20 worth of local currency in each country and bring the leftover currency back as souvenirs.  Any tips?  Are US dollars widely accepted among local merchants in all of these ports?

However, a good time to use the wi-fi is while the boat is traveling through one of the 60+ locks on your trip.

That is a nice tip - thank you!

Steamboats:

That map is really great! Another big advancement towards my project. I will try to find similar maps for other rivers, but now I have hope and know what I am looking for.

The nerd in me is making me to this. At a minimum I will produce a table for the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise showing, for each port on the Viking Grand European Tour, the port, river, km marker, latitude and longitude, and the river distance to the next port (either direction). I may throw in other ports as well. Also I am tinkering with an android app that would show the ship's current location on Google maps (that part is easy), along with the nearest km marker (if I can get all the data) and distance to the next port.

All are welcome to the table and/or app as they are finished. The table will happen regardless. The app - maybe.

OBC Traveler

Thanks notamermaid! You suggestions were quite useful. I now envision the rivers much like our highways with mileage signs. I see the rivers are marked from 0 to however long the river is. I have been able to find the km location of most of our river ports (all but Vienna and Melk). I still have work to do to piece it all together: For example, where does the Main river intersect with the Rhine (at what Rhine km), and how to work in the Rhine-Main-Danube canal. At any rate you have given me a fast start on this and your assistance is very much appreciated!

OBCtraveler

My wife and I are booked on a Budapest - Amsterdam cruise in July. I have been trying to find information regarding river distances from one port to another. It is easy to find straight-line distances and driving distances, but finding information regarding the distance by river route has been elusive.

I have tried contacting Viking River Cruises directly but they have been unable to help. I have found information regarding river levels, bridge clearances, dams, locks, etc. but nothing that gives distances.

Any ideas on how to obtain this information?