Glamourpuss1000

It depends who you sit with doesn't it- on our recent cruise we met some people who were great fun; others in the middle of a fight which had clearly been going on for a while; others treat you like they are interviewing you for a job- what do you do? You can tell they are trying to find out if you are worth talking to! It took all sorts on our cruise...from the belligerent sisters to the guy in the wife beater at the farewell dinner...I had no idea the people watching was so much fun!

Glasses even! Predictive text strikes again!

Viking offer still or sparkling water with meals and on the Aquavit terrace at mealtimes there was an iced tea dispenser with a different flavour every day. There is also a station available all day for self service still or sparkling water, tea, coffee, hot chocolate and muffins and cakes, all free of charge. There is also still water provided in the room which they replenish a couple of times a day. When you go on an excursion Viking provide bottled water free and bottles were available on their coaches too. You can take your own drinks on board- no corkage fee- no problem getting a few glazes from the bar to take your own wine to dinner or the bar.

We were lucky enough to stay in both cities but I would recommend starting in Nuremberg; it is glorious sailing into Budapest, Nuremberg's dock area is very functional and not quite as nice as a finale.

We just got off the Viking Tor in Budapest last Friday. It has been very hot and onboard attire included smart shorts at dinner for lots of the men. There was a guy at the Farewell dinner in a wifebeater vest! Classy!

We have just finished a Viking "cruise for some of the way, get the bus for the rest" owing to low river levels. As previous posters have said, there are no tables for 2 in the main dining room, but there are a handful on the Aquavit terrace. The wine provided if you don't buy the package is pleasant enough but you can wait a while to be offered another glass. There is no corkage so we chose wines to our own tastes and brought them back on board, there is a refrigerator in the cabin.

That's right, we got to Linz about 18.30 got on the boat and off we went. Not what was advertised.

FT300 it is going to take a lot of rain to bring the river levels up....I'm still in Budapest and the level is low here.

Just to be clear we sailed to Regensburg and the next time we sailed again was from Linz where we had been taken by bus. No Wachau valley, Krems or Melk by boat. Hope this helps, any questions I am happy to help.

PS I should have said from Linz it was by boat.

Hello FT300 we spent a 2nd day in Regensburg and they offered a day trip by bus to Passau, we stayed in Regensburg as we had arrived on the Sunday when everything was closed. So you can go to Passau but it's not by boat and you don't get to cruise the Wachau valley or go to Krems or Melk. You do have a choice then (if it is the same as us) of a non stop bus trip to Linz or an all day bus trip to Linz stopping at Salzburg for a few hours.From Linz you go to Vienna then to Budapest but because you arrive in Vienna later than scheduled all the excursions have to be fitted in so make sure you don't miss sailing into Budapest. Best of luck- at least you have been told unlike us!

Thank you that is really interesting!

Thank you that is very helpful.

Thank you for that but I don't see our ship on any of the lists above....the WiFi was so erratic we couldn't check anyway...why couldn't they just tell us?

We have just completed our first "river cruise" with Viking. There wasn't much cruising at all owing to the low level of the Danube. We left Nuremberg and sailed to Regensburg and not much more than 24 hours later (after you can cancel if the cruise is not right for you) we were told we were staying another night in Regensburg then ultimately being bussed to Linz from where we continued having swapped ships to Vienna then to Budapest. I know the river levels are down to nature but surely such a professional and experienced company would have known about them? If we had been told we would miss the Wachau valley we would have cancelled and gone at a later date. As it is we feel let down, not by the river levels but by the lack of communication from Viking. It doesn't look like much is getting to do the whole Danube so beware as the levels are still low- check with your operator whether you will be cruising or on the bus!