greydog

On 4/7/2024 at 11:08 AM, victory2020 said:

I will most likely be taking the Viking transfer from Passau to the airport. So I.m assuming it Munich approx. 3 hours away?

About an hour from regensberg to MUC so 90 minutes from passau 

we stayed at Hilton connecting to airport for extra sightseeing 

On 4/6/2024 at 1:54 PM, victory2020 said:

 I will probably stay one or two nights pre cruise & fly home the day I depart. Which city would you fly in to &stay & why? I am solo female & like old, basic historical type hotels & use public transportation

Recommend Budapest.  Stayed at this wonderful historic hotel a month ago.  Parisi Udvar (assoc. with Hyatt)   Booked std room online, asked/got jr suite for +$160 at check in.  Good Luck

First update your air preferences at MVJ (aisle, windows, etc) since Air+ agent sees.   I have successfully upgraded for extra fee 3x when using V air+ (and reserving months early for best seat choice).  Ask for quote on the upgrades but already know what $ range to expect.  After getting your airline locator code from Air+ agent, doublecheck/adjust the seat selection.

27 minutes ago, Canal archive said:

Greydog I absolutely love your expression - exudes mild enthusiasm- brilliant, with your permission may I use it in the future?

Adapted for civilian use from my Army training where we learned to show false enthusiasm 😒

3 hours ago, Mike R 2018 said:

Greydog-  Please expound on the Bratislava tour was less than exciting, if possible.

We wish we had chosen to tour Vienna for 2d day vs +$ for bus trip (which had +20min traffic bottleneck on return).  You drive around seeing res embassy buildings and walk around a couple large govt buildings without going inside.  After a family style lunch, you have an hour free time for shopping in relatively small city center.  Basically, there are no major attractions.

Here's someone's review with pictures showing the exteriors of visit points.  I think the review itself exudes 'mild enthusiasm'.

https://www.tammileetips.com/bratislava-walking-tour-with-viking-river-cruises/

Just returned from Viking Var Buda-to-Regensberg with mostly medium-cool weather, little rain and no water level concerns.  Was told Viking is expecting to add some Jan-Feb sailings in the future.

I was surprised how light the other Danube river traffic was.  The all-day Bratislava optional tour, with 1 hr coach transfer, was less than exciting.  CHEERS

8 hours ago, ttnc4me said:

I The cheaper flights are also like 20 - 22 hours when 11 - 15 hours are possible but at double the cost ($600 vs 1200 (United/Delta/American)).

What does Viking base their deviation options on? Any ideas?

Just back from Munich w V air+.. We paid the +100pp deviation fee for arrive early/stay over.  We booked seats 8 mos early for best seat choices, preferred airline, etc.  V air+ told us the nonstop MUC to ATL home flt (1 available daily) would be +400 pp upcharge over their V contract.  The nonstop saved 3+hrs travel, avoiding connecting layover. Adding Comfort+ was +300 pp. upcharge.

V air+ is wide open choices/preferences.  You can wait until 90days before sailing and learn what your default flights are, if unacceptable, switch to air+ but already the best seats likely taken to Europe.  

BTW, we take lower category/price cabins and spend the $ saved on preferred air/date upcharges.  Suggest looking at the 'big picture'. HAPPY TRAVELS

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Back to your original question - is Premium Economy worth the extra?  

You stated in your OP that Viking was charging $1,200.00 for PE over Economy.  Yep, that is about the cost now of PE on most airlines.  PE is generally about $1,000.00 to $1,200.00 more than Economy.

 

If you are 18 months out now, you can start to play with "like dates" in Google Flights to see what your flight itinerary looks like.You can book the flights at about 300-310 days out.  We generally book about 280 days from the actual dates.

 

My experience, earlier reserving is better seat choice, pricing.  Also try 1-2 days earlier (and at end) dates - price diff can offset hotel and arriving early reduces risk missing departure. 

RE PE, we find much better compromise value, some seat experience upgrade, with offers like Delta Comfort+ or Virgin Economy Delight (BA Economy Plus?)  BTW, the Comfort+ upcharge thru V Air+ has never been more than price on web search.  BON VOYAGE 

24 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

P.S. For an upcoming November Bordeaux cruise, Viking offered us a routing with a 1 hour 25 minute connect time in CDG. We said, “What, are you crazy?? No!!” They then offered a reasonable connect time for $800 more. Not sure why we should pay extra for a reasonable connect time. Waiting for a better offer.

Consider NET cost of going a day early to give yourself a cushion against the cheaper 1:25 layover resulting in a delay (might trigger air+fee).   Of course, air+ fee would give you more control of air routing/layovers.  RE Nov. sailing - we've experienced delays due to bad weather halts on US E coast - ended up with 3 doz pax boarding at midnight.  Good Luck

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

I am very particular about the airline, the route, the flight times, the connection times, and the seats that we book.  I spend a lot of time on this portion of the trip. 

AGREE   TIP:  I had a travel agent booking to gain OBC discount.  I knew the V 'free air' would not meet my standards so I included V air+ fee when depositing (which should be dropped at final if not used).   I called V Air+ 9 months ahead of sailing and negotiated, paying upcharges, for a) nonstop flts B) pre-cruise arrival date  c) Delta Comfort+ seats I had picked.(total $750 pp)

The V Air+ agent offered to take my Ccard for the air upcharges and I paid on the spot - these charges had some secondary effects on the overall booking cost (e.g. insurance, commission?) and necessitated some follow-on work and $ adjustment with my TA.

RECOMMENDATION: use the V air+ customization but have $  charges posted to booking so that TA handles any payments.  Happy Cruising

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Mixed bag...  We have many times with Viking Air paid for and got an upgrade, but on the most recent with Air Canada from Toronto to Amsterdam and home from Basel, there was no upgrade available through Viking but Air Canada would sell it to us at the gate.

 

We have also had no option with Viking Air and the airline refusing at the airport too because of the booking class.

 

 

My current V air+ res for Danube shows at Delta “not eligible for upgrade “

4 hours ago, 2ndcruise53 said:

On another topic , when Viking offers free air , I noticed that it often comes with an elevated trip cost. We have to do our own research and comparison. 

Agree.  Regular pattern of V offsetting cabin price changes with air charge add-on every 2-3 months.  BTW, we're signed up for V email notifications (and/or past customers) and we get last minute specials.  E.g webprice shows +$599 air (March) but V offering free, while cabin price matching.

We regularly use V custom air and find their upcharge for Comfort+ competitive but Delta won't let you combine V economy fare class with later upgrading on your own.  Good Luck

5 minutes ago, wnycruisefam said:

We booked the last below the waterline cabin on that cruise, so others have the same thoughts as us!

I watch V river trips (Rhine, Danube) and often see the Veranda and up sell out first.  IMHO I'm guessing many who cruise infrequently lean for the less 'economy'.   Don't know if this pattern is true for other itineraries.

 We will be staying at the Hotel Schweizerhof as well.  I'm really excited about Lucerne and Zurich!

Recommend getting to morning buffet early before it gets mobbed and seating scarce.  There's a docked 100-yr-old steamship restaurant within a half mile walk that has great ice cream sundae - only had dessert/beer there.

On 2/2/2024 at 11:34 AM, SoonipiLady said:

..... she was going to book the premium economy flights "trust her" it was worth the upgrade. Any thoughts on that for you folks? It is $1200 more! $2299, instead of $999.  ..... I'm not sure I can justify 2.25 times the price for extra legroom !

Regarding original question, we have tried both Delta Comfort+, Prem Select and prefer the Comfort+ value over the more expensive Premium-Sel.   Extra legroom is one element that matters the taller you are 😉.  On international, some flights only offer Prem-Sel at a steep add-on.

For example, Comfort+ gets 2-3 inches extra leg/recline each, 1/2 in. seat and then Prem Sel gets another 2-3 inches l/r each, 1 in seat.  Better menu for Prem Sel is a minor perk. 

We tried Virgin economy Delight and it was similar to Comfort+ upgrade at modest extra $.  

I have been favorably surprised when comparing flight choices about savings when mixing main cabin one direction and an upgrade seat on return (Delta allows mixing fare classes, others??)   You may have that mixing choice with direct airline booking but not when getting flight quotes on 'flt search' websites.

We choose the 'basement aquarium-view' cabins and the $ saved defrays the airline cost in overall trip $.

Using V Air+ with the fee allows booking preferred flights several months early when best selection open and prices earlier are usually lower.

Compare flight $ going +/- 1-2 days earlier to see how much difference in flight cost.  My reading shows defaulting to V free air is going to give connecting flights with bad layovers possible (due to bulk air carrier contract) even when nonstops are offered.

We used V free air recently, paid deviation fee for custom choice 8 months ahead of sailing when almost 98% of seats open to choose (used Seatguru web to check seats to pick/avoid).  Given the base savings of V free air, we paid +$400 pp to get nonstop  Munich-Atlanta, avoiding connecting flt with 3hr layover.  We paid +$250 pp for Comfort+   Research what you want indepently, know $, with 1-2-3 flight choices before adding V Air+ fee ($150 pp?)

I know of no V air credit for not using 'free' air.  V promos in past have shifted 1-2 months with cabin pricing higher with free air, then 1-2 months lower cabin $ with air $ add-on offered.

OPPORTUNITY is to use V air (reduced or free), pay for V custom air+, then do extra travel before/after V sailing.  I believe V custom air allows flights up to +/-30 window around V sailing dates.  Custom air allows flying thru other cities besides sailing's start/endpoints.

BTW at least 1 cruiseline now charges $75 pp custom air consultation fee to discuss preferred flights, options.  If you decide to book with custom air, the consultation fee is credit against full custom air fee.

22 hours ago, Tedferg said:

 I was wondering about this, have not done a river cruise yet, Funny that you mention flying economy. I am always tempted but Business class is significantly more than Economy and I feel I can handle the latter.

Suggest checking airline's offering economy upgrades like Delta Comfort+ or Virgin's Econ-Delight seating.  For more affordable fee than business, get perks like early boarding, extra space/recline, free refreshments, etc. 

Even if you use Vik Air+ for custom air preferred flihgts, you can ask what the upcharge is and decide whether to buy. Recent buy of Comfort+ thru Viking Air+ cost extra $300 pp vs $500 pp add-on independently.  GOOD LUCK
 

58 minutes ago, countess5 said:

Purchasing the dining package does not allow you to book a reservation prior to boarding. Once you board you would go ( last time we were on board) to just outside of guest relations and there is a table set up for making reservations.  Now with that said as an Elite plus maybe Elite a benefit is booking reservations a head of time by calling Captains Club.  

Hesitant to say advance specialty dining is opening a can of worms but some higher-end lines organize advance dining reservations based on cabin class and/or loyalty level - more fuel on the fire about onboard class distinctions. OTOH, a scramble to embarkation res dining queue on 1st come, 1st served basis contributes to other disappointments.

 I would favor that at least those advance buying the unlimited or multi-night specialty pkgs getting priority access but allocating preferred time slot availability would still be an issue.  Anyhow, I feel fortunate to have such tangential concerns with regard to overall travel opportunities/choices.  HAPPY CRUISING

We booked "unlimited specialty dining" for May Alaska on Edge.  Offered at 35% off then then but they tack on 19% gratuity.   Traveling companion booked later and only got std pre-cruise  -7% but a month later cancelled and rebooked when -20% flash sale popped up.  

While unlim-spec is pricey, we downgraded from Aqua Class to veranda and saved enough to offset the specialty pkg cost.  The YT videos of eating at Eden look great.  HAPPY CRUISING

THANKS DCL for all the details provided.

Did you encounter any increased safety/security measures during your trip related to the current violence in neighboring country?   Happy New Year too.

Past reports show it’s not unusual for cabin assignment within 7-10 days of gty 

Happened to me recently with Edge

CHEERS

THANKS  Glad to see Beck's Blue nonalcoholic featured on list and at the lowest price too.

BTW, since many non-alcohol cocktails are sweet/fruity/caloric, my compromise is to order gin/tonic or bloody mary with HALF the alcohol.  Such complications! 😉

1 hour ago, sboh said:

Thank-you all. I’m booked in 111 on the Buri for Avignon to Lyon. I was able to save a few dollars by booking first cabin in F category right next to E category cabin. (Traveling solo and have to pay almost double so every bit helps.) Looking forward to my first river cruise.

FYI - AMA offers 150% fare for solo - suggest compare options.  GOOD LUCK

On 12/14/2023 at 3:07 PM, CastleCritic said:

I always post this picture when this comes up...definitely low bridges

 

I suppose ships can add water to ballast tanks to raise draft.  Any one know how much controlling ballast can change draft?  Curious 

Anyone know nonalcoholic beer brands that may be available on Viking recently?  (Health restrictions) 

I realize it might vary by itinerary.  I assume I could probably find it local and bring onbord if necessary.  Hoping for Beck's Blue and/or Clausthaler.  Funny no search results on CC river board.  THANKS