Moonlion

Even with a TA, I was able to talk to Viking Air myself and set up flights.  They were not ticketed right away but we were able to get seats.  

I also do all the work and planning but go with a TA for the perks.  Our TA gave us $250 off the Viking cruise price, $150 cabin credit, and free travel insurance.  Once booked, I have been able to deal directly with Viking if I have a question or when booking flights using Viking Air Plus.  So far, there haven't been any downsides with using a TA. 

4 hours ago, I like vacation said:

I just reviewed the flight information I received yesterday and found one leg without seat asignments.  I went directly to the Delta website which referred me to the Air France website.  At the Air France website the flight from Marseille to CDG shows "seat selection at check-in".  Is Viking going to provide me with seat assignments or are we flying standby on the first leg back to JFK? 

In my experience with European flights, it's almost always been the case that seat assignments are made at check-in for the intra-European legs of the flight (in your case, Marseille to CDG).  I don't know why this is the case but we've always gotten decent seats on these short flights.  

In our situation, we did not need early ticketing in order to select seats in basic economy.  We are flying out on Delta and returning on Air France.  However, it's possible that early ticketing is required if requesting an upgrade.  

We also did Viking Air Plus.  You have to stay within the same airline partners for all flights (for example, United Airlines or Lufthansa or Swiss Airlines which are all part of Star Alliance; American Airlines/British Airways; Delta/Air France, and so on). 

We did both on our Viking Danube Waltz cruise last summer, and agree it would be difficult to choose.  Both are wonderful visits!

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

No one knows what the water levels will be like this year, but – to give yourself maximum protection against low water on the Danube – I would advise looking for cruises from Vilshofen or Passau to Budapest.  The notorious low-water area is between Vilshofen and Nuremburg.

Exactly!  On our Danube Waltz cruise (Budapest to Passau) last summer,  we sailed through all the way without problems.  However, those sailing on the Romantic Danube (Budapest to Nuremburg) that same week had to be bused between Passau (or maybe it was Regensburg) and Nuremberg because of water problems.  

We did the Viking Danube Waltz last summer and, if my memory serves me 🙂, every stop except Vienna was right in town or an easy walk to town.  We really enjoyed our cruise!

On 3/28/2019 at 4:42 AM, vada_9 said:

We used a company, Prague Airport transfers for a transfer from our hotel in Prague to the airport. I see on their website they do Intercountry transfers - in fact the one they mention is Nuremberg to Prague. We were happy with their service - prepaid on line and gave the driver a tip.

 

We used Prague Airport transfers from final cruise stop in Passau to hotel in Prague (they also do Nuremburg to Prague).  We couldn't have been happier with price, service, van and driver!

On 3/19/2019 at 11:28 AM, Cruiseoholic000 said:

It looks like there are a few options for the Danubue

 

-  the Danube Waltz

- the Romantic Danube

We did the Viking Danube Waltz last summer and were very happy with our cruise and itinerary!  Look over the itineraries to see what most appeals to you.  As mentioned above, the Romantic Danube includes Nuremburg which the Danube Waltz doesn't.  However, the DW includes an all day excursion to Cesky Krumlov which we really enjoyed, and I don't know if this is an option on the RD.  Also, from our research, the stretch of river between Nuremburg and Passau may be more prone to low water problems.  On our trip, we were able to sail all the way through (Budapest to Passau) without experiencing water level problems.  However, folks on the Romantic Danube had to be bused between Passau and Nuremburg that same week because of low water levels.   

1 hour ago, 3rdCoastFan said:

You may want to request early ticketing. At 90 days out, there may not be any upgrades left. Downside to early ticketing is that you're on the hook if you want to change flights later on and Viking will try to dissuade you from early ticketing. 

Thanks!  do you know whether there is an additional charge (above the $50 pp) to get early ticketing?  If so, we may just have to live with the 'cheap seats' 🙂

I just called Viking air, paid the $50 pp for Air plus, and got exactly what we wanted for our August 7th Cities of Light cruise tour.  As others had suggested, I went online (to kayak.com) before calling Viking and found one or two flights that would work the best for us.  The Viking Air agent was very nice and right away was able to book our first choice flights (United since we are UA Mileage Plus members).  She took our Mileage Plus numbers and found us Preferred seats (no extra cost being UA members).  She said once Viking ticketed the flight about 90 days before departure, we would be able to upgrade with United using miles or money.  It was really easy and definitely worth it. 

They work fine but are not as powerful as what you can get at home. It took a few minutes longer to dry my hair (shoulder length).

Wow, we did the Viking Danube Waltz in June, and our experience was completely different than yours. No 'geezer stampede' to the dining room. Service was outstanding - we were treated like royalty. Our servers quickly learned our names and preferences, and bent over backwards to take our order as soon as we were seated. Our food was served quickly and the wine and beer flowed freely... sometimes too freely :). We thought that the food was delicious and we never had a bad meal. I ordered the Anytime steak one night and it was delicious, tender and perfectly cooked. I don't think that it was just us. Our various dinner companions each night also commented on the excellent service and delicious food. It sounds like the quality of the food and service can vary across boats.

This year, we took a late June/early July cruise of the Danube (Budapest to Passau) and it was downright chilly most of the cruise. I brought mostly warm weather clothes and had to wear the same pair of long pants and jacket on several days.

We did both (on our own) on our recent Danube cruise, 2 days pre cruise in Budapest and 3 days in Prague post cruise. We loved both for different reasons. Budapest is larger, more varied with a lot of diverse, interesting things to see and do. Prague is amazingly beautiful but smaller and more touristy (quite crowded in the afternoon and evening). As others have said, you can't go wrong with either choice.

We're considering booking the Viking Cities of Light cruise for next summer. Unfortunately, the only time we can travel next year is July or August. I know that it's impossible to predict water levels, but from previous years how susceptible are the Main and Moselle rivers to low water levels, enough to cause ship grounding? This cruise boards at Bamberg, cruises along the Main to Koblenz on the Rhine, and then down the Moselle to Trier. Thanks!

If we plan to arrive on the scheduled day of cruise but stay a couple of extra days at end of cruise (and pay the $100 deviation fee pp), can we still get the transfer from airport at the start? Also, if we pay the $100 deviation fee, do we have to pay an additional $50 to book our own flights? Thanks!

We just arrived at Prague from Passau Racklau dock (Viking cruise), and used Prague Airport Transfers. It cost about $200 total for a minivan (4 of us with luggage), and door-to-door service. They were great!