Greysandy

I'm so bummed that the Discovery Princess April 3, 2024 cruise to Mazatlan for the solar eclipse is already sold out in all categories. My travel agent put us on a waitlist with a deposit, so hopefully something opens up in the next year or so... There is lots of availability on the HAL 2 week version, but it is on the Zaandam which is not my favorite ship, and it is much more expensive even though it is only 3 days longer.

Thanks for the information on Belgrade! I will definitely look at changing that. We have biked in Budapest and loved it too. Yes, the ship's included tour goes to Belgradochik and we are excited to see that. This will be our first river cruise, and I have definitely seen through various research how arranging private tours can go wrong, so was looking to do it only where it seems reasonable and there is a large cushion of time, or such a low cost that it wouldn't hurt to lose the money. We have taken lots of ocean cruises and done independent tours but even recently have scaled back on that due to port times being unpredictable. Water levels could definitely change everything if we need to move boats or it becomes more of a "bus tour" which I'm hoping doesn't happen. Thanks!

The excursions finally opened up on the Viking site for booking for our June 2023 river cruise, and I am very excited, but I don't want to overbook and exhaust my husband. We are 53 years old and love to do bike tours while on vacation, although after nearly being hit by a car in New Orleans, I prefer to not do the busy city bike tours. We booked "swan view" room so that we can go on the 3 week cruise rather than the 2 week. I love to be active and busy on vacation while my husband likes to sit in a cafe and enjoy the surroundings so I'm striving for as much of a balance as possible on this river cruise. We are getting the Silver Spirits package because my husband likes cocktails and I like premium wines. We have spent 4 days in Budapest a few years ago but most other cities will be new to us. We are planning on doing nearly all of the included excursions, unless they are replaced by an optional bike tour. I'd love to hear feedback on the tours we have booked, or are considering. These are the optional tours I have booked so far: Belgrade Serbia Bike tour Osijek Croatia home visit and bike tour Budapest Thermal baths Passau Germany Bavaria E-bike tour Wertheim bike tour to meet the boat upstream Kinderdijk Windmills by bike I am considering doing the Spanish Riding school tour in Vienna, and leaving my husband at a coffee house, since is always happy when I don't force him to go on horse riding or themed excursions. We may do the wine tour in Vidin, Bulgaria since it is only $59, a bargain compared to most Viking excursions. We are also trying to decide between the two included excursions in Ruse Bulgaria - either an 8.5 hour bus tour to Veliko Tarnovo, or staying for a 3 hour Ruse architecture. The reason we are considering opting for the shorter tour, even though it won't be as grand, is that the first day of our cruise starts with a 7.5 hour tour in Bucharest and this would be the following day, which may be exhausting. Some of the activities we intend to do on our own or with an independent tour company are: Belgrade - drinks at Riddle Bar, dinner in Bohemian district Budapest - Central market, possible wine tour to countryside Vienna - music Regensburg - beer and sausages at local place Wurzburg - hike the Marienburg hills on our own rather than pay $89 for a guided tour with Viking Cologne - Brauhaus tour (Kolsh beer) with small company I'd also love any suggestions for charming local cafes, pubs and bars at any of the cities along this journey. Thanks, Sandy

Yes, but if we didn't sign it, they didn't do anything about it. Yes, so the bartenders spent the whole first day telling everyone that it will be taken off (actually it never showed up on our account statement).

My husband accidentally hit the wrong button on the health assessment, then promptly called HAL. We stressed about it for days and then when we went to board, we were literally not asked one question about health. It all worked out fine, but seems pretty useless.

On the Koningsdam, we received a receipt with the dollar amount for the drink listed for nearly every drink, so that is not a method for tracking, unless you are holding and counting the receipts throughout the day. Personally, I just kept track of them in my phone notes. Ordering a double did not work out well for me and I was charged full price for the second shot, so I won't do that again. Ordering the $12 glass of wine did work out and I was just charged $1 extra and $0.18 gratuity.

We board tomorrow and I just got a notification from HAL that we will be tendering at Puerto Vallarta. Not a big deal since we have an excursion booked through them.

I love those cabins, they have the largest balconies.

So this thread definitely started me down the rabbit hole. I am totally looking into the LRBC that is next October on the Koningsdam. It certainly seems like my idea of music heaven!!!!

FYI, we were on the Koningsdam last New Years and they only had about 20% of the listed specialty beers at the Grand Dutch Cafe. We are boarding again tomorrow and will let you know if they have them this time.

Thanks for the info. We will be testing this out when we board the Koningsdam tomorrow! We got the HIA package but would definitely like some better wine options and some of the higher end liquor.

We were on the Koningsdam last NYE and it was quite a party on the pool deck, even though masking was in full force.

We enjoy all of them and do all every time we cruise, even Canaletto. The ambiance is not quite as amazing as the others, since it is on the side of the Lido buffet, but the food is amazing! FYI, if you like lamb chops, the Canaletto is the lowest price specialty restaurant that has them. The Nami Sushi option in the Tamarind is another favorite because they have fabulous sushi for a reasonable cost. Good luck, you will enjoy them I'm sure.

We just got an unexpected upgrade last night, and we sail tomorrow on the Koningsdam. We went from a spa interior room, deck 10, to a forward ocean view on deck 7. By looking at the photos online, it looks like it has access to a hidden deck but we will see if it is locked or not once we are on board.

Tuna, salmon and hamachi (aka yellowtail) are all mild choices. Hamachi was truly amazing on our last cruise and is much pricier in a regular sushi setting. The service was really fabulous and after we put in a positive comment about it on the app, they greated us by name the second time we came back and treated us wonderfully again. We spent about $45 for the two of us, but that might have been because we got a 25% discount for being 3* at the time. So it was actually cheaper than most specialty dining. I want to say I saw on the HAL website that the 3/4/5* Mariner discount no longer applies there, but it's still reasonable in price. I use a fork too.

I would not count on it. All I have ever been able to get is soda water or Perrier. I would appreciate any diet soft drink/mixer options but have not come upon them other than Diet Coke. Even the "skinny margarita" I ordered off their menu was totally made with sugar. I could taste it. I think because they switched a few years ago from fresh lemon/lime juice to one that is bottled and mixed with simple syrup.

Thanks for the heads up. We have an excursion booked through HAL for that day, so at least we will get an assigned tender.

We are definitely into higher quality food, so we dine most days in the specialty restaurants for dinner, because we are now 4* so it's 50% off for most. We especially like the yellowtail appetizer at Nami Sushi. Pinnacle Grill is comparable to Morton's or Ruth Chris Steak house. Canaletto is surprisingly great food for being an off shoot of the Lido buffet. The lamb chops there are the best deal and perfectly prepared, and their fish soup is excellent.

It's nice to see a real service dog on the ships. I was on a cruise where a woman in a scooter brought her fake one, a shih-tzu, fed it from the table and then let it bark at people walking by. Service dogs are not fed from the table! I'm still trying to convince my father in law this for his dog that he bought a "service dog license" off the internet for $100.

FYI, book soon. The cabanas typically sell out months ahead on the cruises out by me to Mexico.

Thank you so much Crystal! I can totally live with that as a Thanksgiving cruise. We've been to Mexico so many times since we live in California, so the coast would also be awesome! I just don't want to fly anywhere over the holidays.

I'm still waiting for my Thanksgiving to Mexico on the Koningsdam to show up, that is my husband's and my tradition every year. It is missing from the flyer and their website. The solar eclipse sailing on the Zaandam is now listed on their website so I'm happy to see that!

Even though I will need to take a week off work after spring break, I am definitely doing the Solar Eclipse to Mexico trip!!! Thanks for posting. It seems better than driving to Texas.

Thank you so much for including images of the daily schedule! We are taking the Viking cruise Amsterdam to Bucharest next summer which will include many of the same stops. Viking doesn't include the more active excursions, they cost extra, so it is good for me to see as a comparison for other future river cruises. I'm also excited to see your next Ocean cruise around Greece. We did the same ports on HAL about 7 years ago and LOVED it. It is definitely a port intensive itinerary, which I like because I like active vacations.

Mine still says November for our June 2023 cruise but I will check again every few days now.