ninaks

Thank You so much for the information! We aren't going until September, and while I don't want to wish my year away, I just can't wait....

We will be taking the Portraits of Southern France Viking Cruise later this year and we are so excited. This is our second Viking cruise and I am hoping it lives up to how wonderful the first one we did going down the Rhine.

There is an optional tour to the town of Cluny. Has anyone taken this tour and is it worth going to? Any other information about Portraits of Southern France tour would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

We also took one of the canal tours around the city and then got out at the giant outdoor market. It was wonderful way to see the city and not very expensive

Hello, we are booked on Viking's Portrait of Southern France in Sept 2014. We are not doing the post trip extension through Viking. We will have one night at the end of the trip before we leave from Marseille to go back home. Does anyone have any recommendations on where to stay in Marseille for one night or someplace near by? Any other information about this cruise would be appreciated. Thank you for the help!

We also just took a cab to ship from Basel hotel. The cabbie knew based on the name of our ship where to take us. I want to recommend while you are in Basel you take the day trip to Lake Lucerne in the lower Alps. We did this on our own, not through Viking. There is a ticket you buy at the train station that includes the entire day. It is train to Lucerne, boat accross the lake, cog train up the mountain, gondola down the mountain, bus to the train station, and train back to Basel. Long day but so very worth it.

We went on Rhine Getaway last fall on Viking and loved every minute of it. I recommend you to on the optional excursion to the family vineyard in Alsace. It was fantastic and we bought wine we were able to wrap up and bring home in our suitcases. Colmar we did, but I would skip that. Spend extra time in Strausbourg and Cologne wandering around, they are amazing cities. Get to the boat early from Basel so you can talk to the people that are waiting for cabs to leave from their cruise. They will give you all sorts of great information. Make sure to sit with diffferent people for meals. You will meet the most interesting and amazing people from all over the world. Have a great time.

You mention Golden Pass to Lucerne. I tried looking it up and I only find the train portion. Is there one that includes all the other things you listed as well or did you buy those separately? thanks!

Great information, just what I was looking for. Thank you so much

We are going on the Viking Rhine Getaway On Sept 16th from Basel to Amsterdam. There are 4 optional tours I am hoping people who have done them can let me know if they are worth doing or not. The tours are Colmar, Alsation Wine Tasting , Rudusheim evening mini train tour and Beer culture tour. thanks for your help!

I will definitely be checking the weather reports like you suggest. My fear is not having what I need, but then I get buy it there, which isn't so bad :)

We are going on our first river cruise down the Rhine river Cruise From Basel to Amsterdam with Viking on Sept 16th. I am not sure what kind of clothing to bring. Do I need winter weight, or just a light jacket? Any shorts, or only pants? I know weather isn't predictable, but if someone could share their experiences during this time of year, I would really appreciate it. Thank you