viking???

[WooKeef]

My husband and I are considering a Viking River cruise for Eastern Europe...but have a few things holding us back and thought perhaps some insight would be helpful. We are just over 40 yoa and we are afraid that all of the people that are on Viking are much older than us. I do not want to offend in anyway; we are active and independent travellers and are used to running with a crowd closer to our own age. Viking seems perfect for the things we want to see and most of the amenities. I do wish there were all drinks inclusive in the package since we will probably not take part in most of the excursions due to our independent nature in travelling. We rarely do shipboard excursions when cruising on other lines.

 

We also love that it will be a quiet atmosphere on a small ship. We took a Nile River Cruise once and thoroughly enjoyed the small quiet atmosphere on board.

 

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

[dpump]

Love Viking. While the crowds are in their 50's, etc., they are a very active, well traveled group. I was younger than the majority, but it really didn't matter. Yes, it would be nice if the drinks were inclusive, but if that's the only negative.......We are planning our first cruise on one of the 'big boys' (Princess). I was plugging away at booking the excursions, and then added up the cost! Wow, give me Viking back. Also, it seems everything we do, we get a 'tip' or 'tax' added onto our bill-not on Viking.......our Viking trips have had a max of 130 people, the cruise we're going on now, 2600 people! Like the smaller groups. We truly enjoyed the excursions on our Grand European with Viking, also the ease of not having to participate if not wanting to. In fact, if we were on an excursion and wanted to go off on our own, would just tell our guide and leave.

It seems folks who are used to all the luxury of a big ocean liner, aren't too thrilled with the simpleness of Viking. Packing for a Viking cruise was much easier too, no need for all the 'fancy clothes' unless you really wanted them. Oh, have not had any kids on our Viking cruises either!!!!

[WooKeef]

Love Viking. While the crowds are in their 50's, etc., they are a very active, well traveled group. I was younger than the majority, but it really didn't matter. Yes, it would be nice if the drinks were inclusive, but if that's the only negative.......We are planning our first cruise on one of the 'big boys' (Princess). I was plugging away at booking the excursions, and then added up the cost! Wow, give me Viking back. Also, it seems everything we do, we get a 'tip' or 'tax' added onto our bill-not on Viking.......our Viking trips have had a max of 130 people, the cruise we're going on now, 2600 people! Like the smaller groups. We truly enjoyed the excursions on our Grand European with Viking, also the ease of not having to participate if not wanting to. In fact, if we were on an excursion and wanted to go off on our own, would just tell our guide and leave.

It seems folks who are used to all the luxury of a big ocean liner, aren't too thrilled with the simpleness of Viking. Packing for a Viking cruise was much easier too, no need for all the 'fancy clothes' unless you really wanted them. Oh, have not had any kids on our Viking cruises either!!!!

 

Thanks for all the information...gives me alot of insight. Good to know that Viking does not have hidden costs like the others. I too am also booking a trip on Freedom of the Seas with a friend...it is HUGE! not sure about that either.

[Sparky333]

WooKeef --

My husband and I are in our early 40s and getting ready for a Viking cruise in China next week. I'll check back in when we get home & let you know how it is.

 

I have the same concerns as you as far as the age of other passengers. But it seemed like on that kind of trip -- where I didn't want to do all the planning & deal with logistics of getting around the country -- Viking was a good option for group travel. Like you, I prefer to plan our trips & we usually do travel independently. But I feel that some cruise itineraries are a good alternative in that you can see a lot of cities without the hassle & cost of moving yourself around. And in the past on bigger ships, as long as we didn't do ship's excursions but rather did our own thing in each port it worked out well for us. The couple excursions we mistakenly signed up for before we knew better were hellish.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Viking compares.

 

We did get a free wine package as part of our cruise and I know there are other drinks packages you can buy - but I'm not sure how they work.

[WooKeef]

WooKeef --

My husband and I are in our early 40s and getting ready for a Viking cruise in China next week. I'll check back in when we get home & let you know how it is.

 

I have the same concerns as you as far as the age of other passengers. But it seemed like on that kind of trip -- where I didn't want to do all the planning & deal with logistics of getting around the country -- Viking was a good option for group travel. Like you, I prefer to plan our trips & we usually do travel independently. But I feel that some cruise itineraries are a good alternative in that you can see a lot of cities without the hassle & cost of moving yourself around. And in the past on bigger ships, as long as we didn't do ship's excursions but rather did our own thing in each port it worked out well for us. The couple excursions we mistakenly signed up for before we knew better were hellish.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Viking compares.

 

We did get a free wine package as part of our cruise and I know there are other drinks packages you can buy - but I'm not sure how they work.

 

Thanks Sparky333 and I look forward to hearing about your China adventure. I hope that we can snag one of those free wine packages...but they do seem to have some good packages compared to others on other cruise lines. I appreciate it and check back in!

[franski]

WooKeef -

 

Depending on the itinerary, there may be other options other than Viking for your eastern european trip.Some of the other lines (Uniworld, AMA) do include drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) with dinner as part of the cruise. If you look at the river & canal thread, there may be some helpful info for you there.

[WooKeef]

WooKeef -

 

Depending on the itinerary, there may be other options other than Viking for your eastern european trip.Some of the other lines (Uniworld, AMA) do include drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) with dinner as part of the cruise. If you look at the river & canal thread, there may be some helpful info for you there.

 

I had looked at Uniworld...not crazy about the website and offered trips. The one I am looking at is a 15 day trip...rather long. I have heard so many good things about viking...just kinda stuck with it. I will check that other thread out. Had not seen it previously.

[Sparky333]

Was just thinking - another couple I know that loves Viking & has done two European cruises with them said they would buy wine in each port and have it in their room. I don't know if that was 'legal' or they were getting away with being sneaky - not sure what Viking's policy is regarding bringing wine on board. But then you may also prefer it with a meal rather than in your cabin or balcony so maybe that's a moot point.

[dpump]

You can buy wine and bring onboard, Viking doesn't care. We did that while doing the Grand European.

 

For those who are looking at other lines, just be sure of what language is the predominent language. Fortunately, each time we've been on Viking, all spoke English. Not a biggie to some, but it sure made it easier to communicate for us!

[WooKeef]

You can buy wine and bring onboard, Viking doesn't care. We did that while doing the Grand European.

 

For those who are looking at other lines, just be sure of what language is the predominent language. Fortunately, each time we've been on Viking, all spoke English. Not a biggie to some, but it sure made it easier to communicate for us!

 

that is an excellent point...I will remember that. I thought to look at other lines. I just hear that Viking is the best.

[pacmom]

Carefully check the number of passengers on the boat of choice---200 pax on a river cruise is not an intimate experience. Also Viking's drink packages are a rip off. If you want an upscale all inclusive line look at Tauck. Many of the lines offer free wine, beer and soda with dinner. We just returned from an AMA waterways trip on the Duoro and the wine flowed freely at dinner. IMO Viking is the equivalent of a mass market ocean line. Viking China and Viking Russia are far superior to Viking in Europe. And yes we have cruised with Viking.

The drink package on Viking must be ordered by both people in cabin and is a small carafe of wine--no refills. We found it more cost effective to order from the wine list. Many lines do the trip you are thinking about, just check Avalon, Uniworld, Tauck. If you are a US citizen also look at GCT and Vantage. Good luck finding that just right trip. Pat

Also read the comments on the River and Barge section.

[WooKeef]

Carefully check the number of passengers on the boat of choice---200 pax on a river cruise is not an intimate experience. Also Viking's drink packages are a rip off. If you want an upscale all inclusive line look at Tauck. Many of the lines offer free wine, beer and soda with dinner. We just returned from an AMA waterways trip on the Duoro and the wine flowed freely at dinner. IMO Viking is the equivalent of a mass market ocean line. Viking China and Viking Russia are far superior to Viking in Europe. And yes we have cruised with Viking.

The drink package on Viking must be ordered by both people in cabin and is a small carafe of wine--no refills. We found it more cost effective to order from the wine list. Many lines do the trip you are thinking about, just check Avalon, Uniworld, Tauck. If you are a US citizen also look at GCT and Vantage. Good luck finding that just right trip. Pat

Also read the comments on the River and Barge section.

thanks Pat, I will take a look at Tauck...I truly appreciate your outlook and I think it will help tremendously.

Lora

[Willsot]

sorry - double post

[Willsot]

Lora:

My wife (56) and I (59) are booked for the Sep. 19 Eastern European Odyssey on the Viking Primadonna. This will be our first river cruise (have had many ocean cruises) and we are looking forward to it. We will be doing a pre-cruise extension in Bucharest/Transylvania and a post-cruise extension in Prague.

As part of the early-booking incentive, we received complimentary wine with dinner from Viking.

Terry

[WooKeef]

Lora:

My wife (56) and I (59) are booked for the Sep. 19 Eastern European Odyssey on the Viking Primadonna. This will be our first river cruise (have had many ocean cruises) and we are looking forward to it. We will be doing a pre-cruise extension in Bucharest/Transylvania and a post-cruise extension in Prague.

As part of the early-booking incentive, we received complimentary wine with dinner from Viking.

Terry

Thanks Terry...I was looking at that same cruise for next year...around that time. Perhaps we will book that one. I was also just running across the Avalon cruises...does anyone have input on that?

[rico567]

We just returned from Viking's China's Cultural Delights cruise Nov. 6th, which was our second Viking cruise. We, too, tend to be independent and don't generally take conducted tours- in Europe. For China, we felt that the Viking offering was the way to go, and 2-for-1 including airfare and transfers clinched the deal. We are mid-60s, but there was a variation in ages aboard from -I'd estimate- early '50s to upper '70s. It was great.

As far as your tastes, well, the included excursions are a big part of what Viking offers, IMHO, but we, too, enjoy the cruising on the river, and we did skip two of the excursions, one because of the long bus ride (the one to the ceramics factory; been to a ceramics factory!) and one because the alternatives were way too much walking or a "staged" visit to a relocation town.

Yes, the cost of Viking's drink packages is outrageous, as are in general the cost of drinks, period. The good news is that we just bought beverages ashore and iced them down in our cabin. If you take your own bottle of wine to the dining room for dinner, you will be charged a "corkage" fee.

Which merits a note on Chinese beverages. Chinese beer is fine; all their beer is similar to the fizzy pale lagers produced by the major "BMC" brewers in the U.S. It's pretty ubiquitous; the Chinese drink a lot of beer. Chinese wine is....struggling. The brand we tasted at dinner one day, "Great Wall" or something, tasted somewhat of grapes, but with a pronounced undertone of automotive lacquer. As for Chinese "rice wine," it can come in so many forms that it's hard to predict what you'll get. My suggestion is that if you don't like beer, make sure you get a Western wine or liquor.

[Sparky333]

WooKeef --

Just back yesterday from our Viking China cruise. Had a great trip - I thought Viking did an excellent job in every aspect. The hotels were gorgeous, the ship nice (hard to compare to the bigger Celebrity ships, apples & oranges, but the Century Sun was lovely for what it was). The age of pax was mainly 50s to 70s but there were a few 30s, 40s (us) and some teenagers. I didn't find the age thing to be an issue since it wasn't like we were looking for a party atmosphere.

 

I did think there was too much time spent doing shopping type excursions. We'd visit a museum for an hour then spend time at a silk rug factory -- would've much rather stayed at the museum longer. I'm not sure if Viking is compelled to do those kinds of stops by the Chinese gov't - think I read that somewhere. Most of those kinds of factory stops also include lunch - which seems odd but some of those lunches were my favorite meals of the trip.

 

The European cruise might be completely different. You probably get time to walk around the towns by yourself - we really didn't have that opportunity.

 

And about the drinks - I said earlier we had gotten a free wine package as an incentive. That included one glass of house wine per person per dinner on the ship. Normal cost per glass was about $7. The house wine was not bad. Beer was maybe $5 at dinner and a lot cheaper or free at other meals.

 

I would use Viking again - I think the overall value was very good for what we spent & we felt very well taken care of. Our main guide who was with us the entire time was FABULOUS. Really loved her. And the local guides in each town were also very good.

 

Again, I'm not sure how well the Viking China trips compare with other locations but I would recommend the company for China anyway.

Good luck making your decision!

[pflorio994]

I just also returned from a Viking cruise on the Pride which traveled from Nurenberg Germany to Vienna Austria.

 

Compared to the larger cruise ships, I must say this was so relaxing but busy. The girls from the Pride met us at the airport and even offered to lug our suitcases. Once aboard we were greeted my the entire staff, maids, chefs and waiters. The cabin was quite surprisingly larger than expected for a B cabin, which is basically the same size of a standard cabin on the larger ships.

 

The food was absolutely excellent - no complaints here. The first night out we were served with a delicious venison steak, which was so tender. At first I thought I was eating my own sauerbraten. Breakfast was buffet style but you could also order eggs your way, and pancakes and waffles. Lunches were simple sandwiches, soupes and a variety of salads.

 

The only criticism I have is their beverage plan. It includes 2 cocktails a day and all the wine, soda and beer you can drink. The wine is not served by the bottle but by carraffs (sp) and it was house wine, which was very good. You can bring your own wine on board, but they did charge a corkage fee.

 

The entertainment on board was good which consisted of a glass blower, an accordian player which also got the guest on board to participate in playing numerous instruments (I was elected to play the drum) and a nightly piano player. There was also a lesson on the true making of an apple studel. Could not complain at all. The age group on board was in their 50-60s range with the exception of a few couples that were in their early 40s.

 

The daily city tours were very good and so were the local guides were excellent. You also had plenty of time to roam around and shop on your own.

 

They also was Wi-Fi service and the ability of using a laptop computer (which I did not use but saw many people who did).

 

For the price that viking offered (2 for 1) this was an exceptional deal, which many of us could not pass up.

 

What a difference between a larger cruise ship and a river boat. I must say that I truly will try the Northern Europe cruise.

 

Enjoy all.

[Topaz_M]

Frank and Pat,

 

Lovely to hear of your positive experience on the Viking Pride!

 

I'll be on her with my daughter for the opposite itinerary from Vienna to Nuremberg in three weeks time for the markets.

 

Did you do the optional tour to Salzburg as we're planning on taking that one?

 

Cheers,

Moira :)

[wallygator]

WooKeef --

My husband and I are in our early 40s and getting ready for a Viking cruise in China next week. I'll check back in when we get home & let you know how it is.

 

I have the same concerns as you as far as the age of other passengers. But it seemed like on that kind of trip -- where I didn't want to do all the planning & deal with logistics of getting around the country -- Viking was a good option for group travel. Like you, I prefer to plan our trips & we usually do travel independently. But I feel that some cruise itineraries are a good alternative in that you can see a lot of cities without the hassle & cost of moving yourself around. And in the past on bigger ships, as long as we didn't do ship's excursions but rather did our own thing in each port it worked out well for us. The couple excursions we mistakenly signed up for before we knew better were hellish.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Viking compares.

 

We did get a free wine package as part of our cruise and I know there are other drinks packages you can buy - but I'm not sure how they work.

 

 

 

We loved Viking. So much we will be doing China with them again in 2010.

 

Go for it and enjoy

[pflorio994]

Moira,

 

Yes we did take the optional tour to Salisburg. It was beautiful. You will also have Christmas Markets there which will be available after your lunch on the tour.

 

Enjoy,

[travelchickie]

We are going on the Viking Winter Sojourn and we are in our 30's!!! C'mon younger crowd, come join us!! :)

[janetcbl]

We just returned from our second cruise with Viking (Danube) and noted two changes we really liked. 1) Wine is served with dinner and the wine was often local and very good. 2) They offered a "Roughing It" tour of Budapest instead of the normal bus excursion. We had a guide and toured the city on foot and by public transportation. It was a terrific way to get to know the city. There were many active people of all ages on our trip.

[Dorothylyn]

WooKeef --

My husband and I are in our early 40s and getting ready for a Viking cruise in China next week. I'll check back in when we get home & let you know how it is.

 

I have the same concerns as you as far as the age of other passengers. But it seemed like on that kind of trip -- where I didn't want to do all the planning & deal with logistics of getting around the country -- Viking was a good option for group travel. Like you, I prefer to plan our trips & we usually do travel independently. But I feel that some cruise itineraries are a good alternative in that you can see a lot of cities without the hassle & cost of moving yourself around. And in the past on bigger ships, as long as we didn't do ship's excursions but rather did our own thing in each port it worked out well for us. The couple excursions we mistakenly signed up for before we knew better were hellish.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Viking compares.

 

We did get a free wine package as part of our cruise and I know there are other drinks packages you can buy - but I'm not sure how they work.

Want to know how your trip to China turned out!

You might have posted it and I missed it

going to China on Viking next April 2011-

need a few pointers---

[Ahab10]

We did the Viking China trip last year. Unfortunately it was unseasonably cold and rainy. Passengers were all ages and about a third appeared Chinese/asian and very noisy. Some friends who had previously taken the same cruise suggested bringing wine and we found a large supermarket that had a great selection but the imports were very expensive. We did find some rice wine that was quite good and some red wine too. The food on board was good, Chinese style excellent, but the western style was bland. Our cabin was clean and comfortable. We would do it again in a better weather season.:)