Viking Chateaux, Rivers & Wine

[MalibooNewYork]

Just booked our first river cruise for May, 2014. We are so excited!

[Bet & Peg]

Maliboo ~ hurray for you!!!!! You'll have to promise to come back and tell us all about it so we can learn from YOU!!!! We'll be on that cruise October 2014!!

[milling73]

As to the type of cabin -- We have taken 3 Viking cruises, 1 with picture window, 2 with the half window. And family members that have had the French balcony on our last cruise. They loved having the view and the fresh air of the balcony...

 

....but you have to take into consideration that for the most part you will only enjoy those things waking up in the morning. Look at your trip itinerary when choosing a room, because if often docked in a town at night -- there is a good chance you will be moored alongside another ship, thus curtains / doors will be closed. And when sailing during the daytime, most opted to be on deck or in the lounge for a 360 view, and more space.

 

We have never had a balcony cabin, and have not missed it. The a/c on the boats we have been on worked great, and we could keep the room about any temp we wanted. The higher half-height windows allow quite a bit of light so the room was not dark or dreary.

 

But as to which category of room to chose - it really depends on your budget and personal preference. There is a significant price difference between balcony cabins and the half window cabins, for us, enough that we chose to go lower, and apply the savings towards another trip.

 

Actually the thing I would most choose on a cabin is location at any level -- nearness to stairs and/or reception. Those boats are long. If you do select a balcony cabin, choose the mid-level one. There is no advantage to being on the upper-most deck. There is just more stairs coming/going each day, and I heard they were noisier from foot traffic of those on the sun deck.

 

Hope that helps.

[Meme5]

We just booked our Viking cruise aboard the Njord for next May- with two other couples. We are taking the Romantic Danube cruise, seeing Budapest and Prague at the beginning and end - extra days on each end. Then my husband is talking about taking the train from Prague to Munich and staying in the Black Forest for a few extra days, and then possibly into Switzerland. Whenever we travel, he always figures we should see as much as possible as long as we are there. We are arranging our own ride from the Budapest Airport to our hotel and then to the ship- any suggestions? We are signed up for Viking's post cruise to Prague at this point. We actually booked everything through our American Airlines Citi bank travel concierge and she was able to get us some better deals on travel insurance, and extensions on when we pay. That was nice!

We are so excited as we have never taken a river cruise, but have been on several ocean cruises with Princess. Thanks for any advice or suggestions- happy travels. :):)

 

Melissa Troutman Pekin, IL

[milling73]

Mem5...Pekin IL. We are Pekin area also Just returned from Danube Waltz.

For post travel if looking at Switzerland, check into Lucerne. We were there last year before a Viking cruise, and it has to be one of the prettiest areas of Switzerland..surrounded by mountains and a lake. We wished we had allowed more than 2 nights, as there is much to see / do. We took the train..good connections.

 

email bmillinger@pmpinc.com if any questions on Viking or the area.

[KathyA]

We are booked on this cruise for October 25. Really looking forward to it!

[vcgeno]

Is anyone planning on doing one of the pre/post cruise extensions?

[Bet & Peg]

vcgeno ~ thanks for bringing this thread forward!! Now that the holidays are over - and all packed away! - its time to get serious and begin planning!!!

 

In answer to your question - YES - we're planning something - just not sure exactly what yet! In October 2012 we did 4 days in Paris pre-cruise - just not enough time!! Would like to spend time there again this year on one end of the cruise - just not sure where else!!

 

Do you have any pre/post plans yet??

[milling73]

Thanks for the information you exoperienced on your Longship river cruise. We are really looking forward to our trip. Did you purchase the 'SILVER SPIRITS' beverage program? It sounds very expense on the face of things. Are the drinks at the bar & in the lounge pricey? Your thoughts please.

 

Don't purchase the Spirits package. My husband and I both enjoyed cocktails every evening, we even bought drinks for others -- and at check-out we hadn't hit half the price of the Spirits package.

 

The optional tours are priced in Euros, and we've found them to be close to $75-150 pp. The ones we have taken have all been very good. Viking will give you a description and cost of the tours in your information packet that you will receive about 3 weeks before departure. You sign up once on the boat, at their introduction meeting. They will pass out a sheet.

[milling73]

We are booking this cruise tomorrow for the May 24th sailing. We are so excited and will be following this thread closely.

One question--is there a difference between e and f category of the standard room?

We will be happy to report back with our thoughts, etc. One warning. We are determined to have a great time so our reports might be really rosy.

 

the only difference in the rooms is their location on the floor. If you bring up the room chart, it will show you. E & F will be side / side at the ends of the category...so room beside you can be $100 more or less depending on which room you have. We take that category as well, and try to get to the one closest to the stairs. The boats are long. We have really liked those rooms. The high window allows plenty of light. There are quiet, well-ventilated with a/c. We were only in the room to change / sleep. It is the category we prefer for the cost savings. Keep in mind that with a balcony room, you stand a good chance of being tied to another ship at night, especially in peak season -- their balcony window / door may be a foot from your's - thus curtains closed.

[MalibooNewYork]

Our room is a little bit away from the steps. We did pick that room category because of the cost saving. I didn't know that you could be a foot or so away from another boat at night. I would have been so disappointed if I had spent over budget only to be looking into someone else's cabin and them into mine.

We didn't buy the drinks package, either.

[pacmom]

Don't worry there are still not that many lines doing this itinerary. We did it this past summer on a French boat and were the only ones in port. They port area has a lovely esplanade with shops and restaurants. The trams in Bordeaux are easy to use. Wonderful wine and food and that main food group chocolate. Wish we were going again. Pat

Edited January 12, 2014 by pacmom

[id4elizabeth]

vcgeno - We are taking the Loire Valley pre-extension to the Viking Chateaux/

Bordeaux cruise. The pre-extension leaves Paris on April 10 and our Bordeaux cruise starts April 12. The pre-cruise supposedly takes you into some of the famous castles/Chateaux on the way to Bordeaux. However, I've started to do some research and many of these Chateaux do not open until Easter, which this tear is not until April 20 - so it remains to be seen where they will really take us.

 

We booked our own airfare and are getting into Paris on the 8th. Will stay at a hotel at the airport on our own for the 8th, then check into the Viking hotel (a 4* hotel) on the 9th. So we'll have one day in Paris on our own (albeit a bit jet lagged), before we get on a bus to tour the French countryside. It's our 4th trip to Paris, so one day should be fine. Not that there isn't something wonderful to see in Paris no matter how many times you've been.

[id4elizabeth]

I just inquired from Viking when they thought they might post the "detailed itinerary" for the Chateaux, Rivers and Wine cruise on their website. This cruise is the only one missing from the list. The answer was "we don't know" but you will get it 2 to 3 weeks before you depart. Not very helpful if you're trying to decide on optional tours and do a little research on what you're going to be seeing!

 

My next message will be about info on the Loire extension.

[id4elizabeth]

Got some non-info from Viking about the Loire Valley extension. They do not have a "detailed itinerary" for that either. They cannot tell me for sure which hotel we will be staying at in Paris until approx 45 days before. We get in one day early, so I wanted to make reservations at the same hotel so that we do not have to change hotels. Viking told me that they can handle that for $385 per night and then I'd be guaranteed that we'd be in the same hotel. The one they advertise for this extension is the La Meridien Etoile (or similar*) which I can get on the web for $308 per night as a regular rate. Hmmm… But what if they change hotels? Dilemma.

 

Have any of you who sailed with Viking before had the hotel change from what was listed in the brochure? Wonder how often this happens?

[roebud]

My DH and I will be sailing on the Forsetti/Bordeaux river cruise August 30th

 

Have enjoyed reading all the information on this thread which has been so helpful

 

This will be our first river cruise so I personally don't have much to offer as far as experience and advice...but I want to thank you all for your experiences.

 

I will certainly share our experience when we cruise which will hopefully help others.

 

Fotopeg....we have met on another thread...you are certainly an asset to cruise critic!!!

 

Rose

[Bet & Peg]

Rose ~ thank you SO much!!! I many times wonder if I just "run-on" too much!!! Our first RC was in Oct. 2012 and, after all our ocean cruises, I had a million questions and just couldn't find complete answers here on CC! So I'm just trying to "pay-back" for all the answers I would find for our Ocean cruises.

 

I hope you'll love your RC - they are SO different from OCs! Ans its very hard to explain exactly why! Before we did our fiest, I kept thinking: boat, water, passengers, ports, meals - what could be different? But its a whole different vibe - chatter on another thread was about being able to bring on wine, beer, etc. and being treated more humanly, like an adult! And don't get me wrong, we always had a great time on our OCs - loved Celebrity - well 90% wise at least! And we'd cruise again with them - if only we had time!!! Too many place to see and not enough time or money!!!!!

 

Seriously - any questions - please ask - I'll really try and help!!!!

[Sparky333]

id4elizabeth: if Viking books that hotel for you does that price also include a transfer from the airport or just the hotel room?

[id4elizabeth]

Unfortunately, it's just the hotel room for the one night. They will sell you the airport transfer as well, but it was more expensive than getting a taxi. I don't remember exactly how much it was as it was some time ago that I did this investigation

 

If they do keep us at this hotel (Le Meridian Etoile) I think we will take the Air France shuttle. Upon a little searching, I found out that Air France has a shuttle bus that runs every 20 minutes that leaves from several pick up points at both CDG Terminal 1 as well as CDG Terminal 2. As it happens, the first drop off point in Paris is apparently right arose the street from this hotel. Literally right across the street. Figured we could manage with the luggage with that. Normally, I'm not big on schlepping our own luggage, but this seems too good to pass by. Cost was around 17 euros each. Rick Steves does not recommend it as he says it only has about 4 drop off points in Paris and then you have another cab ride to get to your hotel, but I figured if it's right across the street, it might be the best way. If we're really whipped we can always taxi as a back up. One bad experience we've had with Viking transfers is that we've had to wait around the airport for other incoming flights - one time over 2 hours - before they took us from the airport. So we've said we'd never do that again.

[roebud]

Does anyone know what the weather pattern is like at the end of August in the Bordeaux area?

 

I'm also wondering if it is a time when the river may be too high or low. Not sure if it's a seasonal thing or dependent on the weather/rain pattern

 

Since this is our first RC how do most people dress for dinner?

 

Thank-you to you all!!

 

Rose

[Sparky333]

id4elizabeth - oh, it was too good to be true to get the transfer included also, I should've known :rolleyes:

 

Your shuttle plan sounds like a good one. It's a shame that you had to wait so long that time for a Viking transfer. I hope that was a goof on their part not the way they normally handle those.

[id4elizabeth]

I got the feeling that's pretty normal for the way they handle transfers. If there are a lot of other Viking passengers on your flight, enough to more or less fill up the van/bus etc, then you get lucky and leave right away. But if there's not many Viking folks on your flight, but there's another flight that comes in shortly after yours and it has a lot of Viking passengers on it, they will hold you at the airport waiting for the next flight. What happened to us was that the next flight that they were waiting on kept getting delayed, later and later. Since we were the only incoming Viking customers on our flight, we had no choice but to wait. I think if you book your air through Viking, this is less likely to happen, as they tend to book their Viking customers on the same flights. But if you book your own air, it happens more often I think.

[Sparky333]

I see, so if you just buy a transfer from them you're a little more likely to have to wait for a flight with a large # of Viking passengers on it than if you've bought the flight through Viking, too. Something to keep in mind for the future. Thanks.

[id4elizabeth]

You got it!

 

Conversely, if you book your own air (because of frequent flyer miles, or cheaper flights) it's probably more convenient to take a taxi, shuttle bus, train, or whatever, than buy their transfer.

 

Want to point out that I don't think this is just a Viking thing - it's probably the same for all the river cruise lines.

[MalibooNewYork]

This is a new question (thread). I'm not very good at using CC and for some reason can't find the new thread icon only the post reply icon. So, here goes:

Do the cabins come with hair dryers?

I imagine we'll fly into C. de Gaulle airport. Is it easy to find the transfer for Bordeaux?

Then, we're met at the airport to transfer to the Forseti, is this right?

We're on the May 17 tour on the Forseti.