1st timer

[syr101]

My wife and I are experienced ocean cruisers and are looking to take a Viking River cruise down the Rhine from Amsterdam to Bassel.

Or main concerns are as follows:

How often are there problems with the river such as flooding, problems with the locks etc that would force your cruise to a motor coach. that would be disappointing to say the least.

How would you describe the viking tours that are provided.

Are there better cruise lines than Viking.

Is there a better river cruise than the Rhine, if so any recommendations we would appreciate.

 

Please any help would be great.

[suspaul]

Here is our take on Viking River Cruises, we have traveled with Viking 3 times since may 2011. Our first trip was Imperial Jewels of China, Beijing to Shanghai, excellent and we can't say enough good things about Viking, it was really interesting, the ship, hotels,guides, flight, everything went like clockwork, if anyone has a desire to travel to China - look at what Viking offers, you won't be disappointed.

 

December 2011 we did the Rhine Getaway to visit the Christmas markets, Basel to Amsterdam. Unfortunately this was during the time of the high water levels along the Rhine. While it wasn't our favorite trip, Viking was not the only river cruise company affected, I believe all were diverted at one time or another. Instead of a 7 night cruise we ended up spending a few nights in hotels and being bused to destinations before finally embarking in Mainz. The hotels were adequate, food at the hotels was poor and service, mewh. Once onboard we were expecting excellence but the service and crew were lacking, almost felt like we were an imposition to them, but after discussions with Viking on our return home, we were given some compensation towards a future cruise.

 

As to the rivers being an issue, it can happen but it's a chance you take if you choose to do a river cruise. It's an act of nature and no one is at fault.

 

October 2013 we took Vikings Passage to Eastern Europe, Bucharest to Budapest. A very interesting cruise, much different from our past river cruises in Europe or independent travel. Again, very interesting, nice hotel accommodations and we really liked our first time on one of the new longships, the Embla. Some of the independent guides were lacking but some were excellent.

 

We have cruised with Grand Circle a few times, the cabins on the ships were all twin beds, not as fancy, for lack of a better term, but certainly comfortable enough. The difference we found - while maybe less expensive trip wise, more things were optional, more meals were do your own, especially lunch and some tours were extra cost. I'd say they were a more basic river cruise line but more than adequate and we wouldn't hesitate to travel with them again if the itinerary was to our liking.

 

Also have cruised with Uniworld, very, very nice. Nice ship, great excursions, all in all a wonderful trip. Unfortunately we will probably not be going with them in the future due to their new "everything's included" pricing. While it's a nice thought they have priced us out of our travel comfort zone aka budget :).

 

One more thing, if you're interested in doing a river cruise but concerned with the ever changing water levels, check out purchasing a travel insurance policy that provides a cancel for any reason clause. While expensive it can give you peace of mind in the event of something like this. If you have a sense of adventure, give a river cruise a go, you may become addicted to the laid back, more relaxed way of travel.

 

Hope this helps with your decision. This was our opinion and we know everyone is different. If the itinerary, cost and trip were to our liking we wouldn't hesitate traveling with any if the river cruise companies, especially Viking.

 

 

 

 

 

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[notamermaid]

Hello syr101,

 

the Rhine has floods - that means its water level rises to flood over the banks - almost every year at least once. The real problem starts when the levels rise so far that low bridges "get in the way". Ships may have to stop sailing because they do not pass under low bridges. At even higher levels all river traffic is halted. This does not happen that often and may only last a day or two. Early spring is the likeliest season for flooding. But it is impossible to predict when and for how long. In summer draught can halt traffic as well, making parts of the river too dangerous for sailing.

 

Lock maintenance can be looked up on the internet, lock strikes, well, that depends on the satisfaction of the workforce!

 

As suspaul stated: for peace of mind, a good travel insurance is best.

 

My recommendation is not to go between 10 and 26 November, the landscape can be boringly grey and the Christmas markets are not open then.

 

By the way, Amsterdam to Basel is up the Rhine. :)

 

Better cruise line than Viking? You are likely to get quite a few answers to that question...and they will be more or less subjective.

 

I did the fun quiz on the Viking web site yesterday and my "dream cruise" turned out to be along the Rhone in France! The quiz might be something to try out, even if you do not choose Viking in the end.

 

notamermaid

[peterdkiwi]

We completed our first river cruise with Avalon - Basel to Amsterdam in July 2013, this was after extensive researching on CC and other forums. All we can say it was perfect in every way. We have booked another Avalon Cruise.

Some or the reason we picked them.

Avalon had mostly positive feed back on CC site, Viking, Scenic and other have a lot of negative reviews even excluding the mountains of flood related complaints.

Larger size of staterooms.

Less number on board.

Standard and timing of free daily tours.

Standard of meals including free drinks dinner only ( we saw this as a plus)

Avalon staff were very helpful in booking and even changing cruise date at no cost. All done on phone to USA call centre even though we are in NZ

Better payment terms than Viking and others.

Many others factors, but bottom line, we could not fault Avalon on any point.

Hope this helps, enjoy your cruise

[Host Jazzbeau]

We did this itinerary on AMA and had a wonderful time. The food was excellent, the level of inclusiveness was high enough (all meals and tours on board, wine and beer at lunch and dinner), and the ship and staff were great. We cancelled a Hawaii cruise to sail with AMA again.

 

As our cruise was pending last summer we watched Cruise Critic carefully during the flood time. The way different cruise lines reacted was very different. Some cancelled cruises early, when it turned out other lines were able to sail with minimal disruptions. Some refused to cancel even when the flooding was obvious and those cruises turned into partial -- or almost complete -- bus tours. When the cruise wasn't cancelled, those lines refused to let the passengers cancel either. IMHO the two lines that handled it the worst were Scenic/Evergreen and Viking.

 

There are lots of threads by passengers on those cruise lines who had a great time during good weather, but I would never consider sailing with them because of how they dropped the ball during the crisis.

 

If I couldn't sail on AMA, I would consider Tauck (very expensive), Uniworld, Avalon, and A-ROSA.

[Ozjohnno]

If I couldn't sail on AMA, I would consider Tauck (very expensive), Uniworld, Avalon, and A-ROSA.

 

I thought I'd add just one thing here and that's the perception that Tauck is the most expensive company. I have to guess it has to be where in the world that you live. When researching our upcoming cruise through Southern France starting in late August we looked at all cruise lines and as a part of our spreadsheet we were pleasantly surprised that both Scenic and APT/AMA were both dearer than Tauck (and yes we compared apples with apples) and that with the Aussie dollar weakening against the US dollar. I believe Tauck is the best and the fact that I paid less for my holiday and got a free night at a 5 star hotel thrown in made the deal a bargain.

 

Again I can't speak for other parts of the world but Tauck in Australia is NOT the most expensive. That honour goes to Scenic Tours.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I believe Tauck is the best and the fact that I paid less for my holiday and got a free night at a 5 star hotel thrown in made the deal a bargain.

 

Again I can't speak for other parts of the world but Tauck in Australia is NOT the most expensive. That honour goes to Scenic Tours.

 

Sounds like you got a great deal. If I found Tauck priced like that I would definitely try them.

 

I'm also surprised that Scenic is so expensive -- I had the idea that they were cheaper. So bad service and high prices -- what a concept! ;)

[beesKate]

We've only done river cruises on Uniworld. Prior to our first one we read a lot of reviews and had it narrowed down between a couple of cruise lines. We realized the companies' customer service could really make or break the experience. We went with Uniworld after discovering one of my cousins had been on several Uniworld cruises and they had excellent experiences.

We've enjoyed the 2 we've been on and are looking forward to a (more expensive) 3rd in 2015 along the Rhone -- we've decided to try every 2 years to allow us to budget for it.

My husband mentioned that we could just go on a trip to the south of France instead of cruising and would probably spend less. While this is true, I realized how important it is to me to know I could just show up with my suitcase and not have to make too many decisions or research the areas, etc. I really enjoy how Uniworld takes care of its passengers and the guides they hire in the different ports, the locations, the food, etc. I'm actually looking forward to the all-inclusive pricing as we no longer will need to bother with the tips at the end of the cruise. We're also fairly frugal travelers, and normally don't buy extra drinks (just because we don't want charges adding up, and the wine and beer with meals is great), so I'm sure we'll enjoy a few more cocktails.

You will find fans of all the lines (and detractors). You just do what you can to prepare yourself for a good vacation, then go with it.