Viking River Cruises...a few questions...

[mosstraveltv]

I love travelling through Europe, and I do frequently by train, but I am tempted by one of the long distance River Cruises (10-14 days or thereabouts). They do seem expensive though compared to Sea cruises, so I'm just wondering what you get for your money in terms of: food and drink; inclusive transfers from port to city; inclusive excursions.

 

If I didn't want to do any of the excursions and wanted to please myself, would that be a problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Cary Cruiser]

The price of the cruise includes the excursions. You don't have to do them if you don't want to, but they are generally pretty good, with knowledgeable guides and you are paying for them anyway - so why not. There are some optional excursions that come at an additional price.

 

Wine and beer is included with lunch and dinner, and there is even some sparkling wine that is available at breakfast if you are so inclined. Transfers to and from airport to ship are also included.

 

Check out the Viking website http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ and you may get answers to most of your questions.

[ninaks]

I have only cruised with Viking so can tell you about them. Almost everything is included in a river cruise. All the meals are included, and most lines include wine and beer during your meal as well. Also if you want to buy wine off the boat and bring it back for dinner, they open and serve it to you for no charge. Most excursions are included, though they usually offer a few optional tours you have to pay extra for if you want to go. If you don't want to take included tours that is not a problem at all. There is plenty of food, you never go hungry. What is a big difference on river cruises is there really is no entertainment on the ship but since you are hardly ever on it except to eat and sleep that isn't an issue. On Viking they do have recommended gratuities at the end of the voyage that you should plan on. If you use them to book your air, transfers are included. If you do not use them, then you can pay extra for transfers. We usually book our own air. I like having control on when we arrive and how many stops we make. I don't think you would be sorry if you took a River Cruise. They are addictive

[FuelScience]

One other factor figures significantly into the higher cost of river cruises vs. ocean cruises--size. All European river boats have pretty much the same exterior dimensions. Locks and bridges impose limitations on length, width, and height. Viking manages to load 190 people into a long boat, while other lines may have larger staterooms and/or public spaces and hold only 130-150 people.

 

River boats simply don't have the same economies of scale as an ocean ship holding thousands of people. I've found that this translates into more personal service on river cruises.

 

We've cruised three times with Viking (Cities of Light, Romantic Danube, and Tulips and Windmills). We've been very pleased with the river cruise experience and felt free to do our own thing when we wanted--just make sure that you get back to the boat on time! We're not big foodies, and we've been very satisfied with the food and drink (soft drinks, beer, and local wines included with lunch and dinner).

 

Check out the sticky at the top of this forum to find lots of good introductory info on river cruising.

 

Hope this was useful.

 

FuelScience

[honumaui]

Also, check out the other lines..Avalon, Scenic, AMA, etc. They all have a web site.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Also, check out the other lines..Avalon, Scenic, AMA, etc. They all have a web site.

 

You will find that the items included in the fare vary with cruise line (in addition to things like size of cabin), so don't assume that the fare touted on the website is the true cost or is comparable to another cruise line. Some lines give a nice discount for paying in advance (which Viking requires you to do anyway), and several posters have reported that with this discount the other line became cheaper than Viking.

 

Another choice is the type of cabin. The advertised fares are for the "aquarium class" on the lowest deck; these cabins have fixed windows high up and on some older ships the elevator doesn't go down to this level (you must walk the last half-flight) -- but many people like them fine and they certainly give a nice savings; of course the food, wine, and excursions are just the same. The middle category is usually a French balcony, which means the entire outside wall of the cabin is glass for great views, and half slides over to give fresh air and let you stick your head out to see fore and aft (newer ships on Scenic have the wall divided horizontally so the entire width slides down halfway) -- but be aware that these aren't real balconies that you can go out onto. The next category would be real balconies -- but be aware that the space for the balcony is usually taken from the cabin (since the boats' width is limited by the locks) and the quoted sf includes the balcony so it's hard to figure out how big the cabin actually is. Finally there are suites which are larger (but nowhere near as large as suites on ocean cruises) and usually have more amenities. Also cabins at the back of the boat may have engine noise/vibration, and cabins on the top deck will have noise from the lounge chairs on the sun deck above. My personal preference is for a French balcony cabin on the middle deck. As long as your cabin is at least 170sf you shouldn't feel cramped.

[mosstraveltv]

Thank you everyone, of some really useful advice, I'm going to look further into this, and hope to book something for next year or 2016.