HAL vs Viking?

[cruisersMandW]

Hi all. We have booked our first river cruise on Viking Fontaine sailing on the Elbe. I've read most of the information I can find on the river cruising forums so I'm aware of the obvious differences between river and ocean cruising.

 

However, I'd love to hear tips from travelers who have done both HAL and Viking. Any insights?

[Vict0riann]

We haven't done Viking, but did do a river cruise on Uniworld, and we loved it. A very small ship (after sea voyages), and everything was included, even shore excursions, and most drinks. We loved tying up in towns for the day, where you could just walk off, and the food was excellent.

 

That said, we love the sea days on a larger ship, and HAL can go lots of places the river boats can't! It's really comparing apples and oranges - I like them both!:)

[ANSalberg]

We haven't done Viking, but did do a river cruise on Uniworld, and we loved it. A very small ship (after sea voyages), and everything was included, even shore excursions, and most drinks. We loved tying up in towns for the day, where you could just walk off, and the food was excellent.

 

That said, we love the sea days on a larger ship, and HAL can go lots of places the river boats can't! It's really comparing apples and oranges - I like them both!:)

 

PERFECT answer -and we're going on our first River cruise in SEptember and looking forward with GREAT anticipation to September -but have a Veendam cruise first/in July!

There doesn't NEED to be a limit on adventures!!!!!;)

[igraf]

A reasonably close comparison might be made with the 7-day Canada/New England cruise where a smaller HAL ship navigates a river in/out of Montreal and stops in a port town almost every day. Still not the same as a river cruise but it might give one an idea what to expect.

 

igraf

 

 

 

...We loved tying up in towns for the day, where you could just walk off, and the food was excellent.

 

That said, we love the sea days on a larger ship, and HAL can go lots of places the river boats can't! It's really comparing apples and oranges - I like them both!:)

[RMLincoln]

We've done a lot of ocean cruises, many on HAL and we did 14 days on Viking last year on the Rhine/Main/Danube, our first river cruise.

 

Two very different experiences. But here are some thoughts:

 

Rooms: Viking rooms ultra small. We had a French Balcony and didn't have a chair. Sat on the foot of the bed to use the vanity for a "desk". Did have a small stool. Loved the French Balcony concept so we could open the sliding door and watch the river shore go by. I would not like to take an "aquarium" level room even though we often do an inside or OV on HAL. But the Viking ship was full and to each their own.

 

Dining: We found the menus quite limited and the food variable. Mind you, we are not foodies, have only once dined in a pay-for ship restaurant but found the Viking food just ok. And they ran of of items, especially at lunch. Lunches were the most difficult. Do try to find out what's available in the upstairs terrace lunch before you go for the dining room luncheon. Sometimes that was a bit better organized. We didn't go hungry but we were not positively impressed.

 

The Viking dining room is crowded and noisy so we tended to go for tables in the corners where we could hear better. They poured plenty of wine, it varied most nights and we enjoyed it. The service varied and when we found a good waiter we tried to sit in his section.

 

Tours: Our Program Director was excellent and everywhere and took excellent care of us. She had an assistant who also was readily available to help with questions of every nature. Viking provided excellent city maps of every place we visited. Instructions were very clear, everything well organized. We felt the Program Director earned her suggested gratuity.

 

The headsets worked very well and we were impressed with them. The tour guides were mostly locals and very good; passengers were divided into groups of about 25. It seemed that the clientele tipped tour guides in a wide variety.

 

Overall, it is a very different experience from HAL. It's intense on Viking in many ways... time especially. It's busy. I took a "sea day" one day and stayed on the ship while they dropped off passengers for afternoon tours and I enjoyed being the ship while we moved through many locks; we picked up the passengers that evening in a different town. I have no regrets about skipping a tour even though I had "paid" for it. I had a very pleasant day on the ship.

 

Laundry: There is some limited expensive valet laundry but they have very limited staff and equipment.

 

Clientele: Folks were well traveled and robust. The itinerary is energetic and not well suited for those with mobility issues, although Viking does make it is possible by having an elevator and arranging a "leisurely" group for tours which goes at a slower pace. This is great because then the other groups are not held back by slower folks.

 

We loved having the always available internet for no extra fee and always plenty fast. This made it possible to make plans, confirmations, research for other parts of our trip.

 

I'm very glad we did the Viking trip but it is so very different that it's hard to compare. The cost is so much higher per day for us compared to our good value cruising on HAL in inside and OV rooms but the opportunity is quite special and we would consider it again but maybe for a shorter time, certainly not more than 14 days.

 

Post your questions and I'll try my best. m--

[mame42]

We haven't done Viking, but did do a river cruise on Uniworld, and we loved it. A very small ship (after sea voyages), and everything was included, even shore excursions, and most drinks. We loved tying up in towns for the day, where you could just walk off, and the food was excellent.

 

That said, we love the sea days on a larger ship, and HAL can go lots of places the river boats can't! It's really comparing apples and oranges - I like them both!:)

 

I am seriously looking at the April 2017 Viking Ocean 50 day Istanbul to Stockholm. If I can put it together with an Amsterdam to Istanbul river cruise in March, it is a done deal.

[misha227]

We've only been on two cruises--Alaska on HAL and the Rhine on Viking. We really liked that Viking was a much smaller ship; there was little crowding and the waiting in line was handled very well when it was inevitable.

 

The food was fine on both ships; I travel with my mother and she and I are not too particular about food compared to some people. We were always able to find something that satisfied us on either ship. The speed of service was faster on Viking, because they're serving fewer people and because they have adequate waitstaff.

 

There are many fewer entertainment/activity options on the Viking river ships, but you really don't need it as you've got so many excursions. We were tired after dinner, anyway! But then again we never used the pools, casino, or shops on board HAL to begin with; we only went to a couple of shows on board and one spa day. So we didn't miss those extra amenities on a river cruise.

 

The staterooms are smaller on Viking but they were entirely manageable for us. We usually get a lower-cost balcony on HAL and we were not that much more cramped on Viking than on HAL. They're laid out nicely. We did not opt for the French Balcony but I agree with an earlier poster--I would not do the "aquarium" rooms (ha!) with small windows. Even though we didn't have a balcony to sit on, the floor-to-ceiling windows lent an airy, open feel to the cabin and that's part of the reason we didn't feel cramped.

 

I also felt much less stressed on the river cruise. There were usually 1-3 options to choose from for excursions (an included one plus sometimes one or two that cost extra). You could also explore on your own, which was a good option in most ports (except one tiny town). This was a plus for me, because the options were not so overwhelming. We were able to find something memorable and fun to do at each port. And I didn't feel that I needed to make backup plans for every possible contingency--this is just a neurosis of mine, but on an ocean ship there are sometimes too many choices to research and weigh and what-not.

 

The fellow passengers were almost all considerate, friendly, mature people. Even if there had been long lines, they would not have been pushing and complaining and scamming to get to the front...like you would see on a bigger ocean ship. We felt that if there was an emergency on board, none of them would have thrown us overboard to get that last seat on the lifeboats. On an ocean ship, you betcha: every man, woman, and child for themselves! We found this a much better atmosphere.

 

We also liked that the river cruises get "up close" in ways that the ocean cruises can't. We felt we got a unique, authentic experience at each river port. (Of course, we also felt that way in Alaska on HAL!) We're going on a Caribbean cruise with HAL this winter, and it seems like many of the ports are interchangeable. Not so on a river cruise (at least, not on ours).

 

They were both GREAT vacations and we're very glad to have done them both! Have a great cruise!

[janmcn]

We've done Viking's Budapest to Amsterdam in the Viking Skadi and loved it...but....it IS different from any ocean cruise. It was much more "structured" than on any HAL cruise, but we managed. We were tired by the end of the 14 days just from being busy all the time. I barely had time to prepare for the next day...cameras, reading last minute stuff, etc.

 

We found we prefer the lazier type of cruising where you have sea days to recover, relax, enjoy fellow passengers, etc.

 

We were interested in the Viking ocean ships, BUT read their fine print...you must pay in full quite soon (by Dec. 31, 2015 for a cruise in '17!!!) And...read the fine print if you use their trip insurance...looks great but it will only give you credit with them for another cruise. (If I read it right.) So we'll pass until later, closer to a sailing date...but won't pay in full up front 2 years in advance!

 

The river cruise was lovely, the ship beautiful, and our cabin, though teeny, was well-designed for comfort. Our CD was fantastic, most the excursions excellent, and our overall experience was wonderful...but we won't bother doing another. More HAL cruises!

[Cruzin Terri]

We've done a lot of ocean cruises, many on HAL and we did 14 days on Viking last year on the Rhine/Main/Danube, our first river cruise.

 

Two very different experiences. But here are some thoughts:

 

Rooms: Viking rooms ultra small. We had a French Balcony and didn't have a chair. Sat on the foot of the bed to use the vanity for a "desk". Did have a small stool. Loved the French Balcony concept so we could open the sliding door and watch the river shore go by. I would not like to take an "aquarium" level room even though we often do an inside or OV on HAL. But the Viking ship was full and to each their own.

 

Dining: We found the menus quite limited and the food variable. Mind you, we are not foodies, have only once dined in a pay-for ship restaurant but found the Viking food just ok. And they ran of of items, especially at lunch. Lunches were the most difficult. Do try to find out what's available in the upstairs terrace lunch before you go for the dining room luncheon. Sometimes that was a bit better organized. We didn't go hungry but we were not positively impressed.

 

The Viking dining room is crowded and noisy so we tended to go for tables in the corners where we could hear better. They poured plenty of wine, it varied most nights and we enjoyed it. The service varied and when we found a good waiter we tried to sit in his section.

 

Tours: Our Program Director was excellent and everywhere and took excellent care of us. She had an assistant who also was readily available to help with questions of every nature. Viking provided excellent city maps of every place we visited. Instructions were very clear, everything well organized. We felt the Program Director earned her suggested gratuity.

 

The headsets worked very well and we were impressed with them. The tour guides were mostly locals and very good; passengers were divided into groups of about 25. It seemed that the clientele tipped tour guides in a wide variety.

 

Overall, it is a very different experience from HAL. It's intense on Viking in many ways... time especially. It's busy. I took a "sea day" one day and stayed on the ship while they dropped off passengers for afternoon tours and I enjoyed being the ship while we moved through many locks; we picked up the passengers that evening in a different town. I have no regrets about skipping a tour even though I had "paid" for it. I had a very pleasant day on the ship.

 

Laundry: There is some limited expensive valet laundry but they have very limited staff and equipment.

 

Clientele: Folks were well traveled and robust. The itinerary is energetic and not well suited for those with mobility issues, although Viking does make it is possible by having an elevator and arranging a "leisurely" group for tours which goes at a slower pace. This is great because then the other groups are not held back by slower folks.

 

We loved having the always available internet for no extra fee and always plenty fast. This made it possible to make plans, confirmations, research for other parts of our trip.

 

I'm very glad we did the Viking trip but it is so very different that it's hard to compare. The cost is so much higher per day for us compared to our good value cruising on HAL in inside and OV rooms but the opportunity is quite special and we would consider it again but maybe for a shorter time, certainly not more than 14 days.

 

Post your questions and I'll try my best. m--

 

For all the reasons you mentioned, we did our research and decided to do a river cruise with Tauck. It was a Five Star experience all the way.

Wonderful.

Terri

[Vict0riann]

I am seriously looking at the April 2017 Viking Ocean 50 day Istanbul to Stockholm. If I can put it together with an Amsterdam to Istanbul river cruise in March, it is a done deal.

 

That all sounds fabulous! You are very brave doing such long cruises. :) We went from Amsterdam to Budapest, and we loved it. The locks over the Continental Divide were just amazing, much more interesting, really, than the Panama Canal.

[cruisersMandW]

Thanks so much. Those dining & tour tips were exactly the type of info I was looking for.

 

I expected the smaller cabin and fewer entertainment options which will probably be fine given the number of ports. But, since you offered to answer questions...;)

 

I know there are no formal nights but did people generally wear casual clothes such as neat jeans/ chinos for dinner?

 

Do people generally share tables or sit with their own party?

 

Are tips paid in cash at the end (except for tour guides who I would assume are tipped per tour) or can you add it to your account?

 

Any other specific tips I should know?

 

Thanks!

[sammiedawg]

For all the reasons you mentioned, we did our research and decided to do a river cruise with Tauck. It was a Five Star experience all the way.

Wonderful.

Terri

 

Hi Terri, we tried to take your good advice but Tauck was sold out for the summer when we wanted to river cruise in 2014. So we did Viking 14 night Budapest to Amsterdam. We were on a spanking new longship which was lovely. Cabins were smaller than HAL but well thought out with good storage. There is an Included tour in every port which are all nicely done but they are more of an overview tour than anything in depth. Most tours were a few hours, part walking, part bus tour. Some ports have optional tours for an upgraded price, some ports have additional tours or cultural events available for additional money. Tauck does not charge for upgraded or additional tours.

The viking program director and concierge were professional and knowledgeable. Activities were well organized.

We enjoyed free internet that was astonishly fast, free wine and beer with meals. Soft drinks and bottled water were complimentary.

The weak point on Viking was the food, limited choices and not enough fresh vegetables, fruit and accompaniments to meals. Breakfast buffet was OK, cooked to order omelets available. Lunch was odd IMO, pasta every single day along with a modest salad bar, some pre made sandwiches and soup. Some days you could order from a limited lunch menu but the selections were not good. There are a few items available in the outdoor cafe but the food sits out for long periods unattended. Dinner was hit and miss with limited selections and weak accompaniments. There are a handful of waiters serving dinner. Not a lot of staff onboard.

Gratuities are high on Viking and payable in Euros, we paid the suggested amount but felt it was high for the level of service. I believe Tauck is all inclusive for tipping..

 

We are currently on a cruise and touring with a couple who just got off Viking Star, the ocean vessel. They loved it and said the food was very good. They complained about limited menu options.

[misha227]

Thanks so much. Those dining & tour tips were exactly the type of info I was looking for.

 

 

 

I expected the smaller cabin and fewer entertainment options which will probably be fine given the number of ports. But, since you offered to answer questions...;)

 

 

 

I know there are no formal nights but did people generally wear casual clothes such as neat jeans/ chinos for dinner?

 

 

 

Do people generally share tables or sit with their own party?

 

 

 

Are tips paid in cash at the end (except for tour guides who I would assume are tipped per tour) or can you add it to your account?

 

 

 

Any other specific tips I should know?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

You will usually have to share tables at dinner, unless you have a party of six or more. There are very few (if any) small tables. Everyone eats at the same time, so you can find a group and sit together repeatedly...or you can rotate to meet new people.

 

Some women wore dresses and pantsuits for dinner. Some wore dressy jeans (I believe such a thing exists; others may not) or Capri outfits.

 

Gentlemen generally wore khakis or chinos or whatever they're called in your neck of the woods and button down shirts. A few polo shirts. No ties or jackets that I can recall.

 

As another poster said, the lunches were odd; I would call them incomplete. You could cobble together a passable meal but it wasn't a cohesive experience like dinner. I think this is because many people eat ashore at a local place, rather than returning to the ship and leaving again for the afternoon. (We did that a couple of times.).

 

Tipping of drivers and tour guides was done after each tour, in Euros. They are independent contractors and stay in their 'home port,' so you'll never see them again. We added tips for the cruise director and etc. to our bill at the end like on HAL. You can also tip in cash with envelopes if you prefer.

 

Glad I can help someone, after learning so much here!

[RMLincoln]

Thanks so much. Those dining & tour tips were exactly the type of info I was looking for.

 

I expected the smaller cabin and fewer entertainment options which will probably be fine given the number of ports. But, since you offered to answer questions...;)

 

I know there are no formal nights but did people generally wear casual clothes such as neat jeans/ chinos for dinner? -

 

There was a Captain's welcome night which was a good night to be a bit dressier if you wanted to. Certainly no requirement. Some nights we went pretty much directly to the dinning room and just wore our day clothes.

 

Do people generally share tables or sit with their own party? -

 

We were a party of 2. In the main dining room: There are no 2-tops. There are only a very few tables for four, all others are for 6, 8 or 10. Table sharing is the norm. Along the way we became friends with some others and usually ate together at a table we designated as "our usual" but others joined us too. This way we also got to know a server better, and he got to know our desires better.

Upstairs is the terrace dining area. It is a small area near the front which has a few small tables but it is adjacent to the main lounge which has couches, lounge chairs and lounge tables. Continental breakfast, alternate lunch and alternate dinner is served there and seating is whatever you can grab. At least one dinner DH wanted to take pictures of the locks out the front so he ate a bit upstairs and then joined me in the dining room for coffee and dessert. Wine/beer is offered freely upstairs during lunch and dinner times.

 

Are tips paid in cash at the end (except for tour guides who I would assume are tipped per tour) or can you add it to your account?

We asked for the gratuity to be added to our account. It is high compared to most cruise ships. We wondered about the gratuity or the Program Director but she really did everything for us.

 

Any other specific tips I should know?

I usually preferred to eat lunch upstairs when it first opened. It's a small buffet but I found it easier to cobble together a meal to my liking there. They always had a soup which the chef ladled out for you individually; a covered hot dish such as meatballs, or fajitas, or chicken; pre-made small salads; premade small sandwiches; bowls of salad greens and or cut fruit; one sweet.

At lunch in the MDR the first day I got shut out of a shrimp and crab appetizer cup that was out on the salad bar when I was told to sit down first and order my hot dish, then go for salad bar. By then they were out and I was told there were no more. The hot choices that day were a consumme with a few beef chucks or a ruben sandwich, neither to my liking. So I made due with the salad bar greens, cheeses, a few cold cuts, breads. I heard later that upstairs in the AquaVit they had fajitas!! Later in the cruise I did get a shrimp and crab cup and also had the fajitas. But it was not a good way to start the cruise. It didn't ruin my cruise and we found plenty to eat, but it's different.

The MDR dinners always had an available everyday menu... DH had salmon 9 of 14 nights. He liked it better than pig-in-a-poke which has been described here as hit or miss. There's also a steak every night.

I followed a blog from a CCer that helped us prepare. She did the same cruise we did, Amsterdam to Budapest. It might help you too: https://rivercruisenewbie.wordpress.com/news/

 

Thanks!

 

Enjoy, m--