Viking Grand European Tour Questions

[I Teach]

This will be our first river cruise and we are looking at the Viking River Grand European Tour for 2019 or 2020. Here are my questions...

1. Amsterdam to Budapest or Budapest to Amsterdam? Which direction is best? And which side has best views depending on direction we choose?

2. Best time of year to enjoy a Veranda room?

3. Does Viking have verandas that connect if traveling with friends?

Thanks for your help!

[wheezedr]

This will be our first river cruise and we are looking at the Viking River Grand European Tour for 2019 or 2020. Here are my questions...

1. Amsterdam to Budapest or Budapest to Amsterdam? Which direction is best? And which side has best views depending on direction we choose? Personally we preferred Amsterdam to Budapest as the time in Vienna gave us 2 full days with the overnight. Vienna certainly warranted that. No benefit to either side. You will not spend much time sitting in your room while cruising.

2. Best time of year to enjoy a Veranda room? No difference and while we had a veranda I am not sure it warrants the extra charge. Would have taken a French balcony but they were gone when we booked

3. Does Viking have verandas that connect if traveling with friends?I think the answer is no, but check deck plans.

Thanks for your help!

Realize that river and ocean cruises are like apples and oranges. The only characteristic they share is that both take place on water.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to River Cruising! I suggest you read the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? START HERE!!! above, especially if you haven't done much research before deciding on this particular cruise.

 

One piece of advice that is often given to new river cruisers is that two weeks may be risky: as wheezedr noted, river cruising is VERY different from ocean cruising and some people find that they don't like it. It is terrible to realize you have made a mistake with 12 more days to go!

 

Going all the way from Amsterdam to Budapest you sail through an area which often has low water problems. So I suggest you think about Amsterdam to Basel, or Budapest to Passau or Vilshofen. You should also read the sticky RIVERS and AREAS articles on Cruise Critic above.

 

Finally, look at reviews of various river cruise lines – there is a wide range of luxury and value (and sometimes both) to choose from. Another sticky: River CRUISE LINE articles on Cruise Critic. In answer to your specific question, I don't think that Viking has connecting cabins, but AMA's newest ships do.

 

Enjoy your research!

[Cyber Kat]

This will be our first river cruise and we are looking at the Viking River Grand European Tour for 2019 or 2020. Here are my questions...

 

1. Amsterdam to Budapest or Budapest to Amsterdam? Which direction is best? And which side has best views depending on direction we choose?

 

2. Best time of year to enjoy a Veranda room?

 

3. Does Viking have verandas that connect if traveling with friends?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

 

We loved our first Viking river cruise - the Rhine Getaway - so now we are doing the Grand European in the fall. We wanted a longer trip to enjoy the experience.

 

As others have said it is so different from an ocean cruise - water and a ship truly is all they have in common. There are a number of threads under the roll call section for this route, that you might want to read through. I found them very helpful for our first Viking river cruise and also for our upcoming one. Lots of info on the ship and the ports and river cruise life in general.

 

I don’t know which direction is best. I would imagine each way has its own set of pros and cons. We chose Budapest to Amsterdam because we did the Rhine Getaway from Amsterdam to Basel and we wanted to go the other way. The Rhine portion visits many of the same ports on both itineraries.

 

I’m hoping starboard side is best, since we are in the same cabin as last time. [emoji16]

 

We had a Veranda B and were very happy with it. You will get lots of cabin advice - much of it conflicting. Many will say you are only in the cabin to shower, change clothes and sleep. I suppose that’s true for many, but it’s not how we look at it. We just like having a tiny bit of outside space that is ours alone. You also get more inside space which is good for storage, moving around, and you get a chair - which is my husband’s criteria. He has to have his chair. [emoji13]

 

I’d say go with what you think will make you comfortable and what your budget will allow. Everyone has different priorities and different ways to spend their money.

 

If you are doing a Christmas Market cruise it might be a bit cold out there, so take that into consideration. Also as first time river cruisers, you need to know about rafting.

 

There is only so much docking space in the river ports, so many times they tie 2, 3 or more ships together at the same dock. Open your drapes and you will see the balcony or window of another ship inches from yours. It can come as a rude awakening [emoji16]

 

But do keep in mind that it only happens in port, and most likely you will be heading out on an excursion, not sitting on your veranda complaining that your view is blocked.

 

As far as I know, there are no connecting cabins. Viking has a great 360 view of the ship on their site. Have a look around. You can get a real idea of what the ship is like.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

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[krillsister]

When we did this cruise in 2012, we were advised to do Budapest to Amsterdam. Was told weather traveled with you in this direction. Having no experience with weather forcasting, don't know if this is true

[Host Jazzbeau]

When we did this cruise in 2012, we were advised to do Budapest to Amsterdam. Was told weather traveled with you in this direction. Having no experience with weather forcasting, don't know if this is true��

 

Your explanation is backwards, but point is correct. Weather travels west to east, so if you travel with the weather you will stay in a rain cloud all the way [like that character in Al Capp's comic strip]. You want to travel east to west, so you move quickly through a weather front and into the better weather on the other side. Budapest = east; Amsterdam = west.

[Cyber Kat]

Your explanation is backwards, but point is correct. Weather travels west to east, so if you travel with the weather you will stay in a rain cloud all the way [like that character in Al Capp's comic strip]. You want to travel east to west, so you move quickly through a weather front and into the better weather on the other side. Budapest = east; Amsterdam = west.

 

 

 

That’s a really good point! I never thought about that factor. I’m glad we are doing Budapest to Amsterdam.

 

 

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[WisRiver]

We just finished a Bucharest to Amsterdam 21 day Viking river cruise. I do not think left or right side made much difference. We spent our cruising time on the top deck (when open) or the front deck. For the most part the weather in May was comfortable. I do not think you can open the partitions between the balconies.

[I Teach]

Thank you to everyone with some great advice. My husband wanted to go Budapest to Amsterdam so glad that looks like a good way to travel. We are really looking forward to seeing many never before parts of Europe.

[wheezedr]

Thank you to everyone with some great advice. My husband wanted to go Budapest to Amsterdam so glad that looks like a good way to travel. We are really looking forward to seeing many never before parts of Europe.

Don’t know about your previous travels but I would recommend you give yourself at least a couple of extra days in Budapest, not only to get yourself acclimated but because it is a fascinating city to tour in. We ended up walking 7-8 miles each day we were there even after doing our bus tour with Viking. Enjoy.

[I Teach]

Thank you everyone for your information! This is very helpful!