Enteraining Viking Cruise (Partial) Video

[G.M.T.]

An enjoyable 2018 video for the viewers maybe not for the actual passengers:

 

 

[pully8]

excellent video, very entertaining. many will relate to their experiences.

[notamermaid]

Thank you, G.M.T.

This is a really entertaining video. Well done, to the gentleman!

The elusive place is called Wertheim on the Main and has a glass museum with glass-blowing demonstration. Have never been, sounds nice. But from the video it looks as though the glassblower was on the ship. Really? Feels a bit like cheating to me. It is not clear, but it appears the ship did not stop in Wertheim. Would also love to ask the gentleman about the scheduled wine tasting.

 

A nice journey with some mishaps.

 

For those who did not read along with us last year in the various threads: on another sailing date this could have turned into a tale of three cruises, i.e. three ships. ☹️

 

Or two ships and a small boat, or no ship. Or other variants.

 

Hopefully never to be repeated to that extreme.

 

Notamermaid

 

[seawob]

Very well done!  Planning is one thing and you can but try to get it right.  On our Viking Danube cruise (early September in 2017) we were told after we boarded that the river was  low and we might have to swap ships mid cruise.  Then a few days later it rained and the river was too high so we still had to swap ships mid cruise.   

[ural guy]

This should be required viewing for what can go wrong.  Our November sailing on the Rhine/Mosel was impacted, but not this bad.

 

Also a good example of how small a Viking French Balcony cabin is.  Pay less money for more space in aquarium class, you're just giving up the sliding glass door.

[cruiselvr04]

I watched this and was just sad for the persons involved.  

 

We we watched the Viking ads on TV and thought “ a vacation like would be great!”  We booked and paid our money and now realize we are taking a gamble with the most money we’ve ever spent spent on a vacation.  I would be crushed if our trip turned into a bus ride and we missed the beauty and ease of sailing up or down the river. ( We are seasoned ocean cruisers.)  I doubt I’d have talked the DH into it if he knew this was a possibility.

 

i don’t think I’ll show him this video.  Since only about 10% -20% of cruises are usually affected I’ll be the one to worry.  I could handle a ship swap or even 2 ( and he’d be fine with it too ) but not a bus trip. If that happens it will be our first and last river cruise.  I’d never get him to go again.  He’s already not happy with tiny room for the money but it all goes well he will get over that.

 

Live and learn.  ( if there is a next time I’ll do a lot more research on the time to go.  We picked the dates based on our anniversary which is in June.)

 

And yes this video was well done!  Thanks for posting!

Edited March 12, 2019 by cruiselvr04

[ural guy]

cruiselvr-  I know this is hard, but try just to think how nice of a trip this can be!  Don't worry about what you can't control, river levels may be fine.

 

I had a lot of anxiety approaching our trip as the drought had gone on so long.  The cruise prior to ours was canceled.  I tried to cancel prior to flying, no dice, and my insurance only kicked in if the cruise line canceled.  In the end, even with the disrupted sailing (first 5 nights in a hotel in Basel), we had a good time, AND nothing I could have done prior was of any use.

 

By your own math, 90% chance you'll be fine, and I think it's even better odds than that.

 

Happy travels.

Edited March 12, 2019 by ural guy
clarity

[lackcreativity]

Cruiselvr,

 

Even if you had done more research regarding the best time to travel on a river cruise, you cannot eliminate the possibility that river levels can impact your trip. Problems can occur with water levels that are too high or too low, and conditions can change very quickly. Even on ocean cruises, ports can be missed because of storms or wind. The rafting of ships next to each other is a result of the greatly increasing number of people who like to take these trips, even with the potential for problems.

 

We have done one Viking river cruise and have another booked for next spring. The first went off without a hitch. If our next one has to swap ships or travel partly by bus, we will still be visiting lovely, interesting new places, eating nice meals, and meeting friendly people. What could be wrong with that?

 

I hope you experience no difficulties with your trip, but I hope you can enjoy whatever you experience.

[dogs4fun]

Great video - thanks for sharing.

[jrkstl]

Cruiselvr,

 

Our very first cruise of any type was the Romantic Danube in 2015, and due to low water we encountered a ship swap midway through the trip. You know what? The lunch we had in a lovely beer garden in Passau was one of our favorite things, and Viking handled the swap so beautifully that we really didn’t care.

 

In a few days we are embarking on Viking cruise number 5, so obviously it didn’t turn us away 😀.

 

You’ll be in very good hands, so please don’t worry!

 

Happy travels!

 

Jeff

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks for all the encouragement!  I do appreciate it!  

 

I’m excited beyond words for this trip.  We are actually a pretty go with the flow couple and make lemonade out of lemons people. ( You won’t see us complaining at the desk that something wasn’t perfect. In fact we dislike those types of people.)  I just so want to be on the river and not on a bus.  I know we have no control over the weather and it will be useless to complain.  I have read because of so many ships on the river Viking seems to do a better job then most. 

 

So I will try to relax and hope for the best.  Or consider the alternative an adventure!

[Coral]

I felt bad for laughing. 

[ural guy]

Showed this to my wife and she had the same idea, jump ship in Nurnberg and train it to Passau.  Average train time is about 2.5 hrs.  You get to spend extra time in Passau, which we we really enjoyed.

Of course you'd be doing that on your own dime.

 

The frau made the 0800-2030 bus trip, Basel to Koblenz, with Vantage.  They got held up on the autobahn for 2 hours due to an accident, and the day's tour in Heidelberg.  I was on the top deck waiting for her with a beer, having 'jumped ship' the day before.