Viking River stateroom question

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Let me know if this is not the correct forum to ask this question.  We've cruised Viking Ocean and loved the ships.  We've stayed in a PV cabin and love the size of the room and having a comfortable sofa.  We are looking ahead at a river cruise (Rhine) and for the first time are looking at staterooms.  We are veranda people, that's a must have.  Another must is comfortable seating for two people.  We do not need a suite, nor do we want to pay for a suite.  In looking at the staterooms I note that unless you get a suite there is no place to comfortably sit. I see in the veranda room there is only one chair and it is a straight back chair.  We spend many enjoyable hours looking out while comfortably sitting in our stateroom.  

 

Anyone have advice on this?

[philw1776]

Been on the ocean PV twice, nice room, and on Viking river many times in the veranda cabin with the chair.  It is what it is as you describe.  Nothing else to be said.

On the rare occasions I'm not out touring & walking, I spend my day on river in the lounge looking out its floor to ceiling windows.  

 

P.S. The French room is smaller in every way, no chair & less space in front of the bed.  It's why we pay the extra $ for Veranda on the river.

[knoxclone]

was in veranda last week - one chair.  Spent majority of time while on the vessel in the lounge w comfy chairs and large windows. there are two chairs on the balcony with a small table bit are the outdoor type.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Thank both of you for your answers.  Yes I saw the chairs on the verandah, unfortunately they would not be really comfortable relaxing chairs and there would be no room to bring one inside so we could both sit in a chair.  So I'm guessing when there are two people in the room one sits on the bed and one in the chair?  We enjoy time in the lounge as well as other places, but also time enjoying our room, or resting there.  My husband has broken his back twice, and I've also had back issues, so having only the choice of sitting in a straight back chair or sitting/laying on the bed, aren't good options for us.  Also my husband is very tall and it looks like the room size is very small, leaving him feeling a quite cramped.  

 

I'm afraid we'd have to go with a suite to be comfortable for a couple weeks.  If it was just a few nights that would different, but a couple weeks it would get uncomfortable.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

You will find very little use for a balcony on a river cruise, and little time to sit in your cabin enjoying the scenery.  Most days you will be off the ship right after breakfast, and the sun will go down while you're enjoying dinner.  There are no 'sea days' on river cruises.  On a  Rhine cruise there is one really scenic stretch of sailing (the 'Rhine Castles') – but for that you will want to be up on the top deck to hear the commentary and be able to see 360 degrees.  That's why many people who only book balcony cabins on ocean cruises are happy to take the 'aquarium class' cabins on the bottom deck of a river ship.

[WisRiver]

I disagree with Host statement about little use for the balcony.  We did a 21 day Viking River cruise on the Danube from Bucharest to Amsterdam with a balcony cabin.  We used the balcony a lot, especially when we were in Germany when they closed the top deck because of the low clearances.  Rhine river cruises may be different.  We checked out one of the aquarium rooms, and we were glad we paid the extra cost for the balcony.   There is only one chair in the cabin, and sometimes we moved the balcony chair in the cabin.  We sat on the balcony fairly frequently and watched the scenery on our side of the ship go by.   Since we were traveling in late May, it was light until 9 PM.  

[notamermaid]

I would say that on a standard Rhine river cruise of eight days a proper balcony is not of much benefit. For a longer cruise - for example the Grand European - it can be really nice to have a balcony as indeed on the Main river the sun deck is closed on the three level ships for most of if not all of the time, according to past cruisers.

 

If you prefer to have a balcony and space on top of that in the cabin you will need to go for the suite. But for a short cruise on the Rhine a French balcony and much use of the lounge should be nice enough. I was able to have a glance at a Viking lounge a few years ago, the armchairs and sofas looked really comfortable...

 

notamermaid

 

[knoxclone]

Balcony is certainly a personal preference. Three things to consider - Weather,  Rafting and length of cruise. Having cruised  last week when temps ranged from 35-65 F, The balcony was used sparingly - but we appreciated the little bit of extra square footage in the room.  On our 2017 Danube cruise it was HOT and we rarely used the balcony except a few early morning for coffee  or when the sun went down unless we were on the "Shady Side" of the ship. 

 

Although we were very beginning of the season, we were rafted at least 4 of the 9 nights...Not a big deal to me as we were in Amsterdam, and two commercial ports with no views other than barges and shipping cranes. 

 

Having done the 7 day  Rhine & Danube cruises, you will not spend a great deal of time in your cabin unless you choose to.  I have yet to enjoy 21 days, so I cannot comment on that... hopefully in the future!!

[pontac]

I agree with all who said that siaze of cabin is not really an issue as you spend so little time in it.

I get the point about using a veranda when the sun deck is closed, but problem with veranda (apart from size, radfting & etc) is that you can see only one bank.

 

Its much more comfortable to sit in lounge or in the open area at bow and see both banks.

 

We hardly used the veranda when we had one, and we spent almost no time in our cabin except for dressing, washing and sleeping.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate them.  I understand what people are saying in regards to not spending a lot of time in their staterooms.  I'm happy that works for most people!!  Us, well  we've traveled enough to be able to say small rooms without a slider to open and breath in fresh air, even if it is hot or cold, we're all about that.  Public decks are not our hang out, just don't enjoy them.  We live such hectic busy lives spending time alone together, no matter how small the verandah, that's just us.  We do excursions, but we don't run ourselves ragged with them.  So I'm finding out here we are the odd couple that do spend enough time in our room to make it matter.  

[Hoyaheel]

We're also cabin/room people (hotel room, ship cabin, whatever) so I totally understand your perspective! I can't comment on Viking, as we've only been on Avalon. I found that the French balcony suited us nicely - we had a "loveseat" (closer to a bench but not uncomfortable with a lumbar pillow) and an upholstered chair and the bed as options to look out the window. I *love* that Avalon's bed faces out the window. And yes, we opened the window/balcony door even though we were on a December Christmas Markets cruise.

 

Of course, on that cruise, we were often the only people up on deck as well. Hey, I own warm clothing and I'm not afraid to use it 🙂

[BeckyR]

We have over 25 ocean cruises under our belts, but are booked on our first river cruise for the Grand European in July. We booked a suite for exactly the same reasons you have.  We do like time alone, was worried about being claustrophobic in a small cabin for 2 weeks and felt like we needed the space. My husband does have to occasionally do a little work and I like to take some time to read and relax, so we probably spend more time in the cabin than most people.  It was not an easy decision to put out that much more money, but we are so excited for this trip,  the itinerary, and the cabin. After reading the above comments, I'm glad we made that choice.  

 

Becky

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Becky, we absolutely love Viking Ocean Penthouse Verandah staterooms.  For us they are the perfect size.  They have full size furniture and are spacious enough for both of us to be walking around without bumping into each other.  As in your situation, my husband does have to occasionally work a little and we  are comfortable doing that in the room.  

 

Can you tell me what type of suite you booked and how similar does it look to Viking Ocean Penthouse Verandah?

 

Hoyaheel….I'm going to look at Avalon.  We love Viking because it's so quiet (no kids...we love them but are trying to get away from them for a brief break!!) and no casinos.  But I'll take a look anyway.  We've got time before booking this as we've got the British Isles on the next to book list.

 

 

[gnome12]

51 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Hoyaheel….I'm going to look at Avalon.  We love Viking because it's so quiet (no kids...we love them but are trying to get away from them for a brief break!!) and no casinos.  But I'll take a look anyway.  We've got time before booking this as we've got the British Isles on the next to book list.

 

 

Avalon has no casino either, nor does any river cruise I know of in Europe. Kids are almost non-existent on most river cruises marketed to North Americans (except their family friendly sailings) because there is no programming for them. You might find the occasional teen, but I would assume that they aren't party types or they would have rebelled at a river cruise. (The European operators, with their European marketed cruises seem to cater more to families.) If you don't want kids, I wouldn't hesitate to book with any of Ama, Avalon, Emerald, Scenic, or Uniworld.

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

Thank you Gnome12...how do you think the excursions compare between Avalon and Viking River.  On Viking Ocean unfortunately that is their weakest point, excursions are lacking.  Does Avalon have better excursions?

[gnome12]

20 minutes ago, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Thank you Gnome12...how do you think the excursions compare between Avalon and Viking River.  On Viking Ocean unfortunately that is their weakest point, excursions are lacking.  Does Avalon have better excursions?

I have only done Avalon in Myanmar, and never done Viking River so I can't compare. Sorry.

[Hoyaheel]

I can't compare other river cruise lines, but enjoyed the Avalon excursions. Of course, for us, it was mostly a quick walking tour and then we were off to explore a Christmas Market on our own....

[cruiser02]

On 4/1/2019 at 10:36 PM, BeckyR said:

We have over 25 ocean cruises under our belts, but are booked on our first river cruise for the Grand European in July. We booked a suite for exactly the same reasons you have.  We do like time alone, was worried about being claustrophobic in a small cabin for 2 weeks and felt like we needed the space. My husband does have to occasionally do a little work and I like to take some time to read and relax, so we probably spend more time in the cabin than most people.  It was not an easy decision to put out that much more money, but we are so excited for this trip,  the itinerary, and the cabin. After reading the above comments, I'm glad we made that choice.  

 

Becky

We did the Grand European cruise and I am SO happy we booked the suite for the same reasons discussed.  We were very comfortable and enjoyed the separate living and sleeping areas.   The living area has comfortable chairs and small sofa  ...and a nice sized desk for computer use.  Also of importance to us was the bathroom had adequate space !   

We were not on=top of each other when in the cabin. 

Did find that couples in regular cabins would take turns getting ready for the evening or the day   One member would be sitting out in the lounge giving the other "space" 

[FuelScience]

On 4/2/2019 at 9:23 AM, Sunflower & The Scientist said:

Thank you Gnome12...how do you think the excursions compare between Avalon and Viking River.  On Viking Ocean unfortunately that is their weakest point, excursions are lacking.  Does Avalon have better excursions?

We've done both and felt that the excursions were comparable.