Closet and shelving space on Viking Longboats

[debrouillarde]

We are taking our first river cruise on a Viking longboat in a couple weeks and I'd like to know how much clothes storage will be in our French Balcony cabin. My packing is complicated because we are attending a wedding in Italy before our Passage to Eastern Europe cruise.  I will have a long dress and cocktail dresses plus my husband will have a suit and sport jacket in addition to the more casual clothing that I've read is worn on a river cruise. Do I need to bring a hanging organizer like I did for our Viking ocean cruise or is there sufficient storage for hanging and folded clothing for two people in the cabin  Thank you for any information you can provide. Deborah

[Squawkman]

Deborah -

You might want to see if there is a way to ship your formal clothing back home after the wedding as the space is very limited in French balcony cabins - 135 sq. ft. versus 270 sq. ft. for the least expensive Viking Ocean cabins. Unlike Viking Ocean, there's no free laundry, so I suggest focusing on the 10 nights you'll be staying on board. On the positive side, Viking longship cabins are the most efficient use of space you'll ever see - but all that clothing might be a reach. You can view the room layout at https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/longships/viking-idun.html#noscroll - just click on French Balcony in the left column.

[mhb1757]

There are 2 fairly narrow closets with hanging space and 1 closet with shelves (maybe 4 shelves?). In addition there are 4 (I’m pretty sure it’s 4) decent sized drawers. Not huge but ok size. There is plenty of storage in the bathroom for toiletries and cosmetics. We have always felt like there was plenty of closet/storage space, even in colder weather when we had sweaters, rainwear and coats. However we never had formal wear to contend with. But if you felt cramped you could always leave the formal attire in your suitcase or garment bag and slide it under the bed. You won’t be needing it on the River Cruise. 

[debrouillarde]

1 hour ago, Squawkman said:

Deborah -

You might want to see if there is a way to ship your formal clothing back home after the wedding as the space is very limited in French balcony cabins - 135 sq. ft. versus 270 sq. ft. for the least expensive Viking Ocean cabins. Unlike Viking Ocean, there's no free laundry, so I suggest focusing on the 10 nights you'll be staying on board. On the positive side, Viking longship cabins are the most efficient use of space you'll ever see - but all that clothing might be a reach. You can view the room layout at https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/longships/viking-idun.html#noscroll - just click on French Balcony in the left column.

Thanks for the link. Yes, the room looks very compact.😄 It would be helpful to have the closet door open in the 360view but I think mhb1757 gave a good description of what is behind the doors. Thank you for posting. Deborah

[Squawkman]

1 minute ago, debrouillarde said:

Thanks for the link. Yes, the room looks very compact.😄 It would be helpful to have the closet door open in the 360view but I think mhb1757 gave a good description of what is behind the doors. Thank you for posting. Deborah

The under the bed storage is wonderful - luggage fits nicely there. However, we found that we needed to keep clean clothing in the luggage, then move laundry to there as the cruise progressed. The 2 Viking river cruises we have taken (and the one we’re taking next year) also involve 10 or 11 nights. We’re doing 12 nights on a Viking ocean in November, and that plan is totally different given both space and abort to do some laundry. However you work it out, I’m sure you’re love the Danube.

[debrouillarde]

19 minutes ago, mhb1757 said:

There are 2 fairly narrow closets with hanging space and 1 closet with shelves (maybe 4 shelves?). In addition there are 4 (I’m pretty sure it’s 4) decent sized drawers. Not huge but ok size. There is plenty of storage in the bathroom for toiletries and cosmetics. We have always felt like there was plenty of closet/storage space, even in colder weather when we had sweaters, rainwear and coats. However we never had formal wear to contend with. But if you felt cramped you could always leave the formal attire in your suitcase or garment bag and slide it under the bed. You won’t be needing it on the River Cruise. 

 mhb, Summer clothes for Italy and Bucharest and autumn weather for this trip since we are staying longer in Budapest along with the formal wear has me stepping up my suitcase size from my usual 22in to a 26in case. I'm assuming that will fit under the bed. Would a gentleman in a sport jacket be over dressed for dinner on a river cruise? Just wondering.  Thank you for your helpful information. Deborah

[debrouillarde]

2 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

The under the bed storage is wonderful - luggage fits nicely there. However, we found that we needed to keep clean clothing in the luggage, then move laundry to there as the cruise progressed. The 2 Viking river cruises we have taken (and the one we’re taking next year) also involve 10 or 11 nights. We’re doing 12 nights on a Viking ocean in November, and that plan is totally different given both space and abort to do some laundry. However you work it out, I’m sure you’re love the Danube.

Squawkman, We were very comfortable on our Nordic Viking ocean cruise cabin It was a deluxe veranda size and yes I did laundry once. I hope you like the ships as much as we did. Not doing laundry but I do see myself hauling suitcases in and out from under the bed this trip, our river time is only 7 nights of our 25 nights on this trip. I wasn't sure I would like river cruising so I chose a short trip for a first time. I prefer independent travel so I'm curious if my husband and I will "take to this form of water traveling" 😁  Thanks again, Deborah

[Squawkman]

28 minutes ago, debrouillarde said:

Would a gentleman in a sport jacket be over dressed for dinner on a river cruise?

You will find men in sport jackets, but the majority do not wear them. I brought one for my first river cruise (2015) but haven't since then.

[pontac]

13 hours ago, debrouillarde said:

Would a gentleman in a sport jacket be over dressed for dinner on a river cruise? Just wondering. 

 

No. I took 5 jackets and wore one very night. Many did wear jackets and many did not.

 

  

[pontac]

16 hours ago, debrouillarde said:

is there sufficient storage for hanging and folded clothing for two people in the cabin

 

There's no doubt there is limited storage space, but I've had less in modern hotels. I would say it's sufficient, and I take more than many because I like to dress   in long sleeved shirt with tie and jacket the evening.

 

There's one closet with a full drop. I had 5 jackets and 6 trousers and hanged them all and Mrs P had no problem hanging her dresses. I took formal shirts which I also hanged and I had short sleeve and polo shirts for day wear. We didn't need them but you can ask for extra hangers, and - hooray - they are proper wood hangers with a hook, not those horrible hotel types you have to wiggle into a slot.

 

There are six shelves which we had three each, plus extra space in second closet, which doesn't have  a long drop because it holds the safe and has a shelf.

 

There's also a drawer (which holds a hairdryer) which we used for small items.

 

I  put my used clothing in a laundry bag which I kept under the bed.

[mhb1757]

Nice thing about river cruises, at least it seems to me... no one seems to be paying much attention to what others are wearing. Sport coat at dinner would be absolutely fine assuming you don’t expect others to do the same. He certainly wouldn’t be the only one wearing a jacket at dinner, although more would likely be in polo shirts or sweaters depending on weather. 

Plenty of room under the bed for larger suitcase. Since you have almost 4 weeks to pack for on this trip in a variety of types/weights of clothing you could just unpack what you anticipate needing for the 7 days on the river and leave everything else packed and under the bed. There will definitely be more than adequate storage in the cabin for that. If you use packing cubes you could just color code or label them for which portion of the trip you will want to unpack them and it will save you a LOT of packing and unpacking on this trip. 

 

And btw.... I think you made a great decision taking a 7 day river cruise to start out. I love river cruising but 7-8 days at a time is enough for us. More than that and the destinations seem to run together, the small cabins seem to shrink and become confining and the dining options get old. I know lots of others might disagree and all of those are entirely subjective but a week on the River is wonderful for us, 2 weeks, not so much. It will be a great addition to your trip. 

[Squawkman]

15 hours ago, debrouillarde said:

our river time is only 7 nights of our 25 nights on this trip. 

You said initially you’re going on Passage to Eastern Europe - that cruise is 10 nights - not 7. My responses are based on 10 nights on the ship.

[I like vacation]

1 hour ago, Squawkman said:

You said initially you’re going on Passage to Eastern Europe - that cruise is 10 nights - not 7. My responses are based on 10 nights on the ship.

 Passage to Eastern Europe is a 7 night cruise on the ship and 3 nights in hotels in Bucharest (1) and Budapest (2).  We did this cruise in April.

[I like vacation]

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by I like vacation
Cabin 321

[skiladyldp]

My husband brings two sports coats when we river cruise.  He will bring both even for a 7 night cruise and he never feels out of place.  I suggest he does whatever he feels is comfortable for himself.  Enjoy your cruise.

[debrouillarde]

2 hours ago, skiladyldp said:

My husband brings two sports coats when we river cruise.  He will bring both even for a 7 night cruise and he never feels out of place.  I suggest he does whatever he feels is comfortable for himself.  Enjoy your cruise.

That's good to know. I was having visions of Ron and me choosing to dress up for dinner just for the heck of it and no one wanting to sit with us.🙁 I really like the dress I'm wearing to the wedding and would love another opportunity to wear it on this trip. Deborah

[debrouillarde]

3 hours ago, I like vacation said:

 

Greetings I like Vacation, your posts were very helpful in my trip planning. I think the storage space will work out just fine. Good to know and thanks for the photos. I didn't remember them from your previous posts on the roll call. Deborah

[debrouillarde]

6 hours ago, mhb1757 said:

Nice thing about river cruises, at least it seems to me... no one seems to be paying much attention to what others are wearing. Sport coat at dinner would be absolutely fine assuming you don’t expect others to do the same. 

Plenty of room under the bed for larger suitcase.  If you use packing cubes you could just color code or label them for which portion of the trip you will want to unpack them and it will save you a LOT of packing and unpacking on this trip. 

 

And btw.... I think you made a great decision taking a 7 day river cruise to start out. I love river cruising but 7-8 days at a time is enough for us. More than that and the destinations seem to run together, the small cabins seem to shrink and become confining and the dining options get old. I know lots of others might disagree and all of those are entirely subjective but a week on the River is wonderful for us, 2 weeks, not so much. It will be a great addition to your trip. 

Ron and I use packing cubes, packing folders and compression cubes. They are so very helpful in organizing and when dealing with limited storage. I prefer slow travel so two weeks or longer at a cruise pace has me crossing my eyes and wondering what we saw where😁. thanks for the encouragement. Deborah

[debrouillarde]

8 hours ago, pontac said:

 

There's no doubt there is limited storage space, but I've had less in modern hotels. .

 

There's one closet with a full drop. I had 5 jackets and 6 trousers and hanged them all and Mrs P had no problem hanging her dresses.  We didn't need them but you can ask for extra hangers, and - hooray - they are proper wood hangers with a hook, not those horrible hotel types you have to wiggle into a slot.

 

There are six shelves which we had three each, plus extra space in second closet, which doesn't have  a long drop because it holds the safe and has a shelf.

 

There's also a drawer (which holds a hairdryer) which we used for small items.

 

pontac, another very detailed post from you. thank you for the information. Glad Mrs P has room for her dresses.  I should be able to give my husband some of MY hanging space for his suit and jacket. Nice to know I can get additional hangers. If the boat is fully booked I thought extra hangers might be scarce. 😉 Deborah

[pontac]

19 hours ago, I like vacation said:

 

 

 

Thanks @I like vacation  A picture is worth a thousand words 🙂