No more Nuremberg on Viking Romantic Danube?

[zitsky]

I wonder when the change was made to take off Nuremberg on the Viking Romantic Danube river cruise, and instead, start in Regensburg?  I did this cruise back in 2017 but looked at it yesterday and see the schedule has changed.  It was a nice cruise.  My partner's main complaint was the ship was too small to have a fitness center.  The activities were mostly nice.  We started in Prague and really enjoyed it.

 

EDIT:  From what I can see, this change starts in 2021.  This year's cruises have not changed.

Edited May 7, 2020 by zitsky

[dogs4fun]

I wonder if the Danube cruises will actually sail this year. 

I have no idea why Viking changed the 2021 itinerary but it is very easy to reach Nurnberg from Munich via train. It is comfortable, scenic and inexpensive - journey takes only an hour. From Nurnberg, one can take the train on to Regensburg (another hour). We love the trains in Germany!

[zitsky]

Thanks for that suggestion.

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

I wonder when the change was made to take off Nuremberg on the Viking Romantic Danube river cruise, and instead, start in Regensburg?  I did this cruise back in 2017 but looked at it yesterday and see the schedule has changed.  It was a nice cruise.  My partner's main complaint was the ship was too small to have a fitness center.  The activities were mostly nice.  We started in Prague and really enjoyed it.

 

EDIT:  From what I can see, this change starts in 2021.  This year's cruises have not changed.

The only thing that I can think of is that the docking in Nuremberg isn't really in a convenient location for anything. When I did a Danube/Main/Rhine cruise with Uniworld in 2011, it was broken up into 2 7 day sections with the break in Nuremberg. Because we were so far off the beaten track, you couldn't really do your own thing on the crossover day.

 

As to the "too small to have a fitness center" comment. It isn't that the ship is too small, as most of the other lines have fitness centers on ships sometimes even smaller than this one. It is that Viking packs more cabins into their ships, leaving less room for public areas, including fitness centers.

[sharkster77]

Also changes on the Rhine as well.  Rhine Getaway does Koblenz now instead of Marksburg Castle, and Spier instead of Heidelberg.  On this itinerary, it may be, and I'm just guessing, to differentiate between this cruise and the Rhine portion of the 2-week cruise that goes AMS-BUD.

[zitsky]

No Heidelberg?  That seems like a loss.  I went there LONG time ago but had the flu and never saw the castle.

[gnome12]

No Heidelberg?  That seems like a loss.  I went there LONG time ago but had the flu and never saw the castle.

I did Heidelberg on a day of pouring rain. I did get to the castle, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience due to the rain.


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[zitsky]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

I did Heidelberg on a day of pouring rain. I did get to the castle, but it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience due to the rain.


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Went on a trip to Guatemala long ago, during rainy season with only one pair of shoes. Shoes got soaked. I was miserable.

[franski]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

No Heidelberg?  That seems like a loss.  I went there LONG time ago but had the flu and never saw the castle.

Heidelberg isn't right on the river...  But Speyer is.  The 1st time we did the Rhine (for the Christmas markets) we could have gone to Heidelberg but opted to stay in Speyer.  We went to the technology museum as well as walked the town.  Felt the day was well-spent.  It was nice to *not* have the long bus ride that day.

 

The 2nd time we did the Rhine, we went to Heidelberg.  We did see the castle.  It was nice - and I am glad we went.  But, the bus ride was long - and to be honest,  I didn't enjoy the day more than the time spent in Speyer. 

 

To each his own...  They may offer Heidelberg as an optional - so those that wish to go can, but they would need to pay for it.

 

Fran

[sharkster77]

On our Rhine Getaway cruise with Viking last October, after getting back to the ship after Heidelberg for a late lunch, the cruise director offered to walk into Spier with any passengers who were interested in a look-see before dinner.  There must have been 50 of us who took him up on his offer.  Walked us from the ship to the cathedral, pointing out landmarks along the way so we could find our way back.

 

Spent a very nice couple of hours in Spier before returning to ship for dinner.

 

I believe Marksburg castle of offered as an optional excursion ($) instead of Koblenz, but do not recall if Heidelberg is offered instead of included tour of Spier.

 

We liked Heidelberg very much, but were amazed how CROWDED the castle was for mid-October!  Couldn't imagine what it's like in July or Augus.

[Daisi]

Heidelberg is still included in the Rhine Getaway for 2021.  It's the same day for Speyer & Rüdesheim.  

 

" Alternatively, after breakfast, you may choose to disembark for a full day tour of Heidelberg, the home of Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386. Visit the beautiful sandstone ruins of imposing Heidelberg Castle and admire the Neckar River Valley. Continue with a walking tour through Old Town to Heidelberg’s renowned gates and after lunch, rejoin your ship in Rüdesheim. "

 

https://www.vikingrivercruisescanada.com/cruise-destinations/europe/rhine-getaway/2021-basel-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/4

 

We didn't go to the Castle, but had a great time wandering the town once we managed to get our friend settled in the main Plaza.

[notamermaid]

Interesting development as regards Nuremberg. I do not know why Viking does it is as Nuremberg does fit into the "Romantic" section, but for me it makes sense when I look at it the following way. Ending in Regensburg does not change much in the logistics of the Prague extension. Nuremberg and Regensburg are not equidistant to Prague but it comes close. Regensburg is still on the Danube, Nuremberg is on the Main Danube Canal, so if you wanted to be precise Nuremberg should not be in the Danube itinerary, but I would not want to be that strict. It still makes sense to have Nuremberg as an excursion from Regensburg. Does the itinerary give that in the description? Logistically Nuremberg harbour is awkward, being out of town. Viking for ease of the guests needs a shuttle coach to operate and if they do that they can just as well do it from Regensburg. Straubing has been talking to Viking lately, wanting to be a port with more frequent dockings. That is before you get to Regensburg (looking upstream), if one includes the small town and Regensburg it will timewise be necessary to drop Nuremberg I should think. Regensburg did a marketing "open day" last year to foster understanding and a positive attitude towards the increasing river cruise tourism. "Get the locals on your side", etc. Regensburg plans to increase capacity of dockings. No doubt they had the plans of a certain company in mind when they tried to win over the population. Yep, criticism is there in Regensburg a là "invasion, but they spend hardly any money and the ships emit too many diesel fumes..."

 

The other thing logistically is low water levels. There leaving out Nuremberg adds no real advantage as such as the shallow section is between Straubing and Vilshofen.

 

notamermaid

 

P.S.: this is somewhat disturbing, I typed in "Straubing and" - then my smartphone immediately suggested I complete the phrase with Vilshofen! What else does my smart phone know about me, I wonder?

[zitsky]

Your phone knows about that extra banana you took from the buffet.  LOL.  It knows everything.

[Daisi]

Just checked the Romantic Danube for 2021, there is still a full day excursion to Nuremberg.  You will miss the tour to Weltenburg Abbey, so it's a tough choice.  

 

https://www.vikingrivercruisescanada.com/cruise-destinations/europe/romantic-danube/2021-budapest-regensburg/index.html#itineraryday/7

 

I see there is also an option for post Nuremberg & Prague if you wish, so you could possibly do both.

[Squawkman]

4 hours ago, Daisi said:

Heidelberg is still included in the Rhine Getaway for 2021.  It's the same day for Speyer & Rüdesheim.  

 

" Alternatively, after breakfast, you may choose to disembark for a full day tour of Heidelberg, the home of Germany’s oldest university, founded in 1386. Visit the beautiful sandstone ruins of imposing Heidelberg Castle and admire the Neckar River Valley. Continue with a walking tour through Old Town to Heidelberg’s renowned gates and after lunch, rejoin your ship in Rüdesheim. "

 

https://www.vikingrivercruisescanada.com/cruise-destinations/europe/rhine-getaway/2021-basel-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/4

 

We didn't go to the Castle, but had a great time wandering the town once we managed to get our friend settled in the main Plaza.

 

The Heidelberg option is $179pp - not included as it is in the Cities of Lights cruise. We did the C of L cruise in 2017 - nice day having lunch with a student, etc., but I don't think it's worth that much.

[sharkster77]

As I mentioned in another post, there seems to be an effort perhaps to has less overlap RE:  ports, such that the Rhine portion of the Grand European tour (AMS--BUD) is not too similar to the Rhine Getaway.  Since Viking has multiple itineraries on the Danube, it would make sense to differentiate between them, attracting repeat customers on the Danube.  Different stops makes it a different cruise, even if it's on the same river.  In fact, I'd do the Rhine again if there were different ports--I enjoyed it THAT much.

Edited May 8, 2020 by sharkster77

[zitsky]

I would do the Danube cruise or another Viking river cruise again.  Wish I could convince my partner.  He said he liked Lyon and Provence.

[Ritabob]

A few years ago we were on the first river cruise ship to officially stop in Straubing.   The TV crews, an oompa band, dignitaries, the Lord mayor, etc were all there.  The locals on shore were taking our pictures.  A very nice town to visit with interesting churches and breweries. 

RB 

[zitsky]

31 minutes ago, Ritabob said:

A few years ago we were on the first river cruise ship to officially stop in Straubing.   The TV crews, an oompa band, dignitaries, the Lord mayor, etc were all there.  The locals on shore were taking our pictures.  A very nice town to visit with interesting churches and breweries. 

RB 

 

What a nice reception!!!

[wandb]

No Heidelberg?  How sad!  Not only did we have an excellent tour provided by our singing tour guide at the castle, but we loved walking around the town and visiting the university. The student prison at the university was amazing—and as clear in my mind as when we were there (years ago!). I think it is probably the only prison in the world that students try to get into rather than out of!!

[travelingman]

I had also noticed the change for the Romantic Danube in 2021.  I was wondering if it might have something to do with having to transit the locks and any problems that high or low eater might cause with that.  I did notice with the change of ending in Regensburg the cruise is still the same number of days but now with an overnight in Vienna.  For some this will be a positive and others would have preferred Nuremberg.  One can always take a bus or train to Nuremberg from Regensburg at the end of the cruise to spend a day there.  If our August Romantic Danube cruise gets canceled that is probably what we will do before heading to Prague.

 

Stan

[notamermaid]

On 5/8/2020 at 2:37 PM, notamermaid said:

Logistically Nuremberg harbour is awkward, being out of town. Viking for ease of the guests needs a shuttle coach to operate and if they do that they can just as well do it from Regensburg.

This is what I mean. The river cruise ships at Europa Kai in Nuremberg harbour. Caption says 10 berths spread over 1.4 kilometres. Image film for the harbour: https://www.schifffahrtsverein.de/

 

Not a half timbered building in sight.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

Regensburg to Nurember is sailing on the Main-Danube-Canal with a time-consuming dozen or so locks. Even worse, the shipping authorities allocate the slots to pass the lock and with plenty of traffic this is not very calculable in terms of a timetable. Nuremberg and Regensburg are not too far apart, maximum two hours by coach, rather 90 mins, but one day by ship. So it some sort of optimising shipping times to skip Nuremberg, maybe also better to place ships along the Danube in case of low water to use them as boatels.

 

And, Viking does not have good memories on the Main-Danube-Canal....

Edited May 11, 2020 by AnhaltER1960

[zitsky]

Latest catalog showing start or end in Passau.  No Nuremberg. No Regensburg either.  I liked Regensburg.  Had a good beer tour there.

 

Edit:  That's the Danube Waltz cruise.

Edited August 7, 2020 by zitsky