Is it worth paying for an Explorer Suite (Viking Longship) for the view?

[islandwoman]

We'd like to book a Passau to Budapest River Cruise on the Viking Longship Ingvi and need some help  with cabin selection.  From the ship diagram, it appears that the only cabins with a wrap-around balcony are the Explorer Suites.  But these are almost twice as expensive as a Veranda cabin.  We really don't need all the cabin room, but it would be really nice to have a 270 degree view.  That is, if it would be worth the price.  Can anyone tell me how much time the ship would be sailing during the day?  Whether we can expect the weather in mid October to be favorable for sitting outside?  Any other reasons to pay for or not pay for the Explorer Suite?  

If we were to, instead, to book a Veranda cabin, which side would you recommend? 

I would appreciate hearing any and all opinions 🙂

[Roz]

@islandwoman, I've never sailed on Viking, but most river cruise lines have you out and about touring during the day.  The only times I recall scenic sailing during the day was the Rhine Gorge and the Iron Gates on the Danube.  Most people seemed to head to the top outside deck during those times.  Weather in mid-October  in Europe can be cool to cold, and it may be windy out on the water.  

 

Are you familiar with "rafting"?  That's where your ship is connected to one or more other ship when docked in port.  Your private balcony may not be private.  

 

There's no right or wrong answer to your questions, just information to consider.

[notamermaid]

12 hours ago, islandwoman said:

If we were to, instead, to book a Veranda cabin, which side would you recommend? 

If that is the cabin where you have a little balcony for sitting, i.e. just enough to put a chair on, then I would regard that as perfectly enough for me to have. I agree with Roz on the points made. I have not sailed with Viking but I know what the space outside of the huge suite looks like on river cruise ships. Great for watching, but double the price would certainly not be worth it for me. If you like lots of privacy that is another matter. But you can find a bit of your own private space on the sundeck as well, again, depending on the weather. As regards sides, that is subjective, it depends on which city you prefer to see when docked or sailing past. Also be aware that you sail with the current as it is the downstream itinerary, so the embankment sailing past is not the one you will see when docked, as most likely your ship will dock against the current. So, generally speaking it does not matter, you will always see some attractions on both sides.

 

Much of the sailing time is at night (see Roz's points above), in October you are unlikely to have any more than eight hours sailing time per day in daylight, unless you have a longish sailing day. Some of that time may be spent eating. Perhaps past cruisers can verify this with some dailies. Those info sheets are sometimes posted in the roll calls. In Vienna for example you may be able to watch the sunset from that huge balcony, but it could be cool, or you might be at dinner at that time.

 

A few thoughts that I hope can help you.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

I also have not sailed Viking, but there have been threads complaining that the Explorer cabins can be noisy, since they are aft, over the  engines. On AMA, generally the 4 most aft cabins on each level are a grade below the others of the same size on that level. 
 

The daylight sailing on this route should include the Wachau Valley. I’m trying to remember whether this was the stretch where the sun deck was closed due to low bridges. I remember that on at least one stretch we were crowded into the small open deck below the sun deck to watch. Viking doesn’t have a comparable space, so it would be your own balcony or the indoor lounge. 

[islandwoman]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

Are you familiar with "rafting"?  That's where your ship is connected to one or more other ship when docked in port.  Your private balcony may not be private.  

 

I haven't heard that term before, but I've been on river cruises where the ships docked side to side.  Do they also dock end to end? 

[Roz]

22 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I haven't heard that term before, but I've been on river cruises where the ships docked side to side.  Do they also dock end to end? 

 

I've only seen them connected when docked side to side.  Depending on space, they can be docked end to end.  You just can't predict.

[Coral]

I have not sailed on Viking but I would not spend that much on the cabin. I prefer to be on top deck when sailing during the day but that was limited on my Danube trip as most of our days were in port.

[Roz]

I had a suite on Uniworld due to agreeing to a last minute bump.  It was nice, but not so nice that I would consider booking one on my own dime. 😄

[rcaruso]

The Explorer suites are really nice and roomy, however we did have some vibration, not enough to be upset or ruin the trip.  When we went it was cold so never used the balcony.  Mostly we go aquarium class, we just happened to get upgraded on one trip.

 

There is sailing during the day through the Wachau Valley, and no, the sundeck is not closed during that sailing (unless a possible high water).  Most people are up on the sundeck during that sailing. (The Main river is where the sundeck is not accessible).

[knoxclone]

We did Viking Bud - Passau in Oct in 2017.  The Danube is not particularly scenic in many places, and there is very little daytime cruising - except when going through the Wachau Valley. The itinerary is port intensive and we did not spend nearly as much time as we originally planned in our cabin. 

 

Unless you are specifically wanting the additional space within the cabin itself, personally, I would not spend the additional $$$ over a veranda cabin. As many others have noted, the best views are actually from the sun deck or the lounge. Just my 2cents. 🙂

[NJCruiserBoy]

I’m an avid ocean cruiser and now have five river cruises under my belt.  I agree with what many others have said, you don’t need a wraparound or step out balcony on a river ship.  You should consider a deluxe suite room on Crystal River Cruises, really beautiful rooms with huge beds and spacious bathroom with two sinks!  Crystal Ravel and Crystal Mahler are the size boat as Viking longships with half as many passengers and over 30% more crew.  I’m totally hooked on them.