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Have heard negative things about Viking


sjde
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Not sure about that @sjde, as I have no idea as to how much they get paid.  I know I've seen posts where it seems as if it's more the crew and how they handle situations (water levels for example) that make people say they didn't enjoy the cruise.  Most lines go to the same towns, and see the same sights, but I know we had some guides that were just OK, and some that went above and beyond to give us a great tour.  It also depends on your fellow passengers.  We had about 8 in our small group of gentle walkers to begin with, and we quickly learned who were going to complain, who we had to try to hustle up (not for the tour, but the free time after, they would sit down to eat and not always be ready to board the bus).  We had a fantastic CD, she had some difficulties to overcome (taxi's that didn't show when ordered at one stop), but managed to organise stuff so that if you didn't realise the problem you wouldn't know..  

 

Mind you, I've seen lots of reviews about various lines complaining about cancelling the cruises due to Covid... some people just can't be pleased no matter what. 🙂

 

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Our TA got a free river cruise out of Amawaterways, so she was aggressive in recommending that company to us.  We preferred Viking's itinerary, went with them, and were 100% satisfied.  It may be that TA's recommend what they know--she admitted she never sailed with Viking but had lots of clients who were happy with them.

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1 hour ago, sjde said:

Is it a case of the better the line pays , the better their leased  crew will be? And those costs figure in to the price a traveler will pay. 

I believe so.  Also the happier the line's ships in general, the better the service will be.  I don't think owning/leasing is a determining factor per se.

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18 hours ago, sjde said:

Like I said , this was a relative and it was said when we weren't even using her to book anything for us. 

I think when the agent compared Viking and Carnival - both are giants in their industry and both have huge name recognition. Both are accurate. It doesn't mean that the same clientele visit both or they act the same.

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14 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

Our TA got a free river cruise out of Amawaterways, so she was aggressive in recommending that company to us.  We preferred Viking's itinerary, went with them, and were 100% satisfied.  It may be that TA's recommend what they know--she admitted she never sailed with Viking but had lots of clients who were happy with them.

My agent has been on several (Viking, Amawaterways and Scenic) - maybe more. I am guessing they were discounted as lines want to attract agents and experience their product. I think Viking PR/Sales stresses to agents that they can move people from ship to ship during low water trips and that is a plus. Friends who have done this don't consider this a plus. My agent does recommend Viking due to this.

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56 minutes ago, Coral said:

My agent has been on several (Viking, Amawaterways and Scenic) - maybe more. I am guessing they were discounted as lines want to attract agents and experience their product. I think Viking PR/Sales stresses to agents that they can move people from ship to ship during low water trips and that is a plus. Friends who have done this don't consider this a plus. My agent does recommend Viking due to this.

I would rather lose a half day doing a ship swap than having my river cruise become a bus trip.  But to each his/her own.

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@sjde, it all depends on the weather, if the water is low or high, the ships can't sail.  Viking has the benefit here where they can do ship swaps, while other lines can only do them occasionally.  A lot of lines now run cruises leaving from each end so if they do have to stop, then there is a ship on the other side that can take on the exchanged passengers.

 

If they only have one ship on the route, then your ship gets parked, you ride on a bus for however long it takes you to reach the next destination or to a hotel.  

 

No one can tell if or when there will be problems, it's like asking when it's safe to tour a town where there will be no rain in the summer...you can only tell when it happens.  The lines do their best to sail as much as they can, so sometimes, even though there is low or high levels of water, they will start off hoping that the weather will change and they can continue the cruise uninterrupted.

Edited by Daisi
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1 hour ago, sharkster77 said:

I would rather lose a half day doing a ship swap than having my river cruise become a bus trip.  But to each his/her own.

My friend felt like his trip was a bus trip. He had to switch ships 3x on an 8 night cruise. He greatly missed time in port because of it. Some of their port times/touring was cut in half. He wished his trip had been cancelled.

 

Also realize when you do a ship swap - you often have to be bussed to the new ship.

Edited by Coral
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Daisi- I understand all that and I’m wondering how many years it’s been a problem in the last 10 years.  I do know in 2018!it happened on the Rhine ( ship swap and busing) but other than that I don’t know because I wasn’t  really paying attention.

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25 minutes ago, sjde said:

Anyone know how often those ship swaps happened ? How many years out of the last 10 years? 

I know it was big in 2018 but I know friends who have issues other years. It may only be for a few weeks or months out of the year. It also can happen on one river and not another (due to rain and river levels). Lots of variables involved.

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36 minutes ago, sjde said:

Anyone know how often those ship swaps happened ? How many years out of the last 10 years? 

I have not followed this long enough, but taken as an estimate: German Danube 8 out 10, German Rhine 5 out of 10. Danube overall more days affected each year than the Rhine. Problem worse than the previous decade when you look at ten years time frames. Attributed to climate change.

 

Here is the thing: the issue is not just with the river itself but with the fact that the ships have got bigger. If you asked CroisiEurope about their overall performance they would say that almost all their itineraries on the Danube and Rhine have run in the last five years smoothly and they would be right. I do not know if they even plan in ship swaps. Over the last 10 years almost all new-builds were given the maximum size of 135m across the industry ( in Europe). CroisiEurope have publicly said that they will stick to 110m.

 

 

This ship swap businesses of course mostly applies to low water situations as that is the worse problem, flooding is often before the season and in season rarely affects the rivers for long.

 

notamermaid

 

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Thank you. So maybe we should stick to shorter , lighter weight ships! You mention years , so then I'm curious what percent of their voyages were affected each year.  I think this is most likely to happen in the fall? or is summer a problem too? Spring seems to be okay since winter and spring are when the rains  come. 

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16 minutes ago, sjde said:

Thank you. So maybe we should stick to shorter , lighter weight ships! You mention years , so then I'm curious what percent of their voyages were affected each year.  I think this is most likely to happen in the fall? or is summer a problem too? Spring seems to be okay since winter and spring are when the rains  come. 

Late Summer into Autumn. Bad years as late as mid November. 2018 even worse.

 

Two things as regards river section: Rhine - worst bit almost unavoidable as it is the bottle neck in the middle called the Rhine gorge. Danube - worst stretch avoidable on itineraries that start in Vilshofen or further downstream.

 

Never able to determine when it will happen and for how long. Could be 20 September for 12 hours or could be 10 to 15 October the whole time. Anything like that.

 

The itinerary Amsterdam to Budapest is the double whammy - two low water stretches (and at least two more, but only in bad years). In the Autumn of 2018 that itinerary became an almost useless undertaking for a few weeks. But 2018 should not be your "orientation year". I would say 2016 and 2019 were more normal scenarios that represent the problem.

 

Here is my tip: if somebody tells you about their experience with ship swaps on Viking, ask them exactly when they sailed and which itinerary. If they say "terrible, three ship swaps" they most likely went in 2018!

 

notamermaid

 

 

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30 minutes ago, sjde said:

Thank you. So maybe we should stick to shorter , lighter weight ships! You mention years , so then I'm curious what percent of their voyages were affected each year.  I think this is most likely to happen in the fall? or is summer a problem too? Spring seems to be okay since winter and spring are when the rains  come. 

Not an expert but I think too high of river levels in the spring can cause problems also.

 

I think the moral of the story is Mother Nature is in control.

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We were on the Rhine on Teeming in Nov/Dec 2018 and almost ran into trouble in Rudesheim. We heard other ships (other lines) had to do a swap or a bus, but our ship was smaller and lighterweight so we made it through. 

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16 minutes ago, sjde said:

We were on the Rhine on Teeming in Nov/Dec 2018 and almost ran into trouble in Rudesheim. We heard other ships (other lines) had to do a swap or a bus, but our ship was smaller and lighterweight so we made it through. 

I was on the Danube at that same time. We were fine but we didn't go to Budapest (our itinerary wasn't scheduled to go). We did overnight in a few ports overnight and just had a short bus ride into our next port - not an inconvenience. The 10 day cruise before us did go to Budapest and the ship couldn't make it, they were bussed and put up at the Ritz overnight.

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24 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

 

Here is my tip: if somebody tells you about their experience with ship swaps on Viking, ask them exactly when they sailed and which itinerary. If they say "terrible, three ship swaps" they most likely went in 2018!

 

notamermaid

 

 

My friend was in 2018 who had 3 ship swaps. I have another friend who was going to go with Uniworld several years ago - I don't remember the itinerary or year but it turned into a bus trip for the entire trip. I warned her from posts on this board and she cancelled (she would have hated it).

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IIRC, there was really bad flooding a couple of springs prior to 2018.  I think that was when the lines started preparing for problems caused by water levels.  It's a fact that some time it will happen, the main thing is how the cruise line deals with it.  That is why most have gone to setting 2 cruises off at the same time in opposite directions, so they can hopefully meet on each side of the problem. 

 

Viking has the advantage of more ships, so instead of possibly one set of ships setting off a week, they can do a couple - say 2 leaving on a Sunday, 2 leaving on a Tuesday type thing.  Therefor, when they run into problems there are several ships on the route that can accommodate passengers where ever they need.  

 

Another thing you also have to take into consideration is also problems with locks...repairs, ships hitting them, etc.  That is something that can happen no matter what the water level.

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1 hour ago, sjde said:

Thank you. So maybe we should stick to shorter , lighter weight ships! You mention years , so then I'm curious what percent of their voyages were affected each year.  I think this is most likely to happen in the fall? or is summer a problem too? Spring seems to be okay since winter and spring are when the rains  come. 

There are problems with low water and high water.  Water level issues can occur anytime, anywhere.  It's a chance you take with a river ship.  Just like bad weather may cause an ocean cruise to miss a port.   Perhaps booking a smaller, lighter river ship will help your odds.  While it's devastating to the pax, the percentages of "ruined cruises" are probably very, very low.  I would consider a cruise ruined if I ended up on a bus, I mean luxury motor coach.

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When we did the 2018 cruise I mentioned above, we joined the ship in Nuremberg, halfway through its journey  ( heading to Amsterdam).  Those on before us I believe did have a problem in Budapest. 

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1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Late Summer into Autumn. Bad years as late as mid November. 2018 even worse.

 

Two things as regards river section: Rhine - worst bit almost unavoidable as it is the bottle neck in the middle called the Rhine gorge. Danube - worst stretch avoidable on itineraries that start in Vilshofen or further downstream.

 

Never able to determine when it will happen and for how long. Could be 20 September for 12 hours or could be 10 to 15 October the whole time. Anything like that.

 

The itinerary Amsterdam to Budapest is the double whammy - two low water stretches (and at least two more, but only in bad years). In the Autumn of 2018 that itinerary became an almost useless undertaking for a few weeks. But 2018 should not be your "orientation year". I would say 2016 and 2019 were more normal scenarios that represent the problem.

 

Here is my tip: if somebody tells you about their experience with ship swaps on Viking, ask them exactly when they sailed and which itinerary. If they say "terrible, three ship swaps" they most likely went in 2018!

 

notamermaid

 

 

Actually, 2015 was really bad.  We went on a Viking A - B and ship swapped 3 times.  That was in November.  We almost had to swap a fourth to get into Budapest, but we got lucky and sailed without interruption to Budapest.  Thanks to Cruise Critic I was prepared.  We went into Amsterdam a few days ahead and received the e-mail from Viking when we arrived, so really didn't want to cancel.  However several people at the Viking hotel cancelled on the spot and went home. 

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Viking usually has 2 ships departing every day traveling in the opp. direction.  So if there is only 1 low water area, then one ship swap will take care of things.  Recently there have been historically low water, so companies did what they could--inconveniences were going to happen.

 

As has been said, Nature is in charge!

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1 hour ago, Coral said:

Not an expert but I think too high of river levels in the spring can cause problems also.

 

Yes, certainly. Something that affects the other rivers as well then. In general this happens for a shorter period. Depending on authority this is much more likely to "close" the river for safety than low water. In low water some countries and/or authorities let this play and leave the decision to sail to the captains.

 

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I think the moral of the story is Mother Nature is in control.

Oh, yes! We try to control her but in the end she still has the upper hand over us, also in river cruising.

 

1 hour ago, sjde said:

We were on the Rhine on Teeming in Nov/Dec 2018 and almost ran into trouble in Rudesheim. We heard other ships (other lines) had to do a swap or a bus, but our ship was smaller and lighterweight so we made it through. 

I remember that well, as I followed your ship's progress and saw that she made it through. I posted during that time quite a bit (my, I was far too busy due to the low water).

 

26 minutes ago, rcaruso said:

Actually, 2015 was really bad.  We went on a Viking A - B and ship swapped 3 times.  That was in November.  We almost had to swap a fourth to get into Budapest, but we got lucky and sailed without interruption to Budapest.  Thanks to Cruise Critic I was prepared.  We went into Amsterdam a few days ahead and received the e-mail from Viking when we arrived, so really didn't want to cancel.  However several people at the Viking hotel cancelled on the spot and went home. 

You really hit the negative jackpot. 2015 was indeed a bad year. I do not recall details from the Danube too much (I know it was kind of bad, just not the details) but on the Rhine it was certainly really bad. It was the second or third worst in the last ten. 2018 was rock bottom (sorry, don't cringe, please, pun half intended) with the Danube really bad for longer than the Rhine as regards number of days not sailed. It really was the worst drought many people had seen in their lifetime. It blew the statistics.

 

Theoretically, water level problems can arise any time of year. Depending on river sometimes more sometimes less. Most controlled rivers will cause little problem in drought, as a side note, but the Rhine and Danube together make up a huge proportion of the market so you are always likely to hear of such problems. Drought on the Moselle is basically unheard of (as regards river cruising). On the Main neither.

 

The Elbe is a different matter as the part sailed by Viking is a problem. On that river Viking certainly does not excel. They built very good new ships, but the river has got worse in the last few years. It did not play in Viking's favour. 2020 was better than we could have expected but then Coronavirus happened so you are unlikely to hear of many good recent stories for the Elbe.

 

I cannot comment on the statement about Carnival in so far as I do not know Carnival. I am sure, though, that it was supposed to be a comment that would help your decision. If it was meant to be something about it being "a mass product for the masses", this may be right as regards size, marketing and all ships are designed and built to a "same size and standard look". But even that is skewed when looking at details like a new size ship on the Seine for example.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

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