Viking Itinerary Port Times

[Steelers0854]

Does anyone know where I can find what times are are in each port? Ive looked everywhere and I cant seem to find what time we arrive and what time we leave each day.  Thanks all!

[sharkster77]

You will not find them.  Port times on river cruises are very fluid, depending on port conditions, time needed to pass through locks, etc.

 

This is one of many reasons why doing third-party port tours is difficult.  Viking cannot tell you the times because they won't know until the last minute, in some cases.

[Kawana Travellers]

Our experience is that you will receive the information once you have booked; however the times and ports may change based on conditions on the river.

[Daisi]

There are so many variables with river cruising that sometimes, it's a day to day thing as to when and where you dock. You can have problems with low or high water levels that can even change ports that you are scheduled to visit, or even locks being damaged or ships stuck in them, which really ties everyone up. 

 

Best way to river cruise is to go with the flow, if you book for an excursion that they can't provide for some reason, they will re-imburse you, but that's about all they can do.

 

[CDNPolar]

We leave Friday and just checked and even our final documents don't show port times just dates.

 

I agree with all the above here and we never book outside tours on a River Cruise unless there is a very generous cancellation policy.

[Pushka]

Ours last week were changed every port and we had to skip several due to flood. 

[Canal archive]

Remember regardless of the cruise company when, where, and  how your vessel is  ‘parked’ is entirely up to the local docking official your Captain has no say in the matter. If you want to arrange any local tour guides get them on speed dial so you can talk to them as soon as your tied up (moored).

[Host Jazzbeau]

9 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Remember regardless of the cruise company when, where, and  how your vessel is  ‘parked’ is entirely up to the local docking official your Captain has no say in the matter. If you want to arrange any local tour guides get them on speed dial so you can talk to them as soon as your tied up (moored).

And be aware that if your ship is rafted, it may not be visible from the shore.

[Steelers0854]

Thanks everybody for the great info. As you can see it’s our first river cruise. Looking forward to it!

[Daisi]

@Steelers0854, one thing to note about rafted ships...those from the same company (other than Uniworld) generally all look similar, so make sure you check that you are on your correct ship prior to going to your cabin when you return from an excursion. Our captain on our last Avalon ship told the story of a cruiser who didn't notice that the ships had shifted position during the excursion, and the guest came back and was quite annoyed when their card didn't work to open the cabin. I would have loved to have seen his face when he returned to reception to complain, only to be told that he wasn't registered for that ship! I guess it was an interesting experience for not only the crew but the passengers who were returning. 🙂