Viking Neptune ???

[Beckaj]

Has anyone out there sailed on the Viking Neptune ???:confused:

If so, what did you think of this ship ???:confused:

Thanks,

Beckaj

[roothy123]

Haven't been on that ship, but WILL be going on it in April (Budapest to Nuremberg), so I hope someone replies to you! I HAVE been on the Viking Europe, which is identical, just a bit older. It was really nice - the cheaper cabins are kind of small, and obviously the river ships don't have all the amenities of the larger ocean ships, but other than that, I can't think of a thing I didn't like. We really liked Viking, and really liked river cruising, which is why we decided to go on another Viking cruise.

[paulswa]

My wife and I took the Grand European tour southern direction in 2005 aboard the Viking Spirit sister ship to the Viking Neptune. As for the ships, they are not your classic megaship with all the amenities but have a number of advantages over the big ships. At 140 passengers, you get to meet everyone on board. At 375 feet it's can't get lost.

 

Staterooms: We were on the middle deck, same type of stateroom as the upper deck. We really didn't see any significant difference. At 154 square feet the rooms are more than adequate with plenty of storage space. The bathrooms are typical of cruise ships, compact. There were no issues with the bath water or should I say shower water. Temperature and quantity were adequate.

 

Dining Room and Lounge: Dining room seating is not preassigned so you can make numerous friends. Breakfast was buffet style with main course choices for dinner. Food quality and preparation was generally good although I think only Americans know how to prepare a steak. The forward portion of the ship is entirely lounge with a bar and lounge seating inside picture windows to view the scenery. The Viking Spirit had one of the best synthesizer pianist's we had ever heard. In addition, local musicians were brought on board at several towns during the cruise.

 

What we liked: Every morning and sometimes afternoon, the ship would tie up at a new town and you would walk off right into the center of the town. When cruising during the day, the best place to be is on the sun deck where you have a 360 degree panorama passing by. But watch your head!

This is river cruising not open ocean and you will passing under many bridges. There are two bridges near the end of our cruise that required the crew to lower the railings and remove the chairs from the sun deck in order to pass clear the bridges. The best part was watching the pilot house descend into the ship and the captain stick his head out a panel in the top of the pilot house. Bridge clearance was less than 2 feet!

 

Potential problems: This is river cruising and river levels can change with the weather! A lot of rain can raise the water level so the ship can't clear the bridges or worst yet a lack of rain can lower the water level limiting access to some the local towns. In our case, it had been miserable weather in most of Europe for the three weeks preceding our cruise but the weather cleared in Amsterdam with the good weather following us all the way to Budapest. A light shower on one day out of fifteen was nothing to complain about.

 

I hope this gives you reasonable insight into river cruising. I'm sure you will enjoy it. We did and we are planning a river cruise in France this year.

[Beckaj]

:) Thanks,

I will check back for sure after your April cruise to see what you thought !!!

Have you been to Budapest before? You will love it --- very interesting !

Beckaj :)

Haven't been on that ship, but WILL be going on it in April (Budapest to Nuremberg), so I hope someone replies to you! I HAVE been on the Viking Europe, which is identical, just a bit older. It was really nice - the cheaper cabins are kind of small, and obviously the river ships don't have all the amenities of the larger ocean ships, but other than that, I can't think of a thing I didn't like. We really liked Viking, and really liked river cruising, which is why we decided to go on another Viking cruise.

[Beckaj]

A big thanks to you for all the information!

I know we want a larger cabin (we have had a smaller one:( ) --- not fun !!!! My husband is 6'2".

Thank you again,

Beckaj:)

My wife and I took the Grand European tour southern direction in 2005 aboard the Viking Spirit sister ship to the Viking Neptune. As for the ships, they are not your classic megaship with all the amenities but have a number of advantages over the big ships. At 140 passengers, you get to meet everyone on board. At 375 feet it's can't get lost.

 

Staterooms: We were on the middle deck, same type of stateroom as the upper deck. We really didn't see any significant difference. At 154 square feet the rooms are more than adequate with plenty of storage space. The bathrooms are typical of cruise ships, compact. There were no issues with the bath water or should I say shower water. Temperature and quantity were adequate.

 

Dining Room and Lounge: Dining room seating is not preassigned so you can make numerous friends. Breakfast was buffet style with main course choices for dinner. Food quality and preparation was generally good although I think only Americans know how to prepare a steak. The forward portion of the ship is entirely lounge with a bar and lounge seating inside picture windows to view the scenery. The Viking Spirit had one of the best synthesizer pianist's we had ever heard. In addition, local musicians were brought on board at several towns during the cruise.

 

What we liked: Every morning and sometimes afternoon, the ship would tie up at a new town and you would walk off right into the center of the town. When cruising during the day, the best place to be is on the sun deck where you have a 360 degree panorama passing by. But watch your head!

This is river cruising not open ocean and you will passing under many bridges. There are two bridges near the end of our cruise that required the crew to lower the railings and remove the chairs from the sun deck in order to pass clear the bridges. The best part was watching the pilot house descend into the ship and the captain stick his head out a panel in the top of the pilot house. Bridge clearance was less than 2 feet!

 

Potential problems: This is river cruising and river levels can change with the weather! A lot of rain can raise the water level so the ship can't clear the bridges or worst yet a lack of rain can lower the water level limiting access to some the local towns. In our case, it had been miserable weather in most of Europe for the three weeks preceding our cruise but the weather cleared in Amsterdam with the good weather following us all the way to Budapest. A light shower on one day out of fifteen was nothing to complain about.

 

I hope this gives you reasonable insight into river cruising. I'm sure you will enjoy it. We did and we are planning a river cruise in France this year.