Viking River Cruises

[jiminyC_fan]

We are contemplating taking a Viking River Cruise and was wondering if anyone here has ever taken one. We are looking at the Grand European Tour or the Treasures of the Rhine tour. What did you think? Is one boat better than another? Thanks!!

 

[Meriweather]

I'm interested to hear too.
I have looked at them for years..........went to a presentation at AAA once.
They sound really good........just can't get over that airfare

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are contemplating taking a Viking River Cruise and was wondering if anyone here has ever taken one. We are looking at the Grand European Tour or the Treasures of the Rhine tour. What did you think? Is one boat better than another? Thanks!!

If I may make a suggestion, there are other boards/forums that have river cruise boards. Do a search for river cruise boards.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

Try checking on cruisecritic.com

 

[jiminyC_fan]

If I may make a suggestion, there are other boards/forums that have river cruise boards. Do a search for river cruise boards.

Try checking on cruisecritic.com

Thank you but I already did that. I'm very active on two other travel forums. Just checking with the friendly DISers for their opinions. I have respect for the DIS.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I'm interested to hear too.
I have looked at them for years..........went to a presentation at AAA once.
They sound really good........just can't get over that airfare

I just got a brochure in the mail for 2 for 1 for the cruise and "free" airfare. It seems those sailings are for Nov and Dec. I checked it out and they have so many ships/boats (?) to choose from. Some new, some old. It's kind of hard to figure it all out. From what I understand, several of their boats can be in port at the same time. I have some friends that traveled with them a couple years ago and loved it.

 

[swandiverpatt]

Yes, yes, yes!!!!

We took the Paris to Normandy cruise in late April and it was absolutely fantastic. We were on one of their older boats (10 years old) and I was a little concerned pre-trip about it. No worries -- it was in beautiful condition, the cabins were larger than I expected (including the bathroom!), food was wonderful, the staff was superb.

I'd pack my bags if I could go again tomorrow! Seriously, it was one of the best trips of my life. My brother and his wife went with us. He started the trip by saying, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip." Towards the end he was saying, "So, I see they go down the Danube ..."

There were only 126 passengers onboard (full capacity). One thing to remember is that it is an older crowd on these cruises, but that was okay, too.

Excursions are included in the price (the only one that wasn't included in price was the trip to Versailles), beer & wine flow freely at dinner.

It was magnificent.

 

[swandiverpatt]

I'm interested to hear too.
I have looked at them for years..........went to a presentation at AAA once.
They sound really good........just can't get over that airfare

When we went in April, their airfare was running fairly comparable to what I was finding online. It also included a pick up and drop off at the airport, which made life simpler.

 

[Meriweather]

Well, airfare online is rather high too (I'm looking at $450 to MCO right now!! )

Their 2 for 1 and free air are always on sailings that are too fast for us to plan on.
I get their brochures all the time............and constant e-mails, so I try to keep up on it and will keep watching for something that works for us.

 

[AviatorPhototag]

My in-laws have done five or six Viking Cruises. Obviously, they're big fans! I know they enjoy the food (more so than some large cruise lines), the accommodations, and the staff. They openly admit that it's an older demographic - they joke they're the spring chickens - but I guess that doesn't slow down any of the excursions.

Their pictures are always amazing and they havent had a bad cruise yet, I know they would highly recommend!

 

[mickeysgal]

Try checking on cruisecritic.com

Absolutely! There is no question that that board can't answer. They have a specific board for Viking, I believe.

A river cruise is on my list of things I'd like to do. One that goes down the Danube.

I know someone that took one of these cruises. They enjoyed it - but they are a quiet, stuffy. older couple that weren't looking for anything from a cruise other than solitude. I don't imagine you're going to get a lot of hoopla that you'd get on a full sized cruise line. The tradeoff is the many beautiful cities you see along the way.

 

[minnie56]

I did a Basel-Nuremberg last year with Uniworld. We were 10 people...we had fun but they roll up the sidewalks pretty early! As mentioned, definetly an older demographic and our particular sailing had SO many locks to go through (51) that it felt as if we were always in darkness! But we did get to some wonderful, small villages and towns that short of driving we would not have.

Viking has a good reputation ...

 

[sunshinehighway]

I don't know anything about river cruises but, I noticed a European river cruise deal in Travel Zoo's top 20 deals this week. It looks like its for Nov. Dec.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I've never taken one but it's on our short list for next year.
My MIL did last year for 2 weeks. The agenda was beautiful, cities wonderful but they missed so much because their walking isn't as good as it used to be and they passed on so many wonderful experiences due to ambulation.

I have an Aunt that loved the river cruising aspect and has done it 2x with plans on a 3rd!

If you can handle the walking go for it and enjoy!!!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Wow, thanks everyone. We would be on the younger side but have zero problems cruising with older folks. CC does have a forum but it lumps Viking with "other cruiselines". We have cruised on large cruise ships and small and much prefer the smaller ships. Maybe this will be perfect.

For those that have sailed on Viking or one similar, we are trying to figure out if a balcony stateroom is just as fine as a verandah. Thoughts?

 

[mickeysgal]

Wow, thanks everyone. We would be on the younger side but have zero problems cruising with older folks. CC does have a forum but it lumps Viking with "other cruiselines". We have cruised on large cruise ships and small and much prefer the smaller ships. Maybe this will be perfect.

For those that have sailed on Viking or one similar, we are trying to figure out if a balcony stateroom is just as fine as a verandah. Thoughts?

Is a verandah not a balcony? What is the difference? To me, I prefer balconies. I want to wake up and step outside. At night I like to sit and enjoy the sunset. Being that this is a review cruise, I would image this cruise to be very scenic. Depends on the budget though! Go with what you can afford.

And come back and tell us all about it!

 

[minnie56]

Balcony/Verandah are the same but on River Boats there is no such thing as a 'real' balcony. They have what they call 'Juliet balconies' and you really can't step out on to them..rather like a sliding door with a small overhang. They would never get through the locks if they had the traditional sized balcony not to mention narrow parts of the rivers they cruise.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

From what I understand, a balcony has a sliding glass door but just a foot or two to stand. A verandah has enough space for two chairs.

 

[minnie56]

That might be the definition, but most Cruise lines (Royal Caribbean, Princess etc) call their regular balconies just that. Holland America call theirs 'Verandahs'.. so hard to always know?

 

[mickeysgal]

Balcony/Verandah are the same but on River Boats there is no such thing as a 'real' balcony. They have what they call 'Juliet balconies' and you really can't step out on to them..rather like a sliding door with a small overhang. They would never get through the locks if they had the traditional sized balcony not to mention narrow parts of the rivers they cruise.

Pictures that I've seen of river cruise staterooms show exactly that...a very shortened balcony. No chairs, no standing room, just a railing. Still nice to have though - especially in a very scenic region.