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Viking European Sojourn Cruise 2018


Nodakboiler
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We are interested in the Viking European Sojourn cruise from Bucharest to Amsterdam. it looks like a fabulous trip. I know that it basically combines two itineraries. Do we travel on one boat the entire time or do we change ships in Budapest? Thanks.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have you done a river cruise before? I'd do this in a heartbeat, but 3+ weeks is a long time if you find out that you don't like the structure of river cruising. This board had a recent long thread by a long time ocean cruiser who took this very cruise and found out by day 3 that river cruising was not for them, and then spent 3 weeks moaning about how terrible it was. Common advice is to start with a shorter cruise to see how you like it. I've done 20+ river cruises on 4 continents, so clearly I like river cruising, and most people who try it like it, but not for everyone.

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We did a Rhine River Cruise three years ago and loved it. We just haven't been to squeeze another one into our schedule. We have been on several ocean cruises down through the years. Now that we are both retired we have more time exploring various destinations. The European Sojourn itinerary has many interesting ports and stops that we haven't been to. Thanks for your input.

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We just did this trip in April of this year (Amsterdam to Bucharest) we were on the Viking Embla the whole time all we can say is the food was horrible! Low quality and poorly prepared I suggest you not go on Viking! We have been on 36 on 9 different cruise lines and this is the worst food we have ever had.

 

 

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Edited by goldenrod
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We just did this trip in April of this year (Amsterdam to Bucharest) we were on the Viking Embla the whole time all we can say is the food was horrible! Low quality and poorly prepared I suggest you not go on Viking! We have been on 36 on 9 different cruise lines and this is the worst food we have ever had.

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Wow, you are really everywhere moaning about the food!;p

 

I think that sounds like an awesome itinerary. We jumped right in as a cruise rookie with a 15-day-er on Viking. Bucharest looks interesting.

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Bucharest is a hole! And the Sojourn is a 21 day trip not 15 so I don't know what your talking about.

 

 

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Edited by goldenrod
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Bucharest is a hole! And the Sojourn is a 21 day trip not 15 so I don't know what your talking about.

 

Did you not like Bucharest? What did you not like about it?

 

The trip I took was 15 days; I was referrring to someone's comment that 21 days was a bit long for a first jaunt.

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Wow, you are really everywhere moaning about the food!;p

 

 

 

I think that sounds like an awesome itinerary. We jumped right in as a cruise rookie with a 15-day-er on Viking. Bucharest looks interesting.

 

 

 

I don't think the 15-day includes Bucharest.

 

 

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I don't think the 15-day includes Bucharest.

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No, it doesn't. The 15-day trip we were on was the Grand European which was awesome (Budapest -> Amsterdam). I do think a longer trip that includes Bucharest sounds interesting.

 

Years and years ago, our office dispayed a photography exhibit that was old photos of buildings and areas in Central and Eastern Europe that are no longer standing because of war. (We had rotating art exhibits.). The exhibit piqued my interest in the area.

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  • 7 months later...

We did the European Sojourn in 2015 on the Viking Embla and our trip was perfect! The only way it could have been improved would be if we had done it the way you are: starting in Bucharest. We feel that it makes more sense to start in the east and travel west. We felt the fully restored buildings of Germany and Austria and Hungary were a difficult act to follow for the “in progress” reconstruction in say Bulgaria and Romania. The food was flawless and the chefs and cooks stopped by our table and even customized some meals for us from their own countries! We had lots of fun with the restaurant staff who even made sure we knew where they were working so we could be in their area. Servers were like the United Nations and could give us advice on places along the way.

We loved not being “nickel & dimed” every day. Every stop included an extensive orientation tour in a luxury bus (which was waiting upon arrival). The Cruise Director was excellent (and Romanian) so he knew where we were going.

Yes, you stay on the one ship as long as the water cooperates. Viking has so many (identical) ships that at any given time there is another ship going the other way so if a point becomes impassable they can just swap the passengers between ships and turn around. We had no water issues and didn’t experience this but it seems to be an intelligent way to handle the problem.

My observation as to the river experience is that you have to consider getting there to be part of the magic. You are never without scenery on a river and you don’t have the anonymity of 5K passengers. If you need the manufactured entertainment of casinos and stage shows the relaxed atmosphere might seem too sedate, but if you want to stop off in smaller places without distorting the local atmosphere with those 5K people, river travel reeks of a more cultural experience.

Three years later we are still in touch with people from our time on the Embla, including crew.

 

 

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