Just Returned from April Viking Eir Rhine Getaway

We returned Friday night from our April Viking Rhine Getaway. I think I'm finally getting over the jet lag. We had an absolutely wonderful time on the cruise. Now that I've been spoiled with Viking, sailing another cruise line will be an adjustment :-) I may have to win the lottery, though, to afford another Viking cruise. I better start saving my pennies now.

Viking does everything first class from the two minutes it takes to check in and get to your room, to every crew member doing whatever it takes for a successful sailing, to knowledgeable tour guides in the ports, to constantly filling your wine glass, to comfy tour buses, and to the easy check out.

We enjoyed the two day pre-cruise in Amsterdam and we enjoyed all the ports. The history, culture, and scenery are amazing.

I really enjoyed the scenic sailing on the Rhine and the commentary provided by our Program Director, Ryan. My favorite city was Strasbourg with all the different cultures and languages. We had a great dinner in town in Rudensheim. We ended up at the same restaurant as those on the Viking excursion although we just had an entree off the menu rather than the whole dinner and show that those on the excursion had. I loved the German dinner prepared by the Viking staff the next night-so many new foods to try.

Was it all perfect but no cruise ever is. I wish we had known ahead of time that since it was Sunday, we wouldn't be able to see the Cologne Cathedral. I also wish before we signed up for the afternoon tour of Bruhl Palace that we had known we could see the Cologne Cathedral which was open in the afternoon. I could have done without the 1/2 hour walk from the Strasbourg city center to the bus back to the ship. I'm not quite sure why they tell us all the things to do in Koblenz or Kinderdijk when we have no time in these places other than get on the bus to the excursion. I wish they had more cookies in the afternoon :-)

I'm sure there is a lot more but suffice it to say, our trip truly was the trip of a lifetime. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am so grateful to all of you who gave me great advice ahead of time. Let me pay it forward.

Elise

Thanks, soccermom! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. We are heading on the same cruise, but not until December. I can't wait!! What was your favorite excursions? Did you have much 'free time' in any of the ports?

Thanks, soccermom! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. We are heading on the same cruise, but not until December. I can't wait!! What was your favorite excursions? Did you have much 'free time' in any of the ports?

You will love the cruise. I liked the walking tours of Cologne and Strasbourg and I liked the Marksburg Caste. Hard to narrow it down to one favorite. We had a fair amount of free time in Cologne, Rudesheim, and Strasbourg but not a lot of shopping time which probably was for the best. We were in Cologne on a Sunday so the shops were closed and we were in Rudesheim in the evening so many of the shops were closed. We had some time in Heidelberg after the excursion but not a lot of time.

I wish we had known ahead of time that since it was Sunday, we wouldn't be able to see the Cologne Cathedral.

You can attend a service on Sunday, even if you are not Catholic. It will be in German.

Information regarding tours is found at the following:

http://koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=19920&L=1

Guided tours in English:

Monday -Saturday

10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Sunday and Feastday 2:30 p.m.

Meeting Point: Main portal, inside

Adults: 7,00 Euro

Children and Students: 5,00 Euro

In case of special events short term changes are possible.

for further information please contact: DOMFORUM

monday - thursday 10:00 - 12:00 a.m.

and 13:00 - 15:00 p.m.

friday 10:00 - 12:00 p.m.

Tel.: 0049 (0) 221 92 58 47 30

You can attend a service on Sunday, even if you are not Catholic. It will be in German.

 

Information regarding tours is found at the following:

 

http://koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=19920&L=1

 

Guided tours in English:

 

Monday -Saturday

10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

 

Sunday and Feastday 2:30 p.m.

Meeting Point: Main portal, inside

 

Adults: 7,00 Euro

Children and Students: 5,00 Euro

In case of special events short term changes are possible.

 

for further information please contact: DOMFORUM

monday - thursday 10:00 - 12:00 a.m.

and 13:00 - 15:00 p.m.

friday 10:00 - 12:00 p.m.

Tel.: 0049 (0) 221 92 58 47 30

Thanks for this info although we didn't necessarily want to go to Mass (even though my husband is Catholic) but we wanted to see the inside of the beautiful and historic cathedral.

Every cruise is going to hit a port on a Sunday where the shops and churches are not an option so I understand why we were not able to see the cathedral on the included Viking excursion. I just would have liked to know this ahead of time and not the evening before. We wouldn't have booked the extra fee optional afternoon excursion to Bruhl palace if we had know we could have gone to the cathedral on our own in the afternoon.

Not seeing the cathedral was disappointing but certainly didn't diminish the wonderful cruise we were on

We're going about the same time in 2016. Were the tulip in full bloom?

We're going about the same time in 2016. Were the tulip in full bloom?

We didn't make it out to the tulip gardens in Amsterdam but those that did go there said the tulips were blooming. We went to the tulip market in Amsterdam where they sold tulip bulbs.

Thanks for the reply. This will be our first River Cruise, thanks so much for posting about yours.

We will also be in Cologne on a Sunday, so thanks for the head's up. If you weren't able to tour the cathedral in the morning, what did you cover in the ship tour. It sounds like we'll be able to tour the cathedral on our own in the afternoon.

We will also be in Cologne on a Sunday, so thanks for the head's up. If you weren't able to tour the cathedral in the morning, what did you cover in the ship tour. It sounds like we'll be able to tour the cathedral on our own in the afternoon.

The morning tour was great. We went to the cathedral and were able to see it up close from the outside. We also went to some other historical places (which of course now I can't remember-oops), walked by another church and government building, walked by a beer hall that we returned to later that night, and over all learned about the history of Cologne. Our tour guide (Ulli) was really good-funny and informative. The walking tour lasts about 2 1/2 hours and ends up back at the ship which is docked near the chocolate museum and some restaurants. Very good location for a short 5 minute walk back into town later.

Glad you enjoyed Viking. We have two back to back 7 day cruises in July. Both in France

Hello, Elise. So happy you enjoyed this trip. We are doing the same one on the Eir in July. Would you share your opinion on the Black Forest excursion? (I have seen it described as not much more than a long bus ride). Thanks.

Hello, Elise. So happy you enjoyed this trip. We are doing the same one on the Eir in July. Would you share your opinion on the Black Forest excursion? (I have seen it described as not much more than a long bus ride). Thanks.

The Black Forest excursion was probably the longest time we spent on the bus..maybe an hour there and an hour back but it didn't feel like a long bus ride. The tour guide gets on the bus with you when you leave the ship and points out lots of things to see along the way as well as explaining the culture and scenery along the way.

We stopped for 5 minutes at an overlook to take pictures. We then spent about an hour at a local, for lack of better word, "tourist trap" village. It reminded me of Vail, Colorado. Even though it was all geared toward tourists, I enjoyed learning about cuckoo clocks and the blown glass. The gift shop is very big with a lot of items. I actually enjoyed this stop a lot since I didn't feel rushed and I didn't feel like it was too long.

Overall I enjoyed the Black Forest excursion. The Black Forest truly is a beautiful area so I'm glad I didn't miss it. Also since this was our last excursion, after days of doing a lot of walking, it was nice to sit on a bus for a bit

Happy Cruising!

Elise

I did this same trip in December on the Viking Tor, we traveled from Basel to Amsterdam. This was my favorite river cruise, you get to see 4 countries and also travel on the Rhine and relax.

Thanks for this info, Elise. Sounds enjoyable.

Hi Elise,

Thanks for posting your review and answering everyone's questions!

I am on the same cruise in 2 months.

Viking mentions that you are docked very close to (or actually in) the center of each town/city. You mentioned the Black forest bus was the longest - were you able to just walk off the ship and venture on your own in the towns if you wanted? Were you close enough to do that or did you feel restricted to having to get on a bus everywhere?

THX!

Hi Elise,

 

Thanks for posting your review and answering everyone's questions!

 

I am on the same cruise in 2 months.

 

Viking mentions that you are docked very close to (or actually in) the center of each town/city. You mentioned the Black forest bus was the longest - were you able to just walk off the ship and venture on your own in the towns if you wanted? Were you close enough to do that or did you feel restricted to having to get on a bus everywhere?

THX!

I'm jealous of you. You'll have a wonderful time. Most times, although the ship docked near a city, it wasn't actually at the city. Also most mornings we'd walk off the ship and get on the bus for the morning tour which often times was only 15-30 minutes away but not in walking distance.

The places we could walk off the ship and into a town/city were Cologne, Rudensheim, and Speyer. I think you could also get off the ship in Basal and be in town but we arrived in Basal the last night we were on the ship and then we had to be off the ship by 5:00 AM the next morning for the shuttle to the Basal airport and our flight home. So, we didn't actually spend any time in Basal

Hope that helps,

Elise

 

I did this same trip in December on the Viking Tor, we traveled from Basel to Amsterdam. This was my favorite river cruise, you get to see 4 countries and also travel on the Rhine and relax.

If you do this trip in December how cold does it get. Obviously the rivers could not ice over because you are traveling on the river. Is it too cold to sit outside on the decks because you are moving all the time. Any info would be greatly appreciated as I would love to do a river cruise but they are so expensive so looking to do it not at peak season.