Viking Magni - Tulips & Windmills

just returned from Viking Magni tulips and windmills river cruise - wonderful cruise!

anyone have questions, I can try to answer

Carol

I have heard mixed reviews concerning how scenic the cruise is. What did you think?

Did they give you enough free time in Bruges?

the countryside you pass is flat, sometimes commerical/industrial. I believe we had daytime cruising only once.

We had been to Brugges before. We had a very nice walking tour through town, and then free time. On the way back to the busses, we walked through the beguinage. those who wanted to go back to the ship/visit Ghent in the afternoon met up somewhere around noon -or you could stay in Brugges and meet at the tower later in the afternoon for bus ride back to ship. We opted to go back to the ship so we could visit ghent in the afternoon. The ship had shuttle busses running into center of Ghent. From there it was a short walk to visit the cathedral with the Van Eyck altarpiece.

A nice surprise was that we were offered a choice of either staying in Antwerp for longer in the afternoon or to visit Brussels. this had not been in any info I had on optionals. I believe we had 2 busses for the Brussels excursion, and it was excellent. We walked to the center of town, with all the amazing guild houses, then walked to see the Manneken Pis (statue of little naked boy) . At this point the walking tour ended and we had free time. To put it in perspective, We ate escargots, I bought a Belgian waffle at one of the stands, went into chocolate store - and still had time to go onto the Gobelins store and buy a beautiful tapestry pillow cover (tulips). then back to the square with plenty of time to take pictures of the beautiful buildings at my leisure.

Hope this helped, and that I answered your questions, even though I went a bit off track!

Carol

I glad you went a little off track as I love hearing others experiences! Sounds wonderful. This trip is very high on my bucket list, but I have to make it past Husband's 60th birthday (I giving him the VIA Rail trip across Canada as his present).

I guess it goes without say that the tulips were beautiful?

I should clarify that the afternoon Brussels excursion was an optional, at a cost. The afternoon in Ghent was at no extra cost, shuttle busses were free.

Another nice change up was that a visit to a cheese-making place was an alternative to Kinderdijk...Since we had been to Kinderdijk on the Grand European cruise a few years earlier - we opted for the alternative. There were only10 of us for this excursion.

if you do this cruise, the Museum Broeker Veiling - the auction market for vegetables - was an excellent optional excursion. The guide, Jan, did an amazing job in presentation and explanation. One of the best tours I have ever been on.

Carol

I glad you went a little off track as I love hearing others experiences! Sounds wonderful. This trip is very high on my bucket list, but I have to make it past Husband's 60th birthday (I giving him the VIA Rail trip across Canada as his present).

 

I guess it goes without say that the tulips were beautiful?

the tulips in Keukenhof were very nice, outside beds had the smaller early blooming tulips, along with daffodils, hyacinths. Main pavilion had rows upon rows of tulips, and there were specific exhibits in other pavilions : orchids in one, roses/flowers with a Vincent van Gogh theme in another. amazing displays!

Carol

We just finished this sailing with the Ingvi. Our experience was dampened by having to dock outside of the city of Amsterdam in an industrial area. Had to do this at the beginning of the cruise and the end of the cruise, so 3 out of 9 nights. It wasn't Viking's fault but it was a major disappointment to many on the ship. This also caused logistical problems as we expected to embark and disembark in town. But the biggest disappointing was not being in the City Center. It's not the same to take a shuttle for 30 minutes each way.

Compared to other river sailings, this one was more industrial and requires more coach rides to get to destinations (from what I understand.. It was my first). Still, the only thing that kept it from being a 10 was the Amsterdam dock issue. The Keukenhof Gardens were the highlight of the trip.

We just finished this sailing with the Ingvi. Our experience was dampened by having to dock outside of the city of Amsterdam in an industrial area. Had to do this at the beginning of the cruise and the end of the cruise, so 3 out of 9 nights. It wasn't Viking's fault but it was a major disappointment to many on the ship. This also caused logistical problems as we expected to embark and disembark in town. But the biggest disappointing was not being in the City Center. It's not the same to take a shuttle for 30 minutes each way.

 

Compared to other river sailings, this one was more industrial and requires more coach rides to get to destinations (from what I understand.. It was my first). Still, the only thing that kept it from being a 10 was the Amsterdam dock issue. The Keukenhof Gardens were the highlight of the trip.

Sorry about your docking situation in Amsterdam...we had docking right in town, closest ship to Centraal Station beginning of cruise. on the return, there were quite a few more cruise lines, but we were still in town.

Carol