Viking Vienna Excursion Questions

Hello All,

I'm a first timer on the upcoming 8/7/16 Viking Danube Waltz trip. I have some questions regarding the timing and quality of the included and optional excursions.

In general, what time do the morning excursions typically start? Are you able to have breakfast onboard first? In Vienna, the general overview tour is listed as a morning tour that is 3.5 hours long. Are you returned to the boat after the tour, or can you be dropped in the city to explore on your own? We are also thinking about signing up for the optional Schoenbrunn Palace tour that is also listed as taking 3.5 hours. I am guessing that tour will definitely return us to the boat. It is listed as an afternoon tour, but do any of you experienced cruisers know if that means early afternoon or late afternoon? Also, how much time were you left with to explore on your own?

Here's the thing, we are interested in both of these tours, but we don't want to miss out on the coffee house experience. Is the boat typically docked within walking distance to nice cafes - even if not directly located in the city?

As for the evening tours - do they start after dinner onboard? There are two options - a Mozart & Strauss Concert and a Heurigen evening. Has anyone signed up for the Heurigen evening? Did you enjoy it? Again, would the boat be typically docked in a spot where we could stroll around after dinner on our own to find a spot for a drink and people watching?

Thanks for taking the time to read through my questions - I must confess, I will probably have lots more! :)

Hello CharlieDog4,

I am sure the experienced Viking cruisers will be happy to answer your questions. I had a thought: from what you describe the morning tour will take all morning and it sounds as if it is designed to bring the hungry travellers straigth back to the boat. You can, of course, having given notice to the guide that you would like to leave the tour early to have stroll and a coffee, do just that. I hope this website can give you a few tips: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/coffeehouses

While you are looking for a place to have a cup of coffee do some windowshopping on the way. Great shops to look at and find the odd thing you might want to take home. :)

Over to the Viking cruisers...

notamermaid

I am not a Viking cruiser, but have been in Vienna with another cruise company. Questions for you...How adventurous are you? are you willing to take public transit?

The ship docking areas are a bit of a way from the center of town ...a ten minute walk to the subway and then 2 stops to Stephenplatz. you can take the morning tour - not go back to the ship for lunch and then continue on to the Palace on your own via public transit and meet up with your group there. That would give you time to explore on your own and not waste the bus travel time. Traffic is heavy and the bus will take much longer than you if you take transit.

The palace is busy! just arrange with your TD where to meet up and all is good.

Have Fun!!!

RB

Hello CharlieDog4,

 

I am sure the experienced Viking cruisers will be happy to answer your questions. I had a thought: from what you describe the morning tour will take all morning and it sounds as if it is designed to bring the hungry travellers straigth back to the boat. You can, of course, having given notice to the guide that you would like to leave the tour early to have stroll and a coffee, do just that. I hope this website can give you a few tips: https://www.wien.info/en/shopping-wining-dining/coffeehouses

 

While you are looking for a place to have a cup of coffee do some windowshopping on the way. Great shops to look at and find the odd thing you might want to take home. :)

 

Over to the Viking cruisers...

 

notamermaid

Great website! Really enjoying reading through it. Thanks!:)

Hi CharlieDog4,

We spent a day with Viking in Vienna during our "Romantic Danube" cruise in August of 2015, and I thought that I'd provide some details:

The morning excursion was after breakfast (around 9AM maybe?) and they offered us two different "included" tours - one was the regular panoramic tour mentioned in the itinerary, and we took the tour that focused more on the local Art Nouveau highlights (with a visit to the Belvedere Museum to see Gustav Klimt, etc.). Both tours lasted 3 ish hours, and we ended up back to the ship for lunch. A few of the people in our group were dropped off in the main part of Vienna so that they could stay in town. As stated prior, the subway is a short walk from the docking area, and obtained good reviews from other cruisers for ease of use, etc. We did not do the Schoenbrunn Palace optional tour as I wanted to spend the afternoon riding scary rides at The Prater :D

Regarding the Mozart concert - if I'm remembering correctly, they had an early dinner sitting for those attending the concert so that they could eat, then leave for the show.

Vienna was an incredible town, and we plan to go back very soon. Be sure to stock up on the Mozart chocolate marzipan candies that seem to be everywhere! I purchased a bag for about 3.50 Euro, and now regret that I didn't get more as they are much more $ here :(

Jeff

Hi CharlieDog4,

 

We spent a day with Viking in Vienna during our "Romantic Danube" cruise in August of 2015, and I thought that I'd provide some details:

 

The morning excursion was after breakfast (around 9AM maybe?) and they offered us two different "included" tours - one was the regular panoramic tour mentioned in the itinerary, and we took the tour that focused more on the local Art Nouveau highlights (with a visit to the Belvedere Museum to see Gustav Klimt, etc.). Both tours lasted 3 ish hours, and we ended up back to the ship for lunch. A few of the people in our group were dropped off in the main part of Vienna so that they could stay in town. As stated prior, the subway is a short walk from the docking area, and obtained good reviews from other cruisers for ease of use, etc. We did not do the Schoenbrunn Palace optional tour as I wanted to spend the afternoon riding scary rides at The Prater :D

 

Regarding the Mozart concert - if I'm remembering correctly, they had an early dinner sitting for those attending the concert so that they could eat, then leave for the show.

 

Vienna was an incredible town, and we plan to go back very soon. Be sure to stock up on the Mozart chocolate marzipan candies that seem to be everywhere! I purchased a bag for about 3.50 Euro, and now regret that I didn't get more as they are much more $ here :(

 

Jeff

Thanks for the info, Jeff. Looks like the section of the U4 subway line that goes to the Schoenbrunn Palace will be closed for renovations while we are there. That would put a serious kink into the plan if we decided to use use public transportation to/from there. I'm not sure which line runs by the boat, but that might still be a good option for how to get back into the city later in the day. With only one day in the city, I'm a little concerned about spending the majority of it on both a morning and afternoon tour. Maybe once on board, we may choose to skip the morning overview tour, then go off on our own till it's time for the Palace tour.

Aside from walking to a subway, is there anything of interest within nearby walking distance of the boat - cafes? shopping? Is it easy to get a taxi from/to the boat?

Thanks also for the tip on the chocolate marzipan candies - I will totally keep an eye out for them! :D

Aside from walking to a subway, is there anything of interest within nearby walking distance of the boat - cafes? shopping? Is it easy to get a taxi from/to the boat?

We walked to The Prater and it was an easy mile-ish walk. Not much to see or do during the walk, but the mini-mart with the good price on Mozart chocolates was on the way :) There wasn't much to really see or do in the immediate docking area as it seemed to be mostly offices and residential. I would imagine taxis would be a breeze, but I'd check with the concierge, etc. for that. ENJOY!

Just returned from our Danube Waltz and enjoyed Vienna. As I recall, our morning tour left at 8:45 and therefore we had time for breakfast. I don't recall there being but one tour offered us but we were told that if we wanted to stay in town rather than go back to the ship for lunch we could and they had subway maps and instructions for you.

I agree with Jeff that there isn't much in the immediate area of the dock worth doing. We would have stayed in town and explored on our own but they offered and we participated in a complimentary option market tour led by Chef and the Concierge. The metro tickets were added to our onboard account but otherwise it was free. Very enjoyable though I wish the group had of been smaller - there were probably close to 16 on ours...sorta unwieldy in the market. The excursion included unexpected tastings so it was very nice.

We elected to not return with the rest of the group and enjoyed beers and coffee in the market on a beautiful sunny spring day.

There is an early seating for dinner for those going to the various concerts, we elected to stay onboard and it was great to have the sip mostly to ourselves for a late dinner followed by a movie in the cabin.

They announced they were going to serve Goulash at 10:15 after the concert goers returned....I hear it was tasty but I was snoring;)

Just returned from our Danube Waltz and enjoyed Vienna. As I recall, our morning tour left at 8:45 and therefore we had time for breakfast. I don't recall there being but one tour offered us but we were told that if we wanted to stay in town rather than go back to the ship for lunch we could and they had subway maps and instructions for you.

I agree with Jeff that there isn't much in the immediate area of the dock worth doing. We would have stayed in town and explored on our own but they offered and we participated in a complimentary option market tour led by Chef and the Concierge. The metro tickets were added to our onboard account but otherwise it was free. Very enjoyable though I wish the group had of been smaller - there were probably close to 16 on ours...sorta unwieldy in the market. The excursion included unexpected tastings so it was very nice.

 

We elected to not return with the rest of the group and enjoyed beers and coffee in the market on a beautiful sunny spring day.

 

There is an early seating for dinner for those going to the various concerts, we elected to stay onboard and it was great to have the sip mostly to ourselves for a late dinner followed by a movie in the cabin.

 

They announced they were going to serve Goulash at 10:15 after the concert goers returned....I hear it was tasty but I was snoring;)

Thank you - very helpful information!

There is a topic in the Vienna forum on Trip Advisor that addresses the issue of the U4 being partially closed this summer. You might have to copy and paste the link. If you read through, you will see that you can still take the U4 to Schoenbrunn.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g190454-i147-k9446221-Part_of_U4_closed_for_from_30_April_till_30_Sep-Vienna.html

Sorry, I tried to post the link to the post in the Vienna forum. Don't know why it didn't work, and I see it isn't working when I try again. But if you go to Trip Advisor and the Vienna forum, it's easy to find the topic about the U4 closure.

There is a topic in the Vienna forum on Trip Advisor that addresses the issue of the U4 being partially closed this summer. You might have to copy and paste the link. If you read through, you will see that you can still take the U4 to Schoenbrunn.

 

Yes, I think that is correct. We rode the Metro in Vienna about 2 weeks ago when we were there and there were lots of signs about the impending closure. I got the impression (though my German is limited) that the closure was beyond Schoenbrunn.

mimmy52, the link works for me. :)

**

To answer the original question - it's the U1 line that runs nearest the ship docking location. We walked from the ship to Vorgartenstrasse (nearest station) - it's about 5 minutes fast walking. Just climb the stairs at the bridge - they are quite easily visible - and there's an easy walking path to the metro station. **Make sure you're on the RIGHT side of the road walking into town.** If you're on the LEFT side of the street, you'll enter the U-Bahn station, but you'll be on the side of the tracks that's going out of town - this is where you'll exit when coming home. You can't cross the tracks once you're in the station.

There are ticket machines at the bottom of the stairs. My chip Visa worked to buy tickets.

To get to Schoenbrunn, fastest would be to take the U1 to Karlsplatz (maybe 5 stops) then change to the U4 to Schoenbrunn.

Mayor construction works on the U4, for sure. This brochure explains it: http://www.wienerlinien.at/media/files/2016/folder_engl_178376.pdf

notamermaid