Bailey Swedishfish

I'd add: avoid schneeballen. They are softball-sized layered balls of rolled dough, much like if pie pastry had sexy time with sugar cookie dough and the baby was deep fried. Then the whole ball of dough is rolled in ungodly sweet frosting/sugar/chocolate... My young adult sons who never met a pastry they didn't love actually stopped three bites in.

OH...and when you're in GERMANY--you HAVE to find a Hussel chocolate store. There's one in Passau and I think there's some in Austria. OMG. I love Hussel chocolates and you cannot get them in the US. They sell them at the Chocolate Museum in Cologne but there are actual Hussel shops all over. Google Hussel Chocolate and you'll get into the German website but you can drool over all the photos. MMMMMM

Chimney Bread. (Kurtosch cakes...) They actually originated in Romania. They are deeeeelishus!!! :D

If you are in Budapest, there are some really lovely pottery booths, that include gorgeous pottery ornaments. I also love bringing back little bottles of palinka (schnapps) and schnapps from Austria, spices, and either hand felted ornaments or little woolen ornaments.

I will second the suggestion that if you see something you like, get it. Each market has it own style and character. There are several markets in Cologne, for example and each has something different.

My problem isn't deciding what to bring home--it's deciding which delicious treat to enjoy AT the market, washed down with gluhwein!! (Bratislava has a market with a vendor selling crepes. I tried the incredibly luscious duck fat crepe. WOW. Rich!!! The potato pancakes in Germany are outstanding. Brats galore. Raclette...) Darn it, now I'm hungry.

I read it as the cancellation policy only applies if initiated by the travel agent or guest. It was Viking that cancelled the sailing thus the policy above does not apply.

Viking did cancel THAT particular cruise, but offered alternate cruises. They technically didn't cancel all cruises. It'd be like a waiter saying "oops, we're out of prime rib tonight, but instead, would you like filet, salmon, shrimp, surf and turf, hamburger, pizza, lasagna or turkey dinner?" The diner then says, "NO! I don't want ANY of it! I want a full refund!"

So, technically, the diner cancelled dinner. NOT the restaurant.

Why is it so hard to believe? I don't AGREE there SHOULD be a fee assessed--and clearly there wasn't. But from a purely legal contractual standpoint, Viking has that right.

We book all of our trips (Viking and otherwise) directly and don't use a TA. I can't speak to the experience of the TA but it seems from reading these forums, there are often issues that arise when booking thru TAs. I can't say I remember ever having a problem booking directly with a travel vendor...

It wasn't my intention to call out the OP. It's tough when you're disappointed when something is changed or cancelled through no fault of your own. But rather than demand an explanation and then jump to outrage, I tend to try and mediate a solution that works for both parties. I think Viking was reasonable in offering a different trip of equal or greater value. I wonder how often they need to cancel trips outright--and of those passengers, how many take an alternate trip, vs. asking for a full refund.

That's all.

This is from the Viking Terms and Conditions page:

CANCELLATION POLICY

For any cruise/land booking, whether under deposit, partially paid, or paid in full and air-inclusive packages paid in full, the following travel agent or guest-requested situations are considered cancellations and penalties will apply as noted below: changes to departure date; substitutions of itinerary; substitution of another person for original booked guest(s); or changing to a promotional fare. All cancellations must be in writing. For all air-inclusive packages cancelled after issuance of an airline ticket, the air portion of the refund, if any, will be processed only after the return of airline ticket to Viking. The following cancellation charges will be assessed for all written cancellations received prior to departure up to the scheduled time of departure.

Cancellation received | Following charges will apply: (Broken out by days before departure) 121 days or more is $100 per person | 120-90 days is 15% of full fare | 89-60 days is 35% of full fare | 59-30 days is 50% of full fare | 29-0 days is 100% of full fare.

Full Fare is defined as the full cost of any cruise, land or air component purchased from Viking.

REVISIONS/CHANGES

Once a cruise/land booking has a deposit or air is paid in full, all changes are subject to a $30 charge per change. See prior section under Cancellation Policy for additional details on situations which are classified as cancellations rather than changes.

From a purely technical standpoint, yes, a cancellation fee could be assessed. Viking offered an alternative trip. They offered an alternative trip at no additional expense to the OP. It was the decision of the OP to cancel their cruise, not Viking. Viking is making right by the OP by "waiving" the fee. Obviously it's not in their best interest to charge this customer--but by rights, they "could" charge it since they aren't the ones who cancelled the trip.

After cruising for 30 years more or less and on 6 lines and 16 or 17 cruises, we decided to venture onto Viking for a european river cruise, we had missed keukenhopf at peak twice so timing was critical in this case. we booked a cruise, that with air, cost over 13 thousand which was a lot but not a record for us.

Then after my deposit is down i found out that i had to pay it all 9 months in advance... wow is all i could say but i broke the amex out and choked it all down. So now i'm 13 thousand out of pocket but hoping that it would be worth it in the end.

suddenly yesterday i get an email out of the blue from my travel agent "they have canceled your cruise and you have 30 days to rebook". I call my agent who spends an inordinate amount of time confirming that this is true but all Viking wants to do is resell me on a different cruise. NOT INTERESTED i say and after about the 5th time my travel agent understands and tells them i want a refund and compensation for the money they've had all this time (3 months) for nothing. He relays that not only do i get no compensation, i get no refund for 3 or 4 weeks WOW.

I tell my wife and she is somewhere between incredulous and upset and insists i must have got it wrong, so I dial Viking and give her the phone. it boils down to:

- we still don't know if the ship is actually canceled or they double booked the cabin or they just decided to charter it out.

- Viking "generously" agreed not to charge us a cancellation penalty!!!! yes that's what they said.

- Viking agreed to move us to another ship for no price increase... again their words not mine.

- After we declined their "GENEROUS" offer, she said she would try to expedite our refund but even expediting a refund takes two days for a "DECISION".

Only bright spot in this travesty is they could've waited till two days before we were due to leave or something... no matter what however we don't do business this way and Viking is now dead to us but HOW DO WE STOP THE MAILERS EVERY 3 DAYS???

__________________

I've been giving the OP's comments a great deal of thought.

Yes, Viking does require payment in advance. You could have waited to book your cruise much closer to your travel date and your up front expense would be the same, but for a shorter period of time. The two for one deal is something Viking offers all the time, so you wouldn't have "missed" it had you waited months to book.

Viking is running a business. It may not be the same business model as other cruise lines or how some of the posters here would like to run it, but that's their business model--if it's so unpleasant, then pick another cruise line. If Viking is the cruise line of choice for whatever reason and you're still upset with their payment policy, feel free to express that in their customer satisfaction survey they ask everyone to complete before the end of each cruise.

I don't think it's really the customer's business to know "why" a cruise was cancelled. Does it matter? Point is, you're not going on THAT cruise. I think Viking was more than willing to provide an alternative trip at no additional cost to you. Which sounds like their policy. I would imagine they don't often get customers who flat out refuse that offer and demand a refund. So I can completely understand their policy or practice of issuing a refund on their timeline. Does it suck? Sure, but it's their business.

What would have happened to your happiness factor if you'd have taken the cruise as scheduled and 1) the flowers bloomed early/late 2) snowfall ruined the flowers 3) heavy rain impeded your travels? I mean, there's a LOT of thing that can go sideways when planning and going on a trip. When we did the Danube Waltz Christmas Market Cruise in 2013, the day we sailed through the Wachau Valley we were completely socked in by fog. Couldn't see the end of the ship. Our poor CD was beside himself trying to appease pissed off cruisers--as if HE had the power of God himself to move the fog. Bless his heart.

I have been in upper level management in a customer service driven industry for over 35 years. I can tell you that the more loudly and unpleasantly a customer complains and bellyaches and tries to assert their opinion and disgust and displeasure over something that's very likely out of the control of the person being yelled at--especially when a reasonable accommodation has been offered... there is an equal and opposite reaction on the other side. I suspect that's why Viking has a delayed refund policy. I think they are well within their rights to charge a cancellation fee...you've indeed cancelled a booked trip. They are being generous in waiving that fee. They offered you a reasonable alternative. Was it the trip of your dreams? I don't know, since you didn't describe what the other trip or trips were that they offered.

I'm a lemonade girl...I don't get upset when I have to change plans or do something unexpected. You never know what you're going to find down that unexpected path.

So it was foggy on the Wachau. Guess what? I sat in the lounge chatting with a lovely couple I might not have met and we are friends to this day.

The Christmas markets in Budapest were wonderful! Less "Made in China" junk, great food and a wonderful ambiance. Loved it!

 

My favorites remain in Berlin and we leave for that trip three weeks from Friday:D.

I love Budapest's markets. I also really liked the market (I am pretty sure it's juried, like an art fair) in front of Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. Lovely items!!

We are excited to be ending our cruise (Viking Danube Waltz) in Passau, then heading to Prague for 3 nights. That's a new spot for us. :-)

I met someone who wanted to take advantage of Uniworld's pay in advance discount. He searched for credit cards that were running a 0% interest on balance transfers and applied for one. He charged the full amount of the cruise to his current card and did a balance transfer to his new 0% card for the amount. Some cards will offer 12 months at 0% and I have seen ones upwards of 18 months.

 

Saved thousands for what amounted to 15 minutes of work.

That's what we do.

48 days from now we'll be strolling through the Christmas Market in the shadow of St. Stephan's in Budapest!

Oh yes, we definitely play this game!! :D

We are platinum explorer club members with Viking (meaning, once you've travelled with them multiple times you are eligible for upgrades.) and they've made good on one of their promised upgrades!

My husband got an email and a phone call from our Viking rep letting us know that we've been upgraded for free from a French Balcony cabin to a Veranda Suite on our upcoming Danube Waltz Christmas market trip! We also qualify for their upgraded air program so we've been able to select our own flights for this trip.

We were told prior to our Eastern Danube trip that we were eligible for cabin upgrades--that is a cabin or suite of greater value was not booked we could be selected for an automatic upgrade.

Whoo hoo!

I know some people can be critical of Viking and I appreciate their concerns. However, our experiences have all be really positive and the few negatives weren't enough to scare us off or give them poor reviews. We take full advantage of the end-of-cruise satisfaction survey and we have seen changes and adaptations. I think they listen to their customers and try to appeal to as many different tastes and expectations as possible.

We are really excited!

We are going on this cruise over the holidays. Has any one been on this one or going?

What line, ship and itinerary?

We're scheduled (55 days!) for our 3rd Viking Christmas Market cruise. We loved Danube Waltz so much we are repeating it again. But instead of spending 3 days in Budapest at the start, we are ending with 3 days in Prague. We love Budapest and visit often, time to see another city!

The Heart of Germany was also fun.

We've travelled on Viking and they restrict smoking to a small area on the back of the ship on the top deck.

That being said, we did have a smoker in a adjacent cabin who smoked on their balcony. It really irked me because 1) it's against the rules 2) it was an April cruise on the Eastern Danube and warm enough to leave the window open and our cabin smelled of smoke. The balconies on Viking ships have privacy barriers between them so I made a wildly passive-aggressive-Minnesota-Nice comment loud enough for them to hear and it ended the balcony smoking situation. :D My husband was mortified, but it got results.

Hi Bailey Swordfish,

We are doing a similar cruise with Vantage in Dec. 2015 from Budapest to Prague. I was interested in hearing your comments about the various Christmas Markets and what you purchased there. We did Holiday Markets on the Main in 2012 and I found that the German Christmas Markets were quite commercial and with the time limitations for our "free time" it was hard trying to find the hand-crafted items in such short time. I was interested in the things you said you found at the curated market in Vienna where you "cleaned up" :-) I don't want to sound like a dummy but what does it mean curated market? We can't wait to visit these markets..Hopefully the unrest in Budapest will have calmed down and the river levels will be back to normal.

Hi Thyme,

The Schonbrunn market was more handcrafted-art fair kind of products. Curated in that I think the vendors needed to meet certain criteria to participate--couldn't be mass produced, and if I remember correctly, it was juried--like an art fair. I bought two lovely hand made ornaments from an artisan who spun wool, one was a hand-dyed angel and one was a little wooly lamb with angel wings and a halo (for a friend who has a farm.) Another booth featured really pretty delicate hand painted cookie ornaments (there are a lot of these in all the markets--but these were very delicate and more artwork than edible) and some really pretty pottery ornaments. There were also wine vendors, honey, jams, pickled items, and small crafted schnapps in really slender bottles with hinged stoppers. We bought SEVERAL of those! MMMMM

Budapest market is similar in that they have a lot of hand crafted leather goods, pottery, artwork, wood worked items and salt glazed glass and pottery.

The Heart of Germany trip was on the Main as well and I enjoyed Rothenburg and Kathe Wolfhart--that store is insane!! (Ironically, the only Kathe Wolfhart store in the US is about an hour from us in Stillwater MN)

Here's the Trip Advisor link to the Schonbrunn market:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g190454-d192277-Reviews-Schoenbrunn_Palace_Christmas_Market-Vienna.html

Bailey- Have you been able to visit the markets at night, or just during the daytime?

Thanks

Both! They get a lot busier at night. Most are open til 11 or so...not all night. They are usually open by lunch. There is more entertainment at night. They are more sparkly and pretty at night. 😃

If you river cruise, many don't leave their docks til later evening and are docked near the markets. Easy hop on and off after dinner. Or skip dinner and graze your way through the markets.

Hi,

We've done two Christmas Market Cruises with Viking (and a third--a repeat--this holiday season). We've done the Danube Waltz from Budapest to Passau and Heart of Germany.

I found the Heart of Germany markets to be a lot more commercial and touristy than those on the Danube. Rothenburg is a lovely charming adorable town loaded with Christmas charm but also overrun with tourists (not just cruisers but Japanese and other Europeans.) We spent 4 days in Cologne and hit up most of those markets and they were PACKED. We met people from all over the world who came to Cologne. It was a once in a lifetime trip--I prefer not to hang with that many people in such tight quarters. There's a small market on the lot outside of the Chocolate Museum that's fun--not as crowded with some kids activities. We also liked the Green Market and Christmas market in Bamburg.

We loved the Budapest markets. They are really much more local-friendly and have a lot of charm. The Andrassy market and St. Stephan's markets are a lot of fun and the food is fantastic. I loved the market in Bratislava--definitely not touristy--there was a big skating rink with kids ice skating, lots of local food, live music, fun crafts and stuff to buy and right in the heart of the renovated old square. There's a fabulous curated market in Vienna at Schonbrunn Palace were I cleaned up. Handrafted woolens, glass, wood working, booze in tiny bottles...it was a lot of fun and very nice locally made items. The market in Linz is small but lively. Passau was also more food and less items but very fun.

We are going to do this trip again and have an added 3-4 days in Prague so I'm excited to see that.

I would like to do the Rhine for the Christmas markets as there are some nice old cities with markets there too.

I have less difficulty with time transitions going from the US to Europe (west to east) than I do coming back home. We fly out of MSP (middle of the US) and overnight to Paris or Amsterdam. I am awake until dinner than pass out and try and get as much sleep on the plane as possible. I am a mental midget when we arrive (COFFEEEEE!!!!) but by the time we catch our connection and get to our end destination, I've recovered enough to stay awake til new-normal bedtime. The trick is not to nap when you arrive--and don't do a lot of drinking (alcohol). I might a little wine with dinner, but let your body naturally fall into the new time zone. By day 2, I'm good--just need more coffee than usual.

If you take a 7 day cruise, you must plan on departing the day before to travel overnight to embark on your cruise. Then, when flying home, you pretty much depart and arrive within a few hours due to the 7-8-9 hour time change.

We've found that doing a pre-cruise extension of 2-3 days is a nice way to acclimate to the time zone. You can set your own adventure schedule and be a little easier on yourself rather than jumping in both feet right off the bat.

One thing I learned--take a melatonin supplement with you and take it about 30 minutes before bed time. It's sold everywhere and it really helps with jet lag and getting good sleep. It helps a LOT on the return...

As the others have said, each stop has something special about it.

We love Budapest and have spent several days there over a couple of trips. Can't get enough. Must-see in Budapest: Grand Market Hall, Parliament Tour, House of Terror, Andrassy Blvd, St. Stephans, St. Matthias, Chain Bridge...

I loved Bratislava. The tour up to the castle was just ok--but the old town that's been restored was lovely and we really liked their lively Christmas market.

Vienna was nice--I could spend more time there. Schonbrunn Palace is fabulous. We also did an evening Mozart and Strauss concert in the Military Museum.

Enjoyed Melk Abbey and the town of Durnstein. We were there in December and it was quite foggy in the Wachau Valley but it would be something quite nice in the late summer-early fall with the vineyards.

I was quite sick with a really bad cold the day we stopped in Linz. My husband disembarked and did the day tour to Salzburg and LOVED it. You do not cruise directly to Salzburg--it's a bus ride away with stops along the way. When he returned we had a late departure so we walked around Linz. It's interesting and has a very modern feel to it--I liked it.

Passau was very quiet--but it was also only a few months following the terrible floods in the summer of 2013. While cleaned up, many areas of the old town were not yet open.

We were in Nuremburg and enjoyed our day around the city and Christmas market.

Haven't visited Regensburg yet.

On our Danube trip, we started in Budapest and traveled west to Passau. On both of our Danube trips, the ship sailed in the evening after dark and passed the Parliament. (On the Eastern Danube, the captain took us up the river almost to Margaret Island and then turned around and headed south. We have spectacular--amazing views of Castle Hill and the Parliament. It was incredible.)

No matter which direction you go--please build in extra time in Budapest. It is so worth it.

Check the exchange rates ahead of time--you can get your EU and other currency in the US at your local bank. Some obscure currencies may require 24-48 lead time, but you can get it here.

Otherwise, you can exchange at the airports and in most cities, there are street-exchanges (a little booth right in the front of a building) that's located near the markets. We exchanged at once in Cologne and Bratislava. ATM machines work fine too--Caveat: let your bank know you are travelling abroad. Otherwise they may freeze your account if they suspect fraud or identity theft. That happened to us on one trip to Grand Cayman. Lesson learned. Make that call. (And have a second-different credit card) along as a back up. BTDT as well.

Add Viking to the list of all the positives.

My DH and I have always done "on our own" trips and totally shied away from cruising. We are get there, get unpacked and go kind of people. We'd heard about Viking cruises and tried one--HUGELY skeptical of CRUISING (no way no how not in a million years will I set foot on anything bigger than a river cruise) but was so pleasantly surprised we are now booked on our 6th trip in under 3 years.

With very few exceptions, the ships are docked convenient to everything and you can walk on and off at your leisure. You can do the tours--or not. You can spend the day aboard vegging out--or not. You are as busy as you want, or not at all. The staff at the desk are great about providing information if you want to head out on your own--city maps are always provided. Ships generally leave later in the evening so you can go off ship and wander if you want after dinner.

The staff are friendly and work hard to know your likes and dislikes. I am not a breakfast person and very quickly the staff knew to just bring me lots of coffee.

It's like a very small portable boutique hotel.

We've also had the pleasure of running into staff from one cruise working on a different ship and they remembered our names. Heck, I barely remember my own name some days.

We were on the Rhine last spring and we arrived on my birthday. After a very long day of travel it was really sweet to be sung Happy Birthday at dinner and be presented with a birthday cake (my husband had prearranged it.) Then when we got to our room, there was a birthday banner, balloons, chocolates and a birthday card from the staff waiting.

We did the Danube Waltz Christmas Market cruise in Dec 2013 with the Budapest pre-extension. Last December we did Heart of Germany (with three days in Cologne at the end.)

We loved the Danube Waltz so much we are booked again this December with a post-extension in Prague.

The Heart of Germany was fun, however I found the markets to be extremely touristy. Bamberg was my favorite and Cologne was insane--every market was packed cheek to jowl. We love Budapest so are excited to be back. (We were there this spring for the Eastern Danube trip) Their markets are great.

We've used our purchased vouchers on upcoming trips. Meaning--we've bought vouchers onboard and then applied them to already-booked trips. Viking doesn't have a problem with this. If you are having problems, ask for a different booking agent.

We were rafted quite often on the Eastern Danube trip this spring. I don't mind--we get the balcony room as well and it's nice at nice when your cruising to sit out and get fresh air and see the stars. When you're docked during the day, chances are you won't be in your room.

Just a word of caution: peek through the curtains before flinging them open first thing in the morning. I may or may not have done that in my underwear and the lady in the cabin 8 feet away may or may not have done the same thing at the same time. :rolleyes:

For our first 3 Viking Cruises we got the lovely fabric Ipad document holders and all the name tags and lanyards. Our 4th cruise docs came in a box without nametags and landyards (but we have a couple of nice Explorer Club pins I'll never wear anywhere!) We thought perhaps once you've taken a few cruises they figure you don't need anymore Ipad holders and cut back.

We are taking our 5th Viking cruise in December--be interesting to see if we even get a box or if everything is in an envelope!

(We just figured they were looking to save expenses and that was easy low hanging fruit. Plus cheaper to ship.)

Does that also mean I can bring beer on board?

YUP. We bought beer and wine in every port and enjoyed it throughout the ship during our cruises. Bartenders are more than happy to open and pour all hours of the day and evening.