FAUSTIND

Cindy,

Hopefully this will help, but if not, I apologize. My wife and I went on the Viking Homelands Ocean Cruise May 6-20, 2017. Originally, we were planning to take the free train into Berlin, see the highlights, and return. As you indicate, it is difficult at best to get any information out of Viking ahead of time. I can tell you that on our cruise, the train back from Berlin was late and held up the ship from departing the port. We did not hear any positive reports from anyone who took the train to Berlin. What we finally decided to do was to go to our cruise's Roll Call and to put together a small group (minimum of 10 people to make up a tour group) to go with TJ Travel (https://st-petersburg-tours.ru/). It is a very highly rated tour company on tripadvisor and cruisecritic and it was a great value for us. The owner is Tatiana and she and her staff correspond very well via email. You can contact her via info@st-petersburg-tours.ru. Once you have a group established, you can work out a deal with Tatiana depending upon the ports you want to utilize their services. We took a small group (10 people) in Berlin for $89/person. A large bus picked us up at the port right after we docked and it was a 5 hour ride into Berlin. Our guide in Berlin was an expat from the U.S. (Boris Coronado) and he was fantastic. We saw all the highlights and then some over approximately 4.5 to 5 hours in Berlin. Then we had a 5 hour bus ride back to the ship. We arrived back well ahead of the departure time. We also used TJ Travel for our 2 days in St. Petersburg. I think our group was either 12 or 16 people, but again it was much smaller and less expensive than the Viking tours, and because it was a smaller group with very knowledgeable tour guides, we were able to maneuver ahead of the larger tour groups and get in and out more quickly. The two days in St. Petersburg cost us $240 per passenger. Again, you can work out a deal with Tatiana depending upon what ports you want to visit. We found it well worth the cost in both cities. Hope this helped, but I'm sorry if I really didn't answer your question.

Hello Dauntless. Just saw your response as well. Thank you so much for your very detailed and helpful response. You have provided great food for thought and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you so much.

Hello CharTrav. Outstanding answer. Thank you so much for this very detailed response. You have helped me immensely. I really appreciate all the help that you have provided to me.

Hello.

My wife and I are on the Viking Star Ocean Cruise visiting Berlin on May 12, 2017. We plan to take the train into Berlin and then "do" Berlin on our own during the 3.5 to 4 hours free time we are allowed. Via TripAdvisor, I see that the #1 rated tour is the Insider Walking Tour of Berlin. It is 10AM to 2PM daily. Have any previous Viking Ocean Cruise passengers taken this walking tour? I'm just curious if we can get to Berlin on time to start the tour and return to the meeting point for the train trip back to the ship. Anyone with any previous experience? Thank you.

Thanks so much CharTrav. You've been immensely helpful. I'm now a lot more confident that we will at least be able to get a "flavor" of Berlin during our brief time there.

Thanks so much CharTrav for the very detailed reply. My thinking at this point after viewing a map of Berlin and reading other posts from people who had only a few hours to tour Berlin, my main goal is to arrange a free 90 minute guided tour of the Reichstag Building (including a visit to the Dome), visit the Brandenburg Gate, and then visit Checkpoint Charlie. I am not certain how much more we can accomplish in the time allotted. I walk quite a bit but my 68 year old wife does not enjoy walking quite so much. Does my goal sound OK or would you recommend other more interesting things to see/do?

Thank you ISBCLARIN.

Thank you so much CharTrav. As much detailed information as possible certainly helps. We really appreciate it.

Dauntless - thank you for your prompt reply. I will try to get in touch with the couple you suggested.

CharTrav - thank you too for your prompt and informative reply. If you recall, do you remember what time the train arrived in Berlin in the morning and where in Berlin it arrived? Our main sightseeing targets in Berlin are the Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate, and Checkpoint Charlie. Hopefully we can get that accomplished during our time in Berlin.

My wife and I will be going on a Viking Homelands cruise on Viking Star from May 06-20, 2017. It is our understanding that Viking provides a train from the docking port (Warnemunde) to Berlin and back again as an included excursion. We want to make our own plans for the time we have in Berlin, but Viking will not provide any advanced information. Does anyone know what time the Viking train departs the port for Berlin, where (location) and what time it arrives in Berlin and what time it departs Berlin back to the ship? Additionally, any tips on touring Berlin in the brief time allotted will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

My wife and I will be going on a Viking Homelands cruise on Viking Star from May 06-20, 2017. It is our understanding that Viking provides a train from the docking port (Warnemunde) to Berlin and back again as an included excursion. We want to make our own plans for the time we have in Berlin, but Viking will not provide any advanced information. Does anyone know what time the Viking train departs the port for Berlin, where (location) and what time it arrives in Berlin and what time it departs Berlin back to the ship? Additionally, any tips on touring Berlin in the brief time allotted will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

My wife and I are planning an early May 2016 river cruise on the Uniworld 14-day European Jewels Cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. Is there anyone who can provide first-hand details of that pros and cons of staying in a Category 5 Stateroom? We are not too concerned with the aspect of viewing scenery from the room, but we are more concerned with the ability to relax and sleep (factors such as engine noise and vibration, etc.). Any information and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much for the quick replies. How do I get to the River Cruising board?

Thank you.

My wife and I are just starting to plan a Viking River Cruise Grand European Tour for late April 2016 from Amsterdam to Budapest. We were thinking of getting a French Balcony Stateroom on the Second deck Port side for $5762/passenger, but we are not sure if it is worth the price as opposed to getting a Standard Stateroom on the Main Deck (either Port side or Starboard side) for $4712/passenger. Is the $1050/passenger premium worth the additional expense (it appears the French Balcony Stateroom is slightly smaller (15 square feet) but of course has a much larger window)? For rooms on the Main Deck, is there considerable engine noise and vibrations that would make it difficult to sleep or relax? What are the Pros and Cons to the 2 different stateroom types? Is the Port side or Starboard side more favorable for sightseeing while cruising?

We would greatly appreciate any insight that anyone can offer.