lucky cal

5 hours ago, Jktj said:

We did this in April 2022. We left the boat in  Lyon around 8 and arrived at the boat in Paris around noon.  You should be able to make an afternoon reservation for the Eiffel Tower. It’s about a 15 minute walk.  France’s Cinest is a great trip! 

Thanks! Just what we were hoping to hear from someone who has done the trip.

We're doing France's Finest on Viking in June 2023. It includes two cruises, Avignon to Lyon and Paris to Normandy, with a train transfer from Lyon to Paris between the two ships. Has anyone else done this and if so, can you tell me what the train transfer day is like? I'm wondering if it's an early train that will enable us to have lots of free time in Paris that day? Or do we leave Lyon later which might then only allow for evening activities in Paris? I know the train ride is only about 2 hours, with buses to the ships on both ends.

My mother has her heart set on going up the Eiffel Tower and we want to purchase the tickets 2 months in advance. Based on our itinerary, I think this would be the best day for us to fit in a visit the Tower but I'm trying to decide if we can book afternoon tickets. Or should we just go with night tickets.

We sailed on the Rhine and Moselle in early August 2019. No issues with water levels on those rivers during the summer 3 years ago. However, time marches on and so will the affects of climate change. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2023 with the Seine in June and the Douro in October.

We did this trip in early August 2019 and really enjoyed it. We also added Viking's Geneva and Zermatt pre-cruise extension on the front end. That was a wonderful 4 days.

Unfortunately, Viking doesn't always use the most centrally located hotels. On our trip, it was the Renaissance Tower Hotel in Zurich and Le Meridien Etoile in Paris, though they sometimes use other hotels as well. Both hotels were in more of a business/convention area rather than a central tourist location. The good news is that public transportation in both areas was easy to use. If not comfortable with that, taxis are always an option. There were several good restaurants within easy walking distance of both hotels. Though we would have liked a more central location, it really didn't impact us in a negative way.

I don't see lunch and dinner on your own as a negative. It's a great opportunity to sample local cuisine, which people on cruises sometimes neglect to do. Though Paris and Zurich are expensive, there are restaurants and markets within a wide range of price options. 

Weather will be chilly at night and probably in the 50s and low 60s during the day. Generally, light jacket and sweater weather, especially if you're used to Chicago weather. To me, the big benefit of doing this intinerary in April is you may encounter fewer tourist crowds.

As I recall, you are offered at least one included Viking tour in both Paris and Zurich so you need to factor that into the equation when assessing value. At the end of these tours, you don't need to take their coach back to the hotel but can stick around in the tourist areas then make your own way back to the hotel at your leisure. There will also be several paid tour options offered by Viking if you choose to partake. The Viking on-site host can also be helpful with transportation and restaurant recommendations.

I wouldn't hesitate to go!

Great thread, Loriva! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It will be helpful to both new and experienced river cruisers.

My mother and I were on the Viking Hild in early August 2019 for the Paris to the Swiss Alps itinerary. The Aquavit Terrace was always available for dinner on our cruise so unless they've done away with that it should be an option for you. Since seating is limited on the terrace you would need to arrive very early to secure a table. Enjoy your travels!

Following. 🙂 

On 9/15/2020 at 12:08 PM, tomhigh said:

Clay,

  Thanks for the reply. I didn't know there was a train between Seward and Anchorage. My Wife and I really like trains so I expect we would take that.

  The Bear viewing trip from Anchorage is mostly for me as I have spent too much time watching them on this site during our Covid hide-out period.

   https://explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bear-salmon-cam-brooks-falls?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzOnY17ad6gIVUxh9Ch04lgSCEAAYASAAEgJjY_D_BwE

  I'm also wondering if any of the tours promoted by Viking that include Bear watching actually see any Bears. That could take the place of the excursion from Anchorage.

I'm not sure what Viking offers as far as bear tours, but you could book an independent flightseeing tour in Ketchikan (or Wrangell) that will take you to spectacular bear viewing areas. We did one in Ketchikan with Island Wings to Traitor's Cove. Our flight had just one other couple and we had about 90 minutes to watch at least a dozen black bears, including several cubs, feeding on salmon. Along with our private whale watching tour in Juneau (Harv & Marv's Whale Watching Tours) it was a highlight of our Alaska trip. Another fantastic bear watching opportunity is Anan Creek, which is accessible by air from Wrangell and Ketchikan and by boat from Wrangell. Anan is special because you can often see both black and brown bears there. I haven't done that one yet, but it's on my bucket list along with Brooks Falls. Someday!

14 hours ago, greydog said:

Great result in your case - Delta may have relaxed their policy given that you did your upgrade early in month of sailing and they had unsold upgrade seats, especially to only charge +$75.  Or the 'old story' about the random draw of the Delta agent handling your transaction.  Either way, glad it worked for you.

 

MY NEW DILEMMA - currently invoiced for $799 ea. upgrade to Viking premium economy.  Now find that Atlanta to Amsterdam nonstop 8.5 hr flights only offer Comfort+, not premium economy class. To get Prem-Econ seating, need to do connection thru Paris or DTW, JFK, pushing trip to 12+ hrs.  Leaning toward dropping $799 upgrade charge and doing reduced $ nonstop Comfort+ for time saving.  

I would definitely recommend going non-stop Comfort+. The quality of Premium Economy varies depending on the airline and I’m not sure it’s worth $799 per person especially if the airlines are still operating under Covid protocols. Save the $$$ for a few upgraded excursions or your next trip. 🙂

On 8/22/2020 at 10:03 AM, greydog said:

 

My (pre-Covid) experience with Viking-air and Delta is a cautionary tale. I learned Delta would not allow $ seat upgrade with them after booking air with Viking contract air service.  I thought I could watch for Delta price sale later to get cheaper upgrade. But Delta disallowed upgrade thru them as policy.  So when I made my air reservation with Viking I asked what their upgrade fee was and decided whether to take (it was competitive $ at that moment).

 

ALSO, I wanted best choice of (Comfort+, Prem Econ) seats so I did my air about 6 mos. early (pre-Covid days) after having looked at all my flight connection choices and seat locations available ( bulkhead legroom, away from lavatory disruption, etc).  From Atlanta, flights with prem. economy were all 1-stop connectors while nonstops to AMS were only Comfort+ planes.  In my mind, last thing I want is taking the economy 'pot luck' seat picked 60 days out from embarkation.  (Apparently you can challenge the default seat assignment and then negotiate for better but at 60-days out in normal vacation season the alternatives may be limited)  GOOD LUCK

We had good luck with Viking and Delta for our 2019 river cruise. We booked one of their free air deals in late March for a trip that began in late July. We paid Viking an extra $50 each so we could dictate non-stop Delta flights from Atlanta. In early July, I was able to go online with Delta myself to upgrade our seats to Comfort+ despite having booked the flights through Viking's contract. I think we paid $75 per seat to Delta for the upgrades, so a total of $300 round-trip for the two of us. Well worth it to be a little more comfortable!

On 2/6/2020 at 7:05 PM, hallasm said:

The ports are relatively close to city centers. Some alternatives:
Six night northbound front Bergen to Kirkenes with pre- and post-cruise stays in Oslo, Bergen and Kirkenes - the train from Oslo to Bergen is a excellent option - you can then combine your Oslo to Bergen with ‘Norway in a Nutshell‘  from Flåm.

In addition to the Coastal voyages with many short stops, Hurtigruten is also offering 12 night expedition cruises from Bergen from 2021 with longer stops in ports. 

Great info. Thanks hallasm! I'll look into these options.

On 2/5/2020 at 10:48 AM, SarniaLo said:

Sailing plan can be found here : https://www.hurtigruten.com/practical-information/sailing-plan/

(note slight variations between seasons).

Thank you. This sailing plan is very helpful!

On 2/4/2020 at 5:33 PM, hallasm said:

There are 34 stops on the 6 night voyage from Bergen to Kirkenes - most stops are 15 minutes - few 30 to 60 minutes stops. Timing depends on time of the year.

Northbound one longer 3 hours stop each day like in Ålesund, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Honningsvåg (North Cape). Here youl'll be able to explore the city on your own.

Southbound stops in Tromsø and Bodø is shorter and during night. I do prefer Northbound and have never don the full 11 nights - done one 6 night northbound and several shorter - primarily from Bodø to Kirkenes.

Very scenery sailing but nice with he longer stops.

Please note that ships are different - some ships have expedition teams - many lectures and they are also arranging hiking excursions.

Thank you. Is it possible to do or see much during a 3-hour stop? Do the ships dock right in town so you can just walk off and explore, or would transportation be required?

While I'm excited about the scenery involved, I'd like to be able to experience the Norwegian culture and it seems like this might be difficult to do with such a short time on land.

I hope someone who has traveled on this itinerary can shed some light.

I'm thinking about Hurtigruten's 12-day coastal voyage and I'm confused about how much time, if any, you spend in port. I understand that this trip operates as a ferry service so most stops are very short, but are there any longer stops that allow for exploring or activities as you would have on a traditional cruise? It's not clear to me from the Hurtigruten materials I've received.

I recognize the point of this voyage is mainly the beautiful scenery and that's very appealing to me, but I would like to spend some time off the ship as well.

Thanks.

We are booked on a late July Viking river cruise. The Paris to Swiss Alps itinerary with our pre-cruise extension includes four hotels. Two of these hotels, in Zurich and Paris, are Marriott-brand properties.

I just made Platinum status in the Marriott rewards program. This entitles us to room upgrades, lounge access, free enhanced wi-fi and other perks. I'm wondering if anyone has had luck accessing hotel reward program perks at hotels that were booked for you through Viking. Ordinarily, I'd just call the hotel and give them my rewards number, but since our hotels were booked by Viking I doubt the hotel will have a reservation under my name.

Any experience with this or suggestions?  I'd love to avail myself of these Platinum perks while I have them especially since I won't be traveling enough in the coming year to maintain that lofty status for long.

Thanks!

My mother and I are cruising on Viking's Paris to Swiss Alps itinerary on August 5th. We have taken a number of ocean cruises but this our first river cruise. I tend to be a detailed planner, and two things are driving me crazy. The first is not knowing how long we will be docked in each port. The second is not knowing exactly where we will dock for each location.

We have reserved an excursion in each port, but I'd like to know how long we'll be docked. That way I would have a better sense of timing and know if I can/should research and plan any other activities for time on our own.

As far as docking location, I'm trying to determine how close we will be to each town. Are we able to walk to and from the ship for free time on our own, and if not, does Viking provide a shuttle into town?

I'm sure we will receive more detailed information with our final documents but we won't receive those until 3 weeks before the trip and that's not much time to research and plan.

If anyone can shed light on the timing and docking location for the following ports on the Paris to Swiss Alps itinerary, I'd be grateful!

Strasbourg

Speyer

Mainz

Koblenz

Cochem

Bernkastel

Trier

Thanks for this informative thread, EnricM. My mother will be in Barcelona on October 13 so I will follow this thread. I hope the situation improves for the local people and their visitors.

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The OP is inexplicably rude, when EnricM's reply was polite and informative. We should greatly appreciate the local perspective, as well as visitors' experiences when evaluating where to go and what to do in a destination. Especially if one wants to be a traveler vs. a tourist.

In 2015, we planned our own land-based tour and followed it up with a 1-week Princess cruise that visited both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.

Planning the land portion took a lot of research but I enjoyed doing it and our independent tour provided so much more flexibility than the cruisetours run by the cruise lines. I know there are many people that enjoy the cruisetours and I suppose there is some benefit to just sitting back and letting someone else do the driving, but I think I would find it restrictive. We were able to do so much more in that land-based week than we would have if we went with a Princess tour. Their itineraries seem to spend more time at the hotels they own than allowing you to actually see the sights and experience Alaska.

Driving in Alaska is easy and there are all types of hotels, cabins, B&Bs in a wide range of prices. Something for everyone.

We also stayed at McKinley Creekside Cabins during our 2015 trip to Alaska. We had a good experience there. The cabins are nothing fancy and there are no amenities other than the restaurant and wi-fi, but they were an easy ride away from the park entrance, Glitter Gulch, and Healy. However, it's only a good choice if you will be renting a car. I don't think they offer transportation to the park.

We stayed at McKinley creekside cabins! 15 min from the entrance of Denali. Cute cabins and comfortable king size beds. We were able to order lunches the night before and they had them ready early the next morning for our day in the park! Delicious. Reasonable price. Beautiful setting! Even had chair next to the creek! Would highly recommend them! We were traveling with another couple and they made sure our rooms were next to each other!

 

 

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Not necessarily budget friendly, but we enjoyed both Ray's Waterfront and

Chinook's.

Menus are somewhat similar, but we thought Ray's had a nicer atmosphere. The halibut was phenomenal in both restaurants.

We tried to visit Smoke Shack but they seem to close pretty early, or at least they did the night we wanted to go there.

Seward is a great little town.

Great photos! Keep 'em coming.

Seems like options are mostly for early morning or early afternoon transportation.

Try some of these companies, some of which make a stop at the very worthwhile Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the journey south.

http://www.anchorage.net/plan-your-trip/getting-around/cruise-transfers-and-transportation/

http://www.sewardalaskabus.com

The boat tour sounds good as well. I didn't know that was an option last year, and it's also about $100 less expensive than the float plane so that's a big plus. The excursions in Alaska are worth every penny, but they are so expensive when you have already paid for a cruise and airfare.

The float plane was a thrill for us, but I can understand why people might opt out. A few weeks before we headed to Alaska last year there was a float plane accident that killed a group of cruise passengers so that gave me pause. However, I was glad we did it and I didn't tell my husband about the accident until AFTER we completed our excursion. Bad enough it was in the back of my mind!

Good luck with your trip and I hope you see lots of bears.

Forgot to mention that we spent two hours at Mendenhall with about 45 minutes at Steep Creek and never saw a bear. Though the park ranger did say one bear was spotted earlier that day. That was on August 2nd last year.