ural guy

Elsie70-  Are you on Italy, The Adriatic & Greece cruise?  Wondering, as we're in same 3 day in Venice/not Venice situation.  Trying to make best of it, so eager to hear people's ideas.

Looks like a great start to your trip.  Hope you have smooth sailing and plenty of spring flowers.

What is your alternative?

We were on a Vantage cruise, I chose to stay in Linz, my spouse went to Salzburg (included tour).  

She wound up spending more time on the bus than in the city (3 hours).  It being a cold, rainy day in November didn't help.  I had a good time exploring Linz.

Salzburg itself is well worth a visit, my daughters stayed there and say it's one of their favorite spots.  You just have to weigh your options.  Hopefully someone chimes in with some details, Viking's description is pretty vague.  With loading bus and drive time, maybe 5ish hours in Salzburg?

Recap: Physical ship very nice; pretty much everything else average to well below standard.

Redtravel-  thanks for posting this, sorry to hear about your less than stellar experience.  I've never seen a river cruise crew just gossiping with dirty dishes piling up and plates going out cold.  The Restaurant Managers just wouldn't tolerate it.

I'd love to know how they made that bus trip so long, sounds miserable.  Did the Dailey handout show a stop at a Plantation or Battlefield that was missed (not too many cathedrals or castles to see in Dixie)?

Vantage was 4 months from bankruptcy, and they had us in a great hotel in Prague.  Breakfast was amazing, the orange juice machine putting it over the top.  Then on the ship, we had chicken nuggets for the Captain's welcome the first night.  Viking can do better.

I was watching this travel show (great series, narrated by Bill Nighy) on the Mosel just after reading this thread.

The scene in Bernkastel, the town looked pretty busy, not sure if a river boat was docked.  For some of the wine towns, probably enough is enough. Maybe they sell a lot more ice creams and coffee than I realize, but I would think that people driving buy a lot more wine, stay overnight, etc.  If those people stay away at all due to the increase in river visitors, not a good outcome. 

Notamermaid, I do vaguely remember the small diesel running, Vantage had the second dining lounge above the engine and the small seating area was basically unusable with smell.  Definitely a tricky balance.

We were fortunate that when we docked, we stayed overnight.  I doubt Vantage was doing it with any regards to the town coffers, but it is a nice idea.  On this cruise,it was a misty/foggy November evening, perfect atmosphere.  But I don't think much money was spent in town, Vantage skewed to an older crowd.  Found a quiet wine bar and listened to 'The Blue Danube' on the radio.  Got the barman to chuckle when I said it was the wrong river.  Wandered back to ship happy. 

On the way back to the Rhine, we stopped in the afternoon, a Carnival festival was starting, the place was jam packed, we got to see the parade to start the day, music, lots of costumes.  The town has a lot going for it.

Hi-  Enjoying reading this report.  Just wondering, how many passport pages does a cruise like this use up?

On 4/5/2024 at 8:50 AM, CDNPolar said:

 

 

One night we got there and there was a four table that was not "reserved" and we sat down, expecting that two other people might join us.  I guess we caused quite a stir because the foursome that ate there every night came and their table was gone...  We were approached by a crew member and asked if we would move to a table of two (which had personal belongings on it) and the crew moved these belongings off and we moved there.  

 

It seems to be to be more hassle than it is worth and in the future we likely won't ever eat there again.  

 

CDN-  I'm pretty sure my daughter saw the incident you're talking about, was it the the front right table?  That should have never happened, those were some entitled people.  A mother/daughter couple was told the same thing; they were looking forward to sitting at a 4 top, hoping another couple would join them so they could chit-chat, and that group ran them off.  The mother/daughter kinda hung out by themselves the rest of the trip.

We were told that if you wanted an Aquavit table, to put something on it after 1800.  It was my spouse/daughter/bf and we sat up front left 4 top maybe 5 or 6 nights out of 9.  

The Captain sitting in the lounge, yes, my spouse thought it was his spouse joining him for New Years.  It was nice to see them.

That may have been the same night that a couple that was usually at a 2 top found it occupied, and wound up slipping some $ to be able to sit in the lounge.  They spoke to both the waiter and the dining room manager.  I didn't see the big deal in them wanting to sit there.

To me, that the Aquavit Lounge meals take almost as long as the MDR is the issue I'd like to see Viking address.  If going back to a served buffet gets you in and out quicker, I'd be happy.

On 4/1/2024 at 6:18 PM, Deb922 said:

My husband and I have been on 2 Viking River cruises and we are now exploring an ocean cruise. 
 

one of the biggest attraction of ocean v river is the dining situation. It’s not that we were adverse to the communal dining atmosphere. It’s that we would have loved to have a choice. 
 

7 days felt like a lot to sit and converse with strangers. Lovely nice people but it was exhausting. 
 

I think on the rivers, there are exactly 3 tables in the aquavit terrace that are 2 tops. On our second river cruise, there were the same people who camped out night after night. 
 

I don’t blame them but I would have liked to have a chance to opt out of dinner conversations for a night. Or even lunch. On our first river cruise we had luck dining alone at lunch time but the second did not work out. 
 

Thinking that an ocean cruise would be a better fit. As we are happy meeting others and connecting but sometimes we just want to be alone. 
 

my husband’s hearing issues don’t help at all. 

Same on our last Viking cruise, the same people in the same tables in the Aquavit lounge.  One night a regular, two person couple found their table taken.  They talked to both waiter and his supervisor so they could sit and be served in the main lounge area.  Money was exchanged, everyone seemed happy.

I understand your husband's hearing issues...there are so many different conversations going on in the MDR, with the low ceiling I can't distinguish words and fail to follow conversations.  So I smile and nod, and try to get a table in the lounge.

JP-  Thanks.  That's what initially caught my eye, the 4 hr flight from Boston.   If not that, then the TAP flights with the optional to build in several days layovers.  I have flown TAP out of Lisbon, and I wondered why the flight was listed for 3 hours.  About an hour was the bus ride from gate, boarding, and then waiting it turns out.

We were stationed on Oahu for three years, so less crowded and rustic are both good!  Glad to hear you had a good time...at least Chris had qualified medical care, on call 24/7....

7 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

 

We just came back from a week in the Azores and Sao Miguel was beautiful. The grass was green and the azaleas were in full bloom. No hydrangeas yet - they had green leaves but no significant blossoms.

 

Palm Sunday in Lisbon was well over 70 degrees and sunny. We ate lunch outdoors in Cascais with a beautiful ocean view.

 

I hope everyone had a nice Easter!

Azores are a place I've been looking at.  You enjoyed yourself?  I've read that the terrain is a bit Hawaii like.  Did you fly TAP?  Lastly, did you just visit the one island?  Thanks.

Flowers and trees blooming after even a mild NorthEast winter are a huge morale boost, glad you got a fix in!

CDN-  The Gate One Monarch Queen was tied up next to us in Amsterdam before the start of the Viking cruise we shared.  She is the old Vantage River Voyager, who we sailed on twice.  We were very happy with the ship and liked the French Balcony cabin layout.  They were listed as only 17 sq ft larger than a Viking aquarium class, but having the closet in a different spot made the place feel much larger.  Looking through the windows, I could see they kept the old Jazz motif, even had the jukebox (I did prefer Viking having a piano player).  

One big difference in layout, is that Viking has the second dining area, the Aquavit lounge, up front.  On the Queen, it is at the rear of the ship (Captain's Club then).  So Viking has the better view.  Vantage had a grill just outside the seating area, and about 2/3 of the meals they had something fresh grilled. 

No idea how Gate One will run it, but Viking taking at least 90 minutes every night in the lounge for dinner, with the same menu as MDR, was a letdown.  Vantage, you could be done quickly if you wanted, as they maintained a simpler buffet menu and the grill post Covid.

We're on Riviera in October, if a deal came up I'd book a Gate One cruise.

Where we are, we had crocuses coming up, and I got several motorcycle rides in the first week of March, which is a never before event.

This is a week ago in Willstatt Germany, across the Rhine from Strasbourg.  I was told spring is 3 weeks early by many people, lucky me.

And two Black Forest towns, Bad Krozingen

And Gegenbach.

I get home to a half foot of snow on the ground, and then another 8" 4 days ago, with temperatures down to 12f.  And now it has melted again, after two days in the 50's and sun.  Very crazy weather.

7 hours ago, ttnc4me said:

Thanks. We are traveling in June. Only took a day and we got our flights assigned. Air Canada/Swiss on the way over and VA on the way back. Guess we paid $100 extra for nothing since the flights are actually wonderful without any interference on our end. 

Here's to hoping the train is easy to navigate since we'll be exhausted on arrival. Thanks all!

Glad the flight part worked out.

Leaving the airport is easy, it was just the city station that was daunting. Tram up top, with the big trains down a few levels threw my brain at first.

Passport control, then grab your bags and go through customs into main hall, you'll see signs for the train station.  Follow those.  The ticket machines have a language button....here's a guide, although it is pretty straight forward. 2nd class ticket is fine, tap and pay worked well throughout trip.  Trains are frequent, pick the one with the shortest transit time. 

I've ridden trains in Europe a bit, and I still get nervous, and verified with another passenger that this was the correct train (it continues past Hauptbanhof so Zurich hbf wasn't the train name).  

Where are you headed to from city station?

https://lostinswitzerland.com/train-ticket-sbb-machine/

13 hours ago, ttnc4me said:

Curious to know which airlines you got booked?

 

It seems Delta is a frequent partner and who? Lufthansa? BA? 

We are also flying into Zurich and google flights gives cheap carriers like WestJet and Norse that surely are not candidates for Viking. The cheaper flights are also like 20 - 22 hours when 11 - 15 hours are possible but at double the cost ($600 vs 1200 (United/Delta/American)).

What does Viking base their deviation options on? Any ideas?

 

Last week I flew American RT from Watertown NY to Zurich, 1 connection in Philadelphia.  It couldn't have been smoother.  I booked the flights a month prior and got a great price, and layflat seat on the way over, premium economy on the way back...but it was March.  15 minute train ride to city, roughly $8 usd.  

Main train station in Zurich is a mass of people, 470,000 passengers a day.  4 levels, includes a layer of shops.  Construction outside added to the chaos.  Very efficient place.

Crossed the Rhine at the bridge 20km's downstream from Strasbourg, I'm not sure if this is just the bridge name or also the lock set there.  Pont de Gambsheim.   Anyway, this lock is having work done.

This would be a spot we could add to our tour spot, a UNESCO World Heritage site, 30 years back added as the first to focus on industrial sites, Volklinger Iron Works.  Over 17,000 people worked here, it was only closed in 1986.  You get a workout, lots of walking and catwalk steps.  Amazing the scale of the place.

They had a movie festival that you also walked through, huge screens showing old movies are hung between steam engines that powered the plants.  The movie posters were lots of fun, the different color pallets used over the years.

Last night, the placement of the lights so the green roof pops, great job.  While I was standing there, a couple turned the corner and this view drew a gasp, it is that stunning.  You get nice little glimpses of the Cathedral throughout town.

Metz and Roman history, wow!  Museum of La Cour d'Or, was founded in 1839, and during a 1930's expansion they found Roman baths.  They incorporated that into the museum, to include graves they found as well.  Creepy seeing 7 skeltons under very clean glass in the floor.  Their collection is impressive, from old lead coffins (empty?), to altars, mosaic tiles...I just wandered in and was blown away.  Free admission.

Yes, I was able to see the Cathedral stained glass, what a magnificent structure.  300 years to build.  

and the train station.

and a repurposed phone booth.

A great walkable city, not too big, not too small.

9 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Here's one to consider.  

 

https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/rheinisches-landesmuseum-trier-archaeological-museum/7848fdcd-c7d4-408b-a74a-d9c3b4709c83

When Vantage took us to Trier, we missed the museum, but visited both the Roman Amphitheater and also the Imperial Baths.  The bath complex was huge and you wander through halls and various passages.  No idea they were so large.

I'm on the Moselle now, in Metz.  A very nice city as well.  Flowers are trees are starting to bloom.  Lorraine region is nice countryside to explore.

Received a Viking mailer, the Grand Europe 14 night cruise, with airfare, June 24, is $4,000 USD p/p.  That's what we paid for the same cruise with airfare on our first river cruise back in 2014.  They were also doubling the returning cruiser credit.  Now that all the Covid vouchers have been used, the demand will fall?

For anyone else impacted, depending on how long you're in Arnhem, there are a few other top notch places to visit, that you can get to via 20 minute local bus. 

Burger's Zoo: Lots of indoor exhibits, like a desert area that are under a dome, interesting and nice in bad weather.  Outdoor animals have very large enclosures.  

https://www.burgerszoo.com/

Open Air Museum:  They've transported windmills, houses, factories, school buildings and even a 100 year old trolley that makes stops throughout the park.  One of the best I've ever been to.

https://www.openluchtmuseum.nl/

Musispark:  If you just want a nice walk, this park has numerous water features, a small museum at a mill, tons of friendly dogs with their people, having fun.  

Hartenstein Museum is very well done, in a former hotel, that later served as British HQ during part of the battle.  I rented a bike from the train station, it is a nice ride, and you get to experience the few hills and woods of Netherlands.  A short detour is to a chapel that the Poles and Brits defended to the end to protect the river crossing.  Still numerous bullet pock marks.  

https://www.museum.nl/en/airborne-museum-at-hartenstein

There are a few other Market Garden museums, including a small one adjacent Frost Bridge.  You still see Pegasus Banners (British patch had a Pegasus, AIRBORNE!), and markers throughout the town, the Dutch still remember.  Some war graves are still tended by the original person who adopted them right after the war, through a Dutch program.  There was a write up in the papers a few years ago about this.

I really like Arnhem as you can tell, been several times, sent oldest daughter/SIL there, they loved it, brought spouse after my initial recon, she loved it.  Easy direct train from Schipol Airport, we'd stay in 10 room hotel 150 meter from train station.

Our stop in December was canceled due to high water, Christmas Day. We were looking forward to the zoo, now youngest daughter will have to go back.

On 3/3/2024 at 1:35 PM, notamermaid said:

That is just my take on the itinerary from Basel to Amsterdam of course. If you wanted to get deeper into this you would need to see where the river comes from and the wild and unusual journey it takes before it becomes a river cruising river - the high Alps and a huge lake. For those with a lot of time I recommend this series on the Rhine. Five parts, well researched and beautifully filmed I find, this is part one:

notamermaid

 

Thanks for posting this, great series, watched 4 episodes so far with spouse (retirement is nice).  Very well put together, beautiful camera shots, and tells more stories than just the river itself. 

The young Sheppard watching over her flock (in between semesters of Chemistry), mineral composition and perfect slope angle for vineyards, a guy running a pedestrian ferry outside Colonge for over 30 years, all great stories. 

22 hours ago, janieg510 said:

I am booked on the Tulips and Windmill tour embarking on Apr 29 and was terribly disappointed in the change of excursion from the Kroller-Muller Museum. That was the highlight of my last trip there. Is there any way for several people to meet online and rent a car together to drive there?We are in Nijmegen on Thursday May 2, I believe. Does Viking have a forum?

Uber worked well for us in Netherlands a few months back.  Just know when you have to be back on board.  Our Viking cards that you swipe when you leave the boat has the ships number on it...in case anything changes.

(I looked up this cruise, the Viking page has you visiting Arnhem, not Nijmegen?

Arnhem, from the river to the museum is 27 kms, Nijmegan is further away at 40-45 km.) 

 This site will start posting flowering conditions shortly.  Are you flying in early?

https://tulipsinholland.com/faq-tulips-and-keukenhof/weekly-tulips-and-flower-update/

Enjoy your cruise.

15 hours ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

P.S. For an upcoming November Bordeaux cruise, Viking offered us a routing with a 1 hour 25 minute connect time in CDG. We said, “What, are you crazy?? No!!” They then offered a reasonable connect time for $800 more. Not sure why we should pay extra for a reasonable connect time. Waiting for a better offer.

'Sir/Ma'am, that is a legal connection.'

Me:  OK, but sounds close for a busy Airport, immigration...would you chance it?

'Sir/Ma'am, this is a legal connection.'

A frustrating game to play, for sure.  Flying in the day (or five) early really lowers the stress and 'protects' the important part of the trip, your time on the river.

***Above I said an airline booking code is just 6 letters...wrong, it can also include numbers, so it's alpha/numeric.  Sorry for any confusion.

3 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We have an interesting situation.  After we booked our flights with Viking, our travel agent went ahead and selected our seats (aisle and window).  We then got a notice a few months later from Viking that our booking had changed and we were now in the middle section of the plane.  MVJ displays this--middle seats.  FYI, the equipment did not change, still same make and model of plane.

 

The travel agent, when we mentioned this to her, went to the airline website and looked up our booking.   The airline still, even to this day (we fly in 5 weeks) shows us booked in to the aisle/window seats.

 

I guess we will find out the truth when we check in and receive our boarding passes!

I would trust the airline site, that's what your boarding pass is going to reflect.  You can check yourself with the booking code (6 digit code, just letters) and head to that airlines web site.  Should be a manage my flight tab you can select.

We added our frequent flyer numbers and were able to move our seats/upgrade directly with airline.  I'd think you could make the same adjustments without the loyalty numbers.  Good luck.

15 hours ago, Shipswap said:

We did the Maginot Line excursion with Avalon. It was exceptional!

Where did you go?  I ask as the Maginot Line is really long.

I have an upcoming trip, and I'm thinking of visiting Ouvrage Hackenberg Maginot Line Fortress,  which is outside Metz. Interested in any other spots you may have seen.  Thanks.