pontac

Maybe too late now, but on the TV screen in your cabin is a map with the ships position.

I'm in the UK and have dinner at 7pm. 6pm is too early if one finishes work at 5pm then has to catch a train from London. Luck to get home by 6pm. Work has now finished with me, but still have dinner at 7pm. I was puzzled why Americans ate dinner so early, some restaurants there close before Spanish ones open. But working there I found out the reason. Americans get up very early.

It's different if ones' final destination is CDG but making a connection there - especially as we will have to go through immigration and customs there - before checking into an internal flight to Bordeaux. Before & after we got married Mrs P promised me she'd take me to Paris but she never did. So for a significant anniversary I took her. Destination was a surprise until she got her boarding card at the airport. That was a long time ago but I still remember the bateaux ride with dinner down the Seine. My last time was with an American friend who was very keen on Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code; we went to places mentioned in London (which is more than Brown did), Rosslin Chapel in Scotland and St Sulpice Church and the Louvre in Paris. Mrs P has been to Paris a couple of times without me; once as a reward with her firm for a day trip, the other a day trip with our elder son who's a travel agent given two premium tickets by Eurostar. I am sure you'll enjoy Paris, but it's worth planning what you'll see, how to get to those sights and thus where to stay.

Prices quoted for River Cruises in the UK include travel, you can get them to quote for an upgrade. Joy about CDG as Scenic have booked our outward journey Air France London - CDG - Bordeaux. Aren't we lucky?

Not silly. Yes, as I said, there is a non-stop* flight between London & Bordeaux. In 10 river cruises with Viking the only two times they have booked us on connecting flights was when there wasn't a non-stop (London- Vienna - Odesa and Porto - Lisbon - London) When we did Bordeaux with Viking they booked non-stop London-Bordeaux and vice versa with BA. *There's a subtle difference between direct and non-stop. Non-stop means what it says - you embark at the departure airport and the next landing is at the final destination airport. Direct means you stay on the same plane but it has intermediate stops where some passengers disembark and others board.

Schiphol was a mess in April, we only just made our flight. But our cruise ended in Amsterdam so it was the logical place to leave from. What is not logical is Scenic booking our return flight in a couple of weeks time from Bordeaux to London - where there are direct flights - to go to Schiphol instead where we have a short time to catch another flight to London.

An adapter just is an intermediary the coverts the plugs prongs of one country to the plugs prongs of another country - in your case the flat USA prongs to the round Euro prongs that allows USA devices to be plugged into Euro sockets. They don't convert the electricity, so a device built to operate on USA 110 volts will receive Euro 220 volts. Best to check the device will take 220 volts. If you read earlier posts in the thread, you'll see that personal hair driers are not allowed to be used on river boats. A hair drier is supplied in every cabin (with Viking certainly). Check the rules with the cruise line you are booked on.

Not of any use for the OP, but for UK readers Viking's price includes flights and transfers

Inside the boat is airconditioned, I have never found the restaurant to be too hot or too cold. I like to dress up, but as I am retired there's now few opportunities to do so. If one is on holiday from a job where you have to wear certain clothes you might like to be casual on your river cruise. Viking are relaxed about what you wear. This is from the Dress Code section of Vikings FAQs There are no “formal nights” in the evening; recommended evening dress is “elegant casual.” For ladies, this may include a dress, skirt or slacks with a sweater or blouse; and for gentlemen, trousers and a collared shirt. A tie and jacket are optional. But as @gourmetgirlsays, you won't get turned away. Go with what you're comfortable in.

Thanks for the correction @Haqdeluxe Considering the number of Longships I have been on, I shouldn't have made this basic error. I plead anno domini - although I have never had to use the elevators. So far!

I apologise if I misunderstood and you are talking about elevators from quayside to boat, but Mimir is a Longship and there is an elevator, though it doesn't serve the cabins at the top, lounge or the sun deck. However it will take passengers between the lower deck and the restaurant deck.

PS: we did the Rhine Gateway in April, you may want to read my review Viking Rhine Getaway Cruise Basel - Amsterdam on Cruise Critic PPS: We lived for a while in Phoenixville PA, which is only 90 minutes from Red Lion.

Well, I am simple fellow. The OP (Original Poster) Is cruising Budapest to Bucharest which is B2B also Bordeaux to Bordeaux is B2B and, as you say Back to Back is also B2B so it's worth spelling it out where there is a chance of confusion. (BTW - [By the Way] I am Pontac, not a car) If they are travelling by train to Budapest then they will not be at the airport. If they are being met by Viking staff at the station then that's the time to put the Viking tags on the cases; if they are making their own way to the boat they don't need to fix the tag till then. But even if they fix them when they leave the ocean ship, they are - as you said - sturdier than they look. Anyway - they don't need protection, so save your money @islandwoman

This cruise offers 3 pre-cruise extensions: Lucerne, Lake Como and Basel. Are you doing them all?

I have been on 10 Viking River Cruises. I am not sure I understand what you're asking. Viking issue two types of baggage tags - red leather ones with leather straps you can use these for you home/destination address. They are very sturdy, we use them on our cases for all our travel in the past 10 years, and have not lost one The second one is specific to the cruise, they are a plasticized paper and identify you, your boat and your cabin. They are used by the crew to m take the cases to correct cabins. These tags are sturdier than they look, they are very difficult - I found them impossible - to tear. I imagine these are the ones you are talking about. I don't think they need protecting, but if the worst happens and they go missing, no worries as the crew will use the boats manifest to look for your name and cabin to take the bags to your cabin. In the worst possible case (pun not intended) your bags will stay in reception waiting for you to claim them. (PS B2B - is that Budapest to Bucharest or Bordeaux to Bordeaux?)

No doubt the fires are serious, but I'm aware the media makes things more dramatic. That's why I asked what impact the fires have had on river cruises. One of the excursions is to Arcachon, I was reading of very severe fires there and I expect excursions to the town and sand dunes will not take place during the fires. But I'd like to hear from those on a cruise at this time. A participant on another - non-cruising forum - is on holiday in Arcachon and he says the fires were pretty severe earlier this week and came within a couple of km of Arcachon itself. Last Tuesday evening the sky over the town was, rather alarmingly, entirely obscured with black smoke, although I don’t think we were ever in any real danger. The fires have been put out now. The effect on local ecology has obviously been pretty devastating but, short of another heatwave, I’d hope you’d be fine for your trip in a few weeks.

I take it you're posting this after reading today's news from Schipol? I'm due to transit through there next month, and I'm hoping today's baggage problems will be fixed by then. I left from Schipol after a river cruise in April and it was awful, huge long queues to get into the terminal, then to check in and then go to security. Terrible. Just caught the flight. Schipol used to be a class act.

I'm due to go on a Scenic river cruise in Bordeaux in a few weeks time. I read today that wildfires are raging in the region, including Arcachon which is a excursion destination. I'd like to hear from those currently cruising the Bordeaux region what impact these fires are having..... Source: Fine wine estate evacuated as wildfires rage south of Bordeaux - The Drinks Business

Our friends did this cruise last week and their Lisbon hotel was the Tivoli.

@thetravelsofmrsb I'm looking forward to your view - and photos - of food and drink on the cruise. Please post here with a link when ready. When we started cruising with Viking 10 years ago the house white was Gruner Veltliner and the red Blaeur Zweigelt both from Wachau's Morwald winery. Now Viking have 80+ river cruisers they serve different wine. I thought the Austrian wines particularly good. Anyway, last time we went through the Wachau Valley (On Danube Waltz in 2018) we took an excursion to Morwald winery where the very jolly owner Erhardt Morwald, pictured below, treated us right royally. He supplied 35,000 bottles annually to Viking and implored us to drink more!

Excellent posts, lovely photos. They answer many questions visitors here ask, including whether all the passengers are ancient. 🙂 One typo you may want to correct is in the second sentence of the first paragraph of the itinerary post - saw us vising six different ports

I beg to differ. Earlier in that description it says Meet your guide and drive into the city for a half-day motor coach and walking tour, Given that the excursion lasts a max 3.5 hours which includes free time (denoted by 'Shopping' at the top), the excursion shows you the sights of Vienna from the coach, plus a walking tour with free time to do your own thing. I took this tour, and thought it did an admirable job of exactly that. As we didn't want to shop, we had a pastry and coffee in a café. From the information given by the guide about the metro, we made our own way back to the centre later. There's a metro station close to the river morning. There's not enough time in 3.5 hours to enter and tour Hofburg Palace, St. Stephan's cathedral, the Vienna State Opera concert hall and have time for shopping and a walking tour. If you already know the city or prefer to visit certain places by all means skip this excursion. We didn't and enjoyed it. mhb1757 had the bad luck to have a poor guide and get stuck in traffic. Luck of the draw, but our guide was good, explained a lot and gave a history, all of which was new to us.

The OP is cruising with Viking. Viking has American sockets in cabins. My electric toothbrush is charged via a USB plug. There are USB sockets in the cabins. If you're not cruising with Viking, please say with whom you are cruising with, and what plug/power need you brush has.

See second post in this thread

I book direct with Viking and get promotional emails and letter from them. Also when booking direct with them I have been offered money off and the Silver Drinks package that hasn't been advertised