pontac

I'd like to echo @Daisi 's welcome. Her advice is good; I cruised the Rhone northbound last year with Viking. There was some daytime sailing but from a cabin one can see only one side. From a public area one can see both banks and also what you're sailing towards so you're ready to take pictures. One consideration is whether you'll face the bank or water when moored. River boats usually face the direction of the flow when moored, so in your case it's the direction of travel. But whether your cabin will be alongside the bank depends on which side of the river you moor. And if you face the river it's possible another boat will be moored alongside you. In other words, the answer to which side of the boat is best is 'both'.

Thanks, I see it! Re Viking - I've never booked via the website, I just ring them because they seem to have extras available; for instance on next years cruise gratuities are included but no drinks package as in previous years. So I asked and got the drinks package and we each were given £100 OBC in addition. Layout of rooms is the same, and the electrical sockets are by the bed head. Regarding which cabin, I was told what was available and one was proposed, but - like you - I chose the same one I'd had in Holland (well not the same cabin, because it's on a different boat but all the Longships are identical.) Reason I picked the same is I kept getting the cabin number wrong. It was 336, but when I was asked for it I'd say 366. It's only because there's no cabin 366 that my drinks bill didn't go to some other guest. By end of trip I was getting the number right, so next year I should be OK. But you can select which cabin you want on the Viking site. Click on Price & Build then on the next page you can select the date, cabin type, deck and then the cabin from those available. As you say 'Guess it's just a matter of getting used to a different booking site...'

Yes, brain fog. First I was on the US site and then the UK site but it was Avalon in both cases. Err, on the UK site Rhine & Moselle for Wine Lovers is shown for 2025. It doesn't have Canals, Vineyards & Castles in the title but includes a canal cruise in Amsterdam and of course the castles of the Middle Rhine. The site is frustrating, as I can't see any dates listed, it seems you have to ask via a form, and there are many pop-ups.

Just goes to show, you can't believe all you read on this forum! As you haven't been on a Viking River Cruise and I have been on fifteen, I can confirm there is seating for all if they want to sit.

Tempted, but cruised Rhine/Mosel (Basel>Trier) in 2023 with Viking and due to cruise Rhine/Mosel (Amsterdam>Bernastel>Basel) with Scenic in August this year. Also we cruised the Rhine in 2012 and 2022: I think we are a bit Rhined out. The Mosel is most attractive, but if we were to take the Amawaterways cruise, the one that tempts me is "The Rhine & Moselle For Wine Lovers: Canals, Vineyards & Castles." and on the UK site there are same amazing discounts for cruises later this year

Funnily enough when I got back from lunch there was a(nother) Scenic brochure in the letter box. This one offers chauffeur transfers to airports within 50 miles, but it differs in many ways from yours - in particular 1) it is for 2025 cruises, not cruises this year as you said 2) It is 36 pages including covers, not the 40 pages you got 3) It offered savings 'up to 20%', not the 35% you got so maybe you are that influential!!

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Viking already had Long Ships cruising that catered to Chinese guests. We passed one and the Cruise Director told me it had a Chinese speaking staff, Chines food was served and tour guides spoke Chinese. I know Viking advertise different boats and dates in the US to the UK, they may do in Australia, Canada and they do in China - but I don't know how regularly the Chinese boats cruise

@DougK Do (did) the daily Programmes remain accessible on the app when you get home? I take the Viking Daily's home and scan them to keep and to post in my trip reports. The photo's I took of the Scenic Daily Programmes were poor quality; they were behind plastic on the reception counter and I had to take the photo's at an angle because of the reflections on the plastic

You get free transport to airport because of your high ranking in the Scenic loyalty scheme. It's not true for those who haven't reached that level. Two years ago even first time cruisers got transport, not so this year.

Oh, seats now count as luxury - or is that ultra-luxury? I don't know which cruise line doesn't have enough seats - it's not one I have cruised on.

7pm is usual, maybe adjusted by 15 or 30 minutes either way to allow for excursions that day. But is that early or late for you? It would be ridiculously early for people used to Spanish restaurants, maybe late for people from the USA. What time do you usually eat dinner? You don't have to eat all the courses, you can have two starters and skip the main course, skip starter & dessert, whatever you fancy. That's on a sitdown, waiter served restaurant meal. Some lines serve dinner as a buffet, some have cafes where you can have a lighter meal. I've cruised with Viking and Scenic. I never felt bloated after a 3 course lunch or dinner, neither did I feel hungry. Others, though, augmented the served meals with snacks bought off boat and/or cookies and cakes available on board. So really, whether you'll feel bloated at bedtime depends on what you eat and what time you go to bed. There's on board entertainment after dinner but after a long day's sightseeing and lots of fresh air we rarely stayed up late.

I've got it on my list of things to ask the 'butler' for. As @Host Jazzbeau says, after the end of the cruise one cannot access info on the app. That 'do it yourself' is part of what make Scenic 'Ultra Luxury' 😁

Once again I am reminded of the different wants of guests.* All I wanted was to hear the guide, I didn't use the rest of the app. So we would both be happy if they used the Quietvox for excursions and kept the Tailormade app. Didn't they use the app for end of cruise questionnaires? Funnily enough, Viking have used Quietvox at least since I first cruised with them in 2012 and have recently introduced an app in addition. *Considering all the many different wants and needs of cruisers, I think the cruise lines do a pretty good job of meeting them.

Not necessarily. Not only is one boat going along with the flow of the river and the other is going against it, but there are locks to go through that may affect timings. Hopefully someone who has recently been on that cruise can give times from Viking Daily - it may be worth checking the roll call forum for recent cruisers and asking them.

That's what we did on our most recent cruise. We like reading. As we are repeating cruises we are more frequently not taking excursions to places we've been before that involve a long coach ride or an early start You probably won't be alone. We never were. Others also don't take excursions. If you don't take an excursion that leaves early you can enjoy a leisurely breakfast. As to what to do on the boat when others have gone on an excursion, it depends on what the boat has, some have exercise rooms. It's detailed in the Viking Daily delivered to one's room the night before, e.g. But it is always wise to check with reception before leaving boat. On the above, if you want to do Speyer on your own - such as go to the amazing Technical museum - check with the guide when & where the coaches depart from and ensure you get to that point. (in this case it's the Technical museum car park)

Hooray! The latest Quietvoxes are very good. Scenic's Tailormade, even when using Scenic's own smartphone, was an unreliable way to listen to a guide. I wrote this in my trip report of my Scenic Bordeaux tour. Tour guides had to carry a large box to transmit their talk, this was unreliable, often cut out, and the range was not as long as Viking’s. Too often the device stopped working so part of the talk was missed, other times altogether and so the tour group had to stick closely to the guide to hear them. I go on my next Scenic cruise in June. Hooray that Quietvox will be used. Perhaps its too much to hope Scenic will copy some other of Viking's offerings.

It seems you did! 😁 The food on Viking suits me, though recently there has been too many dishes with cheese in them but you're obviously happy with AMA so why change?

We all have different tastes, luckily there are (now) many different cruise lines that can satisfy those tastes.

Oh do!! I like a good discussion. And I do sometime get things wrong.😁 According to Viking's website the Longships are 443 feet long, and have a max of 190 passengers, i.e. 95 couples. Scenic 'Space Ships' in Central Europe and Southern France are 135 metres long and have a max of 163/149 passengers. 135m = 443 ft. So the boats are the same length but Scenic have fewer passenger, But standard cabins are the same size, the space freed up by not having passenger cabins is taken with a hair salon, gym, and Salt Therapy Room (?). It gets complicated because both operate shorter boats on the Seine and Douro. I haven't looked at dimensions of other cruise lines boats, but on a non-scientific look while rafting the major players are all the same size. I have cruised with both Viking and Scenic and I am cruising twice more this year with Scenic, but my impression after one cruise with Scenic was that Viking's boats give more impression of room.

Some river cruises welcome children, others don't, so check the rules of any cruise line you are considering. Viking has a minimum passenger age of 18. What I like is flying to a country, being taken directly to the boat, unpacking once and at the end, packing and being taken directly to the airport for the journey home. I don't want a land element, and it sounds you are the same. Viking call them Long Ships - a Viking Long Ship is their logo. The Vikings of old roamed the oceans in their long ships bringing rape & pillage (or if you're Scandinavian - culture). Boats from the major cruise lines have different names but tend to have the same sized boats on a river, made as large as will fit in a lock and go under bridges.

You were cruising in Europe. What happens in the USA where people in service industries basically work for tips does not happen here. And I am amazed that you thought you'd get better service than other passengers because you prepaid gratuities.

As @Host Jazzbeau says, once you have the river cruising bug then you'll discover there aren't enough rivers. But, to answer your question, assuming the on-board experience is just what you want, then what do you want off the boat? In other words, what is important to you that you want to see or experience? Is it historic sites, ancient towns, art, food, beer, wine? Or attractive scenery observed from the boat? How long do you want to spend? Do you want to spend all the time on the cruise, or have hotel time at before or/and after the cruise? If you have no strong preferences, than pick any cruise as you'll enjoy it.

Same here, especially when they are heading into a cathedral (ABC) and at the end when they announce 'free time' we'll head back to the boat (when in walking distance).

Which cruise line?