gwntravel

I'll also say I like the B-level better. Our friends with an A-level complained that they always hear early morning joggers on the top deck.

We met new cruise friends right at the start (2 other couples), so we always made a point of sitting at an 8 place table so we could meet new people and make new friends every meal.

I think that the A;ta was the first of the Viking ships to make it since the low water got too low.

 

I would have thought it would be prudent to make sure that it actually could make it there before sending other ships and that could have translated into 'water too low'.

 

<snip>.

,Mark, Viking could use you as your explanation is much better than what we were told.

At first we were told no ships could make it to Budapest.

Then when we pointed out that the Atla was sailing to Budapest we were told that was "just rumors".

Then when it was pointed out that people on the Atla had posted that they were sailing and you could see the Atla moving on the ship tracking sites we were told that they had people that needed to make flights in Budapest and that is why that ship was going.

To us it would make sense that if it was a must make flight, buses for them are a guarantee not testing the water with that ship.

If you look at my prior posts I have been very positive about the bussing when it is necessary. Everyone on our ship has not like the being lied to

As of yesterday (Nov 21st) the Viking Atla sailed from Vienna to Budapest, while the passengers on the Viking Embla (us) in Vienna were told the water was too low to sail to Budapest and were bussed to Budapest. It turns out Viking needed our ship for other bussed passengers in Passau. To say the least all are very upset with Viking's lie to us. To add insult the Viking Atla was docked next to our floating hotel the Viking Lif (if they don't sail are they ships). Also those of us on the shore side of the ship we were only 30 feet from a bar/nightclub, so loud music and patrons until 3am

If the ship sailed empty to Budapest the weight factor could well have been the issue.... Very hard to say, if it sailed without passengers & their luggage.

Sailed with full passengers and baggage

The Viking Atla was here in Budapest after our all day bus ride from Vienna. So Viking flat out lied to us and bussed us to Budapest so they could use our ship to pickup passengers that were bussed to Passau. Very poor ending to our trip.

So did you on the Viking Atla make it to Budapest ?

Our bus ride and lunch at the Holiday Inn was the low point of our trip

What type of currency is best to use in Bratislava?

Euros

Have you had the opportunity to take in any Christmas markets?

We ate in Bratislava now and the Christmas markets are very traditional and nice. Local crafted items

Confirmed - Viking Alta departed Vienna (Nov 21 02:30, GMT+1)to sail to Budapest with enough water, Viking Embla cannot depart Vienna (Nov 21 07:00 GMT+1) because " the is not enough water". Perhaps because Viking needs the Embla in Passau we are bus riding today. I was extremely pleased with Viking until today. It is one thing to ride busses because of low water, quite another to ride busses so Viking can ship position

Have you had the opportunity to take in any Christmas markets?

Just the one in Vienna next to the Rathaus. We found it more nic-nacks then Christmas items. Perhaps because so early in the season. Every city has had shops with great Christmas ornaments and items

We are in Vienna on Viking Atla and were told tonight that the water is very low, but we are going to sail to Budapest tonight. We have to sail very slowly and won't get there til about 2:30pm Saturday. Ok with that, did a ship swap yesterday and we were all holding our breath that we might have to get on a bus and stay at a hotel tomorrow night.

We are on the Viking Embla in Vienna and are busing to Budapest this morning (Nov 21) at 08:30 GMT+1

We are on the Viking Baldur in Nuremberg today. We have been told we will know tonight about a ship swap from Regensburg. Also, was told yesterday a Viking ship made it to Budapest. Will keep everyone posted. Raining in Nuremberg.

We are on the Viking Embla in Vienna (Nov 20 16:45 GMT+1) and are bussing to Budapest as river is too low. Amsterdam to Cologne was fine then we bus travelled from Cologne to Marksburg were we boarded a day ship on the Rhine to Miltenberg. Miltenberg to Regensburg on Viking ship. Then bus travel from Regensburg to Passau. Passau to Vienna was fine on Viking ship . Bus travel is planned to end of trip in Budapest.

What cruise line are you on?

Viking Embla

Cruised from Passau to Melk & Kelms then on to Vienna. We will not be able to sail from Vienna to Budapest due to the low water levels (Nov. 20, 07:20 GMT+1). A wonderful trip so far with beautiful weather (sunshine=low water). We are looking forward to Vienna today and cruising the blacktop river tomorrow ;-)

Bussed today (Nov 18, 09:30 GMT+1) from Regensburg to Passau due to low water on the Danube river. Crossing the river on the autobahn you can see sand bars in the middle of the river. A nice ride and enjoyable to see the countryside from a different angle. The tour guide on the bus pointed out may spots of interest that would not have been seen from the river. We have not missed any sightseeing due to the ship-swapping. Viking has been handing everything wonderfully.

We swap today. Off our current ship in Cologne. A bus ride to Marksburg Castle and a very nice tour. Then a 4 minute bus ride to get to a day ship and cruise down the castle section of the Rhine. A nice trip with lunch on the day ship. The river was very low. Th day ship also had to go quite slow I'm sure to be safe. The last portion of the trip it was dark so we missed a castle or two, but that was made up with by a beautiful fully illuminated castle. Then an hour bus ride to Mainz were we got on our new Viking ship. I feel it was handled very well given the situation and we did not miss very much.So far a great experience with Viking

Currently on the Viking Skirnir enroute from Amsterdam to Budapest. As of tonight (Nov 10, at 19:00 local) we were told we can not make it past Cologne, so we will spend an extra day in Cologne. Then river travel on smaller boats to see the castles on the Rhine and then a bus ride to Mainz to ship swap to a new boat. The cruise has been great so far and it is nice they have arranged 'little boats' so we do not miss the castles. I will update as we know more

Well if Viking won't answer you, then I will give you the update. We started on the Modi in Budapest on Oct. 26......

Thanks so much for the update. We were guessing on a swap with the nice weather, so not a big deal. It sounds like Viking has been handling it well. Since we are leaving tomorrow to spend some time in Paris before heading onto Amsterdam for the cruise, I thought it would be nice to know what ship we would be on before departing the US.

Best wishes for the rest of your trip.

We are scheduled to leave Amsterdam on the Viking Modi on 11/9/15. I've noticed via ship tracking ( Modi position ) it has been 'stuck' in Passau for a few days so I gave Viking a call since there are no updates yet for the Modi on their update page ( Viking current sailings ). As of this morning (11/2/15) they have "no information of any changes", so I guess with today's information on the internet the 'passengers' can know sometimes more then the 'company'. We look forward to our trip regardless of the ship and I will update here to pass along river information

We will be joining you on the Modi on the 9th! Hopefully all water issues will be non issues when we embark from Amsterdam.

Scott

We look forward to meeting you.

If I see anything change water wise I will post it here for all to see.

Modi should dock on the 24th in Budapest (she is 68 kilometer upstream from Linz right now traveling at 9.5 knots).

We are using Viking air to fly into Paris on the 4th (doing the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise but we wanted to spend some time in Paris also) and the flights were the absolute best possible. We have a very early flight from our departure city (Portland) which was perfect as otherwise we would have lost an extra day due to travel. If I spent hours online I could have not come up with better flights and seats (perfect there also), so I am very pleased. All of the Viking flights were as direct as possible. Only one stop over and one stop coming home. I also love the price, zero for the main trip and only $100 each to add Paris as a pre-trip stop over. Now were are just hoping for more rain to keep the river levels up ...yup, not normal to hope for vacation rain ;)

We are leaving on our our first cruise Nov. 9th on the Viking Modi from Amsterdam to Budapest. I have been concerned about the water levels and found a ship tracking site were you can follow any ship's location.

You can see in real time that there are cruise ships (the Modi included) traveling the Danube, so it looks 'good to go' for now.

If your ship is not in the area, you can check it's draft on the website and look for other ships with the same draft on the river.

Also available as an App for Android and Apple.

http://www.cruiseshipposition.com/

OR

https://www.vesselfinder.com/

Disclaimer- no relations to websites, developers, etc, just a 1st time cruiser that likes to be sure

We are leaving on our our first cruise Nov. 9th on the Viking Modi from Amsterdam to Budapest. I have been concerned about the water levels and found a ship tracking site were you can follow any ship's location.

You can see in real time that there are cruise ships (the Modi included) traveling the Danube, so it looks 'good to go' for now.

If your ship is not in the area, you can check it's draft on the website and look for other ships with the same draft on the river.

Also available as an App for Android and Apple.

http://www.cruiseshipposition.com/

OR

https://www.vesselfinder.com/

Disclaimer- no relations to website, developers, etc, just a 1st time cruiser that likes to be sure