CruiserKelly211

I'm so sorry, 90 days was when our airfare was ticketed. You are right, Viking says three weeks for documents but we did receive our documents about 5 weeks before. Sorry for the confusion.

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We pulled the trigger and booked this itinerary for next December. Will be taking mom and sis with us.

 

Since we are new to Viking, I am curious how far in advance final documents are shipped. And how are they transmitted -- hard copy/email/both? We'll be leaving the US on September 21 and won't be returning until after the New Year, so I need to make alternate shipping arrangements if hard copy documents only.

We received our documents in the mail 90 days before our departure. It comes with your luggage tags and stickers, so they just send everything through the mail.

The buses for Viking were very nice. Most are Viking's own buses and appeared to be newer. Good leg room and a bathroom on board. No complaints.

I've really enjoyed following along with your journey. We were on Viking last week and my husband, who does not drink, was rarely ever charged for diet coke. Every night in the lounge during the briefings there was some kind of free drink and after the first night the waiter always brought him a diet coke or two, with out even asking. I though it was a very nice and not really expected. When offered a drink next time I would just mention you don't drink but could you get...

We just returned from a Viking Rhine Christmas Market cruise (12/6 - 12/16), Amsterdam to Basel. I wanted to post a few things that I would have liked to know about the markets.

Amsterdam- No markets but there is a great Christmas store by the floating flower market. We spent a few days pre-cruise here. We went to the Anne Frank house (tickets can be booked online up to 3 months in advance and sell out quickly), did the included walking tour (tour guide was great and it was helpful to get to know the city), and a canal cruise.

Kinderdijk- We did the optional cheese-making excursion. The cheese maker was so sweet and personable. We toured the facility, saw the equipment and aging room, then tasted 3 different types of Goudas. I was hoping to see the cows and then be walked through the process but that really didn't happen. After that we went and toured the windmills. In the afternoon we sailed. Given the price, I would have passed on the option cheese tour, had I know what it was like.

Cologne- In the am, the included tour is a walking tour that includes the amazing cathedral and then we had time to visit the markets. We went to 4 of the markets, they are all within walking distance from each other. We were docked in the city, so you can walk back to the boat for lunch and then return after, if you want. We stayed and just ate at the markets. We also returned to one of the markets to take pictures after dinner. We did not sail until around midnight, so there was plenty of time to see the markets.

Koblenz- The included tour is Marksburg castle which we really enjoyed, then you cruise the Rhine to see all the castles. You dock in Rudesheim in the early evening. Rudesheim has Christmas markets but we did the optional wine tasting at the Eberbach monastery, so we did not have the opportunity to go into town. We really enjoyed this tour as well.

Heidelberg- We actually docked in another town and then took a bus to Heidelberg, which is not actually on the Rhine but further inland. The boat then continued on to Speyer while we were in Heidelberg. The included tour was a tour of Heidelberg Castle, which again was very interesting and then the guide did a short tour in the city and ended at one of the Christmas markets. We had about 1- 1 and 1/2 hours at the markets before we had to meet up at the bus to return to the ship in Speyer. There was no lunch served on the boat this day since the boat is docked about an hour bus ride away. We grabbed a snack at the market and then at 3:30pm when we returned to the boat there was soups and sandwiches to eat. Some people did go into Speyer after we got back to the boat but had to be back before we sailed at 7pm. It was about a 20 min walk from the boat to Speyer, I believe there was a small market there.

Strasbourg- We docked on the opposite side of the river. The included tour begins with an hour bus tour from the boat and then around the city and then a walking tour around a very cute part of the city. Here you had a choice: you could return to the boat for lunch at 12:30pm, which gave you about an hour to an hour and a half at the markets (which I felt was not enough time). If you are doing an optional tour in the afternoon, you have to return for lunch and do not have time to return for the markets. If you don't return to the boat for lunch, there is a bus that returns to the boat at 2:15pm, 3:15pm, or 4:30pm. There is a bus that will take you from the boat back to the markets after lunch. We stayed in town and ate again at the markets and returned on the 2pm bus after seeing 3 different markets.

Breisach- The Black Forest. We took a bus about an hour away up into the mountains of the black forest. The drive was very scenic. We then could either watch a cuckoo clock demonstration and black forest cake demonstration or take a walk in the woods. There is also a glassblower shop and two stores. There is an amazing Christmas market but it doesn't open until later in the day, after we were long gone. We did not do any optional tours in Colmar but what we heard was that the WWII tour was amazing and moving but you do not see the city of Colmar. We heard that the Colmar city tour was too much tour and not enough free time for the markets. Colmar is about a 45 min. drive from Breisach where we were docked. Breisach is a small town but they do a a very small market (6 or 7 stalls) and one shop for souvenirs.

Basel- We left in the morning for the airport so we did not see Basel at all.

I personally felt that I had enough time at the markets. If that is your focus, I would suggest skipping lunch on the boat and eating at the markets when you can. Also skipping optional afternoon tours in order to stay at the markets. The best markets were definetly Cologne and Strasbourg (I can not speak for Colmar, since I was not there). It is also important to note that the markets don't open unitl around 11am or noon, so there really isn't a reason to miss the included tours.

This was an amazing experience and a wonderful cruise. I hope this info. is helpful for next years Christmas Market cruisers.

Thanks so much for your help!

Hi All

My husband and I will be on Star Breeze on March 11th in Costa Rica and are planning to do some excursions on our own. I am wondering what times to schedule them at to give us enough time to get off the boat. Is it true that individuals with ship sponsored tours get priority? Any help would be appreciated!