2017newcruiser

1 hour ago, beesKate said:

In Budapest there was a WC on Buda hill near Mathias church that had an attendant and cost 1 euro.  However, you could easily walk into the Hilton behind Mathias church (act like you belong there... Viking had a table set up in the lobby), and the restroom in on the ground level, left side, across from the window with the ruins.  Near Parliament there are big free restrooms on the north east corner of the complex just outside the entrance to the visitor center.  We also paid to tour and panoramic dome at St. Stephen's Basilica and there were restrooms in the dome area.  But all over Europe, the 1 euro coin will work.  However, stop in a cafe, get a coffee and use their restaurant.  It won't cost much more and it forces you to take a break.  

Thanks so much!  We are actually staying at that Hilton!  I'll make sure to have some 1 euro coins as backup.  Thanks for the tip on that - 

Thanks for this info - We are headed to Budapest for a few days, and then a Danube cruise in a few weeks and I've been fretting over getting some local currency - honestly more so because I want to have $$ to use the bathrooms ha ha!!

Just wanted to thank everyone posting on this thread, I've enjoyed keeping up to date and quietly rooting for those of you on current trips in the hopes that you made it thru!  I'm feeling better about our early Nov. trip on the Danube and will continue to keep my fingers crossed for everyone else traveling over the next few months.

1 hour ago, CarolGS said:

Best forecast yet!  

Tons of Rain!!!!

I love it, bring it on.

19 hours ago, Luv2travlX2 said:

My husband and I are taking a Viking Romantic Danube cruise in October. Are the included excursions in Vienna and Budapest just bus rides or walks past different sites? If you don't actually go into any of sites, we may just skip those tours and take public transportation to the things we want to see. What do you recommend?

On the MVJ site you will have all your excursions - included & extra cost - laid out per day with the ability to reserve them.  I've found in my (limited) experience than 'Panoramic' usually = bus ride...not to be confused with the possible short bus ride you may have from boat to town for your tour.   The excursion descriptions are usually pretty clear.  Have a fun trip!  We are doing that cruise in November w/ a pre in Budapest.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/why-viking/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-program.html

Oh that's great - thanks for responding.  I think I'll be utilizing this for sure then.

Good day everyone - considering trying to pack a lot lighter this time and since we have a pre-extension booked, thought this would be a good time to try the laundry service on Viking.  Can anyone tell me what the turn around time for this service is?

Thanks -

We've only done one river cruise so far, and we had a veranda.  We cruised in October then and enjoyed sitting on our veranda now & again - maybe having a drink before going up to dinner after a day of touring or coffee in the AM.  It was really cool when going thru the locks -

We are going on our second river cruise later this year, and got the Veranda again...but we are 'outside' people and enjoy our home porch year round, so being able to step out or sit on a balcony is something we appreciate.  

2 hours ago, loriva said:

Of course, now that we've all gone to the trouble, the United States will drop the testing requirement... 

20 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

I know that the SECOND I click  "order", my news feed will tell me that the stupid test requirement has been rescinded!!!  Hassle the unvaccinated, leave the rest of us alone!!!!!

If that is what it takes for the US to drop the tests I'll take one for the team and order some tests immediately!😆

My husband (then 47) and my folks (then early 70's) did this on our Viking Rhine cruise in 2019 - all three really enjoyed it - my husband still talks about it - and they all found it to be a rather easy ride.  There were not many people on the tour, they were the only ones from our ship and they were joined by a few folks from another ship.

53 minutes ago, Sun Lover said:

When you say that people who tested positive were transferred to a five star hotel, did Viking arrange for that and/or pay for it, if you know?

It is my understanding that if you have your insurance thru Viking they cover it...BUT in some cases they are covering the costs even if you have insurance with someone else.  My parents were put off a Viking Ocean cruise in late December & didn't have insurance w/ Viking but they still picked up the cost.

It seems there is no black & white answer.

Yikes, thanks for posting this news.

Hope everyone is okay-

As of right now, Viking has daily testing as well.  Not sure about Emerald.

13 minutes ago, Sun Lover said:

Are you allowed to bring other alcohol on board, such as vodka and rum, or only wine?

We had no problem bringing on board 2 bottles.  There didn't appear to be any rules against it, nor did they ask what was in our shopping bag, so we didn't give to much thought.

From their website -

https://wwws.airfrance.us/information/covid-19

As with all things, it does seem as though your mileage may vary, and it's dependent on the Country of origin and/or arrival.

Go to your MyVikingjourney.com site, click on 'Onboard Experience', from there click on 'Sample Menu' for the Silver Spirits pkg.   Scroll down to page 5 or 6, it has the list of beers available (to purchase regardless if you have the SSP).  It may not be 100% up today, but it has a fairly large list and can at the very list give you a very good idea of what they offer.

Thanks for all the info - 

I have a question regarding the ship dock in Budapest.  Is it situated in a area that is walkable if we wanted to go from the ship to explore interesting areas  out on our own?

Would you recommend a few extra days in Budapest prior to getting on our boat?

If you go to your Myvikingjourney site, and go to Onboard Experiences.

Click on the Silver Spirts 'Learn More' tab-

On the left there is a Sample Menu you can click on, that brings you to a menu w/ costs for the bar.

At least for the European River cruises!

Try Disboards-

Thanks all...thinking about that Budapest pre-trip stay even more now!  

Appreciate the tips and ideas.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I did google the Christmas markets in each town we would be stopping at and as I stated above, got start dates from mid November - mid December, so a bit all over.  Thinking we will stick with a December departure date to be safe and hope for the best!

Many thanks - 

Hello all - I am glad to have stumbled upon this thread as we are tossing around the idea of a holiday market cruise in 2022 - and I'm trying to gather info as to when I can expect the actual markets to be open!  I'm finding all different opening dates from early November to two weeks prior to Christmas!

I've also picked up that some folks were left a bit underwhelmed with the Christmas Market cruises because the ships often leave early evening and the markets are the most lively and active (and lit up) during the evenings...would anyone care to share their thoughts on this?

I'd hate to go on a holiday cruise to early and miss the decor and majority of the markets, and I'd hate to go only to find out that we don't get to enjoy as much of the ambience of it.

We are looking at a November or December, 2022 Viking Romantic Danube holiday cruise.

We've only got one cruise under our belts, a Viking Rhine River in 2018. It was in October, and we found the weather then to be very nice so we are also considering a October, 2022 trip as a possibility.