NM-Sheila

Just wanted to say how grateful I am for everyone's thoughtful responses! Thank you all for taking the time to help out a first-timer. @pontac - The photos of the Viking Daily did a lot to help me feel like I have an idea of what to expect, which is really helpful.

@CDNPolar - Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response, it really helps (esp re tipping). I thought of one more question, if you're up for answering it: We signed up mostly for the included excursions (plus a couple of the "extra" ones). They are often a two-hour or half-day tour. How does that work? Are we picked up and dropped off at/near the ship? So if the excursion is over at say noon, we'd be back at the ship at that time? If we wanted to just go explore on our own at that point, then I assume we'd just take a taxi or something into town and back? (Your comment about the ship not waiting for us made me think of this.) Thank you again!!

We're taking our first cruise in Feb/March - Treasures of the Rhine on the Viking Alruna. I've been reading lots of posts here and have read practically everything on Viking's site, but I still have questions. Any answers/insights would be great! 1. I'm confused about how gratuities work: The Viking website says there are two options, but they sound the same to me - I am clearly missing something. Is it typical to tip in addition to the standard that the cruise "charges"? (I know it's in our discretion, but I'm trying to get a sense of what the crew might be expecting.) Since the cruise is in Europe, I assume the crew would prefer Euros? 2. Do you typically have the same folks helping you the whole cruise, or is it more like a hotel where housekeeping might be done by one person one day, and a different person another day? 3. How small are the bathrooms/available "storage" space in the bathrooms? I'm having a hard time telling from the photos. 4. I've seen some comments about packing magnets, decorations, tape... all kinds of weird stuff. It seems to have to do with the walls being magnetic (??) or something to do with the doors on the cabins? Honestly, i have no idea if this is something I'm supposed to be thinking about. 5. What's the one piece of info or advice you'd give someone who's never done a river cruise (or any cruise!) before? I like to know what to expect, so even if it's info I can't really act on, it would be helpful. Thank you!!