Stevie44875

Oh didn't even put the cruise line - Viking.  Opps!

I'm going on my first river cruise in December on the Rhine. Any suggestions on packing and what to wear? Thanks! Trying to get by with just a carry on....

Definitely ATM. You can find them all over. Our guide was more than happy to show or take us to good ATMs along the way. Cambodia we didn't exchange money and take plenty of small bills. Our cruise ship was helpful if we needed large USD broken down. Vietnam you will need to exchange. We used ATMs.

Recommendations- take plenty of light weight clothing as it is HOT there and we changed clothes twice a day. Lots of bug spray.  I wore good walking sandals a lot and didn't have any problems navigating through temples and such. If a place says no bare shoulders or knees- take this seriously as they will deny you entrance and you can't use a scarf or wrap as a cover up. We had one lady get denied because of this.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/155676240@N07/Q93Q28

sorry photos go uploaded backwards in order, so start at the very last page 😃

The hubby and I (mid 30's) did the Viking Mekong river cruise at the end of July to August in 2018. We usually cruise ocean with Royal so this was a change of pace for us. 

First off our journey started with land portion. The hotels we stayed at were beautiful! They were either in walking distance or a short taxi ride to places of interest. I will say with this itinerary, you don't have much free time. 

The ship fit right into the area and scenery. We were lucky to be able to book one of the two suites and I would recommend this. For us it was only a few hundred more and well worth it. The suite has a nice open arena with a desk and hutch with plenty of room to spread out in. Also you get to have a couple chairs in the front of your cabin to sit and relax. We had two entrance doors also to our room. The downfall was the bed was very hard. No good night sleeps for me.

Our last hotel in Ho Chi Minh was outstanding! 

Thoughts on cruise:

-Jam packed itinerary (downfall not much time to enjoy the area yourself or the hotel/pool). We ended up skipping a tour and napping in the afternoon cause we were so tired.

-Sometimes the guide talks on and on and for me I would rather explore and hear less talking. You can get good at wearing your headphones and drowning out the guide. Let me say he was very full of information and very informative, just not my style.  

-Meet great people. The average age was 60's I would say so for us it was nice enjoyable cruise. 

-Food was very good. Downside the dining room on the ship is very stuffed and hard to move your chair to get up.

-Saw many great sights and locations.

I would recommend this cruise! Hope my link works above for our pictures...sorry there are soooo many!

Just booked a cruise for Jan 2020 and the rep said the ship is getting refurbished in May 2019!

Packing is pretty easy for this trip. I took a long skirt and a nice shirt. The rest were all capri, shorts, tees, and tanks. We had a couple nice outings to dinner that a majority wore dresses on but there were some passengers that just wore shorts and a shirt. Attire is completely up to you! My hubby didn't pack a single pair of pants so it was shorts for him all the way. I will say the hotel in Saigon I felt very under dressed as it is 5 star + luxury.

Laundry - the resort in siem reap has a laundry bag you can stuff full for $40! Or you can do on the ship. Typically $5 per item. If you have on board credit this is a great way to spend it.

If I had to do it again packing: one more dress and utilize the ship laundry or other source. Clothes are super cheap in the markets and you can always pick something up there if needed.

Just back from the Mekong cruise... We did the vaccines for hep A and typhoid. We did go to the doctors and got pills for malaria and travelers diarrhea. I usually get ate by mosquitoes but only got bit twice. I would probably not do the pills again and only get the vaccines. We had two nurses on our cruise and they didn't get anything for the trip if that tells you anything. We never traveled or ate anything suspicious so i think river cruising is low risk.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/155676240@N07/iRnT81

Link above to my numerous photos in no order what so every.

Just returned from our 15 day land/cruise tour with Viking on the Mekong River with my hubby. I'll keep this as short as possible =)

Land portion: Time flew by! There was always a tour to do. The downside, we never really got to just sit back and enjoy the city/town and the lovely hotels we stayed in. Hotels were 5 star and amazing. We did take an afternoon off from a tour so we could enjoy the pool at the resort and just relax. Our guide, Lee, was awesome and full of knowledge through the whole trip. Maybe a tad bit too much information given as sometimes I noticed I just tuned out and enjoyed the sites. Lee did take photos and videos along the way for us to have. We had 55 people on our trip and they divide the group into Group A & B so you stick with the same people the whole time. This way tours are much smaller. There was a long 5 hour bus ride to the ship we took. There was wi-fi on it =)

River portion: We got lucky and booked a suite. Would highly recommend as it gives you 2 doors, more space, and your own semi-private lounge chair area. Beware of the shower! If someone flushes a toilet next door you loose your cold water and you can get burned majorly by the hot water! I was shocked at this. Luckily we never got burned but a passenger did. Rooms are basic and nice. The theme of the ship goes along with the area and fits right in. We had on board credit and it is hard to use on this ship. Very small gift shop area. Highly recommend this is the time to have them do some laundry for you! Staff was outstanding and they learned your names. Cruising day was a tad boring as there aren't any amenities on this ship like a fitness center or pool.

Overall we had a great time but I feel like I need a few days to rest as we were non stop busy. Viking does an outstanding job but as we are budget travelers usually, I would go with a company next time that isn't so luxury as I didn't need wine with my lunch (wine got old fast with dinner) and 5 start hotels (they were nice) and so forth.

We use to love using $2 bills on vacations but we stopped as you have to request them at the bank now and yes a lot of people don't know they even exist so they think they are fake! But they use to be perfect for tipping.

Greetings to our "neighbor" in Ohio!! What part of the Buckeye State do you live? As noted and connected below, we just got back from doing about a month in Southeast Asia, including much travel in Vietnam and Cambodia. You are correct that you will not need that much "cash" if you are not big "shoppers". Cambodia is more about being so easy to use U.S. dollars there. In Vietnam, you will need a certain amount of their "dong" currency.

 

For food costs, it can vary much. For many of the "better" dining locations, they will take credit cards. There are also many "street food" and small-shop types of dining places and opportunities. In Siem Reap right on famed Pub Street, we had a wonderful soup and beer that feed both of us at lunch. Total cost: $4. And it was totally wonderful for tasting so great. Lots of options!!

 

On my live/blog, I am happy to answer any added questions. Post added questions there!! Happy to share more. Below are a few visual samples from what we saw and did.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Thank you Terry for the information. I'll have to read through your review! Do you have any tips or must pack items since you have done your travels now? We are going at the start of rainy season so deciding if an umbrella or just a poncho would be good...things like that.

I'm in Mansfield.

I just did a Vietnam visa last month for my upcoming travels. I did the online option which was very easy. My only issue I ran into was the photo upload. When I scanned my photo, it didn't seem very good quality. But they accepted it! We did our own passport photos through an online service but I would recommend just to go to one of the stores that does it as it saves some hassle.

At the end of July my hubby and I are headed on the Viking Mekong cruise. Half is land and the other half is on the Mekong. Wondering how much cash we should plan to take along as we were told USD is accepted if they are in very good condition.

Has anyone out there done a land and river tour that could estimate daily spending? I'm guessing its not much as we don't really shop and bring back stuff from our travels and food is the other cost I can think of. No idea what meals cost there.

Thanks for any help you can give!:confused::confused:

The hubby and I will be on the Mekong river cruise with Viking at the end of July. I wanted to see if anyone knows how the meals are handled when we are not on the river as there are many days we stay in a city for a few days. Are there some meals included in Hanoi, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City?

Thanks!

We just booked our river cruise on the Mekong and our travel agent recommended we talk to our local health department's traveling nurse. She recommended getting the basics everyone else says. I believe it will be around $200 pp for us to get the basic shots. But check early because some you need to get months in advanced.

Thanks guys! We ended up booking with Viking. We didn't think we would be on the ship or in our cabin enough to justify the price difference and the amount of days. Excited for 2018 and will post pictures!

I have also been looking for pictures or information on those suites. We booked a 2018 mekong cruise with viking and booked a suite. The price wasn't that much more and we figured why not for a bit more room. All I have found is on viking's website with the generic photo and the ship layout. Someone out there must have pictures! ;p

My hubby and I are looking for our first river cruise, many ocean cruises under our belt. We are going to do the Mekong but can't decide between Avalon and Viking. Avalon has a new ship with huge rooms and very small # of passengers and 13 days. Viking is an older ship that has small rooms, no fitness room and is 15 days. There is a price difference of $400 more for Avalon.

Do anyone have any advice on which one we should select? Too many pros and cons to both and I can't find a lot of Mekong reviews. Thanks for any advice you have!!!

Thanks! I was wondering the same thing... I didn't want to have to print them and hope they survived the plane trip as I've seen how those airline baggage handlers handle the luggage some days =)

I just read my cruise documents, 18 days away from sailing! I noticed there is a part about their alcohol policy that they recommend you carry it on but if it's in your luggage they will hold your luggage until the ship sails and you must go retrieve your luggage from security. Has anyone had this happen? It's been a few years since I've sailed with Royal but last time I put mine in my luggage and didn't have a problem.

Should we carry any cash on us for this excursion? Thanks!

Labedee is a great relaxing beach day. It's been a couple years since we stopped there and going back in May. We got off early and found a good spot on the beach near the buffet area to relax for awhile. Hubby enjoyed the water and I enjoyed my kindle under a shady tree. Buffet wasn't packed when we ate. We wondered to the market and got haggled to death but I did buy a nice painting. I would avoid this area unless you are really looking to buy something. Not worth the hassle. They did have a train service to take you around. We did the coaster which was a blast! Go as fast or slow as you like but its scary fun. Early afternoon we went back on the ship and it was nice and quiet on the ship. Hubby easily got to do the flowrider with a lot less crowd that way. Best time to enjoy the ship is when at port when everyone is off.

Enjoy your day!

Just an FYI, my hubby and I use to own 1 which didn't work out cause I was a chicken on the back of it with him driving. We bought another one for me and it was a blast! I wouldn't be a passenger on one but be the driver and it is fun. I'm a chicken with the water and falling off and you can be careful and have fun and never fall off. It all depends on how fast you want to go and what you want to do.

Our cruise in May we booked to parasail and cost is $85.75 pp. We got to pick a time slot. Looks like fun!

We have our 6th cruise coming on May 7 on the Oasis (biggest ship we have been on so far). Every cruise seems to either have tons of people show up super early for shows or everyone is there 15 mins before.

If you have been on the Oasis, how early should we show up for the shows to get a good seat? Don't need front row but nothing farther than middle is good. We do have all of our shows booked too. Thanks!