iwannacruz

Going on the Mardi Gras Thanksgiving week. Already have balcony booked and have done a balcony on the Mardi Gras 2 years ago but thinking of upgrading to suite?

Love some feedback on whether or not we should switch. Pros/cons

Thanks in advance.

Has anyone ever put their name on a wait list for a cruise and actually got called?

And, if so, was the price reasonable or ridiculous?

We were thinking about going on a Viking Ocean cruise Rome to Athens in December. We noticed on the website only 1 excursion is listed as included. The other excursions listed do not say anything.

Does this mean there is only that 1 choice for an included excursion?

18 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

New Year's Eve day is generally business as usually. Jan 1 is a holiday and business may or may not be open (restaurants and bars will definitely be open but may not open until after noon). Whether Viking will be running tours that day will depend on what is open in port.

 

Thank you

19 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

 So, there have always been fluctuations within a given season and location, some of them extreme. And of course, weather patterns of the past are not quite as reliable for the present, and that can be extreme too. Sorry that is not a helpful answer, but it is true. 

 

As far as your question about whether things will be open on shore on those two days, I can't help but would also be interested in the answer.

Thank you.

Considering the Rome to Athens cruise that starts Dec 27 in Rome. What is the weather usually like at that time of year? Is the seas choppy? There is one full day at sea that I am concerned about. Also, since we will be sailing on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, will anything be open? Do you think the tours will still be going on? Any feedback from those who have sailed that time of year would be great. Thanks in advance.

I couldn't use my curling iron either. Couldn't get the plug into the outlet. But my straightener worked fine.

Going on the Mardi Gras the week of Thanksgiving. Noticed on the CDC website that the Mardi Gras is at "yellow" which basically means under observation for COVID cases and monitoring. Just one step away from red.

Should I be concerned about this?

Just back from the Viking Villi. Budapest to Passau - no problems Got to see beautiful cities, Christmas markets, etc.

Only second time in the past 5 months that a Viking ship was able to sail all the way through according to the cruise director.

Just back from the Viking Villi Dec 14-21 Budapest to Passau. We were only the second ship in the past months to make it all the way through. The cruise director said it has been very stressful to the crew as well as the passengers. Would have been disappointed if we had to do the bus thing. So grateful we didn't.

19 hours ago, RDC1 said:

Actually most ocean cruise change the routes and ports, not cancel the cruise.  About the only time they actually cancel is when it is not safe for the ship to make it into port.  For example have seen eastern Caribbean cruises turn into western Caribbean during hurricane season.  You get very very few out right cancellations.

There's a big difference. On an ocean cruise you are still getting a cruise, just different ports. On the river cruise you are no longer getting a cruise, you are getting a bus tour. I am not looking forward to our cruise that leaves Dec 14. Very disappointed that Viking will not offer a full refund. They have know about low levels for a long time. I doubt if I will sail with them again. Hope they suffer the consequences of their actions. Thought they were such a great company.

5 hours ago, planner123456 said:

We're leaving Wednesday on a Viking cruise from Budapest to Passau.  My sister arrived in Budapest this morning and was assured that the river levels are much improved and they aren't expecting any issues.  Also, the weather is warmer than usual which is great news to me who hates the cold.

Please keep us updated on this. I find it hard to believe. Doing the same cruise in Dec.

I would be really interested to hear from anyone who recently got off a Viking Danube waltz cruise. What hotels did you stay at or how many nights did you spend on the ship? What was the food arrangement if you had to go to a hotel? Did you have much time at the different cities to do you own thing since is seems bussing takes up a lot of time?

Just trying to prepare myself and my family for what kind of vacation we might have in a few weeks.

Thanks

We will be on the Viking Var Dec 14-21. We are looking at some of the optional tours (already signed up for all the included tours). Do we need to book them now or can we wait until we get on the ship? Do optional tours ever get booked up completely or is there usually room no matter what?

Also if we book an optional tour and we decide not to go, do we get our money back?

I wouldn't get too concerned, you have pre and post meal periods as well, and the actual meals are not typically the long drawn out affairs that you sometimes get on ocean cruises so you should have plenty of time for family catch-ups.

 

The 'enforced' socialization aspect of river cruises does take a little adjustment but if you go with the flow I think you'll have a great time, if you go with a burning need to only talk to each other then it may not work out so well :)

Thank you.

Huh? LOTS of tables for 2 and for 4 on Viking OCEAN restaurants. Viking RIVER has only tables for 6 and larger (OK except the few on the Aquavit Terrace)

I was talking about the river cruise we will be going on in December. Sorry about the confusion.

We are a family of 4 adults and have only done ocean cruises where we always sat at a table for 4. This allowed us not to only talk about our day but catch up with each other's lives since our adult children do not live at home. It seems like Viking has mostly tables for 6 and a few for 8. My plan is to sit at a table for 8 so we will have more people to interact with and there would be more people to interact with other than ourselves. If we sit at a table for 6, we would feel obligated to entertain the other people/couple at our table and they might feel shunned if we just start talking about things only pertinent to us.

Am I concerned over nothing? We don't want to appear anti-social but do enjoy the little time we have together as a family. We are also thinking about taking our meals on the Aquavit terrace (enclosed area since we will be going in December). It looks like there are tables for 4 there but I am not 100% sure of this. Does anyone know?

Going on the Viking Var in December. We were told they have seating on the Aquavit and that they close it in so you can sit out there when it is cold. Is that really possible to eat a meal out there in December or will it really be too cold to enjoy yourself? Interested if anyone has done this.

Have only been on ocean cruises (Princess, Royal Caribbean, Carnival) and sometimes order more than one entree or appetizer.

Is that acceptable on river cruises?

We will be on the Viking Var. How many are usually seated at a table? Are there tables for 2, 4, 6, etc? Can you request a table for 4? We have only been on ocean cruises so we are new to this everyone dining at the same time and whatever table they want. Thanks.

Family of 4 adults going on the Danube Waltz- Viking river cruise, Dec 14-21. We will be starting in Budapest, then Bratislavia, Vienna, Melk, Linz and end in Passau.

We plan on doing all the excursions that are included but are wondering if the ones not included are worth the money.

What are your thoughts on the Godollo Royal Palace and Gardens, Mozart and Strauss Concert, Lipizzaner Stallions or Bavarain Farm and Countryside?

Any ideas about what to do in any of these cities would be greatly appreciated. We are open to doing things on our own- we've done this before in Europe- and we are open to taking tours not associated with the river cruise line.

There are a few other threads on this topic if you look (here are the first couple I came across - search is upper right of the page)

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2555842&highlight=wearing+christmas+markets

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2551516&highlight=wearing+christmas+markets

 

 

We did NUE-BSL in Dec 2014 and I didn't think our weather was that cold and very rarely rainy. On the other hand, my MIL was very cold all the time. (despite us having talked with her about packing warmth layers for a YEAR in advance of the trip, I still had to give her one of my merino tees ;-) Layers, waterproof on the outside, but it's not the arctic, so.....I agree to check the weather averages in the towns where you'll be during the dates you'll be there and pack for how YOU feel the cold, or don't.

Thanks! Just what I was looking for.

When are you cruise?

 

Which part of the Danube are you cruising?

 

Which towns will you be visiting?

 

have you checked the Internet for avaerage weather patterns?

We are cruising from Dec 14-21. We start in Budapest and end in Passau. We visit Brastislavia, Vienna, Melk, and Linz.

I have looked at average weather for that time of year which could be around freezing. Looking for suggestions on particular brands of clothing or boots that are good. We live in South Carolina and it doesn't usually get that cold around here so what we have as winter clothes might not keep us warm.

We are a family of four adults - husband and wife and son and daughter. Wife is concerned about the cold weather. What do you recommend to bring in the way of jackets and boots or any other essential article of clothing. We are doing the Danube Waltz on Viking.

We used mtours.me and would highly recommend. Driver spoke English very well - spent most of his youth in Toronto. He made it interesting and he was very knowledgeable.

Beautiful port.