Ktwofish

I agree, @Sunflower & The Scientist I’ve never understood why the topic of dress code and attire can be so divisive.  Simple question, simple answer.  No need to be unkind, snarky, etc.

@notamermaid @steamboats Thank you for sharing you expertise and knowledge of the current state of affairs in Germany.  Yesterday, we made the difficult choice of cancelling our December 8th river cruise. Unfortunately, I think things will get worse before they get better in your part of the world.  Wishing everyone good health and safe travels!

11 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

@Coral I try to be realistic but sway to the pessimistic a bit when assessing the situation here. I would still like to say "come and see the markets, the companies do everything to keep their passengers safe and the health measures in Germany are very good". But when I read of @Psoque 's experience this morning, I started wondering. A blow to my optimism that you can actually operate a safe cruise. The odds are turning statistically to the negative, I feel. That is not blaming Crystal. I just tend to think there are too many carriers of the virus now in the general population.

 

Giving up on the season must be hard for people, crew and companies, but perhaps it is better to stay in your own country at this point. Not sure where we will be in a week's time, but things are definitely not going to get better any time soon. I think the drab weather is getting to me... 

 

notamermaid

 

 

You make very good points. I have been impressed with Viking’s health program, which is the reason we feel comfortable cruising with them.  Unfortunately, the coronavirus is still with us.  Who would have guessed we’d still be dealing with this pandemic 18 months after booking our Christmas market cruise?!

Has anyone heard about the Rhine Christmas Market cruises?  Are they still going and is that area handling the Covid strain better than Bavaria and Saxony?

4 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Thank you for the info @Ktwofish 

On top of Covid there is also low water on the Danube.

 

Frankfurt Christmas market is still on (may change soon), but mask wearing has been introduced in busy shopping streets even outdoors.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Where does low water usually affect Danube cruising? 

Not sure if you read this, but Viking has updated their Danube itinerary.  We got an email late yesterday.  For our sailing from Passau (Dec. 8th and even for the current sailing) they will go Passau to Regensburg (instead of Linz) to “cruise day through Austria” to Bratislava and then Budapest.  They have added an extra day in Budapest.  Kudos to Viking for trying to keep their ship sailing, but much can change over the coming days/weeks.  Hoping things improve for everyone in Germany and Austria!

I believe on the Longships, the elevator does not go to the bottom deck.  We were in a standard room (bottom deck) on our first river cruise, and there was no elevator.  All Longships are the same deck plan.  I suggest a cabin on the Middle Deck (200 numbered cabins) so you would be on the same level as the dining room and an elevator. Also, a Viking rep may be able to answer your question about some of the other ships.

@girlsandpop We are from Florida and used to hot weather. We sailed in early October 2019 on the Rhine, we loved the cool weather.  We dressed in layers and were very comfortable.  You will love the trip!

@marthalee  How frustrating to not be able to get the same “single” deal when rebooking.  I’m glad you were able to get some discounts, though.  We booked the Danube Waltz for Dec. 2021.

We are not retired, and we do not yet qualify for Medicare.  I have to call our insurance company to determine if we are covered outside of the U.S.  This is all good information.  Thanks!

@Peregrina651  I definitely understand your point.  In fact, I purchased insurance on my last planned cruise, and I filed a claim because my mother passed away 2 weeks before we were to sail.  I was definitely glad to have the insurance.  You bring up good points, though, about the concierge service which would be a great help when abroad.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I’m leaning towards not getting insurance. We can only get a voucher for all but about $2000 of the total trip cost, and we don’t need insurance to get a voucher for the total cost (thanks to Viking’s current Risk Free Guarantee.)  The real value is the medical coverage, I guess. We have a few more days to decide. 😊

We just rebooked the Viking river cruise we cancelled in March.  I used the vouchers and received some good extras with the recent promotion.  My question is this...  Is it worth spending money on Trip Mate since Viking currently has their Risk Free Cancellation Policy?  We cannot get any refunds for the amount covered by vouchers.  Basically the insurance would be for the extra $2000 we are paying for the new cruise and for the medical benefits.  Am I missing anything?

@sharkster77 We were on the Viking Kara, B-A.  I didn’t care for the Cologne Beer culture dinner tour.   The guide was good, but I’m not a fan of bar hopping. We did the Top of Cologne Cathedral, which was amazing.  The guide for the included Cologne tour was probably our least favorite.  We also did the Colmar WWII tour and the guide was excellent. We, too, liked Strasbourg and stayed in town until the last shuttle back to the ship. 

@cleob my husband and I are 60. We have been on several ocean cruises, and we took our first river cruise last October—Viking Rhine Getaway. We found the days to be as full as we wanted. We did the included tours and booked three optional (one I wish we hadn’t booked, but that’s another story. 😉)  We love sightseeing and history, so we would spend extra time in the stops. We left one of the included walking tours to explore on our own. We didn’t feel the need to be back in time for lunch and would stay in the town/city for lunch on our own (if the itinerary allowed.)  After full days of exploring, I was plenty tired after dinner (dinner is a two hour affair.) I didn’t miss evening entertainment like what’s offered on an ocean cruise.  I would go back to the cabin to share some photos with family and catch up on email.  I found that we were probably younger than two thirds of the passengers.  Not a problem, but just an observation. On the first walking tour (offered to early arrivals the afternoon of embarkation,) an older woman fell, another just couldn’t keep up no matter how slow the guide walked. They were helped back to the ship by friends. People quickly discovered what they could and could not do, and Viking offered a slower walking tour group at each stop.  I’m not really good at small talk, so I missed not being able to eat alone...at all.  On the other hand, my husband can talk to anyone so he enjoyed meeting new people.  All in all, we really enjoyed the Rhine River cruise.  So much so, we are going on the Viking Danube Waltz in March. 

41 minutes ago, bubbulz said:

BTW, I had caught a cold at the end of our trip, and our driver was more than happy to stop to find a pharmacy for me to run into on the way. Very accommodating, friendly, informative, and spoke great English.

Good to know. My husband and I caught a cold near the end of our Rhine River Cruise. We went to a pharmacy in Amsterdam and learned we could not buy decongestant over the counter like in the U.S.  I will be packing extra cold medication on our next trip!

@bubbulz Thank you for the recommendation!  Our cruise offers a tour of Český Krumlov, so we are good to go. 

We received a Free Air offer via email. There was a link to the Viking website that showed the sailings that offered free air. We called Viking, gave them the emailed offer code, and booked our cruise with free air.  This was just two weeks ago. We also paid for Viking Air Plus, and we already picked our flights. No issues what so ever. 

24 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

We used the following company from Prague to Passau with excellent results!

https://www.taxi-transfers.cz/

Thank you, @Iamthesea, for the suggestion!

We are ending a river cruise in Passau and would like to hire a private transfer to Prague.  I’m looking for any other suggestions anyone might have. Prague Airport Transfers has good reviews, but I’ve found two different websites with this name. Prague-Airport-Transfers.com and Prague-Airport-Transfers.co.uk I’m hoping someone can shed some light on which is the company with great reviews or give me some recommendations. Thanks. 

32 minutes ago, Hoyaheel said:

The link I posted has the size I ordered selected when I open it - .98", the middle option.

Thanks! I’m definitely getting those hooks!

On 6/7/2019 at 7:01 PM, Hoyaheel said:

I travel for cruises with these magnetic hooks - love them! We typically use for hanging things like our sun hats....

@Hoyaheel  This is a fantastic idea!  Amazon shows 3 different size hooks.  Which size of hook did you purchase?

Thank you, notamermaid! You are correct in your assumption.  People have mentioned the 2018 low water levels as if it were commonplace. I have several months to peruse Cruise Critic boards to gather information, but I’m patient and can roll with change.  Only 196 days to embarkation...not that I’m counting! LOL

I just discovered this thread, and THANK YOU!  My husband and I will be taking our first river cruise in October, B - A. Since we booked, people have mentioned the water level problems of 2018.  I will follow these boards, remain optimistic, and hope for a wonderful trip! 🤞😊

Thank you for all of the options! I think the cruise transfer might be easiest for him since I won't be around to be the "navigator"! ;)