familymum

Yes, I hope so! That is what we have selected.🍁🍂

Thank you @pontac. I was simply looking for information that might help tip the balance one way or the other. I feel reassured that either would be fine, but I have asked my TA to put a hold on the Viking sailing and I suspect that we will finalize that choice. Your comments spoke to me and tipped the balance towards Viking. I appreciate a good wine list. lol. and the ability to bring some wine on board is a nice feature. I also think that in the unfortunate situation that the river level is troublesome I would prefer to switch boats than find myself on a bus. Ultimately it is the timing that works the best for us for adding before and after stays. Some friends of mine took a Rhine Viking cruise last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, which is what prompted us to look at a river cruise. Thanks again for your insight.

Mmm, true. However these boards would be awfully quiet without people asking and answering questions.

This is my main hesitation with the Emerald sailing. On ocean sailings, the captain can adapt the ships course if conditions are not great, not so on the Rhine. At least with switching boats we are still on the river. If I want a land tour there are better and less costly ways to do so.

Thank you for answering. We are Canadian. Currently Emerald requires full payment within 7 days and Viking requires full payment by March 31. That's only a couple of weeks different so not a big determinant here. Concerning Moving boat to boat. I can imagine that if the water level is problematic that it will likely be problematic at several points along the river. I do think that I would rather transfer boats then end up on a bus. perhaps, I wouldn't completely unpack after we have already transferred once.

Hi, thanks for answering. I am happy for any insight that someone is willing to share.😀 If there is a reason why one of the boats is superior than the other then I would love to know that, however I think the cruise line has more impact on the experience than the particular boat. I wis break down what I am wavering between the two options. Weather/timing I know that weather is always a big mystery. The dawn sailing is 10 days earlier than the Freya- so perhaps that increases the probability of warmer weather. The Freya is Tuesday to Tuesday while the Dawn is Saturday to Saturday. As we wish to add a few days before in Amsterdam and about 5 days after in Switzerland, the mid week sailing makes it easier to accomplish this as we can take a straight 2 calendar weeks off as vacation leave. Cruise line experience Does one line have better excursions (or more choices)? Better food and wine quality? overall experience between the two lines? Preference over where the boats dock along the way? Better handling of low or high water levels? I too hope that I will be lucky like you, and that the river gods will smile on us.☺️ It is nice to read that you have had 13 river cruises without experiencing water level problems, it gives me hope. Also, if you are about to do this route for the third time then I assume that you have enjoyed these stops. Thanks for your input!

Glad to hear that you Viking looked after you well when you fell ill. I agree that sometimes the lowest price can be a false savings. Price is important, as I can spend the saved funds on the next vacation😄 but I do want a quality experience. New to this type of cruising, I find it hard to evaluate the offers, to an untrained eye, there seems to be more similarities than differences. That is why I appreciate you taking the time to answer.

Thank you, this is helpful. In the case of problematic river levels, I can see how switching boats is less of a headache than being bused farther up the coast.

Thanks for answering. I'm not sure that the pool will be a big draw for an October sailing. I think that the demographic is younger on the Emerald, but honestly not too fussed about the ages of our fellow passengers. The Emerald is 500$ pp lower than the Viking ( 1000$ lower if I compare it with the Viking Oct 5th sailing) , plus it includes gratuities. However, my TA had a client who had a bad experience on an Emerald sailing, and is now hesitant to recommend them. Apparently the river level was low, as it sometimes is, but there was mishandling of the passengers were transferred to the next leg of their journey. Based on that, she is recommending Viking (or Avalon, but price is even higher). Part of me thinks I am using a TA to avoid problems but another part of me thinks one incident isn't enough to write Emerald off as a possibility. Both companies seems to have both good and bad(ish) reviews.

We are an active couple in our mid fifties. This will be our first river cruise. We have cruised on Celebrity, NCL, Carnival and Princess. We are looking at a Rhine river cruise, Amsterdam to Basel.( We plan to add additional time at both ends of the cruise.) I have it narrowed to two options. Oct 5th Emerald Dawn or October 15th Viking Freya? Thoughts? Your insights are much appreciated!

This is the worst cruise port. It is pretty much in the middle of nowhere so you need to travel 45 minutes plus to get to most attractions. Be careful if you are shopping at the stores at the terminal, especially jewellery. I bought a Larimar stone pendant and supposedly a 9.25sterling silver 24 inch necklace. The clasp broke on the chain the second time I wore it. I went to have it repaired when I got home only to be told that the chain is stainless steel. I should have known better than to buy jewellery in a cruise port!