Cairn Mom

Hi Notamermaid & GMT,

I am currently on the Sigyn. We are traveling from Linz to Krems. The weather is terrible The Danube is really high and the ship is creaking. I am grateful not to be in an “aquarium” class room. They are fully underwater. I hope this won’t impact our itinerary. More rain and thunderstorms in the forecast for tmw.

2 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

The Danube at Passau is still abit high - but falling, the Inn is very high and risng some but should start to fall beginning of next week. Weather for next 7 days, some cloud and sunny intervals at about 27°C.

 

Normally ship swaps to not happen when the Danube is running high (except in Passau because of a low bridge, this would involve a coach journey of about 5 Km.). Ship swaps are when the Danube is extremely low and ships cannot navigate the shallows, e.g. the Danube situation last year.

 

Have a great cruise.

Thx

GMT & Notamermaid,

Thank you so much for the information. We’re on Viking. The itinerary is:

Passau, Linz, Krems, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest.

In your opinion, will there have to be ship swaps due to high water for 6/18-6/25? 

It will help us in how we pack. 

Thank you again,

Nancy

On 6/10/2019 at 12:19 PM, notamermaid said:

The weather forecast has been adjusted so that this week will see temperatures a little higher than before, with Regensburg having up to three days with 30 Celsius and above. It will be rainier in Munich though. Currently there is a hail storm sweeping over the Munich area.

 

Stay safe, steamboats.

 

notamermaid

 

Hi,

Thank you so much for the valuable information you provide. We’ll be on the Viking Passau to Budapest 6/18-25. I was wondering if you’ve heard anything regarding the water levels for that time. Additionally, I was wondering if you have an update on the situation in Budapest. We hear nothing about it in the US. Thank you in advance.

Nancy 

43 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

This is what is posted on the VRC website:

 

"The Viking river ship Sigyn was involved in a collision with another vessel – a Hungarian tourist ship – on the Danube River in Budapest yesterday evening (29th May). Sadly, there have been reports of fatalities and we offer our heartfelt condolences to those affected by this tragic accident. There were no injuries to Viking crew or Viking guests. The vessel has been cleared by the local authorities to sail on May 31 and the itinerary will finish as originally scheduled. We have been and continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while they undertake their investigations. There are no additional itinerary alterations anticipated at this time."

This was not in My Viking Journey. Thx for posting 

Viking has been conspicuously silent. I’m sure this week’s Danube Waltz Cruise has been cancelled. I wonder what will happen to the June trips on the Sigyn ? Enquiring minds...

First off, thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.We are supposed to be on Sigyn next month. I wonder if she will be able to sail? From the small amount I read, it does sound like the Sigyn was at fault, but I will hold judgment until after the inquiry.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/world/europe/budapest-boat-accident.html

Keith & Annmarie-

I really enjoyed your adventures. Wishing you good luck now and in the future.

I know I speak for the others when I say that we hope to travel (  at least vicariously)    with you soon. 

Nancy 

1 hour ago, CharTrav said:

I feel truly blessed that we were able to visit it last Summer. 

I’m glad we visited this past March. Notre Dame is an iconic sight. They were able to save important relics and a lot of artwork. It sounds like they will be able to rebuild. It’s small comfort but, at least it wasn’t a total loss.

15 minutes ago, gers said:

We are on our Paris trip and Viking river cruise in late June.  We anticipate arriving at the Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile hotel early morning, but don't check in until later that day.  Does anyone have experience with what to do that first day with their personal belongings?  We don't want to start walking around Paris with our valuables.

The hotel has a luggage room and they will store your suitcases.

You can ask if there is a safety deposit box otherwise we carry our valuables with us as we don’t like leaving them in our luggage.

21 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

Every city seems to have popular scams,  not just in Paris and but in Spain as well; I’m sure all over.  Pretty original whoever invented the fake bird crap though!

 

its important to familiarize themselves w pickpockets & fraud scams.  Pickpockets often work in pairs, one to distract & other to get the $.  

Dropping metro tickets in a crowd is popular in Paris, or any distraction in a crowd anywhere works.  

Popular scam is the friendship bracelet routine as they happily grab your hand & tie one on your wrist & then demand €5.  Of course, you can’t untie it & they run after you if you dont.  So you pay just to get rid of them. 

Or the gold ring & postcard scams more popular on Champs Elysees & Eiffel.

 

Just keep hands at your side and ignore anyone who approaches.  Locals on the street don’t bother w tourists.  

 

 

They tried the “gold ring” on us near The Louvre. I said, “ not ours” and walked on. Glad I knew about that scam from other cc posters. Fake bird crap, that’s awful!

 Our guide in Tournon explained how to buy top quality natural Lavender products. When walking in beautiful Les Baux, we came upon a store that sold soaps and creams. I like to buy small gifts that come from the place(s) we visited so I bought Lavender hand cream. It smells delicious! DD and DIL like it too.I know Peregrina actually went to the Lavender fields but we didn’t do that excursion. 

15 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The most important thing for visiting Giverney is to get there as early as possible, before the hordes arrive in their tour buses from Paris.  So if it's your wife's priority, I would suggest getting a cab to zip you there in time for the opening and then taking the ship's bus back.

 If you decide to taxi or Uber to Giverney and return with Viking, make sure to inform the front desk of your plans. You need to know which bus to board and that tour guide needs to have you on their list.

6 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

While passengers generally don’t dress up, they do kick it up a small notch at dinner.  So you won’t be denied entering, but you will find dinner attire is collared shirts and slacks and a rare jacket for men who prefer them..  Women wear slacks, some may wear non/baggy jeans, nice blouses/sweaters & you might see an occasional skirt or dress.  But mostly women are in slacks w a scarf or jewelry to dress up the top in the evening.

Hot summer evenings find passengers dress a bit more casual, still collared shirts for men and shirts are very rare.

We just returned. In the evening, most men wore pants and collared shirts. Cargo pants and a collared shirt would pass muster. A few nights, DH wore dark jeans and a collared shirt and he had company.  Women didn’t wear blue jeans or exercise clothes  to dinner. They wore mostly black pants/jeans/leggings and a nice top. I actually joked with my husband about the “river cruise uniform” lol. Ladies, I suggest you bring along a sweater or wrap.

When we went on the Rhine Getaway in July 2017, dress was the same. Some ladies wore sundresses but it wasn’t the norm. Nobody wore sneakers to dinner on either cruise. 

Hope your feeling better Peregrina. The pollen was really bad in Avignon too. You’re right, people should bring allergy meds. March worked well for us. Coming from the Northeast US, we don’t mind temps in the 50s and 60s for this sort of trip. It was good touring weather. 

On 4/1/2019 at 4:38 PM, peabody304 said:

 

What time is your flight, if you don't mind me asking. Our flights out are at 10:30; I'm just trying to get an idea of how early we might leave the ship.

We had a 9:30 AM flight from Marseille airport. For those ending in Lyon, that airport is closer to where the ship is docked. When we arrived, it only took us 30 minutes to get from that airport to the ship.

2 hours ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

Did the included tour go to the bridge in Avignon (St Bénézet)?  When there years ago, some were dancing and singing “Sur  le Pont d'Avignon”.  

We went near to it but not on it. 

I also want to add that the ship docks in Avignon. It’s a short walk into the walled city. Many people stayed in town after our walking tour. We saw others walking back after lunch.

Just a note about flights. It seems that the majority of the people on this cruise have to leave a 3AM to get to the airport in Marseille in time for their flights. It’s 90 minutes away from Avignon. If you don’t want this to be you then pay the $50 per person and  don’t let Viking book you a flight before 9:30 AM. We are leaving at 6:30AM which is still really early but not ridiculous. 

Today, we went on the included excursion in the morning and Chateauneuf-Du-Pape excursion in the afternoon. We enjoyed both tours. 

For Chateauneuf-Du-Pape excursion, we went to the Perrin winery for a tour which we enjoyed. Then we went to a scenic overlook with an abandoned castle. Our last stop was the town of Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. There are many tasting rooms if you have a mind to try more wines but time is limited . 

The included tour takes passengers to the Pope’s Palace. We really enjoyed that excursion as well. It was one of the things that  sold us on the trip. At the end of that  tour, Viking provided a lovely surprise for us. I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll say no more. 

This was a wonderful trip. We were  so fortunate with the weather  

2 hours ago, Cairn Mom said:

We were there on Sunday. Our guide said that restaurants, museums and tourist stores were open but not ordinary shops. Like Peregrina, we took the Carrières de Lumières excursion which we enjoyed. 

I want to add to my post. We went on the included morning tour. We saw that most stores weren’t open. Someone asked and that’s when our guide gave us the low down on Sunday in Arles. In the afternoon we did an  optional tour.However, The Fondation Vincent Van Gogh is open on Sunday and some people went there.

2 hours ago, dolllover said:

So we will be in Arles on a Sunday. Concerned a lot will be closed. We're scheduled to take the included morning walking tour but was wondering if there is enough to do in Arles in the afternoon on our own with the stores and attractions potentially closed or would our time be of better use signing up for an optional tour.

We were there on Sunday. Our guide said that restaurants, museums and tourist stores were open but not ordinary shops. Like Peregrina, we took the Carrières de Lumières excursion which we enjoyed. 

On 3/27/2019 at 4:13 AM, peabody304 said:

For people going Lyon to Avignon: 

After the included tour you can stay in Arles. There are 2 shuttles back to the ship. One is at 2:45 and the other is at 5.

You can also return to the ship at 12:00, after the tour, and have lunch. Viking provides a shuttle back to Arles at 2PM. 

Uber worked well for us in Paris but we did not use it to the port.

Today in Tournon we went on the included walking tour and train ride. We enjoyed both activities. The train was from the early 1900s. Many of the men were enthralled with it lol. Our guide made the trip interesting. The tour was nicely done.

 However, it would have been even better  if the train ride was first and the walking tour was later.Nothing was open in Tournon during our walk.

Tonight there is a 9:30PM walking tour of Viviers which I think we are going to skip. We have both a morning and afternoon tour tomorrow so I think we’ll make it an early night. 

I want to clarify, on a river cruise it is virtually impossible to sit at a table for two. It is not that kind of experience. If you enjoy being just with your partner  then IMHO  river cruising isn’t a good fit.

1 hour ago, peabody304 said:

This is great info, thanks! 
Any chance you plan to post the Viking Dailies from this cruise? (Please?) 🙂

 

Sorry, no dailies. I think Peregrina has a link to CharTrav’s live. She went from Lyon to Avignon if I remember correctly. Peregrina, I can’t wait to hear about your Commonwealth tour. When do you go to the D Day Beaches?

i want to say a few words about the crowd about ship. They are mostly 70+ , in good physical condition and well informed. Since we are traveling ourselves, we always sit with at least one other couple at dinner. So far, everyone has been very nice.

1 minute ago, peabody304 said:

 

That's good info, thanks! 
What time did you leave Lyon yesterday? 

The ship left Lyon around 2 PM but passengers could have stayed in Lyon DIY until 5 PM. Viking supplied a shuttle to the ship which was very nice. Overall, IMHO, Viking really tries to please it’s clientele.