Danube River Cruise with Viking

I'd go this way

http://www.raileurope.com/train-tickets/discover-europe/article/nuremberg-prague

Prague is an easy, fun city to tour. Inexpensive.

Mrs. Cog...we are researching the same issue for a 2019 cruise. We came across multiple recommendations for the Deutsche Bahn IC bus. Looks to be about 15 euro/person with multiple departures each day. The link is: https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/bus/index.shtml

Lisa & Gerry

OP, we did this cruise last year. My biggest piece of advice is not to miss the included excursion to Cesky Krumlov. It was for me by far the best of the included excursions. Family members said it was too long and paid to make bread or something. Didn't have the heart to tell them it was fantastic and that they missed the best port excursion we had. Also loved Durnstein. Are you stopping there? Such a beautiful place to walk around.

We loved Budapest and spent an extra day there....plus two days with the cruise we first took, Passage to Eastern Europe. I didn't particularly like the excursion to the baths...cleanliness didn't appear to be on par with what I'm used to at pools. Loved the Jewish quarter excursion We're not Jewish but learned so very much about the tragedy that went on before and during WWII. Not on that tour but close to where ship docks, is the sculpture of the shoes in front of the Parliament building. Be sure to see that. On the day on our own, we went to places I found on Trip Advisor. DH loved the Labyrinth. Ship docks next to the Chain Bridge and left at dark so we could see beautiful Budapest by night. Have a great cruise!

I second this posters statements about Cesky. It was incredible.

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The Deutschebahn IC bus is the way to go. Non stop, no change of lines with associated luggage hassle, quicker, and less expensive. Train requires a Cheney of train, will be more than an hour longer, and not as comfortable.

I wholeheartedly agree with what others have said about the excursion to Český Krumlov. It was our favorite stop on the trip! It was interesting to see the countryside as we drove there and back. We even made a pit-stop on the way there (bathroom breaks = important!) where I enjoyed seeing what roadway convenience stores sell in the Czech Republic (yes, I'm that geeky! We bought some yummy chocolates there.) Once in Český Krumlov the weather was a bit rainy but that did not dampen our enthusiasm. The city was lovely with well-preserved buildings and a lovely location. The tour was very interesting and we had a nice amount of time after to shop and have lunch. The fine folks at Viking had even called restaurants ahead of time to find a place where I could safely eat without issues with my food allergies. Other friends did not go on this tour opting for a trip to the countryside, instead. They were very disappointed in that tour and we continue to be sad for them missing out on the better option. There are good reasons why Český Krumlov regularly makes lists of the top places in the world to visit.

We did an included excursion in each location (no complaints) and only paid for two additional tours. In Vienna the optional tour of Schönbrunn Palace seemed well worth it. It probably would have been cheaper on our own but it didn't cost too much. Our peace of mind not worrying about making it back to the ship on time was well worth it to us. The palace was impressive and the gardens were lovely even though we were there in April. I'm sure they are even better in the summer. In morning the panoramic tour gave us a nice overview of the area and we were able to see the Lipizzaner stallions in their training area.

Our ship stopped in Durnstein which I'm not seeing on the Danube Waltz schedule now. We paid for an optional excursion that was a walking tour of the town. This was a waste of money. The area was so small we could have easily walked around on our own and there were even informational plaques located around the town with historical information in English. The guide gave us way more information than we wanted about wine (that might just be us) and we finally wandered off on our own so that we'd have some time to shop and see the area before returning to the ship.

I will say that having done the Danube Waltz and the Rhine Getaway, we'd recommend both of them but we thought the Danube Waltz was much more interesting. We visited more countries and saw a greater assortment of architecture. In addition, most towns were more accessible from where we were docked so we spent more time in walking tours and less time on a bus.

Did anyone take an excursion to Kutna Hora? Do you think it is worth giving up an afternoon in Prague to do this? We will be in Prague for a post excursion and have limited time there.

Did anyone take an excursion to Kutna Hora? Do you think it is worth giving up an afternoon in Prague to do this? We will be in Prague for a post excursion and have limited time there.

We did the excursion to Kutna Hora during our post cruise extension in 2015 and loved it. I had seen the Rick Steves episode about the bone church and did a bit of research on getting there on our own. Was very happy once in Prague to see this offered. This was just before the myvikingjourney.com page, so it was a nice surprise.

Kutna Hora is a very charming town that reminded me of a combination of Germany and Italy, and the bone church alone was worth the trip.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, we are going to take a tour there.. and a stop in Kolin. the Bone Church seems pretty interesting.. did you go to the silver mine too?

Thanks Jeff, we are going to take a tour there.. and a stop in Kolin. the Bone Church seems pretty interesting.. did you go to the silver mine too?

The silver mine was closed the day we were there.

Jeff

We did this itinerary last year and enjoyed it. It was our first river cruise. We hate to fly that far for just 7 days so we researched and booked Bucharest to Budapest prior to this one. We added a private precruise in Transylvania which turned out to be fabulous. We had an extra day in Budapest on our own which was great in addition to the three days there with the two cruises. So much to do there!

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Would you please give me some info on the private tour you took to Transylvania.

We are planning on doing these same two cruises in 2020 and Transylvania is one of the places I am looking to go to pre-cruise.

Thanks.

Not sure if Ive added this in the right place, but maybe someone can answer this.

We are sailing from Nuremberg to Budapest next year, and I have read somewhere the evening meal can be eaten on the Aquavit terrace, is this true, and is it the same meal as the dining room?

Not sure if Ive added this in the right place, but maybe someone can answer this.

We are sailing from Nuremberg to Budapest next year, and I have read somewhere the evening meal can be eaten on the Aquavit terrace, is this true, and is it the same meal as the dining room?

My information is over two years old and fro some other threads it appears that Viking is experimenting with the aquavit terrace space.

However, we enjoyed several dinners there. They had a small buffet set up with appetizers and salads and offered two or three choices for entrees. Which was plated and served by a chef located at the Terrance. On one occasion the chef saw that I wasn’t thrilled with the options and said he could get us anything from the dining room. The kitchen is located directly below the Terrace and there is a set of steps for the staff directly into it.

We loved our quiet easy meals on the terrace particularly after a busy day of touring or when we had treated ourselves to a nice meal ashore.

Have a great cruise!

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My information is over two years old and fro some other threads it appears that Viking is experimenting with the aquavit terrace space.

 

However, we enjoyed several dinners there. They had a small buffet set up with appetizers and salads and offered two or three choices for entrees. Which was plated and served by a chef located at the Terrance. On one occasion the chef saw that I wasn’t thrilled with the options and said he could get us anything from the dining room. The kitchen is located directly below the Terrace and there is a set of steps for the staff directly into it.

 

We loved our quiet easy meals on the terrace particularly after a busy day of touring or when we had treated ourselves to a nice meal ashore.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

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Thankyou for your response, i have done a bit more searching and it looks as though it is in use now for dinner, and as you say after a busy day, a nice place to eat and relax. Thanks again.