Pre cruise in Lucerne before going on Rhine cruise with Viking

We are in the process of planning and booking our 1st river cruise so there are a lots of things we don't know and will really need your help.

We are considering booking the Rhine Getaway in July 2018 with Viking (Basel to Amsterdam). We are also planning to do the 2 nights pre cruise in Lucerne. On the Viking website, the Lucerne pre cruise details show this itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Lucerne

Day 2 : guided tour of the town

Day 3: free time in the morning then transfer to Basel to board the ship.

We are flying in from Madrid, Spain. We will probably arrive in Zurich around noon or 13:00. Then it will take around one hour by train from Zurich to Lucerne.

These are the questions that I have:

1/ Does anyone have an idea of which hotel Viking usually uses for the pre cruise guests ?

2/ What time does the guided tour on day 2 start? How long does it last?

We want to do the Pilatus Golden Round Trip. I have read here that it takes 4.5-5 hrs so will we have enough time to do it on day 2 after the guided tour?

How far is the starting point if the Golden Tour from Lucerne hotel, if we want to start by going up the gondola?

Shall we arrive one day earlier?

Thanks

When we stayed independently at the Hotel Schweizerhof in Luzern after our Viking cruise this June, we noticed a large group of tourists in the breakfast room wearing Viking nametags. I don’t know if Viking usually uses this hotel, but it is one possibility.

The hotel was wonderful. Very beautiful and luxurious, and one of the few hotels in Luzern with some AC rooms. We were impressed to see Viking using such a nice hotel. If Viking advertises AC rooms, Schweizerhof would be one of only a few possibilities. It was unseasonably hot when we were there, so the AC was very welcome.

Sorry, can’t answer your other questions. If you have several ideas of what you want to do on your own in Luzern, it would be very easy to just book your own hotel.

Thanks Susan.

I have forgotten completely about AC.

Does it get very hot in July in Lucerne?

If you check weather history on wunderground.com, then no, it rarely gets very hot in Luzern, which is why many hotels don’t have AC. But when we were there this June, it was sizzling! We were so happy to go up Mt. Rigi to get a break from the heat and humidity. We were even longing for an AC room when we stayed in Wengen, up in the mountains.

However, this year might have been a bit unusual? Or maybe just a harbinger of global climate change? All I can tell you is that we enjoyed the AC. ;p

Thanks.

I have no idea where Viking will put the pre-cruise guests next year. It looks like either the Continental Park Lucerne, the Radisson Blu or if we are lucky, the Schweizerhof.

Hopefully the weather will stay cool and comfortable.

I assume that cabins on the ship have AC?

This is our first river cruise. There are lots of things we have to learn.

BTW, just a quick question concerning included excursions and wine during meal time.

How early do we have to sign up for the included excursions? Do we have to do a pre-cruise online check in like the ocean cruises? And that's where we book the excursions?

I have noticed on a Viking review where the OP took some photos of the dinner menus. It showed the wines suggested with the meal, but it also showed a price.

Isn't wine included at meal time or we have to pay extra?

Thanks ,

Have a nice evening.

If you look at the menus closer you will see that below the suggested wines (extra cost) are the 2 included wines with dinner/lunch. The wines, from our experience, don't change much day to day. Another possibility is to bring your own wine on board that you can purchase from any port on the cruise. There are many shops that sell wine that is great and not too expensive. Viking doesn't charge a corkage fee and will even decant the wine if necessary.

Viking will usually offer an optional excursion while in Lucerne. When we were there in 2014 it was Mt. Titlus. I've seen others refer to Mt. Pilatus. These optionals can be scheduled in advance. I'm not sure about scheduling when already in Lucerne. Viking usually makes sure the optionals don't interfere with their included tours.

Regardless, Lucerne is a great place to visit. Just a word of caution. Lucerne is expensive!!! I think this was our most expensive meals ever on vacation. I remember paying 75 CHF for 2 medium pizzas, 2 beers and 2 sodas and this was at a place the Viking rep said was reasonable.

Thanks beanpittsburg.

Great to know that we can bring wine if we would like to try something else than the wines suggested.

I expect Lucerne being expensive. Switzerland is a very expensive country to live or to visit.

Thanks again for your input.

I assume that cabins on the ship have AC?.

Yes and there is a thermostat in each room.

Thanks steverhodes.

We have just booked our first river cruise....Viking Vidar, July 19th-26th Basel to Amsterdam with a Lucerne pre cruise.

I took the pre-cruise Luzern extension with Viking in 2014. At that time the hotel was the Radisson Blu and the room was very nice.

The guided tour on day 2 will probably start at 9:00 am and end at lunch time (lunch on your own).

I would check the Mt. Pilatus website to see what time everyone has to be off the mountain. When I was in Luzern, the first two days were rain, and I was told they wouldn't be good days for a mountain trip. Since I was by myself, I took Viking's optional tour on day 3 of Mt. Titlus, a beautiful sunny day. I signed up for it the night before (day 2). Since the first stop was a cheese making demonstration and the lines for the Titlus gondolas were long, we didn't get to spend much time on the mountain, so I think doing it on your own makes better sense.

After you book your trip, you should get a link to "My Viking Journey" where you can plan any excursions. I don't think it matters how quickly you sign up for the included tours. There will be enough room. If there's an optional tour you don't want to miss, you might want to sign up beforehand, but from what I saw, they rarely sell out of the optional excursions.

I don't know if you can see the link to my review of the trip in my signature, so I'm including it here. The first couple of pages are about the Lucern portion.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2094179

Two points.

1. Lucerne is gorgeous. Here is one of my pictures from our trip there this past August.

2. There are two pretty mountains you can do from there: Pilitas and Titlis. We were there in Lucerne on our own four nights after our cruise. Both mountains were socked in for 3 days. On 4th day clouds subsided. We went to Titlis and got great views. By the time we got to Pilitas the clouds came in. But based on what we saw, I would prefer Titlis. See photos I took below.

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We are in the process of planning and booking our 1st river cruise so there are a lots of things we don't know and will really need your help.

We are considering booking the Rhine Getaway in July 2018 with Viking (Basel to Amsterdam). We are also planning to do the 2 nights pre cruise in Lucerne. On the Viking website, the Lucerne pre cruise details show this itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Lucerne

Day 2 : guided tour of the town

Day 3: free time in the morning then transfer to Basel to board the ship.

 

We are flying in from Madrid, Spain. We will probably arrive in Zurich around noon or 13:00. Then it will take around one hour by train from Zurich to Lucerne.

 

These are the questions that I have:

1/ Does anyone have an idea of which hotel Viking usually uses for the pre cruise guests ?

2/ What time does the guided tour on day 2 start? How long does it last?

 

We want to do the Pilatus Golden Round Trip. I have read here that it takes 4.5-5 hrs so will we have enough time to do it on day 2 after the guided tour?

 

How far is the starting point if the Golden Tour from Lucerne hotel, if we want to start by going up the gondola?

 

Shall we arrive one day earlier?

 

Thanks

Definitely recommend more time in Lucerne.

See some of my pictures in other reply. But here are more

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Wow!!!

The photos are so beautiful. I am so excited to start planning and doing more research on Lucerne and the other ports of call.

We are dropping our daughter first in Madrid and will fly to Zurich. My TA said that Viking will be picking us up from Zurich airport even if we didn't book air with them. Then, we'll be transfered from Lucerne to Basel to board the ship, ending in Amsterdam.

Thanks mimmy52 for the link to your review. I'll read it and mwke sure to take notes.

Steverhodes: your photos are amazing... DH is so excited to be going to Lucerne. We'll try to do either Pilatus or Titlis on day 1 or 2. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate.

Thanks again to all who took time to reply.

I will be posting quite a lot on this River cruising board since we are new to river cruising and have lots of questions.

Have a great evening,

Stefanny

Dear mimmy52,

You said that you visited Mt Titlus on day 3 with Viking while doing the Lucerne pre cruise package. Do we have enough time to do the tour and then get transfer to the ship on day 3?

I haven't read your review yet but I am sure that I will have tons of questions since we are doing exactly the same itinerary.

Cheers,

Stefanny

Wow!!!

The photos are so beautiful. I am so excited to start planning and doing more research on Lucerne and the other ports of call.

 

We are dropping our daughter first in Madrid and will fly to Zurich. My TA said that Viking will be picking us up from Zurich airport even if we didn't book air with them. Then, we'll be transfered from Lucerne to Basel to board the ship, ending in Amsterdam.

FYI - If Viking arranged for the air that got you to Zurich *OR* if you or your travel agent for you paid extra for the transfers, then Viking will pick you up.

But, if you are not using Viking to get you to Zurich and you are not paying extra for the transfers, then Viking will not be picking you up.

Hi - we did that cruise this past July and for the Lucerne extension Viking used the Hotel Astoria.

We wanted to do the Pilatus Golden roundtrip also so we did that on day two by ourselves, skipping the included walking tour. When we told the Viking rep at the hotel our plan she said she'd be doing a walking tour also the third day for anyone who missed the one on day two. So we went on that one and it ended up just being the three of us so that was a treat. We walked around for maybe 2 hrs.

We spent about 5 hrs doing the Pilatus circle - not sure if you'd have enough time at the top if you start out after the walking tour on day two. Depends what you'd want to do at the top (or mid-mountain where you can also get off the gondola and do the luge or ropes course). We ate lunch at the top and did some hiking. If the weather had been better we'd have spent more time but just as we got to the top the clouds rolled in. It was a bummer but they parted enough to get a beautiful view down for at least 30 seconds. :rolleyes:

We took the cog train up and gondola down. Doing it that way we had about a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the central station to buy tickets for the golden roundtrip and right outside the station is where we boarded the ship that you take on the first leg. When you get off the ship the cog train station is right there. Coming down on the gondola at the bottom we then had to walk to a city bus stop a few minutes away and then took the bus back into Lucerne. I was planning to do it the way you are but the Viking rep said she thought sailing in the morning usually offered better weather on the lake....so that's why we did the reverse...for what that's worth. If you take the gondola first you'd start out with a bus ride that would leave from the central station - if you're at the Astoria not a long walk and from the Radisson Blu even closer I think.

For our transfer to Basel on day three we didn't leave Luncerne until later in the afternoon - maybe 3 or 4? So we had half a day on day one, half a day on day two after Pilatus, and then until 3 or 4 the last day. Lucerne is definitely lovely and if you can swing an extra day there I would - but in the time we were there we saw a lot. We didn't feel like we missed too much - it wasn't that sense "oh, we have to come back - there's so much more." Although I'm sure there is! The old city in particular is pretty small and walkable. One thing I'd recommend is the Rosengart museum if that's your kind of thing.

Enjoy your trip!

Leslie

Dear Leslie,

What a great detailed reply. It will really help us plan our Lucerne stay.

I think we will do the Golden tour on day 2 and just skip the walking tour. If there is another tour on day 3 then it will be great.

How cold is it in Lucerne in July? I am wondering what kind of clothes I should be bringing. Coming from Madrid where it will be very hot, and also going back to Madrid for 5 days after the cruise to pick up our daughter, I will have to bring an array of summer clothes and warmer jackets.

I asked my TA again today about pre-cruise transfer from Zurich to Lucerne if we did not buy air with Viking. She talked to 3 different Viking agents, just to be sure, and they all said yes, since we are doing a pre-cruise package.

Did you do the pre cruise transfer with Viking or in your own?

What do we do with our suitcases on day 3? I know that we have to check out around 10 or 11 and transfer to the ship is in the afternoon. Can we leave the suitcases at the hotel?

Did you pre book online the Golden tour or you bought the tiur ticket at the hotel?

Sorry for all the questions but I like to be prepared.

Thanks

Hi -- no problem with more questions, I'm happy to answer any that I can!

We used Viking Air so our transfers were included, not sure how yours would work. I hope your TA got the right answer for you.

As far as weather in Lucerne in July - whenwe were there it was warm except the top of Pilatus it was pretty chilly. But I just wore a raincoat over a jean jacket not a parka or anything heavy.

The golden roundtrip ticket: I didn't buy it online in advance because if the weather was bad I wouldn't have gone up. There's a tourist information office in the central station that sells them. And that's where we needed to go anyway to board the ship (or bus if you do gondola first). Possibly the hotel might have some too and you could buy them there.

On day three they collected our luggage and held it downstairs at the hotel until the transfer.

I'll mention this just in case it matters to you (or anyone reading)-- when I was trying to figure out about the adapter I needed for Switzerland I read several posts on tripadvisor that said the usual European 2-pin adapter would work so that's what I took. But even though the outlets in the Astoria hotel looked like they would take that kind of plug the holes were a few millimeters off and ours didn't work. Since we were only there a few days it wasn't a problem. When we got home I posted about it on tripadvisor and people living in Lucerne said no, that's not possible, but believe me I tried several 2-pin adapters that I've used all over Europe and they absolutely didn't fit in the outlets in our room in the hotel Astoria. :confused:

Let me know if you think of other questions.

Hi Leslie,

Thanks for all the great little details.

I was also wondering what kind of plugs I need to bring to Lucerne.

Does the hotel have hairdryer in the room?

On the ship, in the cabin, are the plugs the American type? Do you remember if there are enough in rhe room?

Thanks

The hotel room did have a hairdryer. Honestly can't remember if it was great or wimpy but I'm pretty sure I didn't need to use the one I brought just in case. The ship cabin had a good dryer.

The cabin had both European and American type outlets. There were definitely enough that it was never an issue. I know some people travel with power strips to plug in a lot of devices but I've never had the need for that much electricity at one time ;)

If you feel like seeing some pix from that trip here's a link.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/M6rozfJyfmMN4Njc2

Or maybe you'd rather wait and be surprised when you get there :D

We are in the process of planning and booking our 1st river cruise so there are a lots of things we don't know and will really need your help.

We are considering booking the Rhine Getaway in July 2018 with Viking (Basel to Amsterdam). We are also planning to do the 2 nights pre cruise in Lucerne. On the Viking website, the Lucerne pre cruise details show this itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Lucerne

Day 2 : guided tour of the town

Day 3: free time in the morning then transfer to Basel to board the ship.

 

We are flying in from Madrid, Spain. We will probably arrive in Zurich around noon or 13:00. Then it will take around one hour by train from Zurich to Lucerne.

 

These are the questions that I have:

1/ Does anyone have an idea of which hotel Viking usually uses for the pre cruise guests ?

2/ What time does the guided tour on day 2 start? How long does it last?

 

We want to do the Pilatus Golden Round Trip. I have read here that it takes 4.5-5 hrs so will we have enough time to do it on day 2 after the guided tour?

 

How far is the starting point if the Golden Tour from Lucerne hotel, if we want to start by going up the gondola?

 

Shall we arrive one day earlier?

 

Thanks

We did an Amsterdam to Basel on the Vidar with a post stay in Lucern. We took a Viking offered a full day tour called The Pearls of Switzerland. It was pricey but we had the boat tour to Mt Pilatus, cog rail up and Gondola down, then a mini van met us there and we went to a monastery, dairy farm, cheese factory where we made cheese and topped the day off with a fondue dinner. There were 10 people in our group some from a post cruise stay and some from a pre cruise stay. It was absolutely fabulous and well worth the $$ since we packed so much into the day and Viking made it so easy. Small group... it was like traveling with friends. It would be hard to go to such a dairy farm on your own because the farmer spoke german with limited English and our guide was like traveling with a friend. If it is available I would recommend you take the "Pearls". Also on the Vidar if he is still there Chef Karl Heinz was a joy! We were there in April 2017. Our Viking hotel was the Schweizerhof in a fabulous lakeview room...a great hotel!

Thanks Leslie for all the precious little details like hairdryer and electrical plugs. Being an OC planner, all these little details are nide to know.

I'll check your photos link later tonight and will surely have more questions.

Dear Tegeval,

I saw the Pearl of Switzerland tour on our pre cruise page. It's nice to know what it is and that you enjoyed it.

Do you remember which day was it offered?

Hi everyone;

I looked at the cost of the Pearls of Switzerland offered by Viking and wow!!! it is expensive for one day.

Leslie,

Do you remember how much it was to do the Golden Tour on your own?

I saw your photos... They are amazing !!! Now I am getting excited for my river cruise. Thanks for sharing.

We did Lucerne post cruise through Viking on our Rhine Getaway last August (late August, Amsterdam to Basel). We were at the Hotel Flora and had some issues with the staff - which the Viking rep handled very nicely. I don’t think Viking is using that hotel anymore - probably we weren’t the only ones with issues.

I had read about the Mt Pilatus Golden Round Trip in a trip report here by crusinskier - fantastic write up with lots of photos. He recommended doing the cable car up and the cog railway down because the lines aren’t nearly as long. We found this to be the case. Also when we were there the lake was foggy in the morning, so the afternoon boat ride was lovely. The fog had completely burned off.

Don’t book until the day you want to do the trip because you won’t know what the weather will be. You can check on the Mt Pilatus website. We got the tickets at the tourism office in the train station. They were about 100 Swiss franks each.

The trip was simply phenomenal from start to finish. It was one of the highlights in a highlight filled vacation. [emoji7]

Also our guide recommended several restaurants and we followed her recommendations. We ate at Rebstock near the lake by the church with the tall steeples. I have to look up the name. Get the Swiss meatloaf. It was fabulous. Didn’t think I’d be eating meatloaf in Switzerland but trust me on this one.

She also recommended Rathuis Brauerie (probably messed up the spelling on that). It’s right on the river by the Chapel bridge. We had such a lovely time there sitting by the water. The food and beer were great. Try the Swiss mac & cheese - Älpermagronen - so yummy! And the big pretzels were awesome!

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