Viking Post-Extension: Lucerne Excursions?

I was wondering if anyone could tell me more about Viking's extra excursions for Lucerne. What are they and the cost? One of the options may be Mounty Titlis tour?

We took this cruise with Lucerne extension last August. I pulled our paperwork and there were two tours offered in Lucerne. The first was Pearls of Switzerland. This included the Lake cruise, Mount Pilatus (funicular up, gondola down), the Einsiedein Abbey, a visit to a working farm and tour of a cheese factory where we made cheese and finished with a fondue dinner. It was a full day but for us was worth it. We left the hotel at 9AM and returned at 9:30PM. The cost was $299 Euros/pp. The other tour offered was to Mt. Titlus that left at 9:30AM and returned at 4PM and was 199 Euros. I don't have any other information on that tour.

Upon arrival from the ship, you stop at the Lion Monument on the way to your hotel. After checking in (rooms weren't ready but had secure room for luggage), there was a walking tour of Lucerne and then the rest of the day was on-your-own. There was a Viking representative at the hotel who was very helpful and helped a number of people plan their own independent tours.

We are really glad we took the Pearls of Switzerland tour as chances are we will not return to that area and it gave us a very good overview of the region including the geography as well as the culture. I did a review in which the tour is discussed in more detail and includes a link to pictures of our trip (see below). Using the Shutterfly link in the review, Lucerne starts at picture 322, the optional Pearls of Switzerland begins at picture 353. If I think of anything else I'll add it and if you have additional questions feel free to ask.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2398901

Thank you! What a great review and pictures. Do you happen to know what the cost of the not included excursions for the Rhine Itinerary are? Trying to budget that in but they don't tell you that until around six months before the trip. What did you like better Amsterdam or Lucerne?

Dug out some notes. Not sure if these were all of the optional tours offered but here is what I have:

Cologne Beer Dinner & Culture - $89/pp

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress - Koblenz (same time as free Marksburg Castle tour) $49/pp

Dine in Rudesheim am Rhine - $99/pp

Alsatian Wine Tour & Tasting - Strasbourg afternoon $79/pp

Medieval Village of Colmar - Breisach - $49/pp

We did not do pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam as had been there before but did do walking tour on day of arrival. We were docked right across from Central Station and one could easily walk on your own into the main part of the city (just keep an eye open for bicycles!). Several inquired going to Anne Frank house which it was mentioned hard to do without reservations, especially during summer.

Amsterdam and Lucerne are totally different in respect to geography, scenery and culture. For me, if I'd been to neither I would probably pick Lucerne as would figure at some point would be more likely to get back to Amsterdam vs. Lucerne on a future trip.

WarEagle76 Thank you so much! This is exactly what I was looking. Dine in Rudesheim am Rhine sounds like it would be interesting.

Dug out some notes. Not sure if these were all of the optional tours offered but here is what I have:

 

Cologne Beer Dinner & Culture - $89/pp

 

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress - Koblenz (same time as free Marksburg Castle tour) $49/pp

 

Dine in Rudesheim am Rhine - $99/pp

 

Alsatian Wine Tour & Tasting - Strasbourg afternoon $79/pp

 

Medieval Village of Colmar - Breisach - $49/pp

 

We did not do pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam as had been there before but did do walking tour on day of arrival. We were docked right across from Central Station and one could easily walk on your own into the main part of the city (just keep an eye open for bicycles!). Several inquired going to Anne Frank house which it was mentioned hard to do without reservations, especially during summer.

 

Amsterdam and Lucerne are totally different in respect to geography, scenery and culture. For me, if I'd been to neither I would probably pick Lucerne as would figure at some point would be more likely to get back to Amsterdam vs. Lucerne on a future trip.

It was a fun evening. A small tram picked us up and took us to town (even though was also an easy walk) and dropped us off a few blocks from the restaurant. Rudesheim is a quaint, small German town with narrow streets. As the evening progressed and night fell, with the band playing and the communal dining in the patio, it felt like being transported back 100 years. There was fun audience participation for those that wanted to join in and the food was good as well. As I recall about 35-40 from the ship participated in this tour and there were other patrons at the restaurant but we had tables in our own area. The tram picked us up and took us back to the ship. The evening is documented in my In my pictures 141-149.

We have been to Lucerne twice. Once on the Viking Rhine extension and once on a Globus multicountry land tour. I can't remember the exact cost but I think the Titlis tour was about 200 euros. That excursion was the highlight of the cruise for me. The day of the tour, it was misting on the ground and I thought we had wasted our money. The first leg up the mountain we could still see the ground. The 2nd and 3rd cable cars we saw nothing but clouds. By the end of the 4th leg we broke through the clouds and saw the most spectacular sight I had ever seen. The sun was shining with about a foot of snow on the ground. Skiers everywhere. The tops of the Alps were peaking through the clouds. We also did Mt Pilatus and enjoyed that as well. The weather was clear that day so we could see everything. Loved Lucerne, although I think it is a very expensive city. The Viking guide directed us to a 'lower cost' dinner that cost us about 80 francs for 2 pizzas and 3 beers. Being on vacation in a beautiful city - who cares about the cost -- well worth the price for the experiences!