Viking Elbe cruise May 8,2010

[maltese mickey]

Anyone going on this or have done it before? going with my sister, her husband and mine.

[jcrandle]

We did the Elegant Elbe on the Clara Schumann in 2009. We will be happy to answer any questions. We had a wonderful voyage, and were very pleased with the ship, crew, and itinerary.

[Liat]

We are cruising on Clara Schumann from Prague to Berlin in late August this year.

We would love to hear about:

Itinerary;

Ship provided tours;

Off tour suggestions at stops;

Food;

Cabins;

Laundry;

Internet access?

 

Thanks,

[maltese mickey]

We did the Elegant Elbe on the Clara Schumann in 2009. We will be happy to answer any questions. We had a wonderful voyage, and were very pleased with the ship, crew, and itinerary.

Did the onshore "trips" involve a great deal of walking? My husband has some mobility issues. did you find any trouble with currency in Prague? did you tip tour guides in euros or dollars?

[jcrandle]

We are cruising on Clara Schumann from Prague to Berlin in late August this year.

We would love to hear about:

Itinerary;

Ship provided tours;

Off tour suggestions at stops;

Food;

Cabins;

Laundry;

Internet access?

 

Thanks,

 

I'll take a shot at some of these. The VRC website will have the planned itinerary, with the understanding that it can change due to water levels.

 

All of the tours were included except two that were optional. of the two optional, the one of the Bauhaus design school was offered, but withdrawn due to lack of interest. The other tour was of the Terezin concentration camp.

 

The tours were a mixture of walking (when the ship moored in the area to be toured) and bus. Most of the local guides were very good with good english skills. The only area of concern was in our walking tour of Prague our guide walked too fast for some of our group that had mobility issues.

 

The cabins are very compact, with pullman style single beds. We were aware of this before we booked, but I expect it was a surprise to some of our fellow cruisers. The Elbe is a rather shallow river, and due to the shallow draft requirements, the two ships that Viking uses are designed to handle the shallow draft requirement, including the propulsion system that uses water jets, rather than propellers that could be damaged by grounding.

 

We were pleased with the food, though to be fair, we are not gourmets. Breakfast offered a buffet with a choice of juices, breads, cereals, and eggs and meats cooked to order delivered to your table. Lunch was a choice of soup/salad/sandwich in the lounge, or a buffet in the dining room. Dinner was a multi course table service with a choice of soup, appetizers, and entree.

 

We did not use the laundry service, so I can't comment on that.

 

We did take our laptop, and quickly learned that the internet access was spotty. It was OK when in the urban areas, but unavailable in the boondocks. We learned to plan to get on as we were entering or leaving a town. Internet was at no charge, if you had your own WIFI device. If you did not, you could rent a laptop.

[pacmom]

This is probably the best Viking cruise in Europe. We did it before the refreb and still loved it. A great feature is the chair lift to all decks, even the sundeck. Tours were very good--don't remember a lot of strenuous walking--would recommend a cane chair. They help with walking and give youa seat while listening to the guide in one spot. We never felt rushed. It is one of their best trips. Hope you are fortunate enough to have Christian as your CD. Pat

[Liat]

Thanks to both pacmon and jcrandle for their comments on the Elbe bRiver cruise. We have been in Hawaii, or we would have responded sooner. Your comments relieve us from some anxiety created by a rather negative review on this site.

[mavin]

Anyone going on this or have done it before? going with my sister, her husband and mine.

we are going on this trip in oct 2011 Is there anything you can tell us before the trip?

 

Booking air on our own.Much cheaper than Viking

[mavin]

We did the Elegant Elbe on the Clara Schumann in 2009. We will be happy to answer any questions. We had a wonderful voyage, and were very pleased with the ship, crew, and itinerary.

we are going on the same trip in oct 2011. Expect to go to Berlin 2 days before. Is there a big difference in the rooms?

We have been on many GCT river cruises so expect small accommodations.

Is the food very good?

[mavin]

We are cruising on Clara Schumann from Prague to Berlin in late August this year.

We would love to hear about:

Itinerary;

Ship provided tours;

Off tour suggestions at stops;

Food;

Cabins;

Laundry;

Internet access?

 

Thanks,

we are taking the same trip during oct 2011 any information you can tell us would be appreciated.we also are going on the same ship as you.

[crumamma]

we are going on this trip in oct 2011 Is there anything you can tell us before the trip?

 

Booking air on our own.Much cheaper than Viking

 

My sister and I are going on this cruise Oct 29-Nov 5, 2011. I am wondering what to expect with the weather. Has anyone taken this trip at this time of year? Are you able to sit out on the deck during the day?

Is the walking on tours strenuous for those with some mobility problems?