Viking Rhine Getaway - Our photo intensive review on the Viking Ingvi, Summer 2014

[cruisinskier]

We enjoyed our visit to Colmar and would recommend this to anyone looking to visit a bustling, quaint, scenic French town. While we were in Colmar, the Ingvi had started sailing towards Basel. Our bus met the boat at a dock along the way and the lady who had been injured earlier also was able to rejoin the ship here.

 

And we were off cruising again....

 

 

Just before dinner we were approaching another lock...

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

Tonight was our final dinner, The Captain's Dinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

They introduced all the staff....

 

 

Chef Minko

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

And a few deserts....

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

During dinner, we had arrived in Basel. There was one more surprise ahead for us this evening, although due to my pre-planning on these boards and Tripadvisor, I knew what was coming. Tomorrow was a national holiday in Switzerland, Swiss National Day (similar to Canada Day or Independence Day) and to celebrate, there would be fireworks tonight in Basel. And we were docked right where all of the locals were filling the banks of the river so we had a great location. We headed up to the sun deck and grabbed a table....

 

We felt this was a great opportunity to open the sparkling wine we had bought on the wine tour earlier in the week and had chilling in our cabin fridge.

 

 

Firework photos are always hard to capture but here are a few that turned out ok....there are lots you don't want to see....

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

A few more firework shots

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

Photos just don't capture the fireworks well so tonight I tried a video which I don't use too often. I am going to see if I can get this link to work.....apologize for the music but we found the sun deck was quiet all week and I had brought a portable Bose speaker and my Ipad and well, one thing led to another and we made our own little party up on the sundeck....

 

This gives you an idea of how good our docking location was!!!

 

 

 

After the fireworks, it was time to head to the cabin and pack our suitcases given our cruise was coming to an end in the morning.

Edited August 23, 2014 by cruisinskier

[banditoo]

Jerry

You have put so much work into sharing your photos and review for us. THANK YOU!!!!!

 

Jim, Thank you for filling in the part about the Black Forest trip too.

 

I am planning to do the Black Forest trip and the afternoon to Colmar. Colmar looks lovely. Jerry, you mentioned that you took the little train tour. How long was that, did you get on and off or was it continuous, how much time did you have to walk around Colmar after the train trip?

[cruisinskier]

Jerry

You have put so much work into sharing your photos and review for us. THANK YOU!!!!!

 

Jim, Thank you for filling in the part about the Black Forest trip too.

 

I am planning to do the Black Forest trip and the afternoon to Colmar. Colmar looks lovely. Jerry, you mentioned that you took the little train tour. How long was that, did you get on and off or was it continuous, how much time did you have to walk around Colmar after the train trip?

 

HI Betty. The tourist train tour was about 20 minutes and is included with the optional tour fare. If you decide to do it later on your own it was about 7E pp to ride. We then had over 2 hours of free time to explore Colmar which was perfect. Make sure you get to the "Little Venice" area which is where the canals run through the city.

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Today's Viking Daily was more of a sales pitch for future cruises. However unlike larger boats, you could stay on-board as long as you wanted today as long as you vacated your room by 9:00 am.

 

 

 

 

[Sparky333]

Just wanted to thank you again for all of your time and effort sharing your trip with us. I feel like I've been there and now I don't need to actually do that itinerary myself ;)

 

Actually it has truly whet my appetite and the Rhine Getaway is at the top of my wish list.

[rothbury]

Jerry, We can't thank you enough for all of the time and effort you have put into this thread. We have learned so much from not only your pictures but the dailies, menus and your narrative. We have been anticipating each and every new post as if we were on the cruise with you. I almost have withdrawal for knowing it's coming to a close!

 

We are doing this same trip as a Christmas Market cruise. I'm sure the difference in daylight hours will somewhat restrict our ability to see as much as you did. At least I'll know what lies out there in the darkness! :)

 

THANK YOU, VERY MUCH!!

[ANSalberg]

And I thank you too! We are doing our FIRST ever river cruise next Fall on Viking and YOUR marvelous photos have gotten me MORE than enthusiastic!

THANK you very very much! Anne

Edited August 23, 2014 by ANSalberg

[cruisinskier]

Well folks, this brings us to the point where our cruise was coming to an end. We still had travels ahead of us with 2 days in Lucerne, 1 day back in Basel, 5 days in Paris and then 1 night in Brussels before we returned home.

 

I will add some content from our post cruise adventures, especially Basel & Lucerne as these are of interest to most Rhine river cruisers.

 

Before we move on though, I think it is time to summarize our thoughts on this cruise.

 

PRO's

 

The Ingvi - it was a new boat, well laid out and had sufficient public areas (the sundeck could have been used for some sort of social activity)

 

Cabin - space was good for 2 of us, lots of storage, we used our balcony enough to warrant the cost, 3 plugs for chargers, etc (3 each of 110 & 220 so with adapters you could have 6 items plugged in without a power bar)

 

Staff - Every staff member we had interaction with was professional and we felt very well taken care of. I was a little worried going in given Viking has increased their fleet so quickly but the staff was fantastic.

 

Food - We enjoyed all meals, there was a good variety, and meals were well presented, food was hot, and not overly salted, etc. No complaints from any of the 6 of us at any meal.

 

Itinerary - We enjoyed the ports, the overall flow of the cruise and the time in ports was sufficient to see the highlights in each port. It is a busy week but was what we expected. There were no ports that I would change as each added something new.

 

Age Group - Overall I think the varying age group adds to a cruise. At 50 / 51, we were probably still on the lower side of the ages on this cruise. Having said that, there were some in their mid 30's and others into their 80's. Everyone we spoke with was friendly and most were well traveled. The majority of the guests were from North America which is typical with Viking.

 

 

CONS

 

From our perspective there were a few items that we felt could have been better. Remember, this is just our personal thoughts and others may think differently.

 

Speed of Tours - The tour guides were knowledgeable and the Quietvox units made the excursions easy to follow and interact. Overall we felt that the walking tours moved at too slow of a pace for us. We would have liked to cover more ground than we did. We are fairly active, independent and usually book our own shore excursions on the larger ships. Maybe we really just want more control to maximize our time. They had a "slower" group option for tours, had there been a "faster" group, we would have signed up.

 

Dining Room & Shorts - We knew going in that Viking was relaxed ("evening casual" as they put it) but, even after lots of time on these boards I did not expect that men would be wearing shorts to dinner each night. I know it was summer but personally I felt it took away from the ambiance of the dining room. So for those fretting about what to pack, apparently anything goes so don't worry about it. Maybe I just need to relax and go with the flow....

 

Space for Evening Updates - There is not enough room in the lounge when all of the guests are there at the same time. There are a large portion who end up standing as there just were not enough seats. About half way through the week we stopped going to the updates as we typically could not get a seat unless you were there well in advance.

 

Entertainment - Again, we knew going in that entertainment was limited given the size of the boat. I do think our piano player was sub-par and possibly a last minute fill-in as another name showed in the dailies a few times. Other than a couple of trivia nights, and the one night with the French signer, the lounge was very quiet after 9:00 pm. Even something as simple as playing some music on the sundeck would help but it was always quiet.

 

 

So, would we do another River Cruise??? Absolutely! But probably not for a few years...more because of other items on our bucket list than any other factor. We also did miss the variety that a larger ship offers more than we thought we would....the casino, the gym, the shows, etc. Overall, we had a great cruise, we enjoyed all the ports, we met some new friends, and we were pampered for a week. So for all of you with future cruises, you will have a great time!! Happy travels!

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Just wanted to thank you again for all of your time and effort sharing your trip with us. I feel like I've been there and now I don't need to actually do that itinerary myself ;)

 

Actually it has truly whet my appetite and the Rhine Getaway is at the top of my wish list.

 

Thanks Sparky. Glad you enjoyed our review and happy travels!

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Jerry, We can't thank you enough for all of the time and effort you have put into this thread. We have learned so much from not only your pictures but the dailies, menus and your narrative. We have been anticipating each and every new post as if we were on the cruise with you. I almost have withdrawal for knowing it's coming to a close!

 

We are doing this same trip as a Christmas Market cruise. I'm sure the difference in daylight hours will somewhat restrict our ability to see as much as you did. At least I'll know what lies out there in the darkness! :)

 

THANK YOU, VERY MUCH!!

 

Rothbury, thanks for your comments and glad I can assist in a small part with your planning. Have a great time enjoying the Christmas Markets and I look forward to reading your review!

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

And I thank you too! We are doing our FIRST ever river cruise next Fall on Viking and YOUR marvelous photos have gotten me MORE than enthusiastic!

THANK you very very much! Anne

 

Anne, thanks for following along and happy planning for your river cruise!

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Hi all, one more item you may be interested in. I was wearing a Fitbit which tracked our distance walked each day. This will vary for each person however this will give you an idea of what our days were like. Here is a breakdown of the distances we walked each day of the cruise:

 

July 25 - 6.74 miles (Amsterdam & Embarkation) - we did much more than this the prior 2 days in Amsterdam

July 26 - 4.09 miles (Kinderdijk)

July 27 - 9.17 miles (Cologne)

July 28 - 9.24 miles (Marksburg / Rudesheim)

July 29 - 8.59 miles (Heidelberg / Speyer)

July 30 - 9.05 miles (Strasbourg)

July 31 - 9.04 miles (Breisach / Colmar)

 

Total - 55.92 miles (or 90.0 km) over the 7 days.

 

So pack those comfy shoes!!!!

Jerry

[cherylakers]

Jerry

 

I do believe this is the best review I have ever read. We are booked to do Amsterdam to Budapest next year.

 

One question

 

 

The ear phone piece, does it fit over the ear or inside? I wear hearing aides so hopefully it fits over ear and can lay next to the ear. Did they have anything different for aide wearers?

 

Your pics were fabulous. This review has me so excited.

 

Thanks again for your time and effort.

 

Cheryl

[alexkrn46]

I agree such a wonderful review, thanks again.

[cruisinskier]

Jerry

 

I do believe this is the best review I have ever read. We are booked to do Amsterdam to Budapest next year.

 

One question

 

 

The ear phone piece, does it fit over the ear or inside? I wear hearing aides so hopefully it fits over ear and can lay next to the ear. Did they have anything different for aide wearers?

 

Your pics were fabulous. This review has me so excited.

 

Thanks again for your time and effort.

 

Cheryl

 

Cheryl, thanks for your kind words. There are lots of great reviews across CC (check out Gambee's review of Allure of the Seas http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1737751, the Preisman's site for any of their trips http://www.thepreismans.com/, or any of Mike & Tracy's Carnival Adventures) and there are so many, many more.

 

My goal was to take what we had learned and experienced and to show it in photos. Given the positive feedback from so many of you, I will call it successful but it truly was just to pay it forward in thanks for all those who helped us with our planning.

 

The earphone piece on the Quietvox did hook over the ear and hang against your ear so you should be fine.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review, thanks for following along and happy planning for your upcoming adventure! Don't forget to post a review ;)

 

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

I agree such a wonderful review, thanks again.

 

Thanks Alex and safe travels!

[Got2Cruise]

Bravo Jerry. Not only were your pics awesome but your memory too. I would love to see your Paris pictures. Hope you have the time to post them.

[cruisinskier]

Bravo Jerry. Not only were your pics awesome but your memory too. I would love to see your Paris pictures. Hope you have the time to post them.

 

Thanks Got2Cruise. I will post some of our post cruise adventures and include a few from Paris. Having said that, we spent a week in Paris last year doing all the touristy things. You can see those adventures here: http://bondfamilytravel.com/paris.html This year in Paris was more relaxed...

 

Which cruise are you looking at for the Greek Islands? That is a destination very high on our list and we are looking seriously at an Azamara cruise in 2015.

 

Happy planning and safe travels!

Jerry

[janetcbl]

After reading your incredible review, I have the same almost-sad feeling that I do after the end of one of my trips....but I have the Viking Rhine to look forward to in June 2015. Thanks to you, I have no more questions about the cruise! Thank you so much for all of your time and trouble to post this....it was amazing!