Viking Sun Rhine Getaway review August 2014

[SoccerMom#3]

I'm loving your review and the pictures. Thanks for all the info. Since I tend to overpack, looking at the pictures, is giving me an idea of what folks wear for touring as well as for meals.

[mimmy52]

SoccerMon, I would just advise to bring a jacket. The sun was shining most of our time on the ship, but on the top deck, especially when the ship was moving, it was chilly. I'm not sure I would have brought a jacket if I hadn't planned to visit a mountain when I was in Lucerne. After all, it was August! A lot of people packed mostly shorts. The ones I talked to said one day they wore their shorts. Viking does provide blankets for you on the top deck.

[banditoo]

SoccerMon, I would just advise to bring a jacket. The sun was shining most of our time on the ship, but on the top deck, especially when the ship was moving, it was chilly. I'm not sure I would have brought a jacket if I hadn't planned to visit a mountain when I was in Lucerne. After all, it was August! A lot of people packed mostly shorts. The ones I talked to said one day they wore their shorts. Viking does provide blankets for you on the top deck.

Very helpful to know Mimmy as we will be doing this next August. I will pack layers.

[SoccerMom#3]

SoccerMon, I would just advise to bring a jacket. The sun was shining most of our time on the ship, but on the top deck, especially when the ship was moving, it was chilly. I'm not sure I would have brought a jacket if I hadn't planned to visit a mountain when I was in Lucerne. After all, it was August! A lot of people packed mostly shorts. The ones I talked to said one day they wore their shorts. Viking does provide blankets for you on the top deck.

 

Thanks for the advice. We're traveling in April so my guess is that I will need a jacket and layers.

 

Elise

[ReneeFLL]

Great review and photos.

[mimmy52]

My first two days in Lucerne, it rained off and on. Sunday (August 17) dawned bright and sunny and stayed that way. The automatic shades on the Radisson Blu's windows surprised me. I hadn't noticed they were there.

 

 

 

I signed up for Viking's optional excursion to Mt. Titlis. I'd thought about seeing Mt. Rigi on my own, but knew I'd be worried about getting back to the hotel in time for the transfer to the ship. I enjoyed seeing the countryside.

[mimmy52]

 

I'm having so much trouble getting a good connection with Photobucket that I'll have to come back later.

[mimmy52]

Thanks Renee and Mike. It's always good to know someone is following along.

[Got2Cruise]

I'm following too! It is wonderful! And I fully "feel" your frustration with the

photobucket thing. CC needs to get with the year 2014 as far as posting pics on blogs. I can't wait to read your next installment.

[mimmy52]

Thanks, Got2cruise. I think the problem was with Photobucket, not CC, but maybe the problem was me.

[mimmy52]

We were driven to Engelberg (Angel Mountain) and our first stop was at a cheese-making shop in a monastery where there are no longer any monks. The cheese maker explained how adding different bacteria produced different cheeses while another cheese maker demonstrated.

 

 

And here he demonstrates cutting the cheese. (I think I was the only one who snickered.)

 

Cheese was made in a bowl with volunteer assistance.

[mimmy52]

We bundled back on the bus for the few blocks drive to the Mt. Titlis entrance.

 

Do I really want to ride on one of those?

 

Going up. In a six passenger gondola.

 

Then we transferred to a larger cable car. No seating and everyone smooshed in.

[mimmy52]

I think the ski lift next to us gives a better idea of how steep the ascent is.

 

Finally we transferred to yet another cable car, the Rotair. We're packed in again. This one rotates, fortunately a slow rotation. The window near me was scratched, so my photo isn't very good.

 

It rotated to a better window.

 

[mimmy52]

Each time we had to transfer to a different cable car meant another long line. After days of rain, everyone is visiting the mountains. But after much pushing and shoving and elbows and being squeezed into cable cars, we arrived at the top.

 

It was spectacular.

 

 

Because it took so long to make the ascent, we only had 40 minutes to spend at the top. No time to walk to the farther lookout point.

[mimmy52]

But we did have time to visit the Glacier Cave.

 

 

It was nearing 2:00, we'd had no lunch, and dinner wasn't until 7:00 in the evening on the ship. A few of us ventured into the cafeteria.

 

There are wrapped sandwiches but nothing else that could be a takeaway. I had time to eat half my sandwich before we had to meet up with our guide for the trip down.

 

Inside the Rotair for the first stage downward.

[mimmy52]

 

The descent was as interesting as the ascent.

 

There's a whole new load of passengers waiting to board.

 

And then we're back on the smaller gondola. We passed a lot of cows on this leg, all with the big bells around their necks so they can be found in the fog.

[banditoo]

Mimmy

Great to see your pictures and description of the Mt. Titlus trip. A great comparison to other reviews that have shown Pilatus or Rigi. Titlus looks like it has a lot more snow. Now I will have to do more research to decide between them as we plan on doing one on our day trip to Lucerne. How long did the full trip take up the mountain and back down?

[mimmy52]

Back to the bus. Switzerland is so beautiful!

 

We had about 15 minutes at the hotel before we transferred to another bus for the trip to the ship. We'd checked out of the hotel this morning before we left. Because we were going to Breisach instead of Basel, our transfer will take about an hour longer. I really wanted to press the red button to see if I'd get a drink delivered.

 

We were just nearing Breisach, when a woman behind me was sick on the bus. Fortunately, our Viking transfer rep had been observant. He'd already brought her a plastic bag.

 

The Viking Sun program director, Ria, boarded the bus and asked everyone to stay on until they got the sick lady into her cabin. So we did, and they did.

[mimmy52]

Betty, I didn't think to time it. It took quite a while because each time we caught a different cable car, there was another long line to wait through. Our guide seemed to think the day we went had an exceptionally large crowd because of the good weather, but I have no way of knowing. You'd also have to factor in the longer time it takes to get to Engelberg, which might be why more people visit Rigi or Pilatus. If you're only doing a day trip to Lucerne, I think one of the closer mountains would be better.

[banditoo]

Betty, I didn't think to time it. It took quite a while because each time we caught a different cable car, there was another long line to wait through. Our guide seemed to think the day we went had an exceptionally large crowd because of the good weather, but I have no way of knowing. You'd also have to factor in the longer time it takes to get to Engelberg, which might be why more people visit Rigi or Pilatus. If you're only doing a day trip to Lucerne, I think one of the closer mountains would be better.

Thanks Mimmy. I have been leaning toward Pilatus because of the access from Lucerne and also the boat trip as part of it. We have lots of glaciers here in our part of the world so it is more a Swiss Alpine experience and views that I am looking for, not necessarily snow and ice.

[mimmy52]

And, finally, here is the Viking Sun.

 

I was pleased with my room (232).

 

Plenty of storage space, drawers, cabinets, closet, safe. I only saw European electrical outlets. There was a hair dryer in the drawer and if you forgot your converter, you could get a curling iron at reception.

 

Bathroom with a cabinet and a shelf under the basin.

[mimmy52]

The view from my room.

 

The corridor

I was on the same deck as the restaurant but at the opposite end. When I made my reservation, I was told we got the last room in that category.

 

Reception

 

The lounge

[mimmy52]

The bar in the lounge

 

The coffee/tea/snack station

 

The lobby with stairs to the lounge

 

Program director Ria (who is a gem) gathered us in the lounge at 7:00 for orientation. There are 189 passengers on board. She told us what to expect during the week and specifically what would happen tomorrow.

[mimmy52]

At 7:30 it was time to move downstairs for dinner. Every evening we were presented with an amuse bouche, tonight it was a chicken wing. I don't eat meat so I passed, but a minute later the server brought me some olives. If you are a vegetarian, be sure to let Viking know ahead of time. I'm not, (I eat fish) and from reading cruisecritic I thought I'd be fine, but there were a couple of lunches where I wished I'd said something beforehand.

 

For every meal there was an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. I tried to take pictures of my food, but at first I'd be half finished with a course before I remembered. My picture of the appetizer is an almost empty dish, and I can't remember what it was. I order salmon, which was a regular feature. It came with three sauces and was delicious.

 

 

And New York style cheesecake for dessert.

 

The woman who was sick on the bus decided she couldn't continue with the cruise and left by ambulance for the hospital.

 

And by the end of the cruise I'd learned that the youngest passenger on board was 32 and the oldest 95.

[MinotLight]

Mimmy-really enjoying your report! Great photos. I'm booked on the Viking Legend next April with a friend doing the Danube Waltz. I liked seeing your bed setup as we too will have twins. I think the Sun is very similar to the Legend.

Edited September 2, 2014 by MinotLight