Newbie Questions

[Lilycat2010]

Hello!

 

I'm a fairly frequent ocean cruiser and an 'on my own' European traveler. Taking my first river cruise with my DH leaving August 31 with Viking on their Romantic Danube cruise. So excited!

 

I'm mid-40s, DH is early 50s. We love a combination of touring and relaxation and hope to get that on this vacation.

 

A few probably stupid questions...

 

1. How much 'on your own' planning is necessary for each town/stop? I know Viking offers a daily excursion/tour. And they offer some up charge excursions. It sounds like these are a couple of hours at most? Does the ship staff offer suggestions of things to do on your own? Do you read up with guide books ahead of time? I'm normally a serious planner, but I just haven't had the time prior to this trip and I'm hoping it doesn't bite me.

 

2. Viking's website isn't super helpful. Will they send me pre-trip documents? Do I need to go seeking these?

 

3. I'm reading how the Danube river levels are an issue. At what point would Viking let us know about any changes to our itinerary? I sure hope our very first river cruise doesn't turn into something else.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

[gentlemancruiser]

Hello!

 

I'm a fairly frequent ocean cruiser and an 'on my own' European traveler. Taking my first river cruise with my DH leaving August 31 with Viking on their Romantic Danube cruise. So excited!

 

I'm mid-40s, DH is early 50s. We love a combination of touring and relaxation and hope to get that on this vacation.

 

A few probably stupid questions...

 

1. How much 'on your own' planning is necessary for each town/stop? I know Viking offers a daily excursion/tour. And they offer some up charge excursions. It sounds like these are a couple of hours at most? Does the ship staff offer suggestions of things to do on your own? Do you read up with guide books ahead of time? I'm normally a serious planner, but I just haven't had the time prior to this trip and I'm hoping it doesn't bite me.

 

2. Viking's website isn't super helpful. Will they send me pre-trip documents? Do I need to go seeking these?

 

3. I'm reading how the Danube river levels are an issue. At what point would Viking let us know about any changes to our itinerary? I sure hope our very first river cruise doesn't turn into something else.

 

Thanks for any feedback!

 

1. The tours provided by the cruise lines are usually good orientation tours, most passengers take them. If you want to do more in-depth tours you should do some research on your own, I wouldn't rely upon the ships staff or cruise director. Their time is limited.

 

2. Docs should be out 2-3 weeks before sailing just like ocean cruising

 

3. The rivers change daily and your trip is still a fairly long ways off(in terms of river cruising). You probably won't know about any problems or changes until your onboard! It's usually last minute, however the cruise lines are prepared for these things and should handle them well.

I've not sailed with Viking but we had a problem with a lock on the Danube on our Avalon cruise last year and it was handled as best they could. We were disappointed but we were given options and alternate arrangements were made.

Edited July 21, 2015 by gentlemancruiser
spelling

[theremin]

My wife & I took the longer version of this cruise in 2012. I'm not sure of which direction you're sailing (both have 31 Aug departures). The following items relate to the same numbers in your original post:

1. It is always better to look up your trip ports just to make sure you aren't missing something important to you. However, on this particular section of the river, Viking has done a pretty good job between the included and optional excursions. If you have the time, I would study up on Budapest and Vienna since they are the most vibrant & varied cities of those visited.

2. Viking should send you documents ~2 wks prior to departure. You shouldn't have to seek them out. Although some of the optional excursions may be identified in these documents, I would expect to learn of others while on-board. If there is an option for Rothenburg, I heartily recommend it.

3. Don't know what to tell you about the river levels. When Mother Nature decides to throw her weight around, we're all pretty defenseless. I recommend you just keep monitoring various sources (cruise critic included). One site that may prove helpful is "http://rivercruiseinfo.com/content/river-levels". Pay particular attention to the twitter updates on the right portion of the window.

NOTE: Given the ages you list, if Viking offers a choice of tour-type always take the "active" tour unless you have mobility challenges. The active tour is never THAT active :D

[Hoyaheel]

My husband and I did our first river cruise in December. I'm a planner and love to research for trips (which is one big reason I won't be river cruising again in the near future) We researched each port - mainly because my husband is a homebrewer and one reason we chose the itinerary we did was so he could try various local German beers -so we mapped out options in different ports where we could find pubs etc. And markets to buy beer to bring on board (because we booked Avalon in part because of the mini-fridge in the cabin).

 

In my opinion, there is no downside to doing the research. You don't need to plan a private tour (unless you want) but I always like to know what my options are in any given location.

[Sharra13]

I'll be ending my Romantic Danube trip the same day you start yours! We just got our documents from Viking through my TA on Friday. So I'm guessing you'll get yours at the end of this week. :)

[Got2Cruise]

We have always found the guides on the River Cruises to be very helpful. After the tour there is usually free time and they give you directions to places of interest beyond the tour

[CPT Trips]

If you have enough free time it will pay to do a web search on tourism in each town you will visit. Maybe even a quick look at TripAdvisor. You can get an idea of what you might want to explore more in-depth.

[Lilycat2010]

Thanks for taking the time and giving some good feedback.

 

Some of these cities I've visited before and some I haven't. All are new to my DH. Good to know this part of the Danube is well covered by Viking. Reading the itinerary, it does sound like they have the hot spots covered from a touring standpoint.

 

We leave from Budapest. We are doing a DIY few days in Prague at the end. That, I've been researching! :)

 

Thanks again! We are really looking forward to our trip.