Viking Sky-April 13, 2006: Windmills and Tulips

[Bill S]

We booked this cruise today--our first river cruise! :) Anyone else going?

Any feedback about the Viking Sky and/or the itinerary would be welomed and appreciated!

[Bill S]

Just bumping this up the list to see if anyone else is on this cruise or has anything to report on the Viking Sky!

[Bill S]

Well, our TA says that our docs will be here this week and we depart for Amsterdam on April 11--still no one else going on this adventure?

[Bill S]

Our docs for our Viking River Cruise arrived today, one week before we leave! I am impressed with the packaging and the contents: a box with a magnetic closure flap, our vouchers, 2 booklets about the history of the cities and countries we will be visiting; 2 booklets about what to bring, how to get from the airport to the ship dock, etc., cruise line tags for the porters, 2 nice, bright red, leather luggage tags and 2 very nice cordura travel pouches for all our docs, passports, etc. A very nice package which creates a positive impression about Viking! Picture is here:

[Jancruz]

Please post a review of Viking when you return..we will be watching for it..

Jan

*****

[alys]

We are leaving on the Viking Sun on April 26.

Guess I will not have a chance to read your review before we leave.

Have a good trip.

Glad to hear the Doc came.....we are waiting for ours.

Barb

[Bill S]

I will try to post a short review on April 23, jet lag and unpacking permitting!

[Jancruz]

Thanks Bill, even the 24th would be great :-)

It seems we talk about everyones cruise before they leave and never hear how they liked it or how the ship was!!

Jan

*****

[Bill S]

We had a great Tulips and Windmills cruise on the Viking Sky! Just a quick overview:

In most respects the Viking Sky was a pleasant surpise-it is a clean and modern ship. The crew was great and the itinerary was well thought out for the most part.

We had really good weather for the most part, with only one rainy day. Temperatures were in the high fifties except for the our last day when we had a 70-degree day at Keukenhof Gardens, where the tulips WERE in bloom.

The cuisine was very good, in some instances, really excellent. The soups, appetizers and desserts were consistently excellent. The quality exceeded my expectations. On 2 evenings, neither main course offering appealed to me but Viking always has Caesar Salad, minute steak or baked chicken available alternates.

Dress is very casual except for the Captain's Reception and Farewell evenings, when it is a bit more dressy.

The excursions, included in the cruise fare, were all very good. They all involved A LOT of walking over a lot of cobblestone streets and walks.

We would definitely consider another Viking river cruise for an itinerary which interests us. I will be glad to answer any questions!

[muzzy 10]

Hi Bill, I have been awaiting your return. I am so glad that the Sky seemed to have their act together and that you had such a good time. It really is a good itinerary; your 70 degree day in the gardens was a terrific plus. Also sounds like the chef was better on the sky since the menus are standard ship to ship. Question: Where the ship docked after the Palais Het Loo tour were there complaints of loud banging noises from the Passangers? On our trip it sounded like WW2 and the captain said the river bottom was shallow, the sound was the ship banging against the bottom every time any thing in the river caused a wake; claimed it couldn't be helped. Also.... if you liked this itinerary, try the Danube explorer, a very scenic trip.

[Venturagirl]

Hi, Bill,

 

I'm so delighted to hear you enjoyed your cruise, and especially that you enjoyed the Viking cuisine.

 

Could you describe what the first two days in Amsterdam were like? On embarkation day, when did you board the ship and what did you do with your time that day? On the next day in Amsterdam, how was the canal cruise and how much time did you spend in the Rijksmuseum? How much additional free time was there and what did you do?

 

I'm sure you are very tired and need to get some things done at home. I'm not leaving for my trip until June, so I will be happy to wait patiently for your reply!!! Thanks so much for posting!:)

[Bill S]

Ventura Girl: glad to reply-I do need to stay awake a while longer tonight to get back into "synch", so your query comes at a good time!

We arrived in Amsterdam a day before embarkation day and as we had been to Amsterdam last summer before an ocean cruise, we had some definitive ideas as to what we wanted to do on embarkation day.

We checked out of our hotel about 9 AM and took a taxi to the ship (which was docked between Central Station and the cruise ship pier). We were able to leave our luggage on the Viking Sky--you cannot actually "check-in"/formally embark until the afternoon. We then "hoofed-it" over to Central Station and took a train to Delft---had a nice tour of the Royal Delft factory and took in the market in the square--then back to Amsterdam. We checked in on the Viking Sky at about 4:30. The morning we disembarked, new passengers were arriving before 9AM! They could either stay on-board in the lounge or leave to sight-see just as we did the week before. Viking asks you to be on-board by 6:30 for a welcome talk and dinner begins at 7pm.

The next morning we had a canal tour which ended at the Rijksmuseum. We had about 2.5 hours there. You can elect to either return to the ship with the tour for lunch or depart the tour and stay at the museum, visit the Van Gogh museum or do other sight seeing on your own. The staff just asked that we let them know if we were not returning with them. We opted to walk back to the ship on our own, strolling up one of the main shopping streets in Amsterdam. That night, after dinner, we took another stroll with about 6 other people through the Red Light District. The ship did not depart until late that night or early in the morning.

Stated another way, we had a lot of flexibility in Amsterdam, and in reality, at most other cities where we were docked. At most stops, we were given a lot of free time to explore on our own. The cruise manager provided us with street maps for each city where we docked. We did a lot of walking!

Hope this wasn't too long and helps you a bit!

[Twice_a_year]

Fine report. Thanks for the info.

[Venturagirl]

Bill,

 

Your info is exactly on target. Thanks so much for replying. I noticed from your remarks on another board that you will be doing a trip report and I look forward to that, even though your itinerary is completely different from mine. River cruising seems like such a perfect way to travel and I am soaking up everyone's experiences and having fun planning for our trip.

 

By the way, my husband is in Vegas as I write, attending the NAB, and my son and his girlfriend live and work there. Viva Las Vegas!:D

[rocconoah]

We are planning a river cruise and was wondering how close to the main part of the city does the ship dock. Understand some cruise ships dock right in the heart of the city.

[Bill S]

rocconoah: Let's see, that is mostly correct. The only places we stopped where it was a real long walk to the city or sights were Antwerp, Vissigen/Middleburg and Rotterdam. At all other places, Amsterdam, Hoorn, Volendam, Arnhem, and Nijmegan, we were docked very convenient to the city center or sights. Even so, we did a lot of walking. We enjoyed being so close to the cities and sights.