Review - Recent Viking Heimdal

[blueboro]

Since I did not find a lot of information on the board about this cruise, I wanted to post my review to hopefully give some general information/thoughts on our recent Viking Heimdal cruise in southern France. Would be glad to answer any questions.

 

This was our first river cruise after about 18 ocean cruises so a totally different experience. We traveled as a group of 6 adults (brothers and wives) and I can say it was a great cruise and look forward to other river cruises.

 

Itinerary: 7-Night Avignon to Lyon. Could not sail from Lyon to Macon on the 6th day due to concerns about water level so we took a bus from Lyon on our wine country trip. Not a big deal since we were going to return to Lyon anyway after the sail to Macon.

 

Embarkation: Arrived by train in Avignon and took short cab ride from train station to the ship...on board by 11:00 am. The cabin was ready and bags delivered so we immediately went to the buffet lunch.

 

Ship: The Heimdal is one of the Viking Longboats and we were very impressed with the layout and design of the ship. The verandah cabin was probably the best designed cabin we have experienced on any cruise liner. While slightly smaller, it was very well thought out with plenty of storage space and great lighting. The public areas like the dining room, lobby area and lounge were also very well thought out and comfortable. Did not spend as much time on the sun deck as expected as there are so many locks and bridges on the Rhone that it seemed to be closed during sailing times.

 

Service: The staff were all exceptional. With a small ship, you get to recognize and know much of the service staff and they were all very accommodating, cheerful and helpful.

 

Food and Drink: All of the dinner entrees were good to excellent. The Coq au Vin was especially good one evening. Breakfast and lunch were buffet with some items available from a menu. The special Provence Lunch was a nice offering one day. While the menu may not have as many choices as an ocean liner, there was still enough variety to make most people happy. Wine, beer and soft drinks were served at no cost during lunch and dinner (and Mimosa's at breakfast) and they kept the glasses full. I thought we would be experiencing a different wine each evening but the white wine never changed (Chardonnay) and 4 of the 7 nights the red was a merlot. But with being in wine country you can bring your own back on board to enjoy.

 

Shore Excursions: The fact that a tour is included in each port makes a river cruise much more inclusive than an ocean cruise. We had great guides in Arles, Viviers, Lyon, Vienne and for our Wine excursion. The wine tasting and subsequent bus ride thru vineyards was some amazing scenery.

 

Program Director: Our program director was Christine from England and she seemed to have clones...she was everywhere. I was impressed with the way everything was organized and the hard work she put in.

Entertainment: We knew not to expect much in the form of entertainment. We had a piano player/singer who had full computerized music background accompaniment who was enjoyable and quite a bit of dancing took place....even a conga line one evening. On one evening a group of local talent from Lyon performed and an accordion player was aboard another evening during dinner and drinks.

 

Debarkation: Even though we did not have Viking transfers, they took care of having a taxi reserved for us at 7:00 am to take us to the train station and even loaded our bags. Much different and so much easier than on an ocean cruise. Impressed with the extra service.

 

Conclusion: We had read that Viking was the "Ford or Chevy" of river cruises. Not sure if it was meant as a put down of Viking, but we were very impressed with everything on this cruise and definitely want to do another river cruise. And Viking delivered a really good product. One brother did miss the casino from large ships but we were mostly tired, full of food, and ready to rest up for the next day's adventure. 

[dolllover]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Glad you had a good time! Everyone I know that has used Viking had a great time as well and encouraged me to book a cruise with them. Because of my friends excellent experience we booked a Prague to Budapest cruise in 2017.

[jrkstl]

Thanks for the review! This is one of several Viking itineraries that we've looked at, so good to know :)

 

We too have always been impressed with Viking, and I don't really get the amount of criticism they receive regarding the cruise experience. I can certainly understand the complaints with customer service (at times) but we have found the staff, ships, food, excursions, etc. to be top notch.

 

We have booked our third Viking cruise for next year, so they obviously work for us.

 

Thanks again!

 

Jeff

[mimmy52]

Thanks for posting your review. I always like to read about other experiences on river cruises.

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

Hi Blueboro,

Lisa and Gary LoneStarCruisinCouple from Sugar Land, Texas

We are doing a similar cruise to you but not until next September 24,2017. We are booked with Scenic on what is called The Spectacular South of France ( Wine Country ) with Paris and Monte Carlo 17 days.

We ourselves I guess are one of those that doesn't care for Viking as like most was key word booked with them back in November of 2013 for a cruise that we took just last year.

Was in an Explorer Suite and anyway they wanted full payment 16 months prior to our cruise not the normal 90 days out plus and get this was $10,000 more expensive than that of Scenic which we were in The Royal Panorama Suite same location as Viking. Did the same itinerary and in fact was moored right next to us when we left Amsterdam.

All inclusive, Limo Transfers between Airports and hotels and ship both coming and going, Private Butler, 475 Sq. Ft. Of one of the most beautiful well laid cabins, mini bar stocked daily, and on and on.

Anyway my question is if you have any suggestions as to places that one should go and or visit would greatly appreciate.

All cruise lines have pluses and minuses and for us our choice with Scenic was unparalleled, with giving us an All Inclusive Top Notch cruise..

We are spending time in Paris and Monte Carlo but cruise from Chalon-sur-Saone to Tarascon.

Wishing You Smooth Sailings in the future.

Lisa and Gary

LoneStarCruisinCouple

 

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

[mtb242]

Thanks for your review. I just recently booked my first European river cruise on Viking (next autumn) and I am glad to hear your positive experiences.

[blueboro]

Hi Blueboro,

Lisa and Gary LoneStarCruisinCouple from Sugar Land, Texas

We are doing a similar cruise to you but not until next September 24,2017. We are booked with Scenic on what is called The Spectacular South of France ( Wine Country ) with Paris and Monte Carlo 17 days.

We ourselves I guess are one of those that doesn't care for Viking as like most was key word booked with them back in November of 2013 for a cruise that we took just last year.

Was in an Explorer Suite and anyway they wanted full payment 16 months prior to our cruise not the normal 90 days out plus and get this was $10,000 more expensive than that of Scenic which we were in The Royal Panorama Suite same location as Viking. Did the same itinerary and in fact was moored right next to us when we left Amsterdam.

All inclusive, Limo Transfers between Airports and hotels and ship both coming and going, Private Butler, 475 Sq. Ft. Of one of the most beautiful well laid cabins, mini bar stocked daily, and on and on.

Anyway my question is if you have any suggestions as to places that one should go and or visit would greatly appreciate.

All cruise lines have pluses and minuses and for us our choice with Scenic was unparalleled, with giving us an All Inclusive Top Notch cruise..

We are spending time in Paris and Monte Carlo but cruise from Chalon-sur-Saone to Tarascon.

Wishing You Smooth Sailings in the future.

Lisa and Gary

LoneStarCruisinCouple

 

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

 

 

We booked late, within 90-days of departure, so the full payment was expected. Regarding what to see, our itinerary included Avignon, Arles, Viviers, Tournon, Vienne, Lyon and we bused from Lyon to the Beaujolais wine region. We took all of the included tours and they were all excellent with mostly great guides. We did go to Pont du Gard Aqueduct near Avignon as an add-on and glad we did. The wine country tour scenery was spectacular. I can't remember the name of the chateau we visited where the winery was but it was exactly what I pictured a French winery to be like. We also really enjoyed our day in Arles, lots of history with Van Gogh painting many of his masterpieces there and the Roman amphitheater.

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

Hey Blueboro,

Appreciate the info.

By chance was your chateaux TouronCastle in their Wine Cave or possibly more popular would be Chateaunef-du-Pape at the Cotes du Rhone Vineyards?

We are sailing on the newly redesigned Scenic Sapphire as for 2017 they are adding a very innovative area and program called The Culinaire which shall be hosting French Chefs that shall be demonstrating not only Frech Cooking but also Wine Pairings and sampling along with those that wish to participate, also adding a Vitality Pool, and something that we are looking forward to is a new cabin categoey called the Royal Owners Suite.

Scenic called us as to see if we wanted the upgrade as we were in a Royal Panorama Suite once again and it was a tough decision but we shall see and make comparisons.

Where do you hail from and have you another cruise booked?

We are also booked with Scenics new currently under construction Ocean going Yacht The Eclipse for October 2018 for Cuba in Depth..

Oh our cabin last year was 475 Sq. Ft. this next one is 515.

Talk about roomy and luxurious..

 

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

[blueboro]

Hey Blueboro,

Appreciate the info.

By chance was your chateaux TouronCastle in their Wine Cave or possibly more popular would be Chateaunef-du-Pape at the Cotes du Rhone Vineyards?

We are sailing on the newly redesigned Scenic Sapphire as for 2017 they are adding a very innovative area and program called The Culinaire which shall be hosting French Chefs that shall be demonstrating not only Frech Cooking but also Wine Pairings and sampling along with those that wish to participate, also adding a Vitality Pool, and something that we are looking forward to is a new cabin categoey called the Royal Owners Suite.

Scenic called us as to see if we wanted the upgrade as we were in a Royal Panorama Suite once again and it was a tough decision but we shall see and make comparisons.

Where do you hail from and have you another cruise booked?

We are also booked with Scenics new currently under construction Ocean going Yacht The Eclipse for October 2018 for Cuba in Depth..

Oh our cabin last year was 475 Sq. Ft. this next one is 515.

Talk about roomy and luxurious..

 

Sent from my SM-G925P using Tapatalk

 

 

IIRC it was Chateau de Pierreclos. Those cabins sound great...maybe some day. We live near Nashville.

[Seahawk#12]

Thanks Blueboro for your review. Four of us will be taking the same cruise in October on the Delling with the same por stops. So excited now for my first river cruise.

[blueboro]

Thanks Blueboro for your review. Four of us will be taking the same cruise in October on the Delling with the same por stops. So excited now for my first river cruise.

 

We were "double docked" with the Delling one evening in Tournon Think you will enjoy this itinerary as we really enjoyed each stop. The only thing we disliked was the heat during the first couple of days of the cruise but I guess that is to be expected in August in Southern France. Fortunately we had a front come thru that cooled it off somewhat. Enjoy!

[Katjoy56]

We were on the Viking Delling in July. We loved our first Viking cruise! Our wine excursion was at chateau de ravatys. Our favorite excursion. We have found the river cruise to be a perfect fit for our travel lifestyle. [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[blueboro]

Thanks Blueboro for your review. Four of us will be taking the same cruise in October on the Delling with the same por stops. So excited now for my first river cruise.

 

Be sure to come back and let us know how it was.

[Redtravel]

Our first Viking cruise was on the Heimdel in March 2015. It was a superb trip. All aspects were excellent. George was our program director. He was over and above the best organized that we have met on any cruise or tour. He was everywhere making sure that everyone was okay. The tours were excellent. The pace was good. When there was a leisure(slower) group, we joined the group. When there were no disinctions in pace, the pace was fine. Even though I walk slowly, I never felt like I was slowing down the tour. The food was delicious. I especially enjoyed the french lunch with local foods. I learned a lot about french wine on that trip. Baeune was my favorite port. We also did the 3 nights in Paris extension. Everything, except the weather, was perfect.

[Rosethorn40]

Many thanks OP for posting your thoughts. We are doing this same cruise next October/November with the 3-day Pre-cruise extension in Paris.

 

I am not sure why anyone would call Viking the Ford or Chevy of River Cruising (And it is meant as a put-down). They do have their detractors on this board, and many of the detractors have never sailed with them, but our two experiences were very good. Of course we have never had the experience of missing cruising on the river with too high or too low water levels (a big complaint), and the full-payment a year in advance? I found that a phone call asking for an extension is no problem. We are already thinking about 2018, and just waiting for the itineraries to be released so we can book (Thinking maybe the Rhine; Amsterdam to Basel).

[Farnoosh]

Thank you for the information. We are looking forward to the same itinerary on the Heimdal in November.

[JanandRay]

Thank you for the great review. I've read of others picking an optional excursion to a goat cheese farm - was that an available option to chose from?

[CPT Trips]

Good to read that you noted your trip. We do a similar, 10 day itinerary on a different line leaving in four weeks. If you ate any meals ashore, could you share restaurant names?

[blueboro]

Thank you for the great review. I've read of others picking an optional excursion to a goat cheese farm - was that an available option to chose from?

 

They did offer this optional tour but we did not take it. The only optional tour we did was to Pont du Gard.

[blueboro]

Good to read that you noted your trip. We do a similar, 10 day itinerary on a different line leaving in four weeks. If you ate any meals ashore, could you share restaurant names?

 

We did not eat any meals ashore, other than a snack or drink. We found the food on the ship to be very good, although somewhat repetitive for breakfast and lunch.