Whichexcursions are included on Viking River Cruise?

[Sun Lover]

I'm looking into possibly booking a Viking River Cruise in Europe.  On the itinerary when I pull up the individual days, each day has an excursion that has "Included" in the upper left-hand corner and then it also lists other excursions and also some say "Privileged Access," which I don't know what that means.  Are all the excursion choices included without extra cost?  When I click on the ones that do not say "Included" on them, there is no price listed.

[Peregrina651]

Only the ones marked included are included in your cruise fare.

 

Everything else is a paid excursion. Prices are not given on the website; they will be given on the guest interface known as MyVikingJourney (MVJ) when shorex booking opens for your cruise. Access to MVJ is available only when you have an open booking with Viking and is where you go to learn more about your itinerary, book your excursions (including the included ones), pre-pay your gratuities if you wish, etc.

 

Privileged Access means that they have arranged some sort of special access either out of hours or to some place that is not normally open to visitors.

 

Also note that not every excursion shown on the individual day will be offered on every sailing. The "port" pages are generic and are used for all itineraries that call at that port. The final selection of shorex for your sailing will be available on MVJ when booking opens.

 

 

[Sun Lover]

Thanks so much.  Your information is very helpful.  I've only been on ocean cruises and know absolutely nothing about river cruises so any advice I can get is much appreciated.

[LeRenardrouge]

Our experience on Viking River cruises is that their included excursions are very good and make good use of the time.  The optional excursions are usually to give an added cultural experience such as a concert, special winery tour and tasting, or special interest foodie excursion, in addition to the included excursion.  In general, their prices for optionals are reasonable.  The offered excursions tend to be offered on all the cruises versus what can happen on the ocean cruises.  Occasionally because a particular excursion might fall on a Sunday or holiday on a sailing, it could mean it may not be available on a specific sailing.  

 

I think the included excursions on their Ocean cruises are not as good but it does depend somewhat on the location.  If you are in port for say the whole day, if the included excursion is only a couple of hours, we normally opt for an optional that is most of the day or find an optional which can be done in addition to the included.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by LeRenardrouge

[Sun Lover]

Thanks for the information.  Have you had good experiences on the Viking River cruises?  They seem to be highly recommended but I'm wondering how they compare to the others.

[sharkster77]

@Sun Lover my advice is to read these boards and soak in as much as you can.  I got interested in river cruises 3yrs ago, but life kept me from booking until last year.  I sail in 3 weeks, and I feel that these threads gave me a PhD education in river cruising!

 

You will learn quickly that ocean and river cruises have just about NOTHING in common:  ~170 passengers (not thousands), one dining venue, everyone dines at once, casual dress for dinner, no casino, probably no pool or exercise room, nobody trying to sell you something every 10 minutes, no annoying photographers, no climbing walls, very low key evening entertainment, etc.  We were drawn to river cruising because I think ocean cruising would annoy the hell out of me.

 

We booked with Viking, but read the other boards as well--there are several other cruise lines that are very good.  Viking had what we wanted for the Rhine, for example, but I would NEVER book Viking for the Seine--they aren't allowed to dock in Paris proper--passengers have to be bussed in to the city center (~1 hr due to traffic).  Without these boards I would NEVER know this.

[Peregrina651]

13 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

casual dress for dinner, no casino, probably no pool or exercise room, nobody trying to sell you something every 10 minutes, no annoying photographers, no climbing walls, very low key evening entertainment, etc

 

You have described Viking Ocean. IMHO, Viking has done a wonderful job of translating its river experience into a comparable ocean experience -- no casinos, no children, no photographers, no nickel and dime-ing, no flaming desserts or frou-frou umbrella drinks, port intensive, casual, no butlers, no white gloves. Your ship is not your destination; it is just your floating hotel taking you from one interesting port to the next. 

 

27 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

but I would NEVER book Viking for the Seine--they aren't allowed to dock in Paris proper--passengers have to be bussed in to the city center (~1 hr due to traffic).  Without these boards I would NEVER know this.

 

This is no longer true. Starting in 2020, Viking will have cruises that will be docking in Central Paris. By the end of the season, 3 of 5 ships that Viking will operate on the Seine will dock in central Paris.The new ships are shorter to conform with the port authority regulations. Cruises docking in central Paris will also be more expensive than those docking in Le Pecq.

 

From the Viking website:

Note: The Paris port authority assigned Viking Kadlin and Viking Rinda a docking location in Le Pecq, a western suburb of Paris. To help maximize your time in the city center, we are offering complimentary shuttles for Viking guests throughout your stay. Viking Kari, Viking Radgrid and Viking Skaga will dock at Port de Grenelle in central Paris.

 

 

[Sun Lover]

Are most of the Viking ships about the same as far as the onboard amenities, food, accommodations, etc?

[sharkster77]

3 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

Are most of the Viking ships about the same as far as the onboard amenities, food, accommodations, etc?

The longships are identical, which makes the ship swaps in the case of low water manageable--one gets the exact same cabin as before, the lounge, dining room, etc are all in the same locations, same minimalist Scandinavian décor, etc.

 

On the Douro and in Russia, China, and SE Asia, the ships are very different.  On the Rhine, Danube, Moselle, Seine, they are identical (except for the new "smaller" longships Peregrina mentions above.

Edited September 5, 2019 by sharkster77

[sharkster77]

@Peregrina651 (greetings to a fellow Bostonian, BTW!),  I agree that Viking's adaptation of their river cruise model to the ocean is intriguing.  I was drawn to river cruising because of the aforementioned things on ocean liners that I would find annoying.  But Viking has me interested in ocean cruising!  The itinerary that circles the British Isles is on my radar.

 

I had heard about Viking's smaller longships being built for the Seine, but the increase in price for that privilege would lead me to price-shop other lines more closely to be sure the surcharge doesn't make other lines a better value.

[Moonlion]

 

12 hours ago, Sun Lover said:

Have you had good experiences on the Viking River cruises?  They seem to be highly recommended but I'm wondering how they compare to the others.

 

Hi Sun Lover, we've been on two Viking rivers cruises now, the Danube Waltz (Budapest to Passau on the Legend) last summer and the Cities of Light cruisetour (Prague to Paris on the longship Alsvin) this summer.  We enjoyed our Danube Waltz cruise so much that we immediately booked another Viking river cruise when we got home; just got back from Cities of Light and had a great time again!  I should note that, on both cruises, were were fortunate not to experience water level issues or other problems (broken locks, mechanical breakdowns) that can turn a cruise into a bus tour.  

 

We haven't tried any other river cruise lines to compare, and there may be other lines that fit your needs and expectations better than Viking would.  I would suggest that you read through the "stickies" on this forum comparing the different lines.  Also, google "river cruise line comparisons" to get a feel for what the different lines offer; for example, here is an article I found helpful: https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/river-cruise-reviews/europe-river-cruise-reviews/europe-river-cruise-reviews-cruise-operator/. From my research, Viking is not the most luxurious or all-inclusive (or expensive) river cruise line but, for the price we paid which included air, we have been very happy with what Viking offers. Also, on both our cruises, there have been many "repeat Viking customers," some who have sailed with Viking multiple times and are happy with the product.  I would say that Viking compares with a top-brand Marriott or Hilton hotel that gets 4+ stars - comfortable, great service, very good to excellent food and excursions at a "reasonable" price.  However, it's not going to be the Ritz Carlton of cruise lines.  For example, if you want a truly gourmet meal experience every night or all-inclusive luxury, you may want to look into other lines.   Have fun planning!   

[3rdCoastFan]

I'd like to echo the suggestion to review the comparison stickies in this forum. Viking has a great PR team and I had no idea there were so many options for river cruises until I started to read posts here in advance of my Viking cruise last spring. I don't regret sailing on Viking in the least - the price was right given what we were looking for and with the air fare deal we secured. 

 

As far as optional excursions, prices varied on my Rhine cruise last April. Dinners in a particular town were around $100/person. Daytime tours may have been $50-75/person. An all-day excursion - like the Alsatian food/wine in Strasbourg - was close to $200/person. Once you select a line and specific cruise, you may want to read through 'roll call' threads from past years to get more feedback on specific excursions. You can sign up ahead of time - or wait until you're on the boat. You may find that some are sold out if you wait that long, though. The 'included' excursions never sell out (at least on Viking cruises). 

 

The included excursions were generally good on my Rhine cruise. At times, the boat would make a brief stop early in the morning so that everyone could board buses. We would then ride to the port town and do our tour while our boat continued to sail. Other times, and I'm thinking of Strasbourg, in particular, you get a lengthy bus ride before getting dropped off outside the city center. Strasbourg does not permit buses to enter the city center so that's not anything Viking can control - but, point being, if you're expecting every port stop to be smack dab in the middle of a town, you should re-calibrate your expectations. 

 

As far as Viking ships, there are two "prestige" class ships on the Danube - the Viking Legend and Viking Prestige. I'm sure these are fine but if you pick a cruise on the Danube, I would prioritize a cruise on one of the Longships. 

Edited September 5, 2019 by 3rdCoastFan

[Moonlion]

2 hours ago, 3rdCoastFan said:

As far as Viking ships, there are two "prestige" class ships on the Danube - the Viking Legend and Viking Prestige. I'm sure these are fine but if you pick a cruise on the Danube, I would prioritize a cruise on one of the Longships. 

We've sailed both, the Legend and the Longship Alsvin, so I can provide a head-to-head comparison of our experience:

 

Pros of Legend compared to Longship: it's priced a little cheaper than the Longships for a given itinerary; French balcony staterooms are larger than on a Longship (170 versus 135 sq ft); service was outstanding (we sat at the same table every night for dinner because our waiters were so attentive, efficient and friendly - they became our new "best friends" 😃 by the end of the cruise!); food was a little better on the Legend compared to the Alsvin, although the food quality on both was overall very good to excellent.  

 

Cons of the Legend: older ship that seemed a little worn in places (e.g., carpets, upholstery) and I've heard reports of mechanical or AC breakdowns that can affect the quality of the cruise; decor definitely not as attractive as on a Longship; the Legend and Prestige ships do not offer balcony cabins (only French Balconies) and do not have the Aquavit Terrace (which we really enjoyed on the Alsvin Longship!).

 

Everything else seemed about equal in terms of the quality of the excursions and tour guides, Program Director, cabin stewards, etc. 

[Sun Lover]

What do you mean by "stickies?"  I'm not sure where to look to compare the different river cruise lines.  Viking is having an anniversary sale until the end of Sept.  Does anyone know if their sales prices for that are really good?  If they are, I'd like to try to book something by the end of the month.  Also, for a first time river cruise, we were thinking of booking the 8 day Rhine trip in late August/early Sept. of 2020.  Do you think that's a good choice for our first river cruise?  Thanks.

[sharkster77]

@Sun Loverm if you're not sure if river cruising will be your cup of tea, then the Rhine is an excellent choice.  Shorter cruise, has good mixture of ports and scenic cruising.  If you LOVE the experience, then there are longer cruises available for the future.

 

RE: the "stickies":  at the top of the river cruising forum there are a bunch of threads with a padlock next to them--these are the introductory threads or stickies, as they are locked in at the top of the page.

Edited September 8, 2019 by sharkster77

[Sun Lover]

Thank you!  I'll definitely check into that.

[Moonlion]

Hi Sun Lover, the only way to know whether a "sale price" is truly good is to compare with the other cruise line prices offering the same itinerary, along with all the amenities (air, gratuities, etc.).  For example, Viking sometimes offers a "2 for 1 sale" but not sure if that is really much of a savings.  I find it helpful to price out the different cruise line prices and try to compare "apples to apples" as much as possible. 

Edited September 8, 2019 by Moonlion

[Peregrina651]

38 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Viking sometimes offers a "2 for 1 sale"

 

That used to be the standard way that they listed their prices (in other words, not really a sale price but just window dressing to make their standard pricing sound better) but as of a few months ago they have abandoned that practice.

[hawkeye65]

We took the 14-day Rhine/Main/Danube cruise (Grand European?) in 2017. We were very impressed by the quality of the guides of the included excursions. Mostly graduate students and university professors. Way above our expectations.

 

Anecdote: we had a university professor for our Cologne tour. (Outstanding. If we could, we would have packed him up and taken him with us for the rest of the cruise.)  We were walking around the cathedral. When were rounding the back to the far side, I said, "Oh, they have falling buttresses!" The prof looked at me with that proud teacher expression, and said, "Yes, they do!" I guess I got my gold star for the day. 😊

[hawkeye65]

Just now, hawkeye65 said:

falling

flying

[hawkeye65]

Oh, I hate autocorrect. That's "flying buttresses" not "falling buttresses."

[Peregrina651]

17 minutes ago, hawkeye65 said:

Oh, I hate autocorrect. That's "flying buttresses" not "falling buttresses."

 

Drives me crazy!!

 

BUT, it seems you caught the mistake quickly and could have gone back and just edited the post. There is an edit function (it sits beside the QUOTE button on a desktop; don't know where it hides on a mobile device) and a 20 minutes window to fix any mistakes.