Have heard negative things about Viking

[jsn55]

If 'the dining experience' is important, an ocean cruise will always be a better fit.  My preference for river cruising is based on many positive factors; I'm not very interested in dinner.  Sometimes join the whole group in the DR, sometimes up on the bow for a little buffet.  Sometimes dinner with a book in my cabin ... some bits from breakfast, or I can order room service on Avalon.  It's always valuable to be able to discuss this stuff on CC so you don't have to learn the hard way!

[cbr663]

19 hours ago, Best Cat Mom said:

Thanks for the perspective. I guess we'll stick with the land holidays that we're accustomed to in Europe. A river cruise really seemed like an easier itinerary, with none of the intense planning that I've had to do in the past. We're not land tours people (and is probably obvious from what I've mentioned so far). I guess my days of planning are not quite done yet. LOL Luckily, most hotels will have staff to help coordinate transfers, etc. Thanks again!!

 

One thing that river cruising has going for it is the fact that there isn't a lot of planning.  It's very, very much like group bus tours in that everything is planned out for you and your options are to essentially take it or leave it.  There really isn't much opportunity to deviate from the planned schedule.

 

A typical day is wake up and go for breakfast.  Morning tours start early - typically between 8:00 - 8:30 am.  The Cruise Directors are quite good at getting the message across that you must be on time or they will leave without you.  So it's off the ship, climb aboard a bus to join your group and drive to your tour destination where you walk around with a tour guide.  Depending on the tour you may have some free time to yourself or it is simply back on the bus to return to the ship for lunch.  

 

Return to the ship for a quick lunch as afternoon tours will typically start 1:00 - 1:30 and the afternoon tours are essentially a repeat of the morning, just to a different tour location.  So a typical day is Rise, Eat, Bus, Tour, Bus, Eat, Bus, Tour, Bus, Happy Hour, Dinner, Evening Social and Sleep.  Repeat every day.

 

Of course you don't have to sign up for all the tours.  You can go out on your own.  A couple of things to keep in mind though is that you have paid for the tours whether you take them or not.  Another is that the ships are not always docked in the centre of the towns such that you can readily walk off and be in the action.  On our Rhine river cruise we had only one port where we had a walking tour from the ship, all other ports were accessed by bus.

 

[sjde]

Is there a way to find out ahead of time if you can walk right off the ship into the town or if there’s going to be a bus ride? Our first 4 river cruises were basically always walk right off the ship and you’re in town (except for Douro) and we liked that so much,  but our last one (Viking ) had SO many bus rides to the town ( and quite a ways) and we did not like that at all . 

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

 

One thing that river cruising has going for it is the fact that there isn't a lot of planning.  It's very, very much like group bus tours in that everything is planned out for you and your options are to essentially take it or leave it.  There really isn't much opportunity to deviate from the planned schedule.

 

A typical day is wake up and go for breakfast.  Morning tours start early - typically between 8:00 - 8:30 am.  The Cruise Directors are quite good at getting the message across that you must be on time or they will leave without you.  So it's off the ship, climb aboard a bus to join your group and drive to your tour destination where you walk around with a tour guide.  Depending on the tour you may have some free time to yourself or it is simply back on the bus to return to the ship for lunch.  

 

Return to the ship for a quick lunch as afternoon tours will typically start 1:00 - 1:30 and the afternoon tours are essentially a repeat of the morning, just to a different tour location.  So a typical day is Rise, Eat, Bus, Tour, Bus, Eat, Bus, Tour, Bus, Happy Hour, Dinner, Evening Social and Sleep.  Repeat every day.

 

Of course you don't have to sign up for all the tours.  You can go out on your own.  A couple of things to keep in mind though is that you have paid for the tours whether you take them or not.  Another is that the ships are not always docked in the centre of the towns such that you can readily walk off and be in the action.  On our Rhine river cruise we had only one port where we had a walking tour from the ship, all other ports were accessed by bus.

 

I describe river cruises to folks who ask about them as:   imagine a bus tour, but you are traveling by boat, and dragging your hotel and restaurant along with you".  And "river cruises are about the ports, ocean cruises are about the boat".

Edited August 31 by sharkster77

[gnome12]

5 hours ago, sjde said:

Is there a way to find out ahead of time if you can walk right off the ship into the town or if there’s going to be a bus ride? Our first 4 river cruises were basically always walk right off the ship and you’re in town (except for Douro) and we liked that so much,  but our last one (Viking ) had SO many bus rides to the town ( and quite a ways) and we did not like that at all . 

If you look at a map of the trip and see little black lines coming off the river, that indicates that there is probably a bus involved. 
 

The current problem is due to the proliferation of river boats, even if there is docking in the centre of town you might be relegated to a more distant dock. This can also happen in high or low water situations. 

[CDNPolar]

13 hours ago, sjde said:

Is there a way to find out ahead of time if you can walk right off the ship into the town or if there’s going to be a bus ride? Our first 4 river cruises were basically always walk right off the ship and you’re in town (except for Douro) and we liked that so much,  but our last one (Viking ) had SO many bus rides to the town ( and quite a ways) and we did not like that at all . 

 

What @gnome12 said, but even at the best of times, you cannot always count on River being perfect when it comes to docking close enough to walk into the city or town.  

We are never phased by a bus ride or shuttle into town and before every port I know if Uber works and if we want to go on our own and not rely on a shuttle and schedule, we just Uber.  5 or 10 minutes in an Uber is not an inconvenience for us ever.

[cbr663]

15 hours ago, sjde said:

Is there a way to find out ahead of time if you can walk right off the ship into the town or if there’s going to be a bus ride? Our first 4 river cruises were basically always walk right off the ship and you’re in town (except for Douro) and we liked that so much,  but our last one (Viking ) had SO many bus rides to the town ( and quite a ways) and we did not like that at all . 

 

It's very difficult.  On our Rhine cruise I wasn't expecting so many bus rides.  I didn't like it and I remember one day thinking if you have to take transportation to these towns then the bus isn't the worst way to do it so I made the best of it.

 

I was surprised that even with an overnight in Amsterdam we were docked so far outside that we had to take a bus into the city.  This limited the value of what we could do during our overnight in the city.  We had previously visited Amsterdam for an ocean cruise and stayed overnight in a hotel in the centre of the city.  We walked all over the city and had a great time exploring.  That was what we were hoping to do on our river cruise also but couldn't as the cruise line only arranged for a bus to take us back to the city for early in the afternoon.

 

I believe the bus rides are there because of over tourism on the rivers.  Most of these rivers are major shipping rivers and shipping goods trumps moving tourists.

[sjde]

Ours wasn’t just a 5 or 10 minute drive though .

[sjde]

I can understand that shipping trumps tourism but wouldn’t that have been the case when I started river cruising 13-14 yrs ago? 

[Nippy Sweetie]

I am disappointed to hear this about the Rhine. We did the Grand European tour some years ago and it was remembering the joys of just stepping off the boat and into the little towns and villages that inspired us to book again. Oh dear.

[jsn55]

I am doing the Rhine, Basel to Amsterdam, in November with Avalon.  I too remember the joy of just walking off the ship.  I quickly get to the point where I don't want to even SEE another bus at 830am!  I'll be disappointed if we're docked 'way over there' too often. Not the end of the world, but just walking off on your own is part of the river-cruise charm.  I'm not expecting a great many raftings or traffic on November, so we'll see.  I'll report back.  

[pontac]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

I was surprised that even with an overnight in Amsterdam we were docked so far outside that we had to take a bus into the city.  This limited the value of what we could do during our overnight in the city.  We had previously visited Amsterdam for an ocean cruise and stayed overnight in a hotel in the centre of the city.

 

Very frustrating for you.

 

I have been on a river cruise starting in Amsterdam twice this year. First time we (and other river boats)were moored at the ocean passenger terminal by Movenpick hotel. On our cruise last  month two huge ocean boats were moored  at the ocean passenger terminal by Movenpick hotel and we were moored at one of the jetties close to Centraal Station, even closer to the City Centre. 

 

But in 2022 our cruise ended in Amsterdam and we were moored goodness knows where; I didn't recognise it.

 

Previous years we always moored right by Centraal Station. I believe this area is not allowed now.

 

There are now so many river cruisers that they can't all moor at the best spot, and because the harbour master directs Captains where to moor, the actual location a boat will moor is not known in advance.

 

It's no solace to you, but the same cruise on a different date might well moor in the city centre

 

 

[pontac]

43 minutes ago, sjde said:

I can understand that shipping trumps tourism but wouldn’t that have been the case when I started river cruising 13-14 yrs ago?

 

But how many river cruisers were there back then? My first cruise was in 2012 and we saw few other cruise boats and were never rafted. Now there's all the English language boats, plus French, Dutch and German companies. More boats than there are prime mooring locations.

[ural guy]

1 hour ago, pontac said:

 

 

There are now so many river cruisers that they can't all moor at the best spot, and because the harbour master directs Captains where to moor, the actual location a boat will moor is not known in advance.

Is this the case with Viking, as I believe they own a lot of their docking spaces?

 

The one that surprised me was with Viking in Basel, their typical docking spot is away from the heart of downtown.  We were docked there New Year's Eve, would have been nice to have been closer to 'the action'.  Other than some kids lighting fireworks right next to the boat, that was our excitement.

[dd57]

46 minutes ago, ural guy said:

Is this the case with Viking, as I believe they own a lot of their docking spaces?

 

The one that surprised me was with Viking in Basel, their typical docking spot is away from the heart of downtown.  We were docked there New Year's Eve, would have been nice to have been closer to 'the action'.  Other than some kids lighting fireworks right next to the boat, that was our excitement.

This is my understanding too, but perhaps only in the smaller towns.  When we did the Grand European a few years ago we always docked in town, including Amsterdam.  We are going on the Rhine Getaway next month and would expect to dock close in at the smaller towns.  Fingers crossed.

[pontac]

56 minutes ago, ural guy said:

Is this the case with Viking, as I believe they own a lot of their docking spaces?

 

I was referring to the post about Amsterdam. As far as I know Viking do not have a dedicated mooring space in Amsterdam. My references to mooring in Amsterdam all referred to Viking except the cruise last month which was with Scenic.

[cbr663]

9 hours ago, sjde said:

Ours wasn’t just a 5 or 10 minute drive though .

 

Our bus tours were never 5 - 10 mins either.  Most were about 45 mins and some were even longer closer to 2 hours.  

[cbr663]

9 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I am doing the Rhine, Basel to Amsterdam, in November with Avalon.  I too remember the joy of just walking off the ship.  I quickly get to the point where I don't want to even SEE another bus at 830am!  I'll be disappointed if we're docked 'way over there' too often. Not the end of the world, but just walking off on your own is part of the river-cruise charm.  I'm not expecting a great many raftings or traffic on November, so we'll see.  I'll report back.  

 

I wish you good luck.  We did the same route with Avalon in June and the only port where we could walk and not have a bus was Cologne.  Every other port was a bus tour.  

[cbr663]

8 hours ago, pontac said:

 

....

 

There are now so many river cruisers that they can't all moor at the best spot, and because the harbour master directs Captains where to moor, the actual location a boat will moor is not known in advance.

 

It's no solace to you, but the same cruise on a different date might well moor in the city centre

 

 

 

This is why I posted earlier in this thread to another poster inquiring about river cruises that I found that there wasn't a lot of flexibility with river cruising.  Privately arranged tours, for instance,  can be quite the challenge when river cruising as you don't know where you will dock until the last minute.  

 

I realize that the same cruise at a different time of the year can have very different docking locations.  The challenge is you won't know until you actually sail and that is a dice I won't roll again.  Add to that all the rafting issues (we were rafted 4 times) and I think it's important that new cruisers know what to expect.  

[jsn55]

I am grateful for all the excellent info on this thread, thank you all.  It's much better to know that we might not be docked right in the middle of everything every port.  Won't be so disappointing to wake up to yet another bus or shuttle.  I'm spoiled!  I'll rely on my usual 'travel luck' for Avalon's November Rhine cruise.  

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, jsn55 said:

I am grateful for all the excellent info on this thread, thank you all.  It's much better to know that we might not be docked right in the middle of everything every port.  Won't be so disappointing to wake up to yet another bus or shuttle.  I'm spoiled!  I'll rely on my usual 'travel luck' for Avalon's November Rhine cruise.  

 

I think that what I have learned about River cruising over Ocean, is that with River, you cannot (or should not) go into a journey with set expectations.  

 

Last year in December when water levels were high, we docked several times way outside city limits when we knew that Viking had docks at the city.  We were lucky that we did not have to change ships or be bussed to hotels, and the week before our cruise they shut down all ship traffic through Cologne.

 

You must be flexible on River cruises - IMO.

 

We saw so many people that were "red under the collar" and "steamed up" and "angry" at Viking during this cruise.  It was not Viking's fault.  They were doing the best they could under the circumstances of the high water.

 

Imagine what is going on behind the scenes when these weather situations are happening.  Crew on the ship and crew on land rearranging everything, and arranging busses and different docking locations.  This stuff takes a lot of coordination and they are not doing it to punish us, they are doing it to give us the safest and best trip possible.

 

I had to bite my tongue so many times listening to people attack Viking verbally to others on the bus at how ridiculous this was and how they could do better...  I was just beside myself with the lack of understanding and reasoning that some folks actually have to reality. 

[Planning to cruise]

2 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

You must be flexible on River cruises - IMO.

On Ocean too.  

 

I have done river cruises and experienced weather, river level, issues with Viking.  I concur with what you say.

 

I have also done many ocean cruises adding up to some 18 months at sea in total.  

Ports have been missed for good reason, sometimes but not always weather related.  Port departures have been delayed, missed or ships diverted for medical reasons.  At the beginning of a world cruise the captain addressed the passengers doing the full journey.  He told us that we although had booked with an itinerary we should realise that it was nothing more than a wish list.  Circumstances could (and in a few places did) dictate otherwise.  

[sharkster77]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I think that what I have learned about River cruising over Ocean, is that with River, you cannot (or should not) go into a journey with set expectations.  

 

Last year in December when water levels were high, we docked several times way outside city limits when we knew that Viking had docks at the city.  We were lucky that we did not have to change ships or be bussed to hotels, and the week before our cruise they shut down all ship traffic through Cologne.

 

You must be flexible on River cruises - IMO.

 

We saw so many people that were "red under the collar" and "steamed up" and "angry" at Viking during this cruise.  It was not Viking's fault.  They were doing the best they could under the circumstances of the high water.

 

Imagine what is going on behind the scenes when these weather situations are happening.  Crew on the ship and crew on land rearranging everything, and arranging busses and different docking locations.  This stuff takes a lot of coordination and they are not doing it to punish us, they are doing it to give us the safest and best trip possible.

 

I had to bite my tongue so many times listening to people attack Viking verbally to others on the bus at how ridiculous this was and how they could do better...  I was just beside myself with the lack of understanding and reasoning that some folks actually have to reality. 

On our tulip cruise this past April, a lock was broken and under repair, so we had to dock further away from Bruges, and as a result our 30 minute bus ride to Bruges became 1.5 hrs.  BUT---Viking got us to Bruges, sure, the walking tour was a bit rushed as we lost time on the road, but we saw what we hoped to see and had ample time for a lovely lunch on the main square.  Yet there were some who somehow held Viking responsible for a lock getting stuck!!!  Get a life, I say.

[Daisi]

I agree about being flexible, so much is out of the cruise line's control. Should they cancel cruising when water levels are to low or high? Maybe, but then anyone who does their own airfare needs to rapidly make alternate arrangements or lose the cost of flights. Also, rain can come quickly, so low water one week could be perfect sailing the next. We ran into low water on the Danube last year, and it amazed me how quickly Avalon re-arranged our cruise to do their best to make sure that we did get to see as many of the ports as possible. I didn't hear any complaints, just a bit of confusion as it threw a lot of people off when they didn't know that things like that could happen.

 

I look at bus rides (either planned or not) as an extra way of seeing the country side, I had expected when we started the excursions that required a bus that we would be driving highways.. So far, we've only done a couple (and I remember everyone's disappointment when we hit the Autobahn and no-one was speeding past us 🙂), mostly we get to drive through small towns and scenic areas. I don't mind that.....

[jsn55]

4 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I think that what I have learned about River cruising over Ocean, is that with River, you cannot (or should not) go into a journey with set expectations.  

 

Last year in December when water levels were high, we docked several times way outside city limits when we knew that Viking had docks at the city.  We were lucky that we did not have to change ships or be bussed to hotels, and the week before our cruise they shut down all ship traffic through Cologne.

 

You must be flexible on River cruises - IMO.

 

We saw so many people that were "red under the collar" and "steamed up" and "angry" at Viking during this cruise.  It was not Viking's fault.  They were doing the best they could under the circumstances of the high water.

 

Imagine what is going on behind the scenes when these weather situations are happening.  Crew on the ship and crew on land rearranging everything, and arranging busses and different docking locations.  This stuff takes a lot of coordination and they are not doing it to punish us, they are doing it to give us the safest and best trip possible.

 

I had to bite my tongue so many times listening to people attack Viking verbally to others on the bus at how ridiculous this was and how they could do better...  I was just beside myself with the lack of understanding and reasoning that some folks actually have to reality. 

Travel's a lot easier when you realize that people just don't think beyond the end of their own noses.  "Everything's" a personal attack meant to ruin their experience.  They have no concept of how things work and they don't know that they are making fools of themselves by showing anger at a situation nobody could have foreseen or controlled.   I often wonder if they create all this discontent just so they have an excuse to not tip the crew. I've posted before about giving a cruise director a huge tip when I know they haven't slept in 5 days rearranging things over and over ... and were still polite and cordial to the complainers.  I just walk away from them, mumbling something about small minds