Did I make a mistake in booking a Viking Cruise (Christmas Markets)?

[QueenofEverything]

We will be headed from Basil to Amsterdam on Nov. 29th and really looking forward to it.

[QueenofEverything]

Also, since this is your first river cruise, you may not realize how very different they are from ocean cruises.  The schedule is much more fluid because of the locks.  You will pass thru many of them and the ship is at the mercy of the lock operator.  They have reservations for specific times, but lots of things can happen that cause delays.  I am really surprised they gave you exact times.  I would treat those as targets and not set in stone.  River cruises are much more relaxed and much less structured than ocean cruises.  An included excursion will be included for every port and some will have optional additional excursions.  Few people schedule private tours because of the schedules.  Most days, the ship will sail around dinnertime, so nigh time activities can be limited onshore.

[OurDogCisco]

14 hours ago, QueenofEverything said:

I think I might be able to help you clear up a little confusion.  Viking recently changed all of their Christmas market cruises.  Instead of the "Rhine Getaway" in December, it is now "Christmas on the Rhine" in December.  The ports changed a bit, but they claim there will be more of an emphasis on the markets, less confusion about Christmas versus non-Christmas cruises with the same title.  I would not be concerned about the supposedly sold out shore excursions.  They haven't updated all the shore excursions yet and I think the ones no longer applicable are just listed as sold out.  For instance, in My Viking Journey it shows shore excursions at Kinderdijk as sold out.  The new itinerary does not have us going to Kinderdijk.  We have been on a Christmas Markets cruise with Viking on the Danube and it was wonderful.  Happy to answer any questions if I can.

That is weird.  Why didn't the rep say that we weren't stopping in Kinderdijk and that is why it is showing sold out?  I'm not even sure why they put an excursion list if they are gonna stress people out.  Seems counterproductive.   I wasn't even planning on booking excursions until I happened to login and look around.  I thought all excursions were included and that you did not need to reserve.  The website is saying otherwise.

  

Edited March 3, 2022 by OurDogCisco

[sharkster77]

44 minutes ago, OurDogCisco said:

That is weird.  Why didn't the rep say that we weren't stopping in Kinderdijk and that is why it is showing sold out?  I'm not even sure why they put an excursion list if they are gonna stress people out.  Seems counterproductive.   I wasn't even planning on booking excursions until I happened to login and look around.  I thought all excursions were included and that you did not need to reserve.  The website is saying otherwise.

  

If you go to the web page for that exact cruise, for each day's itinerary Viking lists the included excursion and any optional ones available.  Click on each day to see the excursions.

[QueenofEverything]

1 hour ago, OurDogCisco said:

That is weird.  Why didn't the rep say that we weren't stopping in Kinderdijk and that is why it is showing sold out?  I'm not even sure why they put an excursion list if they are gonna stress people out.  Seems counterproductive.   I wasn't even planning on booking excursions until I happened to login and look around.  I thought all excursions were included and that you did not need to reserve.  The website is saying otherwise.

  

When we booked ours, it was still "Rhine Getaway".  The itinerary only changed a little bit and the shore excursions were already up.  They just haven't updated everything yet.  Probably be better if they just took them all of and then put back up the correct ones.  I agree that it is very confusing right now.  I don't think you need to make advance reservations for the included excursions, we did not on our prior Viking Danube cruise.  The optional excursions have limited capacity so that is probably why they want advanced reservations.  As far as the rep, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes not.  The change was made not that long ago, so perhaps they were unaware.  

[patrickmoran]

Chill out! You will get on the included tours that Viking advertises. They will add the necessary buses and guides. Remember Europe is just opening up from COVID. The tourism industry has been devastated. People who had been guides had to find new jobs and may not return. The infastructure has 8-9 months to rebuild before you cruise. Panic in October; won't make any difference to getting your money back.  For your free time plans, read the reviews beginning in the Fall and get a feel for times in ports. Research your stops on travel sites and then come back here and ask specific questions about the ports.

We done 3 Viking cruises and enjoyed every one. We've done 50+ ocean cruises and river cruises are different.

[PhD-iva]

11 hours ago, patrickmoran said:

Chill out!

Seems a little harsh……..missing empathy.

[sharkster77]

2 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

Seems a little harsh……..missing empathy.

I don't hear harshness as much as I hear someone trying to emphasize if one has lots of ocean cruising experience, you really need to place your ocean cruise knowledge on the back burner and think totally differently about river cruises---all the 2 have in common is a ship on water (and even the water is chemically different!!)

[OurDogCisco]

LOL.. someone is upset.  That is just ridiculous.    I'm paying over $10K for this trip includes airfare and pre and post stays.  It isn't a horrible price but it is still $10K.  If I'm gonna pay $10k for something I have to be happy about my choice.  Sorry I ruffled your feathers @patrickmoran.   But maybe read all my responses.  No where did I say I was an expert.  I explained my hesitation.  Besides I rather wait and do a river cruise in the future when Europe is ready for visitors.  If they are not ready, I get it.  But I am not $10K for a half baked cruise.

 

No, matter how you look at it, Viking doesn't have the best customer service.  I'm not impressed.  I've talked to them twice.  They said they have limited seating on the included tours.  The ones that are sold out are booked.  When I get on the ship they will arrange another tour that will be included but I won't know what it is until I board and the night before my port stop.  I looked at other lines and I'm thinking of switching to Amawaterways.    They have 2 to 3 included excursions with each port stop.  Has anyone done Amawaterways?

Edited March 10, 2022 by OurDogCisco

[Canal archive]

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but $10k is nearly £8,000 sterling if your cost is for two that sounds cheap sorry inexpensive to me. I know your annoyed (to say the least) about the included excursions but if you cancel will you receive a full refund add to that what your charged for a cruise with another company. Try not to get worked up and go with the flow(sorry). Reading everything about Viking I personally would not choose them to cruise with and I’ve seen quite a bit of adverse evidence along the rivers of Europe to back this up but and it a big but my best friend of all time and her husband cruised with them he became seriously I’ll and Viking stepped up to the mark big time no ifs or buts they just did far more than they had to and for that I will be forever grateful.

[OurDogCisco]

11 hours ago, Canal archive said:

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but $10k is nearly £8,000 sterling if your cost is for two that sounds cheap sorry inexpensive to me. I know your annoyed (to say the least) about the included excursions but if you cancel will you receive a full refund add to that what your charged for a cruise with another company. Try not to get worked up and go with the flow(sorry). Reading everything about Viking I personally would not choose them to cruise with and I’ve seen quite a bit of adverse evidence along the rivers of Europe to back this up but and it a big but my best friend of all time and her husband cruised with them he became seriously I’ll and Viking stepped up to the mark big time no ifs or buts they just did far more than they had to and for that I will be forever grateful.

So, you would or would not sail with Viking?  Your message is not clear.  It says you would not sail with Viking but then, it says you are forever grateful for them stepping up to the plate when your friend got ill.    Why would you not sail with Viking?

 

I got a quote from Amawaterways and it is about $1K more than Viking but a newer ship.  Not sure that matters.  Our actual cruise price is $12.5K.   

[Host Jazzbeau]

13 hours ago, OurDogCisco said:

I looked at other lines and I'm thinking of switching to Amawaterways.    They have 2 to 3 included excursions with each port stop.  Has anyone done Amawaterways?

I have sailed with AMA three times (Rhine, Rhone & Africa) and will be flying to AMS next month for their Tulip Time cruise.  I find them excellent – food, service, wine/beer at meals (keeps the cost down, since I don't drink outside those times), and especially the excursion choices and quality.  Their ships carry fewer passengers than similar-size Viking ships [that's true of just about every river cruise line].  Their customer service is excellent – and they don't make you pay in full years in advance.  [If you want a really easy transition from ocean cruising, consider AmaMagna – double-wide so the public spaces are amazing.  But because of the size it is limited to the main stretch of the Danube and can't do the itinerary you are planning.]

[Canal archive]

I’m grateful to Viking for the care of my friend. I would not travel with them for various reasons such as the cost at such an early stage of the booking process and the number of passengers on board. Also the state of some of theirs vessels around the system. I know how river cruising works although so far I have only traveled with one company this may change if another provider offers an itinerary that I prefer. I must admit to being a fan of all inclusive so at first sight I may pay a tad more but when all is taken into consideration I think it’s worth it.

[texasstar]

I ditto Jazzbeau's recommendation of AmaWaterways.  We have sailed with them on 3 river cruises and agree with everything he says.  You might also check out River Cruise Advisors.  They have an extensive spread sheet that does an itemized breakdown of a lot of the companies.  Also,  consider the size of the staterooms and the number of passengers on the ship. The cheapest initial price doesn't always end up being that way.

[Blue Eyes]

On 3/10/2022 at 2:41 PM, OurDogCisco said:

So, you would or would not sail with Viking?  Your message is not clear.  It says you would not sail with Viking but then, it says you are forever grateful for them stepping up to the plate when your friend got ill.    Why would you not sail with Viking?

 

I got a quote from Amawaterways and it is about $1K more than Viking but a newer ship.  Not sure that matters.  Our actual cruise price is $12.5K.   

I’ve done two Christmas Market trips with Tauck.  They are top of the line.  All of our excursions are included.  I highly recommend them. I had one Viking cruiser who had taken a Tauck trip tell me they would never go back to Viking.  The bad thing is since the time frame for Christmas tours is limited, they book up very fast. We booked a December 2020 trip in January 2019….unfortunately we never got to take the trip.  We book the loft cabins…they are unique experience and around $5-5500 each.  Hope you feel better about your trip.  It is an amazing time to experience Christmas in Europe….