'Rhine Getaway' on Viking?

[Napoli4]

Getting ready to book our very first river cruise for this May/June - eeek!  Our daughter just left to study in Stuttgart for 6 months, and we're planning a visit but would like to add a river cruise (just for my husband and I) on the itinerary.  We like the Amsterdam to Basel itinerary because we can fly to Amsterdam, do the cruise, and then train over to Stuttgart to meet up with her.   There are so many questions!  Do Viking boats dock close to the town centers?  Is a veranda room worth the extra money, or is a French balcony room plenty? What is the average age of Viking guests?  Is there a 'better' company than Viking (and why)?  Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Napoli4]

Oh, and are the Viking 'Longboats' too big?  Are smaller boats better? Thx!

[TMLAalum]

Check into AMA and Avalon before committing to Viking. From my research Viking cabins are small. Love that Avalon cabins have the bed facing to the river.

[sharkster77]

All river cruise ships are the same size--determined by the sized of the locks.  What differs is how many passengers--Viking carries 190, others carry less.

 

You will only be in your cabin, frankly, for sleeping and changing clothes.  If you are sailing through any scenic area, the place to be is either outside on the top deck or the lounge, with floor-to-ceiling windows.

 

Breakfast is early---morning excursions head by 8:30, 9AM the latest. Return to ship for lunch, out for afternon excursion or return to the town you visited that morning.  Dinner around 7, low-key entertainment in the lounge for those who like that sort of thing (keyboard player for dancing, maybe a trivia night or performance from a small group from shore).   Up and at em' early again the next morning!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Viking's boats are the same size as everybody else's – that 'longboat' stuff is just marketing.  But they do squeeze 190 passengers on them, while other cruise lines have fewer passengers (which equates to more public space per person).  Check the 'stickies' at the top of this forum for ideas about other cruise lines before you jump.

[texasstar]

I suggest adding the Moselle to your itinerary.  We used AmaWaterways for a cruise from Basel to Amsterdam with a stretch of the Moselle.  There are some really interesting villages.  I am sure they do the reverse trip also.

[Gopherpharm]

My TA sold me on not Viking because of the passenger count…there’s a big difference between 190 and 152 when it comes to public space. 

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, Gopherpharm said:

My TA sold me on not Viking because of the passenger count…there’s a big difference between 190 and 152 when it comes to public space. 

That said, we sailed on a sold out Viking Rhine cruise and did not feel crowded at all.  Some spoke on these boards of mad rushes to the dining room to secure certain tables, etc.  We experienced none of that, to be honest.  We even showed up late to dinner one night and had no problem finding a place to sit.

 

We chose Viking based on liking their Rhine itinerary the best, and not needing the drink-anything-you-want open bar offered by other cruise lines, along with no need for a butler, etc.  For us, Viking was a good choice.  Maybe not for everybody.

[Gourmet Gal]

I believe Tauck has the fewest cabins per ship and they’ve been adding more suites in their updates.  They also have 3 or 4 tour directors per cruise so the excursions are really well done.  There are several all-inclusive lines that you can read about in the sticky as well as comparisons between the cruise lines.

[sharkster77]

16 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

I believe Tauck has the fewest cabins per ship and they’ve been adding more suites in their updates.  They also have 3 or 4 tour directors per cruise so the excursions are really well done.  There are several all-inclusive lines that you can read about in the sticky as well as comparisons between the cruise lines.

Yes, there are different definitions of "all-inclusive", it seems.  Some include tips, some include top-shelf liquor, some include laundry, etc.

[notamermaid]

Do Viking ships dock in or close to town centres? Yes and no. In Amsterdam the embarkation port varies, as can happen with some other lines. It depends on the town; you could say that, basically, when Viking docks in town so do the other lines. A big variation is Strasbourg where Viking docks on the Rhine in Kehl - Strasbourg town centre is not on the Rhine - whereas some other lines, I think mainly the 110m ships (that would need checking), dock in the harbour.

 

Ship size: "longships" is indeed a marketing identity design kind of thing, to pick up on the Norse tradition of Viking long boats (not sure if the design is actually similar). The Viking ships on the Rhine are 135m long, most of the entire Rhine fleet of companies combined is now 135m. But they range from around 65m to 135m (maximum allowed) with the new Arosa Sena going for wider but not longer.

 

Variation of town ports: as you are fixed on your embarkation port you will of course only want an upstream itinerary but you can indeed vary the towns by going onto the Moselle. Lovely idea.

 

If you are not insisting on seeing Basel you can choose an itinerary that stops in Strasbourg or goes from Amsterdam into the Main river, last port would normally be Frankfurt or Nuremberg.

 

There are actually two itineraries that go to Stuttgart on the Neckar but neither of them start in Amsterdam.

 

As others have mentioned it is the passenger count that matters on a 135m ship as regards space. On a 110m ship the question of space would present itself in a similar way, though. May and June you need not opt for a smaller vessel to avoid low water issues.

 

Have fun planning. Stuttgart, by the way, is an interesting town to be in. Make sure to see the Staatsgalerie if art is your thing.

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

Viking longships have the corridors off set, so that those paying the extra for the balcony have more actual cabin room.  As a result, the french balcony cabins which are opposite are smaller.  Most lines just deduct the balcony from the cabin space, so while your cabin may be measured at x# of sq. feet, it actually loses the space that the balcony has.  The french balconies usually have more actual floor space, as there is just the window at the wall of the cabin.

[notamermaid]

Just to add to Daisie's comments: the reason for the design of the balconies being built into the cabin is the fact that it cannot be a structure sticking out of the hull, it would not work with the locks. Or to put it another way, to maximize space it would not make sense to have a slender ship which reaches the maximum width allowed by attaching protruding structures.

 

I would not pay the extra expense for a balcony, a French balcony is sufficient for me. Much time is spent on the sun deck in nice weather, where you have surround view rather than one side.

 

notamermaid

 

[dolllover]

I've been on 2 Viking cruises and 1 Avalon. Loved them all but if I had to choose again I would go with Viking over Avalon. The staff was super friendly and helpful on our Viking cruises. We did the South of France and Romantic Danube and on those we were able to walk into town. Guides were great and it never felt crowded. They also do a really nice barbecue on the deck which we used quite a few times. You really can't go wrong with any of the cruise lines since river cruising is great. We got a French Balcony and the rooms were big enough for us.

[sharkster77]

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Do Viking ships dock in or close to town centres? Yes and no. In Amsterdam the embarkation port varies, as can happen with some other lines. It depends on the town; you could say that, basically, when Viking docks in town so do the other lines. A big variation is Strasbourg where Viking docks on the Rhine in Kehl - Strasbourg town centre is not on the Rhine - whereas some other lines, I think mainly the 110m ships (that would need checking), dock in the harbour.

 

Ship size: "longships" is indeed a marketing identity design kind of thing, to pick up on the Norse tradition of Viking long boats (not sure if the design is actually similar). The Viking ships on the Rhine are 135m long, most of the entire Rhine fleet of companies combined is now 135m. But they range from around 65m to 135m (maximum allowed) with the new Arosa Sena going for wider but not longer.

 

Variation of town ports: as you are fixed on your embarkation port you will of course only want an upstream itinerary but you can indeed vary the towns by going onto the Moselle. Lovely idea.

 

If you are not insisting on seeing Basel you can choose an itinerary that stops in Strasbourg or goes from Amsterdam into the Main river, last port would normally be Frankfurt or Nuremberg.

 

There are actually two itineraries that go to Stuttgart on the Neckar but neither of them start in Amsterdam.

 

As others have mentioned it is the passenger count that matters on a 135m ship as regards space. On a 110m ship the question of space would present itself in a similar way, though. May and June you need not opt for a smaller vessel to avoid low water issues.

 

Have fun planning. Stuttgart, by the way, is an interesting town to be in. Make sure to see the Staatsgalerie if art is your thing.

 

notamermaid

 

Interesting, @notamermaid---I never thought that "longships" implied Viking River Cruise ships were longer---I took it as a tribute to the original Vikings, who called their ships "longships", in other words, no more than branding.

Edited March 17, 2022 by sharkster77

[notamermaid]

I think it is mostly branding, like you say. Corporate design and branding and imagery go a looong way to sell something well (a neutral comment, nearly everybody does it). But when they first appeared on the Rhine and Danube they were some of the longest ships around, they stretched the regulations to the limits or better said made full use of what was and is allowed. Before the year 2000 few ships were that long. I looked this up a few years ago but do not remember details. The standard length used to be 110m but a few ships already exceeded that, the long ones more and more appeared in the 2000's, with Scenic appearing to go for 135m early on as well. It was just not so standardized across fleets and companies as it is today. Of course there are far more ships now than there were twenty years ago.

 

notamermaid

 

[mhb1757]

We have sailed with Viking, Avalon and AMA. They all offer a great product. We find the itinerary we want and look for the one with the best price point. The “extras” included with the all inclusive lines do not usually seem worth the added expense to us but everyone is different. 
I would second the advice above to go with the least expensive cabin that meets your needs. Almost all of the cruising is done at night when a balcony isn’t particularly useful. And when docked, as often as not, you are rafted to other river ships, which means there is another cabin literally inches from your balcony so you have to keep your curtains drawn. On the rare occasion that you sail during the day the lounge or sun deck give you views on both sides of the river and are lovely. 
 

we found cabins on all lines we have traveled to be small but well designed. Avalons were a few square feet larger I think, but not by much.Viking had the nicest bathrooms. All are good choices. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

One bit of cabin advice is that the lowest level will have noise from the river bed, which since you generally sail at night can awaken you.  [But then, going through locks at night can be pretty noisy too – in any cabin.]

[Gopherpharm]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

One bit of cabin advice is that the lowest level will have noise from the river bed, which since you generally sail at night can awaken you.  [But then, going through locks at night can be pretty noisy too – in any cabin.]

Good to know!

 

my worst cabin on an ocean cruise was under the free weights at the gym. People looove to drop weights. And workout early in the morning…like 5 am. Never made that mistake again

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

One bit of cabin advice is that the lowest level will have noise from the river bed, which since you generally sail at night can awaken you.  [But then, going through locks at night can be pretty noisy too – in any cabin.]

The noise should only be an issue when the water level is low. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

The noise should only be an issue when the water level is low. 

But you don't know when you book the cruise whether that will play out...

[gnome12]

19 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But you don't know when you book the cruise whether that will play out...

But hopefully you have researched water levels before you book, and made the issue less likely. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 3/19/2022 at 10:22 PM, gnome12 said:

But hopefully you have researched water levels before you book, and made the issue less likely. 

You and I will have, but not everybody on this forum [and certainly not everybody on the ship 😲]

[Canal archive]

Having a Narroowboat and having cruised in very low canal water levels the scrapping of the bottom is well known to us, not a pleasant noise. A few years ago at our port talk the captain came to ask us as passengers a question. The water levels were very low and at that particular time there was no opportunity to do a ship swop, so his question was that if he had the chance to, make a run for it, as he put would we be okay with it. He explained about the scrapping of the hull and maybe things that go bump in the night. Everyone agreed so after a pleasant evening still moored up we all retired to our beds. We found on waking up we were still moored up but then realised not in the same place. The captain ‘crafty devil’ waited for a couple of heavily laden barges placed us between the two and off we went. (Of course he knew they were on their way towards us) A few people heard some scrapping but nothing really worrying about. We did see several cruise ships held up because of the water levels. 
Scenic did have some of the shallowest drafted vessels I’m not sure if that’s still the case.

[wandb]

We LOVED our Rhine Getaway Cruise on Viking. We thought the cabin was spacious and the bathroom was great. Wonderful crew and meals. Not sure about pricing today, but Viking had a much better price than the other lines when we took this cruise several years ago.