Viking Cities of Light (Prague to Paris) Review

[bundtkate]

Hello, all! Despite Delta's best efforts, I am finally back from Viking's Cities of Light (plus some extra time in Paris on our own) and thought I'd take the time to share my thoughts. I'll do my best to be brief, but I know that's not my strong suit so apologies in advance if this ends up long.

 

Background

To start, a bit about me and my partner in both travel and life to provide some context. My husband and I are 39 and 36 respectively. We are both fairly well-traveled with several international trips and over 7 ocean cruises under our belts. Neither of us has ever done a river cruise and we tend to cruise on the cheaper side because we prefer more trips over luxury trips. We are not Viking's target market and likely atypical river cruisers in general, but we were lucky enough to get a solid deal on this cruise with airfare included so we decided to give it a go.

 

Also a quick note that yes, we definitely were the youngest people on this cruise. It didn't detract much from the experience, but it did have an impact. Our ages were brought up often, jokes were made, we had to explain umpteen times that we were totally fine being on a cruise with a bunch of older folks, and excursions moved at about half the pace we would have on our own. None of this was unexpected, but it did get a bit tiring after a while and I would encourage others in our age group to prepare to be a bit of a novelty if you're considering a Viking river cruise. If that's going to significantly detract from your experience, maybe consider another line as I think Viking trends even older than most.

Summary

 

We really did enjoy our river cruise. Any time I write these reviews, I feel like I come across as overly negative when the reality is that something not quite meeting my expectations does not keep from enjoying it, especially in this case. I had high expectations for Viking based on what I've read in other reviews as well as where they position themselves in the market and they definitely fell short of that, but something that's less than amazing can still be great. There were also some aspects of this experience that were just not for me, which is going to happen with most anything. You give things a try, you learn, and you do something a bit different next time. I want to share this stuff because maybe you're pondering Viking and maybe these things aren't for you either. Or maybe they are and my 👎 will be your 👍. Either way, you've learned something valuable and that's my goal with this review.

Travel to Prague

 

As I mentioned, we got included flights so Viking booked our travel. This was actually relatively painless, but I will still say I'd have done things differently if it were up to me. Specifically, I'd have made the last leg a train trip rather than a flight. For one, trains are awesome, but also it would have given me a chance to catch a nap on the way to Prague without actually taking much longer than the layover + flight + luggage fetching process. I don't sleep well on planes (if I sleep at all) so having that train ride to nap (with the trip ending forcing me to wake up) is super helpful in not wasting that first half day or so in Europe.

Land Portions

 

We started our "cruise" on land in a hotel in Prague. The transfer there was on a bus with many other Viking guests joining us. It seems Viking did a decent job at scheduling many flights to arrive all at once, but a few got delayed leaving the majority of us trying not to fall asleep in the airport while wait 45 mins or so. Once everyone arrived, we loaded luggage on the bus and were off to the hotel in short order. Upon arrival, we were asked to leave our luggage for Viking to deliver to our rooms. We asked if we could just take ours (I desperately needed a nap) and were told no so we waited on that nap until our luggage arrived. I understand the perception that this creates a more luxurious experience, but luxury is subjective and the only luxury I wanted at the time was some rest.

Viking had us in the Hilton Prague (not to be confused with the Hilton Old Town) which was nice enough, but a bit of a miss on the location front. It was close enough to walk to the old town, but there wasn't much in the immediate area worth seeing and any view one might have had was blocked by an ugly modern building right next to the hotel. The hotel also committed many of the modern design sins you see in new hotels everywhere. A shower without a door so that your shower is guaranteed to be freezing, a thermostat that is so over-complicated that you end up turning it on and off rather than setting it properly, lighting that has so many modes that "off" is a challenge, etc. All the same, it was a perfectly nice place to sleep and located well enough that we got plenty of time to explore.
 

Similarly, our "cruise" ended with 2 days in Paris. In this case, we were in the Hyatt Regency Etoile. The location of this hotel is awful. It's nowhere near anything worth seeing and even the closest metro stop is about a 10 minute walk away. This will change in time as they're in the process of building tram tracks near the hotel, but right now the only impact that project is having is encasing the entire hotel in a construction site. Again, it was a nice enough place to sleep, but not great as a base from which to see Paris. We stayed another 3 days after (2 planned and another due to Delta canceling our flight home -- more on that later) and the hotel we moved to was obviously cheaper but way better located and thus a much better choice in my mind.

 

I get why Viking chooses the places they do. Undoubtedly they have tons of customers staying in those hotels at any given point in time and they need to big ones to accommodate, but in my opinion it really detracts from the experience. If I had this to do over, I'd skip out on land portions through Viking. The value just isn't there and traveling to what you want to see wastes a lot of the limited time you have.

 

Buses

 

We had a number of bus experiences. Some were bussing to/from excursions, some were bussing to/from hotels/the ship, and some were bussing around cities. I have learned that I just don't like buses. You can't keep 50+ people happy on a bus. I'm going to be cold. The dude who wears a windbreaker everywhere even though it's 90F out is probably hot. Nobody wants to sit next to the woman who is endlessly coughing, but there are only 50 seats for 50 people so someone's going to have to. Buses are designed to create chaos, it seems. This is fine when rides are short (bussing to excursions), but less so on the longer rides to/from the ship/hotels. Viking also did this thing I didn't expect where they would drop guests off somewhere, load us onto a bus, and bus us to a city while the ship sailed to catch up. I knew there would be buses, but I expected them to be shorter rides into town from a more remote docking location, not hour+ long rides from a city we weren't even visiting to the next port of call. I guess it was a timing issue (no water level problems on our cruise), but I wish I'd known when choosing our itinerary because I'd have much rather spent more time on the ship, but in this case would have had to skip an included tour in order to do so. I think Viking did their best here. They tried to break up long bus trips and only once had an actual bus tour (Nuremberg), but if I had it to do over I'd probably pick an itinerary with more river and less bus. If there is a zero bus option, I would pay extra for it. Boo buses.

 

Cruise Experience

 

I want to say Viking really shined here, but the reality is that they fell rather short of what I'd expect of a "premium" product despite being objective pretty awesome. There were several items on their bar menu that were never available and many others that ran out throughout the course of the 7-day cruise portion. The food was better than RCI or MSC, but still a big step below the specialty restaurants on those lines. The crew were wonderful and went above and beyond for you, but Viking didn't really set them up for success with proper staffing. We preferred to eat in the Aquavit whenever possible, which is served by the bar staff. The one day one of the more experienced bar staff was off, service was a disaster to the point where I didn't even get my lunch until 5 minutes prior to the included excursion that followed lunch even though I ordered the very minute lunch service began. This staffing issue also meant the Aquavit wasn't ever fully open for dinner. Only the inside portion was available. This meant there were a grand total of 2 two-person tables on the whole ship. I don't mind table sharing sometimes, but I am not always up for socializing and prefer to have a choice. Those two-person tables (and the Aquavit in general) were in high demand and usually camped well before dinner even started.

 

Our French Balcony stateroom was bright, clean, and generally pleasant, but it was so so small. I know river ships are known for smaller spaces and I understand why, but there has to be a way to give enough space for two people to get ready at once. My husband and I are not large people and we were still bumping elbows and tripping over each other trying to get dressed in the morning. Make the bed a bit smaller or get rid of the desk space or something, but the current design of these staterooms does not work. I understand the French Balconies are a tiny bit smaller than the swan room we booked (we got a free upgrade), so maybe we'd have been more comfortable in our original room, but I have a hard time believing just 15 sq. ft. extra would have done the trick.

 

I will re-emphasize that the crew was absolutely top notch 99% of the time. Viking's crew are on another level and my focus on the few problems here don't do them justice. If my decision were based solely on service, I'd take another Viking river cruise tomorrow, they were that great.

 

Tours (included and otherwise)

 

I was not a fan of the tours. In a few cases, I think the guides were actually kinda bad, but mostly I think guided tours just aren't for me. It's hard not to feel like a nuisance being part of a giant group following people around. We also love taking photos of architecture and the like and while it's rare to get a photo without people in it, tour groups make it that much harder. The tours also aren't always tailored to my interests. To give an example, one tour spent thirty freakin' minutes talking about a single fresco in the Wurzberg Residenz. It was cool, but that was 30 minutes I could have spent in the gardens which I loved and barely got to see because it wasn't part of the tour and our free time was 10 minutes long. When food was part of an excursion, there weren't any choices offered so you cold end up with cabbage stuffed with some kind of ground meat. Near the end, we started breaking off from the tours and exploring on our own. We didn't originally realize we could do that and we enjoyed it so much more. Next time, I would make sure to include lines that don't include excursions as an option as I'm probably going to skip out on them entirely next time around.

 

Flights Home

 

Our flight home was canceled less than 12 hours before departure and Delta had no other flights available that day. Viking booked our flights so I called their travel emergency line and about 30 minutes later, we were rebooked on a flight the following day. Because we didn't do a Viking extension we were on our own for lodging. Thankfully that was easy enough as our hotel found us a room at the hotel next door since they were booked up. Later, I discovered we had no seats assigned on our flight and I couldn't check in to the new flight so I call Viking again and they manage to check us in via Air France (I guess that's who they booked through?) and got us seats together. Overall, Viking was really great about handling issues and made what could have been a really stressful experience relatively chill. The flight was less than ideal with only a 1.5 hour layover after our overseas flight and luck would have it that 4 flights arrived at once and customs/passport control/security was a disaster. We combined asking to cut in line with some hustle to make it to our connection with about 10 mins to spare. Our luggage was not so lucky and took a brief detour to Atlanta, but Delta was pretty good about knowing where it was and getting it to us. I still prefer to book my own flights so I don't deal with that on top of inevitable travel stress, but ultimately I wouldn't hesitate to have Viking book my flights again if the price is right.

 

Conclusions

 

I think we will probably book another river cruise in the future, but it likely won't be with Viking. This trip taught me that we'd prefer something less all inclusive so that we can buy what we want and skip what we don't, like excursions. It's silly, I know, but it felt like we were wasting something by skipping the included tours since technically we'd paid for them. It also would be nice to find a line that caters a bit more to our demographic. I know river cruises trend older across the board, but something like AMA's bikes for rent would be a big plus as it would allow us to self-explore more effectively and hopefully attract some of the younger crowd interested in more active excursions. Also, longer stays in port so that we can explore on our own without waking up at 7am would be great. I had this impression that river ships docked in the heart of cities for longer periods of time, but the reality with Viking is that we would often get bussed to the city and only have a few hours there at most. Not sure if that's the itinerary or Viking in general, but regardless it's not what I expected. We definitely enjoyed this trip and don't regret taking it at all, but it was also a learning experience and I very much look forward to doing something different next time.

 

 

[Ritabob]

Thank you for your review. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to the River Cruising forum and thanks for the review, but most of the things you mention as negatives are well publicized here on the River Cruising forum.  

 

Viking is not a luxury line, and one of the ways that plays out is they put 190 people on the same size ship that others use for only 150-170 (or Tauck, at 130); they also fill tour buses while other lines leave empty seats and my experience is that there are always many more people following a Viking umbrella than any other cruise line's tour guide.  The small size of Viking's French balcony cabins has been noted here – Viking moved the hallway off center to give more room to the real balcony cabins on the other side of the ship (they patented this design, so they are proud of it even if many of us disagree).  And Viking is the least active cruise line I know of because its owner doesn't want to waste space on a gym or bicycles – also many other lines divide up the tour groups by activity level, which would have helped you get a faster pace (and AMA and Scenic, for example, have lots of hiking and biking options in addition to the walking tours).

 

But socializing at dinner is expected on a river cruise (few lines have many 2-tops) and the excursions are a highlight for most river cruisers.  Land extensions aren't recommended for any river cruise line, unless it's a first trip to Europe and you want your hand held [been there, done that] as the hotels are chosen for large size and group rates rather than location or charm.  Likewise getting your air from the cruise line puts you at the mercy of their limited contracts with selected airlines.  So these aspects of your cruise would have been issues on any river cruise line.

 

It's hard to figure out what to recommend for your second river cruise, because your likes and dislikes cut across the river cruise lines.  All river cruises are expensive, because small ships have high per-berth costs.  There are lower-cost lines that don't include excursions, but their ships are also basic and meals may be even more regimented than you experienced.  There are high-end lines that would have met your desires much more closely, but they are more expensive than Viking.

 

If you do want to try again, I would suggest AMA as a good compromise between cost and luxury [but note that their prices do not include alcohol except at meals and happy hour, and don't include gratuities].  They are the pioneer for including bicycles onboard and have lots of bike excursions or you can use the bikes on your own.  

 

As to itineraries, the Rhône has fewer bus rides and a good mix of attractions (Roman ruins, Van Gogh, wine, the culinary capital of France in Lyon).  Choose the Lyon to Arles route so you are sailing with the current, to maximize time in port.

 

But the biggest thing I would recommend before you book another river cruise is to do a lot of research.  Read the stickies at the top of this forum.  Get a copy of Insight Guides River Cruising in Europe & the USA (2021) from your local library or amazon.  Find a travel agent that specializes in river cruising and ask them lots of questions.  And read lots of threads on this forum for reviews and advice from experienced river cruisers.

 

I hope you will try again with a second river cruise and find a line and itinerary that better suit, but based on your review it's possible that river cruising just isn't for you.

[notamermaid]

Thank you for your detailed review. Great to read you had a good time on Viking. As you say, you have learnt that the company is not the best fit for you. Glad you are not giving up after this one, you are right that with another company and the options now available as regards itineraries and level of activity younger folk like you will find another river cruise that they can thoroughly enjoy. I was among the youngest on my first river there were a few that were clearly younger than forty, i.e. just a little below my age range. This was a German company and they tend to have some younger people that put the average age lower than with some other lines. You can still find this on the line Arosa (Flussreisen), which also caters to families. As you prefer to not go all-inclusive you may want to look into Viva Cruises, a relatively new line that is based in Germany but can be booked from the US.

 

notamermaid

 

[bundtkate]

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

most of the things you mention as negatives are well publicized here on the River Cruising forum

This is definitely true, but I had zero experience with any of that stuff so I had no idea if it would actually bug me. I have often read negatives about various lines that either didn't bother me at all (no rotating menu in the Haven on NCL) or were things I actually liked (more European-style service on MSC) so I try to withhold judgment. In this case, yes, a lot of that stuff did turn out to bug me, but not nearly enough for me to not enjoy the cruise so something to keep in mind for next time but not a disaster by any means.

Also, I should have mentioned in background portion of the review that we didn't really choose Viking. A deal cropped up that brought the cost close to what we'd generally spend on an ocean cruise given the included airfare so we decided to try it. This was done without much research and with full understanding that it might be awful or amazing or somewhere in between. If that deal had come from AMA or Uniworld or anyone else we'd have taken it too. It just so happened to be on Viking.

 

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

the excursions are a highlight for most river cruisers

Honest, we weren't alone in being unimpressed with the excursions so it may be that either Viking or this itinerary dropped the ball here. I lack anything to compare to so it's tough for me to make that judgment call. There were some I enjoyed much more than others and even some that really surprised me like the lunch with students in Heidelberg. That was probably among my favorites and I was very convinced I'd hate it beforehand so just goes to show you never truly know until you give it a try.

 

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The small size of Viking's French balcony cabins has been noted here – Viking moved the hallway off center to give more room to the real balcony cabins on the other side of the ship

I had read that and watched videos so I was ostensibly aware, but it's a bit different when you try to use the thing. It doesn't look that bad, but then you're in it and that's a different matter. This was one of several reasons I'd never pay for this upgrade from the swan room, but I wasn't going to complain about the unexpected free upgrade.I think your comment about 190 people vs. 150-170 on other lines is telling here. I'd hazard a guess we'd find most rooms on Viking cramped.

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Land extensions aren't recommended for any river cruise line, unless it's a first trip to Europe and you want your hand held

In this case, the land portions weren't extensions, but part of the itinerary. End of the day, it's probably much the same thing, but there were minor differences like an included tour in each city along with several optional excursions that I don't think are typically offered for extensions based on what I read about them. We did extend in Paris, but on our own rather than through Viking as we didn't see the point.

13 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It's hard to figure out what to recommend for your second river cruise, because your likes and dislikes cut across the river cruise lines

 

Very little is going to tick all of anyone's boxes, mine included, but we still enjoyed this cruise in spite of that. I struggle with sharing negatives in a proper context, I think. None of this was anything close to cruise ruining, but there weren't a lot of things that stuck out as huge positives so it reads like everything was terrible. There was quite a lot that just met my expectations so I don't have any regrets, but that's not the sort of thigh worth highlighting either.You gotta start somewhere and figure out what you like and this trip helped us do that.

As for next time (and I do think there will be one), I think avoiding the land portions would probably get us 50% of the way there already. It's unfortunate because it was Prague that sold me on the itinerary so I kind of doomed myself there, but you live and learn. I think we'll look at some of the budget lines next. I know the ships will be basic and there are fewer inclusions but we deal with that on ocean cruises no problem. Sometimes lower expectations help, too. If that doesn't look good then AMA does look like a reasonable next step. As for itineraries, I was thinking Duoro since I've read that you get some more daytime sailing on those itineraries and the scenic sailing on the Rhine was a highlight, but we'll see.

[Host Jazzbeau]

12 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

As for itineraries, I was thinking Duoro since I've read that you get some more daytime sailing on those itineraries and the scenic sailing on the Rhine was a highlight, but we'll see.

Thanks for the follow-up post, which puts everything in a fuller context.

 

The Duoro is all daytime sailing, a government mandate because of the twists and turns and the many locks.  That is a big attraction of that itinerary [we are doing it in September on Scenic]  But – the nature of that river, with very steep banks and the rural nature of the area, means you will have to take the ship excursions if you want to see the sights; so be prepared for that and choose the line based on excursion descriptions that appeal to you.

 

The Rhine (or Moselle and Rhine) is the #1 itinerary and usually recommended to first-time river cruisers.  [It was my first river cruise, on AMA, and what sold me on river cruising.]  But this will bring up another annoying thing about river cruising lately:  rafting of ships.  Because it's so popular, there are many more ships than landing stages so you will often be rafted 2 or 3 deep and have to climb up and over the next ship.  [Not a problem for us – or you, since you are young and active – but still an annoyance.]  If you do this itinerary, I recommend adding a couple of days in Lucerne at the end or beginning; you can easily do this on your own and control the choice of hotel – easy train service from Basel to Lucerne and from Lucerne straight to the Zurich airport.

[bundtkate]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

this will bring up another annoying thing about river cruising lately:  rafting of ships.  Because it's so popular, there are many more ships than landing stages so you will often be rafted 2 or 3 deep and have to climb up and over the next ship.  [Not a problem for us – or you, since you are young and active – but still an annoyance.]

We actually didn't raft at all, if you can believe that! I kept expecting it to happen because we'd be in a port with 2, 3, or more Viking ships and for whatever reasons they would raft and we were just there on our own. Like you said, just an annoyance so not a huge deal, but I was so prepared for this to be a thing and it wasn't. I guess this was because most of our route was on the Main and there's less traffic there? Who knows.

 

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

But – the nature of that river, with very steep banks and the rural nature of the area, means you will have to take the ship excursions if you want to see the sights; so be prepared for that and choose the line based on excursion descriptions that appeal to you.

This was actually a research struggle for me, at least on  Viking. The descriptions of the excursions are ... not great. Details would be missing like the types of meals one would get when that was included as I mentioned in the review. There were a few excursions that were bus tours that didn't mention that. Apparently the "panoramic <city>" tours are all bus tours so maybe something experienced river cruisers just know, but newbie me was caught off guard. Hopefully just a Viking thing and other lines will make this easier. 🤞

[ak1004]

Thanks for the review!

 

Many people consider Viking top of the line, but apparently this is not the case. Our friends took a cruise with Viking and then with Uniworld, and they mentioned that those 2 lines are in a different league. I know that most CC regulars are well aware of this, but most people who are not cruise experts consider Viking superior to other lines. I guess their marketing works.

 

We also prefer not all inclusive experience (as non drinkers), but the irony is that more inclusive usually also means more luxury (less people in buses, better food and service etc).

 

We will see how our first Uniworld cruise goes in Spetember.

[ural guy]

bundtkate-  Great review, you stated what you liked and didn't and why, thanks.

 

I often break away, or don't start the included tour.  I've used the onboard bikes (defunct Vantage), or taken the train to a nearby town that interests you.  My spouse would typically take the tour.  Having the options was great.  Some of the German lines offer the tours as add ons, Rad Reisen Eurocycle has cruises where you can rent a bike, or bring your own.  Following the Red Lolipop, even with the QuietVox setup, is always going to feel like sheep being herded.

 

  I've also noticed that guides are sometimes stuck on 18th/19th Century history, and shy away from more recent events as they may be controversial.  I'm more interested in recent events than Sisi mania it seems that we always hear about on the upper Danube cruises.

 

We eat about 80% of our meals in the Aquavit (or Captains Club, Vantage), not a fan of long meals, and typically get to 'know' the wait staff there pretty well.  Nice and relaxed to us.  So I agree with you 100% here, I hope they are full staffed for our Christmas sailing.

 

  You could hop a train up the Rhine from Basel, stopping at various spots and take a day cruise of the castle section.  Take a left at Koblenz, maybe rent a car at this point, and head up the Mosel.  The vineyards on the slopes along the river were gorgeous when we were there one November.

 

Good luck no matter where you choose to go, and via what means.

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

"panoramic" is a marketing term of art in all modes of travel for "bus tour" – you see the panorama, but not the detail (because you don't get close enough).  Kind of like the real estate terms "quaint" which means old and "cozy" which means cramped. 

[bundtkate]

26 minutes ago, ural guy said:

I've also noticed that guides are sometimes stuck on 18th/19th Century history, and shy away from more recent events as they may be controversial.  I'm more interested in recent events

I actually read that Gate 1 is known for not shying away from the controversial and I have to admit that intrigued me. I've not read much detail about them so no basis on which to make a decision, but they're on my "to consider" list for that reason alone.

Edited July 21, 2023 by bundtkate

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@bundtkate if you decide to plan another river cruise you might want to consider Avalon.   They offer a series of itineraries labeled “active and discovery” that are geared to younger, more adventurous clients. The You Tube video reviews I’ve seen seem to support this. They also have larger average room size, even in standard cabins, than Viking and as a result carry fewer passengers.  Each ship has an “adventure host” that leads biking/hiking tours in each port and Carrie’s their own bikes. The dining room has quite a few tables for two.

 

These are amongst many of the reasons I chose them over Viking for my 2024 Europe trip and am already scouring their itineraries to get some ideas for 2025. If I like my 2024 trip as much as I anticipate I’ll be ready to rebook in an instant!

[Kathy Kapaldo]

Sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience - but you aren't Vikings demographic (but you knew that) - and for someone in their 60's I read your review with a grain of salt - and think you will need to find another cruise line - Viking is good for me tho

 

[Kristelle]

thanks for your review - am avidly reading all river cruise reviews to see what appealed to people and what didnt.

 

Some of your comments do relate to just not being a good fit for you and you have acknowledged that - always good in reviews, I think, when people are aware something is their subjective view rather than an intrinsic bad thing.

 

(cant see 30 mins stuck at one portion of a guided tour as appealing to many people though 🙄)

 

we are heading off on our first  river cruise in 2 weeks, (different company) - hopefully there will be active options as we like doing active things, although we are 20ish years older than you

 

Thanks again for taking the time to explain what you did and didnt like about your trip.

 

 

[bundtkate]

1 hour ago, Kristelle said:

(cant see 30 mins stuck at one portion of a guided tour as appealing to many people though 🙄)

In total fairness to Viking, I think that was an anomaly. There are multiple groups for each tour and nearly all of them had moved on well before we did. I also don't believe the guides are Viking employees so the amount of control they can exert over how they conduct their tours is likely limited to requesting they not be assigned to Viking in the future.
 

1 hour ago, Kristelle said:

hopefully there will be active options as we like doing active things, although we are 20ish years older than you

 I hope so too! Viking did have 2 active options I remember. One was a bike ride along the Mosel and another was a hike in the Wurzberg hills, but both were at an extra cost and ultimately got canceled due to not enough participants. Who knows if the two of us would have been enough for it to move forward, but we had others we were more interested in those ports so we passed. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts. Despite the age difference, it sounds like we have at least some shared interests so perhaps you've found our next river cruise. 😊

 

5 hours ago, Kathy Kapaldo said:

Sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience

I didn't have a lousy experience. As I mentioned in my summary:

"We really did enjoy our river cruise. Any time I write these reviews, I feel like I come across as overly negative when the reality is that something not quite meeting my expectations does not keep [me] from enjoying it, especially in this case. I had high expectations for Viking based on what I've read in other reviews as well as where they position themselves in the market and they definitely fell short of that, but something that's less than amazing can still be great."

My thoughts remain the same today -- we really did enjoy the experience, in spite of the aspects that weren't our cup of tea. I'm very glad we gave it a try and feel that we've learned a lot that will help us enjoy the experience even more next time.

[CruiseIreland]

@bundtkate. I really appreciated you taking the time to share your experience of your first river cruise. It is YOUR experience and valid. We just got back, tonight, from our first river cruise, on Gate 1, and we loved it but many of your issues resonate with us. We're aged 59 and 62 and were not the youngest on the cruise but close to youngest. That was not an issue. I highly recommend Gate 1 and I will be posting our final update on the live thread here. Ken 

[bundtkate]

49 minutes ago, CruiseIreland said:

I highly recommend Gate 1 and I will be posting our final update on the live thread here

Oh, I'll have to check that out! You may have seen I mentioned Gate 1 earlier because they intrigue me, but the info on them is pretty scarce so it will be awesome to read a first-hand account! I'm weirdly determined to find a line I love. I really enjoy visiting several places at once in Europe, but hauling my roller luggage from place to place while the cobbles loudly announce "tourist coming through!" is the one thing I'd love to get rid of. River cruises do just that so I'm going to keep looking and hoping the right one is out there.

[bundtkate]

On 7/21/2023 at 6:20 AM, notamermaid said:

As you prefer to not go all-inclusive you may want to look into Viva Cruises, a relatively new line that is based in Germany but can be booked from the US.

Because other options have come up a few times in this thread, I wanted to mention that I somehow missed this rec from @notamermaidwhen first reading through the replies but since have done some looking into Viva and it actually looks like a really great option. Thank you! The prices are pretty affordable (~1500-2000 euro per person for a 7-night in a swan room) and still about as all-inclusive as Viking are by default.

A review mentioned that if the cruise is closer to 50/50 English and German speakers that tours will just be done in two groups, but if you land on a cruise where you're one of only a handful of English speaking passengers, they will generally do the tours in only German. I totally get that as it definitely feels silly (and rude) to ask all the German speakers to sit through the same thing in English just for you, but I'm curious if you're left entirely to your own devices or if they provide some sort of alternative.

Finally, depending on the ship, it seems tables for 2 are far more common and there are more tables for 4 than for 8+ like on Viking so even if you are sharing, at least it's with fewer people. Also, dining times are more flexible so you can increase your chances of a smaller table by dining at off hours -- something my husband and I usually do anyway as we eat later than most even at home.

All in all, it looks like an interesting option. About the only thing we could fit in next year would be a Nov/Dec sailing and this Texan isn't sure she's up for all of that cold just yet, but I expect we'll look at a Basel to Amsterdam (with some extra days on both end to justify the long flight) in 2025. The shortlist so far is Gate 1, Avalon, and Viva with Viva currently looking like the front runner based on price, but we'll see how it goes!

Thanks, everyone, for all of your suggestions here. I know I sound like a grump at times, but we're itching for another river cruise already so it's great to have some alternative lines to dig into in the meantime. 🙂

[notamermaid]

5 hours ago, bundtkate said:

The shortlist so far is Gate 1, Avalon, and Viva with Viva currently looking like the front runner based on price, but we'll see how it goes!

That is a very unusual combination of choices. Really interesting. Glad you find Viva Cruises an option. Never been on a ship so far but they really look nice when I see them sailing. There are a few good reviews available now. Not sure if you know this one, a poster on another thread gave us a video of this guy:

 

Weather: you may find November a bit chilly for a Texan, I agree. You will normally not be in snow when sailing on the Rhine, November is often still mild with us, but night frost can make morning excursions unpleasant. The November mists are adorable (for me anyway). December brings a bit more snow and potentially really frosty days.

 

notamermaid

 

[bundtkate]

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

That is a very unusual combination of choices. Really interesting.

They each have a characteristic that appeals to me so despite being rather different I think any one of them could potentially be a good fit. Gate 1's excursions are supposedly more unique than those offered by other lines so that's a major improvement in my mind over Viking. Avalon has more active options and some specialized itineraries that focus on areas of interest like a wine cruise which I think could be worthwhile. Meanwhile Viva, though more all-inclusive for Americans than Germans apparently, seems to be a fair bit more affordable allowing us to potentially do a river cruise more often than we might otherwise.

 

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Not sure if you know this one, a poster on another thread gave us a video of this guy

Morgan was the one who mentioned tours being only in German if there aren't enough English speakers on board so I had looked at some of his videos. I was actually looking for his full review the other day, but apparently YouTube has removed the option to search within a given user's videos so I was having a hard time locating it. Now I don't have to hunt around again today so thanks for this!