Viking Sun - Rhine River Cruise

[Dr. Lab]

We are signed up for the Rhine River Cruise on May 7 from Basel to Antwerp. Has any one taken this cruise. How did you like it? How did you like the Viking Sun?

[ggo85]

We took a slight variation of this cruise (Amsterdam to Basel with a longer stretch on the Moselle river) on Viking several years ago. It was our first river cruise and we were hooked. It's a great itinerary, and we loved Viking line. No complaints. We were also on a different ship (Viking Danube), although they are generally the same in terms of layout.

 

If you have specific questions, please ask.

[cmthomas]

We took the same itinerary on Grand Circle about three years ago but in reverse - Antwerp to Basel. I would say that the highlight of the itinerary was the trip along the Mosel River so you might want to see if your itinerary includes the Mosel. My trip report is way back so if you would like to see it you might find it easier to use this link. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=91404&highlight=River+Harmony

 

Clarence:)

[Dr. Lab]

Anyone sail on Viking Sun? I would really like to hear about it.

[ggo85]

There really is no substantive difference between the Viking Sun and the Viking Danube/Viking Sky. I've walked through one of the Viking Sun class ships (there are 4) when it was tied up next to ours. The major difference is a slight variation in the way the common space (e.g., bar, lounge) is arranged. Cabins are the same size but have a very, very slight difference in layout of the storage space.

 

Given that there are 3 ships identical to the Sun and several others very similar, you might try posting your actual question(s) about the Sun and see if someone can answer it/them based on their experience on other Viking ships.

[bala girl]

I sailed on Viking Sun at the end of Aug '06 going from Antwerp to Basel. A few comments:

The ship - cabins were nicer than I expected. Plenty of room to put things, functional small bathroom with good shower. We had the french windows so one whole wall was glass. We found we didn't spend time in the room at all, so we could just as easily had a cabin with the large window instead of the slider. I think we leaned out and spoke to our friends next door once. The curtains are a loose weave and don't have a blackout shade, so some light will come thru at night, especially if you are going through a lock and there are lights. Take an eye mask if you need a totally dark room.

The lounge – very comfortable but not enough room for everyone. They use this room as the bar, for quick buffet lunches, for all entertainment, and also for the evening briefings regarding the next day’s tours. In the foyer in front of the lounge is the coffee/tea bar. You can always get cold water there (pitcher, not bottled), and there is usually fruit. At the rear of this floor is the library/game room. Lots of books, games, and tables to play cards. Some of the entertainment is local, some of it is games and trivia-type quizzes, and there is a crew show one night. Since the boat doesn’t usually sail until late into the evening, there are times when you can go right into town and spend the evening there.

The restaurant – breakfast and lunch hours are announced based on what is going on that day, and dinner is always at 7pm. It is open-seating; no reservations are taken. Tables are 4, 6, 8 or 10. Breakfast is both buffet and hot orders on request for things like poached eggs, omelets, pancakes, etc. The real early birds seem to get the best sweet rolls and they aren’t readily replenished. We found that the cold cereal selection did not match the age of the passengers on the ship - most of it was sugared. But sometimes a Special K appeared. There was always lox, so that made me happy. One day they ran out of cream for the coffee and were using skim milk. They said they would get supplies in a few days – I said why didn’t someone get off the ship and walk around the corner to a supermarket. So I just skipped upstairs to the coffee bar and got some small creamers. Lunch also was both buffet and hot dishes ordered from a small selection on the menu. The things on the buffet were also served up in the lounge, but it was so much nicer and more comfortable to sit in the restaurant. We discovered some great bleu cheese in the lounge that didn’t appear in the restaurant. So we just put some on a dish and brought it down to the restaurant. Where breakfast and lunch were good, I thought dinner was average. I guess I was used to the menus on ocean cruises and lines like Celebrity and Princess. Here there was always a fish and some other type of meat. I think the protein servings were small. I am thin, but I love my protein. You could always ask for more, could always get a small steak or grilled chicken. We felt there were not enough vegetables. On day 3 we asked the maitre’d if we could have a nice selection of veggies each night for the 4 of us. Each night when we sat down we told the waiter who we were, and they delivered us a big dish of assorted veggies, enough for most of the other people at the table too. There is a small snack at night, but it never looked very appetizing to me. We always had some candy or cake in our cabin from our shore time, so we just brought that out and had some tea or coffee with it.

The crew – everyone was lovely, especially Connie the hotel manager. I believe she is back with the ship this year. Any problems – go to her. The restaurant staff was a little slow, but we felt there were really too few crew for the 198 people on board.

The tours – some of them were really well done, and some were hookey. But do go to the musical instrument museum in Rudesheim because it was great and we almost skipped it. If they say the tour is leaving the ship at 9am – you get 2 announcements beforehand, and they pull out at 9am. Everything is very well organized. They will also let you know if a tour is strenuous in case you have health considerations.

The sun deck – so nice up there. Heavy chairs and lounges with padding. Also 2 areas that were protected by the sun.

The passengers - it seemed like most of the ship was from California on our cruise, and it was not a tour group. Maybe a few people in their 40s, but most in 50s and on up to 80s. I never took a cruise and knew so many people by their first name, or had so many people call me by my first name. It was VERY comfortable. We were 4 people who had done a considerable number of ocean cruises (in fact I am leaving on one on 3/1), and we loved this. Not that we like it more than ocean cruising, but it was a very different feeling.

The clothing – very casual. Some people wear the same thing all day, but most change. They have 2 nicer evenings where people do coats/ties and a nice dress/pants suit. I was surprised by how chilly it was at the start of our trip. Afterall, it was still August, but it was cold and damp. Sneakers were fine when it was dry, but you need some wet weather shoes as well as more than just a sweater or wind breaker. I found that I had to buy a sweater jacket – much like one that was sitting in my closet at home. Layer appropriately.

One thing they are serious about is that you can’t get into your room until 3pm on day 1. Depending on when you arrive on day 1, it could be a long wait with no where to go. Basel is the only port where they spend some time but aren’t well located to town center. You can’t walk to anyplace from where the ship is.

Well – I did run on here a little about Viking Sun. I know your itinerary is a little different going south to north. My friend is on the 5/31 sailing. Have a great trip – you’ll enjoy it.

[Dr. Lab]

bala girl

 

Thank you for your very imformative reply. It was very helpful.

We have been on several ocean cruises but this is our first river cruise.

We are really looking forward to it.

[CruiserJewel]

Dr. Lab, how was your cruise? We are going on this same trip the last of September; any advice for us? We used Viking in China so I know they are a good cruise line.