Viking Neptune Eastern European Odyssey

[Mel]

We're planning on taking this river cruise leaving Bucharest October 31/09, ending in Nuremberg November 15th. We have been on many ocean cruises, but never a river cruise, and are looking forward to visiting seven countries in two weeks, with no packing and unpacking! Has anyone been on the Viking Neptune and/or done this itinerary before?

I'm a little worried about the weather as my husband likes it hot (I don't) - any comments regarding past experiences with weather at the beginning of November in this area? If anyone has sailed with Viking before, could you tell me what their prices for wine would be like? Is it a problem bringing wine purchased locally onboard to drink in our cabin? Any other information about the river cruise experience would be appreciated. Mel

[dixieagle]

My husband and I cruised on the Viking Europe a couple years ago, Budapest to the Black Sea, and simply adored it. We were early 50s at the time, which made us among the youngest passengers (doesn't happen often!!!) We loved the relaxed, casual ambience on board, loved docking right in the middle of most cities, enjoyed meeting the other passengers (we had only 60 people on a mid-March cruise) and were thrilled to visit so many places we had heard about during the "Cold War" and NEVER imagined we would see (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary.)

 

We loved that the terrific excursions were included, for the most part, and that there was none of the sell, sell, sell that you encounter on the ocean cruise lines. I can't advise re: the wine situation, as we don't really drink much and didn't purchase wine.

 

The cabins were incredibly comfortable, the food well prepared, and the company and ports fascinating. A perfect two weeks, in our view. We hope you have as much fun as we did, and we cannot wait to take another river cruise.

[Mel]

Thanks, Dixieagle. Has anyone been on an Eastern Europe river cruise in early November? If so, could they tell me what the weather was like and did they need (warm) jackets, gloves, etc.? We have booked the lowest priced cabin on the Viking Neptune and wondered if anyone has any comments on this type of accommodation. Any info. would be appreciated.

[modabrose]

We are going on Neptune for the Tulips and Windmills cruise Apr 9, 2009. I will let you know what the Neptune is like.

 

I asked about purchasing drinks and was told the cocktails/wine/beer are about 6 to 7 euros each. Our cruise offers a "silver beverage" package which provides 2 drinks, unlimited beer, wine, water and sodas.

 

We have a rebate from fuel costs which must be used as shipboard/excursion credit. The only extra tour we are taking will be $40 so it is not worth our buying a beverage package. Don't know if we would spend more than $40 in the gift shop on the cruise.

 

L

[Mel]

Hi Modabrose,

You must be on the Neptune now - can't wait to hear all about it. Hope you are having lovely weather and enjoying your cruise. Mel

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Why don't you just google weather averages for a couple of the cities, or look at a site like wunderground.com. I can't imagine it will be too warm, probably pretty crisp at times, but you might get lucky. I would look closely at rainfall averages as well.