Just back from Viking Grand European Voyge

[billinyucatan]

Loum140...

 

Thank you for that very practical information.

 

To our surprise, we received our overnight-express Viking package by Fed Ex in only one week.. well, fast for the part of Mexico where we live! Thus, we are confirmed that we are on the Viking Legend (the new ship) and received their booklets and passport-ticket pouch that they enclosed. I will also look over it and see if it answers more of my questions or if it will bring up more questions!

 

We have friends who live both in the Netherlands and in Germany that have contacted us that they want to meet up with us. I assume that since the boat is in Amsterdam on Aug 2 - 3 (departing Amsterdam sometime in the afternoon on Aug 3), we could check at anytime.. even shortly before the ship leaves Amsterdam? Do you know if that is usually possible..or is it best to check in early on the first day (even though we can not get into the cabin then... drop off the luggage and take off with out friends)????

 

Also in Germany, is it possible to "miss the boat" at one port and meet it down the river at the next port as we spend the day... eve with German friends?

 

Do you know if friends can visit inside the ship when it is in port or is boarding only for ticketed passengers. I am mostly interested to see if our dutch friends can come aboard before we take off. Do you know if anyone on your cruise did that? Just checking out our options. Thanks.

[loum140]

Bill: I think that your questions should be directed to Viking for response as they are very specific to your situation. Generally speaking, if the boat is in port, you can be ashore until the "all aboard" time, but this time varied by city. Good luck and happy sailing. Marsha

[billinyucatan]

Thanks. I will give them a call. Once some friends in the Netherlands and Germany found out we were making this trip, they all want to see us... but that may be hard to do.

[ddean52]

Loum140...

 

Thank you for that very practical information.

 

To our surprise, we received our overnight-express Viking package by Fed Ex in only one week.. well, fast for the part of Mexico where we live! Thus, we are confirmed that we are on the Viking Legend (the new ship) and received their booklets and passport-ticket pouch that they enclosed. I will also look over it and see if it answers more of my questions or if it will bring up more questions!

 

We have friends who live both in the Netherlands and in Germany that have contacted us that they want to meet up with us. I assume that since the boat is in Amsterdam on Aug 2 - 3 (departing Amsterdam sometime in the afternoon on Aug 3), we could check at anytime.. even shortly before the ship leaves Amsterdam? Do you know if that is usually possible..or is it best to check in early on the first day (even though we can not get into the cabin then... drop off the luggage and take off with out friends)????

 

Also in Germany, is it possible to "miss the boat" at one port and meet it down the river at the next port as we spend the day... eve with German friends?

 

Do you know if friends can visit inside the ship when it is in port or is boarding only for ticketed passengers. I am mostly interested to see if our dutch friends can come aboard before we take off. Do you know if anyone on your cruise did that? Just checking out our options. Thanks.

 

Billy

what all is in the viking package (ticketing media)?

in vienna we are doing both the optional pm tour as well as the eve. concert. it will be both a long and rewarding day!! have a great time!!

Dean

[billinyucatan]

Dean, They send a black 9 X 9 inch (apprx) canvas wallet with the VIKING logo for carrying passport and tickets. They include some luggage tags, some stickers, some ticket-vouchers (although they are e-tickets) and some booklets: The Danube, The Rhine and its tributaries, Itinerary and departure information.

 

If you live outside the US as we do, there is an additional charge to send it. If you are in the US, it is sent for free. It should arrive a couple of weeks before your cruise begins.

 

Loum140, We are in a different ship.... but did your cabin have 110v 60 Hz american-style electric outlets? ... or do we need to bring a converter.

 

 

Also Loum140 or any others who might know... Since we are leaving our two teenage kids at home, we are also wondering about communication. Did you use (or do you know of others) an American cell phone or did you use other means for calling. We have a TelMex (Mexican) cell phone and a North-American plan (which includes US, Canada, and Mexico) Verizon cell phone. I have not yet checked to see if either can be used in Europe. I know the TelMex phone can take a Simm card which supposidly can be purchased in Europe.. Do you know anything about that?

 

Bill

[ddean52]

Bill,

Looks like your all set to roll! we use at&t cell and before we leave we sign up for Euro service then when we return we cancel, it works. this trip we are taking a laptop for communacating with home.

Dean

[loum140]

Bill: On the Spirit there were two outlets at the dressing table -- the left side for for US electrical products and the right side for European products like the hair dryer Viking provides. We brought a converter (which we didn't need) and the device that adjusts from 3 prongs to 2 (adapter) as the left outlet had the correct voltage, but didn't take a three prong (grounded) plug. During the cruise, we were able to charge our netbook and camera and I could use my flat iron. If you have any questions re: outlets after you board, just ask the Program Director or the Hotel Manager to come to your cabin and look at your devices -- that's what I did.

 

Don't know about the phones except that it was VERY expensive to use Viking's. We specifically brought along a netbook to keep in touch via e-mail, though at times the internet connection was weak or non-existant especially going through locks and under bridges (550 of them). If your phone won't work in Europe, there's enough time ashore to get a phone card and call home.

 

I've just been looking at my photos and remembering all the special moments of the cruise........Marsha

[sitraveler]

The grounding plugs on the netbook chargers all seem to have a grounding prong. This doesn't fit into the outlet.

So you have to use an adapter w/o the grounding prong to fit into the outlet for this.

[ddean52]

Bill: On the Spirit there were two outlets at the dressing table -- the left side for for US electrical products and the right side for European products like the hair dryer Viking provides. We brought a converter (which we didn't need) and the device that adjusts from 3 prongs to 2 (adapter) as the left outlet had the correct voltage, but didn't take a three prong (grounded) plug. During the cruise, we were able to charge our netbook and camera and I could use my flat iron. If you have any questions re: outlets after you board, just ask the Program Director or the Hotel Manager to come to your cabin and look at your devices -- that's what I did.

 

Don't know about the phones except that it was VERY expensive to use Viking's. We specifically brought along a netbook to keep in touch via e-mail, though at times the internet connection was weak or non-existant especially going through locks and under bridges (550 of them). If your phone won't work in Europe, there's enough time ashore to get a phone card and call home.

 

I've just been looking at my photos and remembering all the special moments of the cruise........Marsha

 

Marsha,

Are you certain that you had both Euro and US electrical outlets by dressing table?

[loum140]

Dean -- yes! They're clearly labled, 115 and 220 I believe. And I had the Hotel Manager look at my appliances and advise me on how to use them. No problems. Marsha

[ddean52]

Marsh,

Its very funny, i went through a lot of info. as to what would be the best converter to buy for this trip and now it seems i will only need it for our hotel rooms! Thanks for the info!:confused::)

Dean

Billy in the viking packet was there any decent info on the rivers we will be traveling? I.e. castles..etc of note we will be seeing?

[billinyucatan]

Very helpful specific information on the electric. Thanks.

 

I have Verizon's North American plan which is no longer offered. I am grandfathered in, so I have it until I switch out of it.. which Verizon would love since they lose money with the program. If I were to switch to Europe than we would lose the North American plan without being able to get it back. It is essential for us to call the states from our home in the Yucatan of Mexico. For those living in the US, however, I think changing temporarily to European calling is an excellent idea. I will check to see if we can use our cell phone in Europe without changing our plan.

 

At our beach house, we have satellite internet, but we have found that computer communication via satellite connection does not work well.. especially for VOIP service such as Vonage, for Skype, or for other like services. It is our only option there. We use the Hughesnet 7000 series that is suppose to be ok for VOIP, but it really is not. The phone can ring but we often can not connect after the ringing. When we do connect the time delay drives those on the other end crazy.. and often there is finally such a delay that the call is cut off. I imagine the same will be true for shipboard internet. The problem is that phone service via VOIP (voice over internet protocol) times out with the satelite delays. Problems when passing under the many bridges would also cut off the signal and would likely end any phone connection.

 

There is a free software called STEAM that my kids use a lot at the beach house which they use to talk with those even in the states with whom they play games on line. It does work with our satellite connection. Thus, as long as our kids are online and have their computer on, we could communicate that way. The problem is that both parties when communicating with steam must have the software installed on each computer and each computer must be on. The connection, however, once established does not time-out and you can revert to text messaging in the case of loss connections (such as the passage of dense cumulus clouds or going under a bridge in a boat or ship).

 

I know our telmex cell phone is an unlocked cell phone that can interchange simm cards, so I may look into that possibility. I will post after the trip what seems to work.

 

Bill

[ddean52]

billy,

one option would be to buy a international phone ($49) and and just load it with some minutes....i keep meaning to buy one but have not done so yet. its an easy fix!

dean

[usavvy2]

Also Loum140 or any others who might know... Since we are leaving our two teenage kids at home, we are also wondering about communication. Did you use (or do you know of others) an American cell phone or did you use other means for calling. We have a TelMex (Mexican) cell phone and a North-American plan (which includes US, Canada, and Mexico) Verizon cell phone. I have not yet checked to see if either can be used in Europe. I know the TelMex phone can take a Simm card which supposidly can be purchased in Europe.. Do you know anything about that? Bill

 

Bill,

typically, Verizon Wireless is on CDMA network so unless you have what's classified as a "WORLD" smart phone from Verizon, it won't work in Europe b'c Europe went with the GSM network (which AT&T and T-Mobile use). (Think of it much like Beta and VHS when video players were first introduced -two standards and one finally won out - VHS.) Why carriers decided we needed a different network than Europe is beyond me - probably the same folks that figured out our electricity had to be a different voltage from europe's! Verizon does have the capability of renting you a phone for the time you're overseas. Or you can just pick up a phone once over there - in your case, just pick up the SIM card as long as TelMex is on the GSM network. The convenience of taking your own is that you have the phone # in advance to tell your family and friends.

 

your sailing friends, Sara and Bill (really) :D

[billinyucatan]

The other Sara and Bill...

 

Thanks. Useful info. Europe has PAL for TV, too... so they like to keep things different (or the US does,, depending on perspective).

 

Bill and Sara

[usavvy2]

billy,

one option would be to buy a international phone ($49) and and just load it with some minutes....i keep meaning to buy one but have not done so yet. its an easy fix! dean

 

just make sure you know what bands it has (dual, tri, quad and the frequencies to ensure it is truly international). I went into an AT&T store and was going to buy a prepaid phone (not looking for int'l at the time) and they told me that their prepaid phones aren't on the G3 network - they're on the G2 network so they don't have as strong a signal as their regular cell phones! (I wanted to buy a prepaid to test the signal strength in the outer reaches of Tucson without actually committing and having to break a contract for an iPhone - needless to say I still don't have the iPhone LOL.)

 

GSM-900 and GSM-1800 are used in most parts of the world: Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania and most of Asia. 900 is most widely used.

GSM-850 and GSM-1900 are used in the United States, Canada, and many other countries in the Americas. most telephones support multiple bands as used in different countries. These are typically referred to as multi-band phones. Dual-band phones can cover GSM networks in pairs such as 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies (Europe, Asia, Australia and Brazil) or 850 and 1900 (North America and Brazil). European tri-band phones typically cover the 900, 1800 and 1900 bands giving good coverage in Europe and allowing limited use in North America, while North American tri-band phones utilize 850, 1800 and 1900 for widespread North American service but limited worldwide use. A new addition has been the quad-band phone, supporting all four major GSM bands, allowing for global use. (credit to wikipedia)

[ddean52]

the challenges of life!! LOL

[billinyucatan]

We have a friend here who flies out of Cancun to Germany a lot. I asked her today what she does. She buys a phone card or borrows phones from friends/family. Bascially for the same reasons you mentioned with the lack of cell-phone compatibility.

[wallygator]

Just returned from Viking's Amsteram to Budapest river cruise. We had a wonderful time: lots of scenic cruising, great itinerary, fabulous staff, very comprehensive tours, terrific food (local specialties). Glad to answer any questions. Marsha and Lou

 

 

A question about currency. What was your experience for spending money or to make purchases in port locations? Did you do currency exchange prior to traveling? Did you exchange in Europe? Did you use credit cards/debit cards? If so was there any issues making exchanges.

Thanking you in advance.

[ddean52]

the most effective way to convert currency is also the simplest way; use atm's in Europe!

[sitraveler]

Wally- There are dozens of postings on this subject. The short answer is the only currency you need on this trip is Euros. Get them with an ATM card on arrival in Amsterdam- the airport has many ATM's. For incidental expenses in Bratislava or Budapest Euros are fine. You can get local currencies for these 2 locations if you take local transportation, but the taxis are happy with euros.

[wallygator]

I will be bringing euros for start up. I was wondering if there were any issues during this cruise itinerary to use debit cards to get cash. I don't want to travel with more cash on person or in safe for obvious reasons.

 

Thanking all again for their info.

[webfoot]

We always brought our ATM from our home bank and used it in the ATMs all over Europe. It is much safer than bringing Euros from home ... and you get a much better exchange rate through the ATMs than your local bank would give you ...

 

At least that's how we do it ... :cool:

[no fuss travel]

Plenty of ATM's to get your money at. Don't use the exchange booths, as they do not give you a good rate.

 

Dean, have fun with the internet on Viking Legend. It worked very nicely in the large cities, but elsewhere it was spotty. Every time you are in a lock, forget trying to get internet.

 

The Legend has both voltages, but you will need a converter as it is slow charging.

[billinyucatan]

We are going on this cruise (Aug 2) on another ship (Viking Legend), but since it is the same cruise, perhaps the answer to these questions from your cruise would be helpful... Here is copy paste from their email

"Hallo Bill and Sarah, You see, it is difficult to write in another language. But during your stay in Germany it will be better,

We are so surprised when we read your mail. THAT IS GREAT!

Please tell us how long you stay in Mainz. We will try to take a day holiday to make a "rendezvous". Bill, We are will take care for you, if it is enough time we make a sight-seeing tour. Please give us an answer by mail soon as possible.

We must know the time of your arrival and your departure time in Mainz and the name of the Harbour or landing place. If you stay overnight we can take you to our home and you can sleep in our waterbed:-)"

 

The itinerary that we have just says arrives in the morning at Mainz and departs in the afternoon. Any better specifics?

 

We have a similar request from some friends in Passau. Thanks for any feedback.