Last night we attended a AAA info session advertising Viking Cruises. Thought I’d solicit feedback from the CC travel gang.
We’d like to consider a European river cruise with Viking, travelling with another couple. We are OK with the fact that they are small, lacking the glitz and entertainment options on a big ship. For this trip, focus would be more on history and culture. (I do understand though that the convenience of “one bedroom” means sacrifice of the some of the cultural experience of actually staying there.).
At first glance, to us the main disadvantage seems to be cost (a little steep for listed cost in brochure, but I think probably a lot more in reality). It is good that the airfare (sometimes) and tours and meals with wine/beer are included.
We did the Rhine Getaway last November. We loved, loved, loved it. Planning our next adventure with Viking!
I can talk about how much we enjoyed a river cruise forever lol!
Viking offers booking codes. Different ones every month it seems. There’s one out there for free airfare and free silver spirits for select cruises. Only on 2023 cruises.
I’ll be glad to answer any specific or non specific questions you might have.
We added on hotel stays at the beginning and end of our cruise. And did lots of optional (paid) excursions. Figured we would only be there once so might as well do what we wanted.
I’ve done cruises on the Danube and Rhine (not with Viking) and enjoyed them both. Not having to pack and unpack is a great. However, one thing that the cruise companies don’t like to talk about is that river levels can have a major impact on your cruise. If the water levels are too high (usually in the Spring) or too low (usually in the Summer), your cruise may quickly become a land tour. On the cruises I did, we had to end our cruise before the last port due to low water levels on the Danube. It wasn’t a big deal because it was the end of the cruise, but I have heard some real disaster stories. I have also heard that, because it has a large fleet of boats, Viking is better than most cruise operators at dealing with water level issues.
I’ve read about the water level issues and do have that concern. Last night somebody asked a question about it, and their claim was that mitigation on some routes is send ships in opposite directions on same day…. then if needed at obstacle point the switch the passengers/crews and revert direction.
Part of my research, if we get serious, will be to check with itineraries and seasons seem most/least vulnerable to water level interruption.
My in-laws must’ve done a dozen Viking Cruises over the years. Loved every one of them my MIL adored the Christmas Market one (ironically for a Jewish gal) - so much she dragged her sister the following year.
I would love to try one, there are a few itineraries that appeal to me. They look expensive to me.
We did the Viking Grand European cruise last fall. We went Budapest to Amsterdam. We loved it. I had always wanted to do Amsterdam to Budapest, but the time and money worked out. We did upgrade to having a balcony. It was just lovely cruising and seeing the lovely countryside. I wish we could have had a longer time in each place, but someday we will fly to Europe and rent a car to spend more time in some of the places.
A co-worker of mine used to work for Viking and the company paid for her to go on one of their cruises. I think they want their employees to experience the product that they’re selling. Her husband went along and they had a great time. They were in their 30’s, and except for the people working on the ship, they were the youngest people on the cruise. All the other passengers were probably 60 and above.
They are expensive, but from what I’ve heard you get what you pay for. I’ve also heard good things about Ama Waterways and Avalon too. Tauck (the tour company) also does river cruises. My stepfather’s lady friend did a Tauck river cruise and they had to stop the cruise due to river levels. Tauck basically turned it into one of their land tours…they had a great time!
Summer is typically the time that has low water levels. We went in November and the river was fine.
I wouldn’t prefer to go in the heat of the summer. I think fall is perfect.
It’s not cheap but we loved the fact that we didn’t need to think about anything, it was all done. from the moment we got our luggage at our destination until we arrived at the airport going home. Viking was there the entire time.
We like the idea that shore excursion are included in Viking’s steep price. They are supposed to be good, but we’ve learned that the optional extra tours do have an extra fee. Also gratuities are extra (I think $20/person daily?)
In areas such as the Rhine or Danube, Viking has handled low water better than some. For example, every day a ship simultaneously leaves Amsterdam and Basel. So at every port, every day, there are 2 ships, traveling in opposite directions. As a result, ship swaps are handled relatively swiftly, where passengers lose only a morning or an afternoon. Passengers are moved to the same room (Viking longships all have the same deck plans), and the crew comes with them. Folks are bussed around the unnavigable stretch of the river to the other ship.
In the spring, high water can be a problem due to low bridges. In the summer, low water can be an issue. We sailed in October and had no such problems.
Thanks for the helpful feedback! Did you like the weather for sightseeing there during October?
In 2018 we rented a canal boat (3 bedrooms/bathrooms) with two other couples on Canal Du Midi. We did other travels before/after, and the 3-week trip was late Sept / early Oct. It seemed a nice time to visit Europe.
My parents late 70s/early 80s did a Viking River Cruise with their friends this past summer and loved it. In fact my parents signed to do another this year before they even left the ship. My mom shares there are online groups where people share when they are crushing so you can meet people before your voyage. They can only sing the praises of the experience.
We are booked on a Grand European cruise in June from Amsterdam to Budapest replacing the one canceled last Sept due to low water and my husband’s leg surgery. This will be our 12th cruise, but first river cruise. We are arriving a few days early in Amsterdam on our own as we’ve been to Amsterdam and Budapest several times in the past so we are not taking Viking’s pre-cruise and post cruise.
Even though Viking offers free air we are not taking advantage of it as I’ve heard many mishaps on the air schedule. Airfares are very steep right now and if you don’t mind last minute air changes and perhaps not the fastest air routes you can take advantage of their Air plus and upgrades for less $$.
If you choose to use Vikings air that’s often included, you can purchase what they call Viking air plus.
It’s $100 per person and gives you more leeway in scheduling your flights.
I purchased the Viking air plus, called the number they give you and suggested the flights I wanted to use. They were fine with that and I was scheduled for those flights.
Now the airlines are not predictable and our flight times did change but only a little bit. I checked my flights periodically and found that our layover was down to less than an hour. Again I researched and found a flight that worked. Called Viking air plus and had no trouble changing my flight.
Not every flight is included, Viking doesn’t have every flight they can use. But we flew Delta and I was pleased with our decision.
In the future I think I will pay to upgrade to premium economy though. I thought I could upgrade later through Delta. I was not able to.
We sailed Amsterdam to Basel in October. We were told in Amsterdam that it rains there in some for 350/365 days per year, so obviously we saw some rain, though not all day (we went in 3 days early). We had some rain sailing down the Rhine—cruise director told us the mid-Rhine wine growing region receives the least rain in Germany BUT we had a day of rain there. By the time we got to Basel the weather was gorgeous and we had 3 beautiful days in Lucerne post-cruise.
Temperature-wise, on one of the rainy days it was COLD–upper 40’s. Rest of the time it was comfortable, 50s-60s.
Being someone who HATES the heat (we’ve been to Ireland, Iceland, and Scotland also), I enjoyed it
I have friends who have done Viking cruises and enjoyed them. We did an extended family trip on Ama Waterways. We were 15 of us from 18-89 yrs and everyone enjoyed it. My FIL picked Ama at the suggestion of his travel agent. We liked that they have bikes on board all their boats. In our case all excursions were included. You do need to tip at the end.
My folks are decidedly not “cruise” people, but they went on a Viking river cruise around 14 years ago at the insistence of friends and loved it so much that they’ve been on perhaps 12 different river cruises; they’ve also done trips with Viking where they’ve linked two and three different river cruises together throughout Europe, staying at the destination city for a few days at a time before joining the next segment.
They also did the first circumnavigation cruise with Viking that was around 4+ months and had an incredible time - Viking brought on experts from all over the world who would travel with the ship for a week or so at a stretch and give talks and walks as they travelled.
They love the conversations, history, the local guides and historians they bring on board and the crews.