We are not interested in spending a lot of time on buses. Since it will be winter with colder temps, I am wondering about the indoor lounging space/common areas on the longboats. This is Vikings way of accounting for guests. Hope you have been able to enjoy more Viking cruises since your original one. This is one way the crew can account for all guests. pontac, June 28, 2016 in River Cruising. We were sailing from Amsterdam to Budapest. You mentioned laundry, and although theres no laundromat on Vikings European river cruise ships, there is a laundry service that you can use. Learn how your comment data is processed. WebThe modern and award winning river cruise ships are deployed among the most beautiful rivers in With Viking Cruises you will get a job that takes you places! Do we just work with Viking program director on the day of or the day before? (If you are booked in one of the suites, youll have access to your stateroom at 12:00.) Follow up with a conversation with the Viking staff when youre onboard to learn the expected times and exact location of the ship while docked. We liked exploring on our own after getting the lay of the land from the morning tour guide. The dining room has a variety of tables that can seat 6, 8, or 10 people. With over 50 riverboats, there are many cruises ships, dates, and itineraries to consider. We took a universal travel adaptor with 4 USB plugs and 4 outlets and used just one outlet for all of our electronics (smartphones, camera, tablet, and Apple Watch). Thanks for your kind words, Triana. Some companies may take space from common areas to put into spas and fitness centers; others, like Viking, use all that available space for staterooms and common areas.). Disclaimer: My husband and I paid forour Viking river cruise ourselves. Do they charge for use? Laundry on Viking - River Cruising - Cruise Critic Community You must be at least 18 to book a cruise. Did you bring euros or use credit card? Viking River Cruises: Laundry service is available on board; unfortunately clothes cannot be dry cleaned. We have taken two Viking River Cruises, Bucharest to Amsterdam (21 days in 2019) and Basel to Amsterdam (7 days in 2021). During lunch, prior to and after dinner, theres usually live music in the Lounge. The recommended tipping (for each guest) on excursions is 2 Euros for local guides and 1 Euro for bus drivers. Viking I have been on 1 Viking River cruise and 3 (soon to be 4-I hope!) Viking river cruise After the excursions, we all met at a restaurant in Nuremberg for lunch, had a little free time, and then. U River Cruises by Uniworld offers week-long cruises for young adults along Europes riverways. Now to your questions. Were doing the Rhine Getaway, Amsterdam to Basel in early Oct, but havent actually booked yet! Hi Danny, Im not sure which cruise youre referring to, but you asked an excellent question about renting a car to make day trips while on the cruise. Thank you for making me less anxious! River Cruise Hi Kathleen, For individual tours and dinner reservations, Id let the provider (tour company, restaurant) know what day youll be coming into port. The general experience on all Viking river cruise ships is the same, no matter what ship youre on. This should allow you to finalize your plans to disembark and go meet your friends. Powered by Invision Community. means extensive walking, hiking, or biking. Furthermore, this means that you may have to walk through another ship to get to shore or people are walking through your ship to get to and from theirs. Of all the stops on the Grand European Tour, these are the cities in which our ship had prime docking spots (making it very easy to go out and explore on our own): Budapest, Vienna, Melk, Passau, Regensburg, Wurzburg, Cologne, and Amsterdam. We sent some clothing to be laundered, and we were happy with that choice. There is a fee for this service. In some destinations,laundry can be sent out for cleaning fee while the boat is docked. One question though How can we tell how much bus travel time is involved in each excursion? This is one way the crew can account for all guests. I have a quick question that I wouldnt seem to find the answer online: We are thinking about renting a car at Koblenz and go to Nurburgring for a few hours and also at Speyer to go to Stuttgart for the day. Attire on a river cruise is casual. Your advice about avoiding the far inland tours is wise, I think. Youll find Viking river cruises all through Europe as well as in Egypt and Southeast Asia. After all, we travel to experience new places, new food, and new people, so we like to eat local specialties whenever possible. Thanks, Tom! Only 190 guests. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our Viking river cruise, which transported us in great comfort to some amazing European destinations. Others get the package because they like having their drinks all inclusive without having to think about a bar tab. Did some underwear, jeans and a golf shirt. The ships' specialty dining venues, Manfredi's (Italian) and The Chef's Table also are included in your cruise fare, and you just need to make a reservation to pick a time to dine in either of these places during your cruise. Viking There are also daily announcements with information on docking and reminders about impending excursion departures. Youll receive an excursion card with a number and a letter. Its relatively easy to dress up a pair of jeans a bit, so the overall look is elegant casual. Enjoy your cruise! http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/frequently-asked-questions.html#LIFEABOARD-FAQ-LIST/55787. Well do the Grand European from B to A in October this year. Viking assigns different colored luggage tags to guests depending on what their next travel destination is (a post-excursion through Viking, a trip independent of Viking, or a flight home). Please note that Viking requires at least 48 hours cancellation notice if you are on the ship and decide not to go on an optional excursion. 1. I have seem videos of rooms but cannot perceive where we can place our 2 luggages + backpacks and not having to hop over them inside our room. Weve found there are a lot of commonalities as well as interesting folks to meet. Viking Octantis when we traveled) to your shipboard account. Would an excursion like that feel to rushed to enjoy, or do you know if Salzberg is a not to be missed kind of place? This includes the Viking Daily which provides information for each new day and the evening updates by the program director in the Lounge before dinner. Although lunch is available in the dining room, we favored the Aquavit Terrace (at the front of the ship) for our midday meal. The crew communicates with each other quite well. Hi Kathy, Great question! Rosetta. The letter indicates which excursion group youre on. On both boats we used the laundry service. A few guests scheduled independent sightseeing tours, and it seemed to work out well for them. Not everyone needs to go on excursions. with an electronic keypad is provided in each room. Is there a fee associated with the alternative restaurants? Viking River Cruise On average, how much time did you spend on the boat sailing from each port? The best thing to do is to talk with a Viking staff member as soon as you board to find out details for your specific cruise. On our walk, we passed the Shoes Along the Danube (very moving) and other interesting sights. They say they will be staying til X oclock and then leaving. Walking could be on unpaved or uneven surfaces and may involve many steps or steep inclines. Just in front of the Lounge to the bow of the ship is the Aquavit Terrace. After the excursions, we all met at a restaurant in Nuremberg for lunch, had a little free time, and then were bussed to the new ship in the late afternoon. We have quite a bit of Viking on board credits and wanted to purchase optional shore excursions with that credit. As you probably know, Viking offers nice quality wine, beer, and soft drinks free of charge at lunch and dinner. (OK, the wifi in the rooms REALLY sucksbut if thats your #1 problem, you arent doing badly). Viking Mississippi Once youre on the ship, youll learn the times that the ship will be docked in a city, so you can plan your day. 150 square foot stateroom with picture window (no outdoor space), 135 square foot stateroom with French balcony (sliding glass door with no outdoor space), located on the Upper Deck and Middle Deck, 205 square foot room with full-size private veranda, 275 square foot suite with full-size private veranda, mini-bar with wine, beer, and soft drinks that are replenished daily, complimentary laundry & shoe shine services. private bathrooms that are separate from the living space. Whichever side of the menu you order from, the meals for the entire table are served at the same time. Thanks so much for the kind words, Laura! Viking offers complimentary wine, beer, and soft drinks during lunch and dinner. We are scheduled to take the Viking Danube cruise in early June 2022. Using ATMs machines? on your bed. Do you have any experience about this? We are traveling with 8 other people. WebCrew members typically work a 6-weeks-on, 2-weeks-off rotation, with up to 13 weeks off annually. But, what else would we spend money on? Laundry charges will be billed to your shipboard account. The buses and tour guides for your group are each marked: the bus has a placard with the same number and letter to let you know you need to board that bus; the tour guide has a red and white sign on a paddle to indicate that group, as well. That gives my husband and me plenty of money for tipping the local guides and bus drivers as well as Viking staff before we leave. Wondering how much american cash we should bring and do we need to get euros prior to arrival (if so how much). For example, sometimes two sister ships sail on the same one-way voyage starting at the same time just at opposite ends of the itinerary. The best description and information about Viking River Cruise, thank you for taking the time to write this information, were very appreciate. Laundry services are wash and iron, or just iron. With all that said, my husband and I did opt for the Silver Spirits package. Thats where you might find biking or hiking options, or as you mentioned, the Top of Cologne optional tour. We got off our ship, the Skirnir, in Nuremberg (one of our scheduled ports) before the damaged lock. We haven't used Viking's laundry service so can't comment on that but in the FAQ they do have the price list so at least you'll have an idea of wha document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Youd need to factor in picking up and dropping off the rental cars and then driving to and from your planned destinations. (This is handy because you might encounter tour groups from other Viking ships that are docked in the same city at the same time.) By The tips cover all onboard staff. I bet youre planning your next cruise already. We thoroughly enjoyed our Viking river cruise. Essentially, each ship then turned around and went back to the city from which it originated. Interesting information! When we travel to Europe, we notify our carrier before departure. Although we have some other trips planned (that we organize ourselves, as we often do), we are contemplating which Viking cruise river or ocean we will be booking next. She was able to shop the Viking clothes closet, stocked with items left by previous passengers. which provides information for each new day and the evening updates by the program director in the Lounge before. WebLaundry is completely free on Viking Ocean cruises, including soap, wash, and dr Viking Ocean Ships Ultimate Dining Guide 2022 - Relevant to ALL Viking Ocean Ships Visit With Their crew is well-trained and genuinely appears to want to make you happy. The river cruises have open seating, so that means you arent assigned any table mates. All guests left the ship for excursions (the times of the excursions were modified that day so they would all be timed for the same number of hours). Viking River Cruises Longships Review And Ship Tour Thank you for your informative article! Besides being helpful, your thorough details helped me to envision and imagine, which is my favorite part of planning! The Silver Spirits package is complimentary for guests in an Explorer Suite. After logging on to My Viking Journey, go to the Shore Excursions section and initiate a conversation with a Viking Cruise rep. You should see a red Live Chat box along the margin of the screen. Your email address will not be published. The 190-passenger Viking Egil It makes me happy when I can help others get more comfortable with and enjoy their travels. Doing so will help you remember months and years later where all your amazing pictures are from! And Im so glad I was able to help you prepare for your cruise. There were a few days when we arrived at our port later than planned and had much less time to explore the city. This was true in Passau, a city of over 50,000, and especially, There are times when river cruise ships have to have guests disembark a ship and then board a sister ship. I guess the bottom line is to remember that disruptions can happen whenever we travel, so plan to get the most out of each experience and cherish the time that you get to explore new places and meet new people. As mentioned throughout the comments, thank you so much for such insightful and helpful information! Viking keeps track of your expenses during the cruise, including bar items, laundry, phone calls, and purchases from the Viking shop (logo wear and souvenirs). We are going on the Grand European tour in October 2022. Were celebrating our 50th! Hi Cynthia, I bet youre so excited about your upcoming trip! However, short answer: There is a free laundry room (4 washers/4 dryers) on every VIking Ocean ship roughly midships on Port Side of decks 3, 4, 5, 6. So for 200 dollars, we got a 400 value good for tickets, flights, an excursion, or even the beverage package. I do my own underwear in the sink, but jeans, shirts and heavy socks go to the laundry. Good question, John, but its not an easy one to answer! Viking River Cruises laundry - River Cruising - Cruise Critic