Viking Rhine River Cruise

[lrr]

Wow, lots of changes here since I was last on the site! My wife and I just returned last night from a 2 week trip[ to Europe that included a Viking Rhine River Cruise, plus stays at either end of cruise -- several days in Lucerne.Switzerland, and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. What an amazing way to empty your bank account ...

Lucerne was one of the most beautiful cities we have ever visited, with majestic Alps peaks surrounding the city and enormous Lake Lucerne. We took a side trip to the Alps, including a stop to see cheese production at an old monastery. The cruise itself was on a new long boat, just on its 4th trip. We had stops in France and Germany, including a Black Forest excursion to see cuckoo clock production, medieval villages, castle tours, and visits to a working windmill on the last day of the cruise. We concluded our trip with a stay in Amsterdam for a few days. Perhaps one of the unexpected highlights was a trip to Keukenhof Gardens, where between 6-7 million tulips are on display in a beautiful countryside park outside Amsterdam with displays by 100s of growers, all competing for attention for their own special varieties. And like almost everyone else, we walked throughout the famous Red Light district of Amsterdam to admire the sights ... I was particularly impressed with how clean the city is kept, and also very safe everywhere you travel.

Thank goodness for digital cameras. We shot something like 1700 pictures on the trip that blessed us with beautiful weather and lots of exercise, which was definitely needed to burn off all the calories we consumed on the cruise.

We love to travel, but we are also happy to finally be home, and to get some rest. And maybe get back down to my shop in another day or so.

[atgcpaul]

Good time to go, too, since the Euro has dropped so much, right? Did you eat off the ship, too? Which food did you like the most? On my bucket list is to sit in a German beer garden during Oktoberfest, eating a pretzel or sausage and being served beer in huge stein by a woman resembling the St. Pauli Girl.

I think my parents' have taken that one on Viking. All of their cruises have been with Viking now (except for a Disney cruise the whole family did) and they have really enjoyed all of them. I guess they cater to an older set which is fine for my parents and I think wine is poured nearly all day which is just fine for my Dad. They are not quite 70 and they tend to be on the young side on the trips.

My folks are currently 25 days in to Viking's maiden voyage of their ocean cruise liner. It's a 50 day trip! Started in Istanbul, follows the Mediterranean coastline, then goes out to the Atlantic to get to London then ends up in Helsinki. They're doing it with my Aunt (Mom's sister) and Uncle. I joked on my Uncle's Facebook pic of the ship that someone should slap a bumper sticker on the back reading "SS Spending Our Children's Inheritance"

I've been trying to convince my Dad to post pictures on Facebook so we can follow along. At least my Uncle is good about that. When my parents get back from their trips, they usually head to Costco to get the memory card developed, and then slap the bundle of pictures on the table when they visit and tell us all about it.

[JR]

It must have been a fun trip!

I know the Rhine from Luzern to Mainz pretty well. In my military days may daily commute was across the river from Pfalz to Baden-Wurtenberg.

Amsterdam is a really cool city. One thing still on my bucket list is a visit to the Van Gogh museum. That tulip festival sounds like a sight to see!

[lrr]

This was an amazing trip, but it comes with a caveat. The average age for Viking cruises seems pretty high. My wife and I are 62, but felt like the "kids" on the cruise. Many people thought we were in our 50s --we are pretty active. Some of the travelers had difficulty doing the off-boat excursions, but the help was there for those that wanted to try it out. There were a lot of people in their 70s and 80s, and that means the cruise is going to be at a slower pace. There were reasonably paced tours, as well as some optional "leisure" excursions that tended to stay on the tour bus, or at least do a very leisurely walk in one of the many small towns/villages along the Rhine.

The time allowed to sight see was maybe less than we would have preferred on the excursions, but there were many opportunities exploring during free time. The ship cruised mostly at night, so we had full days in cities like Strasbourgh and Colmar, France, numerous stops in Germany -- Heidelburg and Marksburg castles, Cologne, and more. We spent time with a younger couple (in their 40s) who were traveling to evaluate Viking and give feedback on how Viking can attract younger customers (the woman is a travel blogger). Viking may find this challenging -- many young people just are not going to want to spend the high prices commanded. For many on the cruise, this was perhaps their one big "once-in-a-lifetime" type of vacation.

Regarding cost, the Euro was around a $1.07 when we left, but I noticed that it was more like $1.15 when I looked at my cash advances at ATMs. So we tended to see something for 10 euros, and just say "Oh, that's only $10", and in reality we payed around $11-12. Not a big deal, but it adds up over the course of 2 weeks (especially when you travel with my wife who never met a souvenir she did not like!). Sticker shock set in when we looked at out Visa bill for all the extras along the way!

Switzerland was pricey, the rest of Europe was about what we expected. My biggest gripe was buying water on the Lake Lucerne lake cruise, and paying 6.9 euros for a small bottle. I could have had a wine or beer for the exact same price!

The food on the cruise was so good and plentiful that it is a good thing we walked hours every day. Lots of choices, whether appetizers, entrees, or desserts. There were also salads and lighter items if desired. As if that were not enough, the 24hr. coffee stations on the ship had fresh baked cookies if you just could not hold out until the next meal. We found we really liked the off-ship excursions to not only see the sights, but stop at a little shop to sample breads, pastries, perhaps a local specialty, and of course beer and wine.

atgcpaul --
I've visited Germany many times, but have not yet experienced Oktoberfest. I can tell you that we did drink beer, and perhaps the best tour guide we had was at Marksburg castle. Lovely, buxom lady with auburn hair, blue eyes, and beautiful command of the English language. Her name was Dagmar. If I were younger, and single, I might still be in Germany ...

As JR mentioned, Amsterdam is a really cool city. We did visit the Rijks Museum, which has huge displays of the Dutch Masters like Rembrandt. That was cool. We did not have time to see the Van Gogh Museum, and that would have been a nice addition. My wife could not get tickets to the Anne Frank House, but we went there and I got her picture at the front door. Someone told us the tour was disappointing, since the original furniture apparently is not in the room. In retrospect, we probably should have booked about 4-5 days in the city, rather than 2.

I'd recommend Viking as a great way to see a lot of varity in Europe, and do so pretty easily. There is a lot to be said for unpacking once and just enjoying all the travel without the hasssle of packing/unpacking every day or so. We extended our trip on both ends of the cruise. The pre-cruise extension in Lucerne we did thru Viking, since it included all the transfers, and we wanted to make sure we got onto the ship in time. I'd been to Amsterdam several times, and so I felt comfortable doing our own thing for a few days after the cruise.

I've got to edit down all of our pictures to a manageable quantity to share, and will try to post a link to them for anyone interested.

[atgcpaul]

This was an amazing trip, but it comes with a caveat. The average age for Viking cruises seems pretty high. My wife and I are 62, but felt like the "kids" on the cruise. Many people thought we were in our 50s --we are pretty active. Some of the travelers had difficulty doing the off-boat excursions, but the help was there for those that wanted to try it out. There were a lot of people in their 70s and 80s, and that means the cruise is going to be at a slower pace.

My Uncle mentioned on their current Viking ocean cruise, they have an onboard morgue that holds up to 3 people. Maybe most ships already have this. My Aunt and Uncle are even bigger travelers than my parents. They did a chartered National Geographic world tour a few years ago that took them to Antarctica (amongst other places). About the same age demographic as the Viking cruises. Apparently 3 people died on that trip.

Yes, please post pics. It might give me the nudge to travel abroad more (and maybe even take the kids). I have a good friend from college who never goes anywhere. We used to subscribe to these last minute weekend airline deals that would take you to some obscure corner of the country for super cheap. We never went. (Yes, we were JUST friends) So when I started traveling with my wife, I would send her postcards from all over. Even if it wasn't me, I'd have my friends send her postcards from wherever they were going in the world but never identify it from me. I'd just have them write, "Hi Jeanine, having a great time in X. Dick and Jane (or whatever their name was)". My parents sent her something from Croatia, I think. Her favorite was a card from the Vatican that a co-worker did for me--she's a devout Catholic. Anyway, I don't know if it's spurred her to travel with her family, but I hope.

One thing that isn't clear from my parents. When you arrive in each city, do you get a local guide or are the guides part of the ship's crew? It also sounds like you have a lot of leeway to make your own plans in each city.

[lrr]

The tour guides were a mixture of Viking personnel, and locals. The crew was from all over Europe, so their was much talent to draw upon. Some of the local guides have worked for Viking for a number of years, so they are knowledgeable in getting you on and off the boat, besides explaining the tour. Many tours require a bus ride, some are walking tours from the ship itself. For the Heidelberg Castle, we had a local college student working on his PhD in history -- he was attending Heidelberg University. Wow, talk about an expert on castle history, the history of the area, and lots of funny stories about college life in the city. I think he talked for the entire 2-3 hours, really giving everyone a lot of knowledge about the town and surrounding area.

I's cwertainly recommend taking your kids to Europe. My wife and I took our teenage girls to Europe in 1999 -- for our 25th anniversary. That was such an eye-opener for them. We had watched Braveheart, then spent a week in Scotland, mostly driving ourselves around (the first part of the trip was business meetings for me in Edinburgh -- bummer! My wife and kids saw more of Edinburgh than I did.) We visited the William Wallace Monument in Stirling, in addition to the castle there. They were fascinated to see clothing and swords of the real "Braveheart", plus the beautiful countryside where many of the battles took place. We spent a week in London, and they got to see the real locations of places they'd seen in the movies Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love (the former being more historic/authentic). We then spent a week in Paris, and they were again impressed with touring the Notre Dame and other sights, after watching the Disney animated movie "Hunchback of Notre Dame". Was funny to see there reaction to things like the real gargoyles and the bell tower after seeing the animated movie. An absolute highlight for all of us was Inverness and Loch Ness. Our youngest daughter was fascinated by Loch Ness and the stories of Nessie, and that area of Scotland is really amazingly beautiful, including a castle in ruins on Loch Ness itself (Castle Urquhart). I'd love to go back to Scotland and see more. Another cool palce was very far north, and west of Inverness -- Eilean Donnan Castle. Was in the 1986 film Highlander -- most will recognize this castle with its arched stone bridge, sitting out in a lake (Google it to see if you recognize it). We stayed in an old hunting lodge that reminded my girls of the hotel in The Shining -- they were pretty scared to stay there (and they had to have their own room, so they were down the hall from us).

Our girls are 29 and 32 now, but often talk about the incredible experience of vacationing in Europe. hard to imagine a more memorable vacation.

[JR]

Lee, I'm pretty much averse to cruise ships, but have always been interested in doing a river cruise (for some reason a trip on the Danube to Budapest never falls off my bucket list. Can you compare your river experience to an ocean-going cruise?

I've been to Oktoberfest a number of times, as well as other local fests. It is a ball! Think of the biggest state fare you can imagine, then double it. There are rides and games and food, etc. The big beer tents hold about 5,000 people and always have a huge oompah band. The beers are brought by women in dirndls, 10 at a time - they have some mad skills.

One time I was able to take in the parade through town that accompanies the fest. It is very cool to see the Bavarians, dressed in traditional garb, leading their oxen-powered wagons through town. Bavarians have a reputation within Germany as politically and religiously conservative country folk, but man they know how to party!

It's also worth pointing out that on any trip to Munich one can visit Hofbrauhaus, where you'll get the essential flavor of the Bavarian beer scene (1 liter mugs, women in dirndls, sausage, etc.), without the mind-numbingly huge crowds of Oktoberfest. Also, the Bavarian countryside is spectacularly beautiful.

[lrr]

JR,

My wife saw the Viking commercials about a year ago, and said "That's what I want to do". We celebrated our 40th last May, but she wanted to wait until we were both retired to go on the cruise. I retired over a year ago, she retired in December. We have never been on a cruise, and my wife has never wanted to go on one of the big ocean vessels. The Viking long boats are amazing. Small, low to the water, every cabin has an outside window view. Total # of passengers was around 190, so you felt like you recognized everyone after a few days. Our ship, the Eir, was christened in April, and we were on its 4th trip. It was incredibly smooth, and quiet ride. Cabins are small, but really nice. We chose the Rhine based on my desire for my wife to see much of Germany, and she absolutely loved the trip. One of our excursions was into the Black Forest, which was really beautiful. A number of the people we met on the cruise had done the Danube cruise with Viking, and loved it. We would consider another Viking cruise to do the Danube. We are leaning to doing our our travel plans to Australia or New Zealand for the next international vacation. I think we are actually going to do several vacations to places in the states for the next few trips. There are still lots of places here that are high on my travel list.

Our youngest daughter is getting married in July, so I suspect any type of travel is likely to get delayed for awhile!