Interesting article published in USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/03/21/viking-river-cruise-boom/2005215/

The short version: River Cruising is hot hot hot. Of 50,000 slots opened for 2013 Viking only has 600 left. So, you need to plan in advance if your have a specific itinerary in mind.

That is rather amazing that there are so few cabins available. I always tell people to book their river cruises very early, since they can sell out so quickly. I guess people realize that river cruising is a great experience.

The number of cabins overwhelms me!!!!! Realize it is for the season, but am so afraid that all these new V ships are going to spoil the loveliness of river cruising and there will be more next year. When we stated river cruising in 2001, it really was a very relaxing way to see Europe--new lines, many many new boats are making some rivers very crowded. Just hope V is not overextending itself with river, ocean and the American market---a bit mindboggling. Pat

Thanks for the link!

It is a hot thing ..

Pacmom is stating what I've told my family. I'm so glad we've already done our "big" river cruises because it was so uncrowded on the rivers. Only on our last couple did we have the "rafting" that people are now complaining about and then it was only 1 other ship tied to ours.

I can't imagine being in some of those small towns with 5-10 river boats tied up. It's going to be like St Thomas when the big ships come to port!

How in the world are some of those little towns going to handle all the new ships because, you know, Viking isn't the only one with new builds, just the one with the most this year.

I was feeling kind of silly that we booked a river cruise for June 2014 a couple of weeks ago but after reading that I'm glad we did.

We first starting planning our July 2013 vacation in January. Our first thought was a "Castles on the Rhine" cruise. Well, for when our schedule allows us vacations, July, there were no spots available except very expensive suites on all of the lines I checked :eek:. But it all worked out, because we are going to Paris and doing a Seine cruise instead. But when I last checked in the beginning of March, most of the Paris sailings are booked too.

I was feeling kind of silly that we booked a river cruise for June 2014 a couple of weeks ago but after reading that I'm glad we did.

I was feeling kind of silly that we booked a river cruise for June 2014 a couple of weeks ago but after reading that I'm glad we did.

This month we booked our France June 2014 cruise, last year we booked our BUD to AMS in January for August, at that time we were booking the 2nd last cabin, so we decided that we would get in earlier this time.

It is a hot thing!! Loving it :)

Thanks SO much for the article! And, yes pacmom, the can be cause for concern!

We took our first RC last October. About a month after we arrived home Viking announced a new 2014 itinerary (Bordeaux) for one ship. I said to my DH, a wine enthusiast, if you're interested book now - and so we did! I'm sure it'll be a sell out very soon!!!!

fotopeg, we are going on the Gironde with Road Scholar in June of this year. Should be able to answer port questions. The boat is brand new(here we go again) and owned by Croisie Europe. Next year both Viking and Uniworld enter that market. Vantage had one the year before last, but didn't do it again. The vantage trip started in Marseille, thru the Camargue and the to Bordeaux to start on the river.. Agree the new itineries should be done early, before the inevidentual crowding. Sometimes I think that in the future one will be able to cross a river going from boat to boat. Pat

The number of cabins overwhelms me!!!!! Realize it is for the season, but am so afraid that all these new V ships are going to spoil the loveliness of river cruising and there will be more next year. When we stated river cruising in 2001, it really was a very relaxing way to see Europe--new lines, many many new boats are making some rivers very crowded. Just hope V is not overextending itself with river, ocean and the American market---a bit mindboggling. Pat

I agree with all of that!

We always go in the off season and I cannot even imagine what the rivers and towns will look like in peak season. I am happy we experienced it when there were not so many boats on the rivers.

How many of you watched Downton Abbey, with those Viking Cruise commercials? If I hadn't had a RC booked already, I sure would be looking into it. :)

I have no interest in Viking personally. The long boats have too many passengers, the older boats are too basic and we saw too many of their boats parked and empty during low water conditions in 2011 when we were able to navigate the river without issue.

Thanks for the link. Mid-May, we will be taking our first river cruise on the River Venture (sister ship to the pictured River Splendor). It was nice to see what we will be experiencing. We booked a year in advance.

Regarding the Downton Abbey series: I did not watch the first 2 seasons. After watching episode one of season 3, I ordered the other seasons (and the book) from PBS. We had a marathon until we caught up. Not only is the Downton Abbey series amazing, but the Viking ads were stunning. Sadly, Highclere will be closed when we are in London...perhaps they are filming.

How many of you watched Downton Abbey, with those Viking Cruise commercials? If I hadn't had a RC booked already, I sure would be looking into it. :)

Regarding the Downton Abbey series: I did not watch the first 2 seasons. After watching episode one of season 3, I ordered the other seasons (and the book) from PBS. We had a marathon until we caught up. Not only is the Downton Abbey series amazing, but the Viking ads were stunning. Sadly, Highclere will be closed when we are in London...perhaps they are filming.

How many of you watched Downton Abbey, with those Viking Cruise commercials? If I hadn't had a RC booked already, I sure would be looking into it. :)

My wife and I are huge Downton Abbey fans and always watched the Viking commercials knowing we wanted to expand from blue-water cruising to river cruising. When my wife found that the Cities of Light Viking cruises between Prague and Paris offered a three-day post to "Oxford and Highclere Castle" we decided to try to book it. That was in January and, by then, the only cabins remaining for the Summer of 2013 were standard cabins. For 2014 they added the Odin to the Cities of Lights and there were plenty of veranda suites available. Unfortunately, they have not yet added the "Oxford and Highclere Castle" option to those 2014 cruises. Our Viking rep told us that the demand for that particular post cruise option had been well beyond their expectations and that there was a very good chance that it would be added to the 2014 options for our cruise "soon." We booked for July 2014 and hope that Highclere Castle will be added .... soon.

I just this evening booked our 2014 Amsterdam to Budapest tour with Viking. The agent told me that this summer was 100% booked through Sept., I think. Next summer is filling up rapidly. The ship we are on is well over 1/2 full already, I believe. This will be our first river cruise and I am quite excited about it.

Whomever had the idea for Viking to sponsor Downton, should get a huge bonus.:) They got the Viking brand out there. Most folks don't know about Cruise Critic, and how to read up about the other River Cruise lines.

I just this evening booked our 2014 Amsterdam to Budapest tour with Viking. The agent told me that this summer was 100% booked through Sept., I think. Next summer is filling up rapidly. The ship we are on is well over 1/2 full already, I believe. This will be our first river cruise and I am quite excited about it.

Whomever had the idea for Viking to sponsor Downton, should get a huge bonus.:) They got the Viking brand out there. Most folks don't know about Cruise Critic, and how to read up about the other River Cruise lines.