April Viking Rhine Getaway

I can't believe after almost a year of planning, reading these boards constantly, and asking you all lots of questions, we are about to leave for our trip of a lifetime, Viking Rhine Getaway. We're spending a few days in Amsterdam and then board Viking Eir on Friday. I'm not the most computer savvy person but I'll try to post and answer questions. After the cruise I will definitely post and write a review. After all, I want to pay it forward.

Thank you all for your pictures, asking questions I had also, and for answering my questions. I feel as ready as I can be. Now if I can just sleep on the long flight to Europe :-)

If you can get to Kuekenhoff Gardens to see the tulips and other Spring flowers, it is wonderful. Have a wonderful trip. We did the Rhine cruise many years ago and just loved it as I am sure you will. Enjoy!

Hello,

as I write the Viking Eir is in the Rhine valley not far from the Lorelei rock which you will of course see next week.

Looking forward to your review and your opinion on the excursions, especially Breisach, as I am thinking of going to Neuf-Brisach (not on a river cruise):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195258

The weather is relatively pleasant for April, currently around 14 degrees Celsius. Expect chilly conditions in the mornings as we still get night frosts around this time of year when it is a clear sky.

Water at good level for cruising.

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Hello,

 

as I write the Viking Eir is in the Rhine valley not far from the Lorelei rock which you will of course see next week.

 

Looking forward to your review and your opinion on the excursions, especially Breisach, as I am thinking of going to Neuf-Brisach (not on a river cruise):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2195258

 

The weather is relatively pleasant for April, currently around 14 degrees Celsius. Expect chilly conditions in the mornings as we still get night frosts around this time of year when it is a clear sky.

 

Water at good level for cruising.

 

Enjoy your cruise. :)

Thanks so much for the info. I'm glad to hear the weather is a bit cool but nice. I've got a fleece line jacket and clothes i can layer. I'm sure I packed too much though...as I usually do.

I'll let you know what I think of Nief-Brisach :-)

We're following in August and also looking forward to your reviews and comments.

Hoping you have the time of your life,

Frank

We had a great first day in Amsterdam. We did the two day pre cruise extension in Amsterdam. After we got our luggage The very friendly Viking rep met us and within 10 minutes we were on out way to our hotel, the Radisson Blu. Great location in the middle of everything. Our room wasn't ready yet since it was only 9:30am so we left our luggage and went exploring. After lunch and a canal ride we checked into our room at about 3:00. Nice room and very helpful staff.

After a nap we walked to dinner and then walked a little more to explore. Everyone is very nice but watch out for the bikes and cars that seem to drive down the very narrow streets and never hit anything.

Tomorrow is the two hour walking tour with Viking and then the Anne Frank museum. I'm glad I got those tickets on line months ago

Jet lag has caught up with us so good night. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow

Looking forward to more installments!

Thanks, SoccerMom. I know how difficult it is to devote precious vacation time to posting. Glad you are having a good time so far.

Enjoy your trip.

Thanks for reporting in for us Soccermom. Do enjoy your vacation and we will appreciate anything you can share during or after the trip. It is like an appetizer for those of us who will do this cruise later this year!:)

We're on the beautiful Viking Eir now. Boarding yesterday took about 5 minutes from arriving at the pier to being in our room. The staff is so nice and helpful. Rebecca, the hotel manager, was so patient with me when I couldn't get onto wifi. I wanted to message my kids and let them know we were on the ship now.

The passengers are very friendly. It's very easy and fun chatting with folks. We sailed last night and toured the windmills today. A bit after noon we set sail for Cologne which we will reach tomorrow morning. I still can't believe I'm actually on the Rhine right now. How fortunate I am!

Weather is a bit cold. I'm glad I brought a fleece jacket and my gloves. Tried to sit on the top deck this afternoon as we are sailing but it was too cold. I did sit on our balcony for an hour or so though. Fortunately the sun was shining on our balcony.

All in all I'm loving our river cruise. Very different from the other cruises I've been on. Of course 200 passengers vs 3,000 passengers could have something to do with that. And the price lol

I'll try to check in now and then but wifi isn't consistent. That's ok. I shouldn't be on line too much lol

Elise

Have a great time Elise!

Thank you for posting whenever you can! Enjoying the trip along with you! :)

Thanks so much Elise...can't wait to hear more! We will be doing this trip come July.

Elise -

Anxious to hear more about your river cruise when you return. We aren't going until June 2016 but already reading all I can about the trip. Does it matter which side of the boat you are on for the best views?

We are still debating about the Amsterdam extension pre-cruise. Do you think it was worth the price through Viking? I am wondering about booking a hotel on our own.

How was the wifi on the ship?

Are the other passenger from all over the world?

Thanks for the information!

Elise -

Anxious to hear more about your river cruise when you return. We aren't going until June 2016 but already reading all I can about the trip. Does it matter which side of the boat you are on for the best views?

We are still debating about the Amsterdam extension pre-cruise. Do you think it was worth the price through Viking? I am wondering about booking a hotel on our own.

How was the wifi on the ship?

 

Are the other passenger from all over the world?

Thanks for the information!

Kylie, check out prices for some Amsterdam Hotels and compare to the ship extension cost. Generally the ship extensions are much more expensive than what you pay for doing it yourself but you get the convenience of having it all organized for you. Transport from the Amsterdam Airport into Centraal Station on the train is easy and cheap. Many choices for walking tours, canal cruises, trolley rides or walking around on your own to see the major sites close together.

Kylie it doesn't seem to matter what side of the ship you are on. We got a veranda and enjoy that although we are on the sun deck a fair amount too

I'm glad we did the two day precruise in Amsterdam. Not only did we get over jet lag before boarding the ship but I loved Amsterdam. We did the precruise through Viking which probably was more expensive than if we had done it on our own but since this is my first time to Europe I wanted to make it easy for me

Today we toured Marksburg castle in the morning and sailed the Rhein seeing lots of castles in the afternoon. It is absolutely beautiful and the weather is gorgeous

We will be going on May 2nd from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. Thanks for the weather update. Hope it will warm up a bit before then but we plan on doing the Kukenhof on Sunday so hopefully the tulips will have lasted until then.

The one question I have is that we want to go to the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum after we get picked up from the airport and drop our bags on the ship. It will be around lunch, so we don't have a lot of time. I would like to know the best way to get there to make the best use of our time.

Have a great time!

Kylie, check out prices for some Amsterdam Hotels and compare to the ship extension cost. Generally the ship extensions are much more expensive than what you pay for doing it yourself but you get the convenience of having it all organized for you. Transport from the Amsterdam Airport into Centraal Station on the train is easy and cheap. Many choices for walking tours, canal cruises, trolley rides or walking around on your own to see the major sites close together.

I agree - that's why I'm trying to decide if it's worth $550pp to do the extension through Viking - seems a bit spendy but I do agree the convenience is worth something. I appreciate the information about how to get from the airport. That's the kind of things I want to know. We are going with another couple and they are expecting me to make these decisions :-/

Thanks!

Please let me know how you like your cruise, soccermom#3!! Hope you have a great time!

Kylie,

Was in Amsterdam in December. Drop your bags and it is maybe a 15 minute walk to Central Station. All trams converge on Central Station. Google Amsterdam Tram Maps, find out which tram you need to take and go that way. I believe the all day pass for the trams is 7 euro each. I would highly recommend doing it that way. Board the tram at Central Station and you can buy the pass from the ticket window or the brakeman.

On another subject. Has anybody noticed the big carnival going on in Dam Square this week? I'm guessing it is part of the annual flower festival.

I agree - that's why I'm trying to decide if it's worth $550pp to do the extension through Viking - seems a bit spendy but I do agree the convenience is worth something. I appreciate the information about how to get from the airport. That's the kind of things I want to know. We are going with another couple and they are expecting me to make these decisions :-/

Thanks!

Kylie, are you doing the Viking Rhine Getaway? We have a shared roll call for all 2015 sailings if you haven't seen already here. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1952390 Lots of shared info.

Kylie, are you doing the Viking Rhine Getaway? We have a shared roll call for all 2015 sailings if you haven't seen already here. Lots of shared info.

We are doing the Grand European tour in June of 2016. I am just happy to find some river cruisers to visit with! Thanks for the invitation though!