Viking Prestige-Amsterdam to Budapest- June

Would like to know if anyone is booked on this river cruise for June 17, 2012 or have already taken it!

I write while on the prestige in Vienna. This trip has been marvelous. I think the west to east direction is best as the ports become better as you go. This is our first Viking trip and I will post a complete review when we get home. Far too soon!

I write while on the prestige in Vienna. This trip has been marvelous. I think the west to east direction is best as the ports become better as you go. This is our first Viking trip and I will post a complete review when we get home. Far too soon!

We are on the same trip on the Prestige but not until Nov 4 of this year. This will be our first river cruise after many ocean cruises. I will be looking forward to your report. Thanks

I write while on the prestige in Vienna. This trip has been marvelous. I think the west to east direction is best as the ports become better as you go. This is our first Viking trip and I will post a complete review when we get home. Far too soon!

We and another couple are just about ready to book this trip with Viking for early Sept. 2013. This will be the first river cruise for all 4 of us. We have cruised numerous times on the "big" cruise ships-but we are truly excited about taking this wonderful adventure. And being on a river vs ocean. I look forward to your review as well as any info on Viking and the service, excursions, food!

However, the date that works best for us has the reverese itinerary-Budapest to Amsterdam. I would love to hear from those that have traveled this east to west route and any comments. It is really a big deal going from east to west?

As always, all info is much appreciated. Thank you.

I write while on the prestige in Vienna. This trip has been marvelous. I think the west to east direction is best as the ports become better as you go. This is our first Viking trip and I will post a complete review when we get home. Far too soon!

Sorry, this was going to be a duplicate post! Oops!

this was our second river cruise. my comments will be compared to the first on uniworld in oct, rhone river.the earlier trip took 7 days and covered about 200 miles, this trip was 2 weeks and covered over 1000 miles. we spent much more time sailing than docked. we liked being able to go out to walk and this trip was all about making the excursions without any time to just exercise.our fault for not thinking about the time on the ship. this was the first cruise for the prestige this season and the air was fresh! not clear if all the crew had worked together before or not. the level of service and personalities has to be noted. and it does make a difference!! ok the cabin.. bigger than the uniworld, if only due to the sleek furniture. we could actually sit in our side chairs- last time covered with our stuff. had a french balcony... a real must here unless you want to be underwater. there is a mini fridge we found unnecessary. the bathroom is a bit smaller- preferred the drawer on uniworld to the medicine chest. also while there was a magnifying mirror it was not adjustable so useless to me. there is no gym or massage room but the library is very large and enclosed in windows. there really isnt a shop- sold a few viking items but no sundries etc. breakfast and lunch were served in 2 areas- the restaurant and the lounge. lighter fair in the lounge but menus are posted so you can determine where you want to eat. there was music in lounge at night but no dance floor. we were not prepared for the water issues... mid cruise, the sun deck was closed for 5 days due to low bridges. at one port, we were dropped off and bussed to the town so that the ship was lighter to go thru shallow water. our weather was fine, but shoulder season cool so we did not miss the sun deck. in the summer, i probably would feel very differrently. the shore excursions were good; local guides were excellent. we took 2 optionals in nurembery the world war 2 and in vienna the evening concert. both were excellent. the meals were ok. dinner offered a meat, fish and vegetarian option every night. uniworld had 5 choices and here comes our major disappointment.. the wine. uniworld had different appropriate wines each night. viking has there own label white and red that was served at every meal. you were welcome to buy a premium offering or bring your own from in town. this is not a deal breaker but a huge letdown. this ship had 190 passengers, our other had only 130. the tour groups were too large- usually 6 different groups so you can do the math. there was some times disorganization but i will cross off to the first cruise of the season. if you have never done this, be prepared for horizontal docking so that you wake up attached to another ship. this happened too much to suit us.. in fairness on uniworld too. we would go viking again for sure, but only if their itinerary was more to our liking. we bought air and transfers thru viking and were very pleased. although we had a tight connection in zurich, it went smoothly. we preferred this west to east direction, as the ports become better and better. hope you all have a wonderful time and if we can answer any more questions for anyone, we would be thrilled to do so.

I am looking into river cruising for the first time and am glad to see someone who can provide personal experience on both Uniworld and Viking. In addition to the differences that you noted - do they both include excursions as part of the cruise price? If not, how would you rate them regarding cost? Typically the other (non-river) cruise excursions are rather expensive.

thanks

Both lines had a shore excursion in each port. Generally it was an overview type thing... Small city means walking tour with a quiet box which is basically a Wilkie talkie for each guest to hear the guide without standing on top of them. Bigger cities meant a bus tour. These are free. You should tip the guide 2 euros per person and the bus driver 1 euro. Usually these last about 2 hours and if desired you can remain in the town and make your own way back to the ship. This trip in several ports, we were sailing away so that you had to return to the ship. Then there are the optional tours which cost. On our week with uniworld, we took each optional tour because the reviews on these boards indicated people really enjoyed these excursions. In general terms, they cost 50 euros each, some more and few less! Viking offered 4 options each week. Of course, you don't ave to do anything... Staying home on the ship would be boring!

We sailed from Budapest to Amsterdam on another line and really loved it. The scenery is fantastic and the cities and towns we visited were great. Our story and pictures are on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions

Cruiselovingpair. We are taking the same trip in the fall. How exactly did the transfer work? Did Viking help with the luggage and what type of transportation was provided? Did you do any hotel extentions?

Thank you for the info.

we did not do any hotel extensions. the transfers were perfect. upon arrival in amsterdam, we exited and easily spotted the viking paddle. there were 2 representatives as there were 2 cruises leaving. we left after 3 folks arrived from washington dc about 30 mins after us. we were put into a mini van and the driver handled all the luggage. departing, we were the last people off the ship and got to ride in a mercedes sedan to budapest airport. again the driver loaded the luggage into the car.

this was our second river cruise. my comments will be compared to the first on uniworld in oct, rhone river.the earlier trip took 7 days and covered about 200 miles, this trip was 2 weeks and covered over 1000 miles. we spent much more time sailing than docked. we liked being able to go out to walk and this trip was all about making the excursions without any time to just exercise.our fault for not thinking about the time on the ship. this was the first cruise for the prestige this season and the air was fresh! not clear if all the crew had worked together before or not. the level of service and personalities has to be noted. and it does make a difference!! ok the cabin.. bigger than the uniworld, if only due to the sleek furniture. we could actually sit in our side chairs- last time covered with our stuff. had a french balcony... a real must here unless you want to be underwater. there is a mini fridge we found unnecessary. the bathroom is a bit smaller- preferred the drawer on uniworld to the medicine chest. also while there was a magnifying mirror it was not adjustable so useless to me. there is no gym or massage room but the library is very large and enclosed in windows. there really isnt a shop- sold a few viking items but no sundries etc. breakfast and lunch were served in 2 areas- the restaurant and the lounge. lighter fair in the lounge but menus are posted so you can determine where you want to eat. there was music in lounge at night but no dance floor. we were not prepared for the water issues... mid cruise, the sun deck was closed for 5 days due to low bridges. at one port, we were dropped off and bussed to the town so that the ship was lighter to go thru shallow water. our weather was fine, but shoulder season cool so we did not miss the sun deck. in the summer, i probably would feel very differrently. the shore excursions were good; local guides were excellent. we took 2 optionals in nurembery the world war 2 and in vienna the evening concert. both were excellent. the meals were ok. dinner offered a meat, fish and vegetarian option every night. uniworld had 5 choices and here comes our major disappointment.. the wine. uniworld had different appropriate wines each night. viking has there own label white and red that was served at every meal. you were welcome to buy a premium offering or bring your own from in town. this is not a deal breaker but a huge letdown. this ship had 190 passengers, our other had only 130. the tour groups were too large- usually 6 different groups so you can do the math. there was some times disorganization but i will cross off to the first cruise of the season. if you have never done this, be prepared for horizontal docking so that you wake up attached to another ship. this happened too much to suit us.. in fairness on uniworld too. we would go viking again for sure, but only if their itinerary was more to our liking. we bought air and transfers thru viking and were very pleased. although we had a tight connection in zurich, it went smoothly. we preferred this west to east direction, as the ports become better and better. hope you all have a wonderful time and if we can answer any more questions for anyone, we would be thrilled to do so.

Thanks SO much for your comments about your cruise. We are considering a cruise with a similar route, and I think I prefer the size of the tour groups and some of the other features on AMA.

Cruiselovingpair - Thanks so much for your totally honest and matter-of-fact way of discussing issues that you both liked and disliked. Without that candid and honest approach, cruisers may rely too heavily on reading the company brochure and not be able to sort out the "reality" from the "advertising". Being forewarned should at least help alleviate potential disappointments later. I will be "borrowing" some of your format when I get ready to post my own post-cruise review for my recently-completed Avalon cruise. Best Regards.

We sailed from Budapest to Amsterdam on another line and really loved it. The scenery is fantastic and the cities and towns we visited were great. Our story and pictures are on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions

Thank you for your response. I am pleased to read that you enjoyed the Budapest to Amsterdam route. Did you do pre/post extension?

We will be taking our first river cruise on the Viking Prestige at the end of August. It is helpful to hear all of the comments. One thing which has not been addressed... the dress code. Do men need jackets at dinner? Is there enough closet and drawer space in the cabins? We are experienced cruisers on both Celebrity and Royal Carbbean, but I know this cruise will be very different. Please keep all comments coming. I always learn so much from cruise critic.

Jackets are not required. Most people are very casual. We are celebrity fans and enjoy dressing up perhaps more than most. The closet is small but we found adequate space for folded items.

Thank you for your invaluable insight! We are booked on this cruise, leaving May 20th from Amsterdam. It's always great to hear, firsthand, experiences that we only imagine! We know about the bigger ships but this is our first river trip also.... there were several choices that we had but we went with Viking because dear friends have cruised with them previously and really enjoyed their trips! My big concern is the water levels... hopefully there have been rains.... ??! We'll be flexible! Thanks again for sharing..... :)

Thank you for your response. I am pleased to read that you enjoyed the Budapest to Amsterdam route. Did you do pre/post extension?

Yes, we spent a few days on our own in Amsterdam before flying to Copenhagen to do a Baltic cruise.

It was quite a bit less expensive than anything offered through the ship. We stayed at the Eden America Hotel, which is right on 2 tramlines and a canal stop. We visited the Van Gogh Museum, took a night canal boat ride, and took a hop on hop off one around the city.

The hotel is about 2 blocks from a street that has a lot of restaurants.

We sailed from Budapest to Amsterdam on another line and really loved it. The scenery is fantastic and the cities and towns we visited were great. Our story and pictures are on our website. We are always happy to answer any questions

We too are traveling from Budapest to Amsterdam May 12 on Viking Idun, as the dates worked well for us. So glad to hear it was a good trip for you. I look forward to going to your web site and seeing the pictures....

I am new to the site and haven't figured out how to contact folks directly. I sent a friend request to Jane 1244 in WI (I live in MN). I am taking the May 20 Prestige sailing from AMS also.

RE: Contacting people directly -- one of you will have to post your email address here or in your profile. OR check under Roll Call section in the "All River cruises" section to see if a Roll Call has been started for your cruise. There is "more security" in that Board because one has to be registered to VIEW the posts! OR start a Roll Call!!!

Hi meredithmn..... so sorry i didn't see your post, sometimes this site can be a little confusing!!! We booked this trip over a year ago and are traveling with friends from OK. I've been reading posts for over a year also and have not found anyone booked on this trip! So glad to meet you! Are you traveling with friends??? So looking forward to this trip - our first river trip! Why not email me at mgjundjek@gmail.com and we can chat maybe easier than on this site!!

I am new to the site and haven't figured out how to contact folks directly. I sent a friend request to Jane 1244 in WI (I live in MN). I am taking the May 20 Prestige sailing from AMS also.

Hi meredithmn..... so sorry i didn't see your post, sometimes this site can be a little confusing!!! We booked this trip over a year ago and are traveling with friends from OK. I've been reading posts for over a year also and have not found anyone booked on this trip! So glad to meet you! Are you traveling with friends??? So looking forward to this trip - our first river trip! Why not email me at mgjundjek@gmail.com and we can chat maybe easier than on this site!!