Emerald or Viking for Rhine

Hi everyone. Ready to book my first river cruise and have narrowed it down to an 8 day Amsterdam to Basel cruise. Thinking of Viking Vidar or Emerald Sky. Itineraries are very similar. My husband and I would be going. We are 58 years old. We would be booking the most inexpensive stateroom. We are active and not fussy. The Viking cruise would be Sept 7, 2017. The Emerald cruise would be Oct. 8, 2017. Curious regarding: if Sept. weather would be much better/warmer than October? Opinions on Viking vs. Emerald. Thank you !

I took a quick look, and here are a few things I noted:

 

Viking:

Incudes Kinderdijk, whereas Emerald doesn’t.

Koblenz stop includes Marksburg Caste tour; Emerald had city tour.

Offers optional tour to Colmar from Breisach.

 

Emerald:

Staterooms are 10 sq. ft. larger

Transfer to or from Zurich airport is an option, whereas Viking only gets you to or from Basel. This may be significant since Zurich has non-stops to the U.S. Basel doesn’t.

Heated pool/cinema at stern.

All gratuities included.

Hello Trump,

 

either cruise I am sure you will very much enjoy. The Viking Getaway Basel to Amsterdam has been enjoyed by thousands of happy first timers. You can have a look at the roll call of 2016 for that. On the minus side some say that Viking appeals to a not quite so young and active crowd as other lines, which by the way has been hinted at by the Viking people themselves. But that is only a tendency when comparing lines in detail. Also on the minus for me is the area around Kinderdijk. Some people have reported the area to be too unappealing, if Emerald travels more of that in the dark it would be more appealing to me. However, on the plus side most say that Kinderdijk itself is great.

 

Past Emerald cruisers have reported a little here on CC. With Emerald I like the fact that they offer an optional from Koblenz to Cochem on the Moselle (you would miss the tour in Koblenz), not sure if Viking does that. Marksburg is great though with Viking. It is really deciding for medieval castle (Viking - Marksburg) or restored 19th century romantic castle (Cochem - Emerald). With Emerald the optional tour in Alsace (again extra fees) sounds great.

 

Overall I would go for Emerald but Viking's is a great product. Difficult decision, Marksburg castle could be the deciding factor for you there. If not the staterooms or transfer which fuelscience has pointed out.

 

Or the weather: September is indeed warmer in general and there is less risk of low water issues. However, both cruises could have lots of rain, in September it will just feel warmer overall.

 

Both dates are still in Summertime (Daylight saving time) but you can of course notice the difference in daylight hours between beginning of September and beginning of October.

 

Hope this helps.

 

notamermaid

Hi, first timer just starting to look at European river cruises and this thread touched on some initial questions I had, so thought I might squeeze in a question here. I read the CC Ultimate River Cruising Guide to get a feel for the cruise lines. I liked the comparisons to hotels and Viking and Avalon seem like a good match for us (Marriott/Hyatt). The Guide did not mention Emerald so I wondered if it fits into this group? Any others? Thanks !!

I can't comment on the lines as we haven't sailed either.

 

But we spent some time in the Rhine Valley in September 2015, and there were some beautiful days with nice sunshine and blue skies, very pleasant for exploring all that the region has to offer. There were some rainy, less pleasant days too, but that's a roll of the dice. I'd go back at that time of year again.

 

I'll also say that a transfer from Basel to Zurich could be a significant perk. To go to the US from Basel, you'll almost surely have to take a short flight to a major European hub to change planes, which will involve going through immigration, probably going through security again, and then flying home.

 

There are lots of direct flights home from Zurich. A 1h drive from Basel to Zurich, immigration and only one trip through security, then a direct flight home to the US could be much more pleasant. When we were in Geneva over Christmas last year, we took the train to Zurich to get the direct flight home to Kennedy, rather than fly out of Geneva and make a change. It was very nice, other than the fact that one of us got singled out for "random" enhanced security at the gate... :mad:

 

Many other lines out there that cruise the Rhine. As you can see from the signature line below, we are fond of Uniworld.

Edited January 19, 2017 by jpalbny

Hi - I have traveled with both Viking and Emerald.... Just did the Rhine with Emerald last September. These are my thoughts....

 

It is nice to have transfers included - even if you don't purchase air with the cruise line - which Emerald offers. It is also nice to have all gratuities covered. Not sure if one of the dates has better/cheaper air. We have found that traveling around Labour Day can be more expensive.

 

Emerald has changed their itinerary. You don't get Rudesheim - but you now get Strasbourg. Rudesheim is included with Viking although you don't have long there (at least it seems short based on the itinerary in the website).

 

We always travel lowest category. We did find the cabin on Emerald a bit tighter (close quarters to get into the washroom) but there was tons of storage space. Lots of drawers in the cabin - lots of medicine cabinet space in the bathroom.

 

We did not use the pool, but those that did said they enjoyed it. Also didn't use the cinema (the movies didn't interest us) but someone commented on how they were impressed that they got popcorn!!

 

A few little extras with Emerald. We all got vouchers in Cologne for a glass of beer (Kolsch) across from the Cathedral. We enjoyed the cable car over the river to the fortress in Koblenz (instead of just a walking tour in town). We had done the Rhine before, and had seen the Mechanical Museum in Rudesheim. The brochure said we would get a cable car ride in Rudesheim up to the Germania monument - but, when we arrived, they had changed that to the museum. We mentioned the change to the CD - and said we would just do the cable car on our own --> and she gave us money for the cable car... just asked us to bring her a receipt.

 

You don't get Kinderdijk with Emerald. If that interests you, you need to travel with Viking.

 

Emerald does have bikes. We didn't use them, but quite a few people did.

 

Both lines do Breisach - but Viking does a Cuckoo clock build excursion - Emerald does Black Forest cake. That would be a personal preference. Both are a bus ride away.

 

Not sure if any of this helps... Please feel free to ask questions if you have anything specific you are wondering about.

 

Fran

 

P.S. If you do decide to book Emerald, ask them about a referral incentive. Scenic does not advertise a referral incentive, but will give it if you ask. Scenic is the parent of Emerald so they may also do that. There is no benefit for me - this is truly just a "pay it forward" type of deal. The worst thing that could happen is that they say "no". You can contact me to ask for my particulars if they need them

Edited January 20, 2017 by franski

Hi Fran,

Thank you SO much for your informative reply. I do have some specific questions for you:

1. Overall, I am leaning towards Emerald over Viking. HOWEVER, the Viking Aquavit Terrace for Dinner option appeals to me. Did you eat there for a dinner ? I am thinking it might be a nice option instead of the 2 hour main dining room every night.

2. My husband and I are active and 58 years old. Was there a noticeable age difference in passengers on Viking vs. Emerald ?

3. Did both Viking and Emerald have coffee and snacks available all day ?

4. Did both Viking and Emerald allow you to have a bottle of wine on board to enjoy in public areas (not at the dinner table) ?

5. I understand the Sun Deck might be closed a lot due to low bridges. Did you find a difference in Viking vs. Emerald as to how often they closed the upper deck ?

6. This would be our first River Cruise. We have taken many ocean cruises and are well aware of the differences. My husband says "he is not ready to river cruise yet". He feels he will miss the big ship experience. I told him the river cruise priority is the ports. Curious, if you have done ocean cruises as well and if you have any input. (not looking for a comparison, just wondering if you loved one type way more than the other).

Thank you ! (hope you don't mind, I might think of other questions)

MaryJane

Hi Fran,

Thank you SO much for your informative reply. I do have some specific questions for you:

1. Overall, I am leaning towards Emerald over Viking. HOWEVER, the Viking Aquavit Terrace for Dinner option appeals to me. Did you eat there for a dinner ? I am thinking it might be a nice option instead of the 2 hour main dining room every night. We never did... We have always found that we enjoyed the opportunity to have dinner with "new friends" on the boat.

2. My husband and I are active and 58 years old. Was there a noticeable age difference in passengers on Viking vs. Emerald ? To be honest, it really varies from boat to boat, and cruise to cruise. That being said, we did find a younger group - more active in the lounge at night - on this cruise with Emerald. But - you have no way of knowing what your cruise demographics will be.

3. Did both Viking and Emerald have coffee and snacks available all day ? Yes. All river boats have a very high end coffee machine in the lounge that is free. Coffee, latte, hot chocolate... multiple tea options. "Snack" might just be a plate of cookies - or some fruit. Again, varies ship to ship. Viking tends to have great cookies.

4. Did both Viking and Emerald allow you to have a bottle of wine on board to enjoy in public areas (not at the dinner table) ? You can bring your own alcohol on board - but they ask that you don't bring it into the lounge. If you wanted it at dinner, I don't expect they would argue - it just means they don't have to give you their wine (or beer). Wine and beer is VERY free-flowing at lunch and dinner, and there is usually a bottle of sparkly stuff somewhere on the breakfast buffet. My liver gets a very good work out on a river cruise.

5. I understand the Sun Deck might be closed a lot due to low bridges. Did you find a difference in Viking vs. Emerald as to how often they closed the upper deck ? It depends on the itinerary... not as many low bridges on the Rhine as on other waterways.

6. This would be our first River Cruise. We have taken many ocean cruises and are well aware of the differences. My husband says "he is not ready to river cruise yet". He feels he will miss the big ship experience. I told him the river cruise priority is the ports. Curious, if you have done ocean cruises as well and if you have any input. (not looking for a comparison, just wondering if you loved one type way more than the other). Our 1st cruise was to Alaska... SO looking forward to it. But was completely gob-smacked when I got sea sick. The boat was really rocking as we entered the Inside Passage going south. That is when I decided that river cruising might be better for me.

 

What does your husband like about the big ship experience? If he likes the shows, and the casinos, and the 24/7 buffet - then he will not like river cruising. I hated being on a boat with 1900 of my "closest friends". We love the smaller passenger number on the river boats - we get to meet some wonderful people. You get to know the crew - and they get to know you. Tipping isn't automatic - and is shared among the crew - so the crew are not attentive to try to get a bigger tip. We enjoy not having to pay out of pocket for every excursion. The number of poor guides we have experienced is very low (and we have done 11 river cruises so far...) - so if you are interested in local history, and culture, and food - a river cruise is a good way to go. It does look more expensive at the outset - but you are not paying for every specialty coffee, or drink at dinner, or an excursion.

 

I love being able to walk off the boat into the centre of town in many places. Some are a bus ride away, but they will often provide shuttles to and from the boat at no charge. I also like not having to dress up for dinner... much more casual way to travel.

Thank you ! (hope you don't mind, I might think of other questions) I don't mind at all... Ask away!!

MaryJane

 

Thought it would be easier to answer in the body of your post..

 

Fran

I haven't traveled on Emerald, but I just did the Viking Rhine cruise in September. I can comment on that side of it.

 

The previous post's description of Viking's cruise is about right. I didn't see the need for more time in Rudesheim--there isn't that much there. We had time for the cable car ride and dinner.

 

Here is a link to a long narrative I wrote about our Rhine trip: http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?233@@.ee6d255/703!enclosure=.1ddc89cf

 

1. The Terrace is a very nice option. We had all of our meals there.

 

2. Can't say about Emerald. I am 62. We fit in well on Viking.

 

3. Viking has coffee and some little snacks available all day.

 

4. You can bring on your own wine. You can order wine (extra cost) in the lounge at just about any time.

 

5. I don't remember the sun deck ever being closed on this trip.

 

6. I like river cruises exactly because it isn't the big ship experience. That may not be the best thing to tell your husband.

 

--Dav

Edited January 20, 2017 by glmschlaglp
insert paragraph breaks

Thank you Fran and Dav ! Awesome information that I truly appreciate.

We are also trying to decide between Viking and Emererald. Do either of them have evening entertainment of any sort?

We are also trying to decide between Viking and Emererald. Do either of them have evening entertainment of any sort?

 

Viking ships have a guy who plays a synthesizer-enhanced piano in the lounge in the evenings. There will usually be a couple of evening performances by local musicians during the cruise. There are some informational lectures or slideshows. River cruises don't have the kind of shows that ocean cruises do. --Dav

Thanks

We have over 30 Ocean cruises and Two River cruises (with a 23 day Viking booked for July, 2017). I often tell people IF You like the big ship Shows, Casinos, Bars - parties - dancing / Then River cruising 'may' not be for you. However, if you like Elegance / intimate and NO 2,000 + new friends - then River cruising might be for you.

As far as age - I have found - the More a cruise cost - the older the passengers are - simple math - older can afford it, lol

We did our first River in 2002 @ age 52 - we were the youngest on board. That cruise was so nice ( 15 days Vienna to Amsterdam, Uniworld ) that is almost ruined Ocean cruising for us

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

We compared Viking and Emerald last year for a Danube river cruise. after our analysis, we cancelled our trip on Viking (& lost $200) & choose Emerald for many reasons, including inclusions not part of Viking, (gratuities, transfers, larger cabins, swimming pool & cinema). There was low key entertainment every night and cookies available with coffee/tea all day long. One thing I noticed was that Viking ships had deeper drafts so that they were affected more when there was low water (& unable to cruise, causing bussing). I did use the free bikes. One other thing is that Viking makes you pay far in advance of your cruise.

 

Since Emerald is very new (started in 2014), a number of earlier articles , etc exclude comments about them.

This should help:

 

https://www.emeraldwaterways.com/rivers/rhine#

 

notamermaid

I am cruising with Emerald in October 14th (Jewels of the Rhine) so the same itinerary, just going from Basel to Amsterdam. Emerald was actually rated the best overall value for River Cruising in 2016. We booked Emerald strictly because of the overall value as we are going with a group of 4-5 couples. Plus I have talked to a few people that have cruised both and say they would book Emerald over Viking in the future. The main reason.....gratuities are included/transfer included even without purchasing their air, boats are all new. Emerald is owned by Scenic Waterways, and they have carried over their open air balcony concept, rather than the french door balcony. So if you are looking at a balcony, Emerald may be preferable. It's a balcony within the stateroom. There is a button on the wall and when you push it the top part of the glass comes down so it gives more of an actual balcony feel rather than a sliding door opening to a rail - where only half the width of the cabin is open. Google the Viking french balcony and Emerald Waterways balcony in images and you will see what I mean. This was also a deciding factor for me as I love a balcony and still want the feel of one on a river cruise without going to a full suite.

 

Right from Viking's website - Tipping guidelines:

 

From the Hotel Manager to receptionists, from restaurant servers to housekeeping, Viking’s onboard staff are 100% dedicated to serving our guests. Tips are not included in your cruise price, but are a voluntary way of showing satisfaction for good service. You may tip onboard staff in cash if you like, or you may charge your tips to your credit card at the end of the cruise (everywhere except Egypt, Southeast Asia and Portugal). These gratuities are distributed among the ship’s staff. The Tour Escorts or Program Directors that travel with you do not share in the onboard staff gratuities. It is customary to tip them separately in cash.

 

The following guidelines are based on typical amounts; they vary by region so please read the section for the region to which you will be traveling. Please note that local city guides and coach drivers are not included in the onboard gratuities; any tipping should be done in cash on the day of the tour as you are not likely to see them again.

 

Europe

In Europe, we recommend that you tip in euros. Guidelines:

Program Director – €2 per guest, per day

Onboard staff – €12 per guest, per day

Local city guides – €2 per guest, per day

Coach drivers – €1 per guest, per day

 

If you add it up - you are looking at the recommended extra in tips to be 17 Euros/day/person. Over the course of 7 days you are looking at an additional 238 Euros. (approx. 260 USD / 335 CAD). That said, I will more than likely tip a bit extra to our cabin attendant/waitstaff/bartenders. However it's not expected on Emerald where it is definitely is on Viking.

 

Another thing is that long transfer in from Basel to Zurich. It's included with Emerald even if you do not book the air through them. Remember, you do NOT need to book the air through them to do this.

 

Also, when booking your own air, you typically will get a 1000 rebate/pp for air credit (may be less in USA - I'm Canadian so that's what they offer here).

 

Anyway, that's my 2 cents :)

Hi Guys, First time here on the river cruise forum, we are also sailing on the Emerald Rhine cruise on 15th October, it's our first time on the river and we're normally on the oceans, so we're really looking forward to it! :D

HI all we did the Viking Rhine back in 2013 and really enjoyed it. We too book the lowest price room as with River Cruising you spend most of the time mingling with other guests in the lounge. We met 2 other couples who we are still friends with and vacation with, one from the UK and the other from NC. We were all in our late 50's however River Cruising does tend to lend itself to the older crowd. (on our Christmas cruise of the Danube in 2015 we were 4 couples ranging in age from 83 to early50's and we closed the lounge most nights) Just have to find a group of people to click with. You will have time to get to know some interesting people as the entertainment on board is light, usual a piano player and a few nights they bring in local entertainment.

All the ports are walkable with the exception of the Black Forest excursion which Viking takes you on the bus to a tourist village that has a clock maker, glass blower, and café to buy Black Forest cake, and you can take a short hike into the forest, we thought it was a waste of time. We did the optional Colmar tour which we liked a lot.

Before the cruise we did our own air into Amsterdam and spent 3 days, so much to do, then took the train in Basel to Interlaken and another train to Latuerbrunnen and did the Alps in 4 days.

Viking also did a "slow Walkers" included tour in each city so that people who couldn't keep up at a normal pace could have a tour at a slower pace, also they have ear pieces so that you can hear the guide during the tour.

We had no problem with the rooms as they are large enough and the crew was friendly and helpful and the room was always super clean.

I think you will really like river cruising, no sea sickness, interesting destinations, interesting fellow cruisers.

even though this post is a few months old, I find it very helpful.

 

For those who done emerald, do you tour any castles on this itinerary?

Looking at either June or October trip. How much Octoberfest festivities are there?

 

thanks

mark

Edited May 29, 2017 by mtebor

The Rhine cruise on Viking has one castle tour, to Marksburg, which is a restored castle. I was there in September, and so I don't know anything about Oktoberfest.

Hi everyone. Ready to book my first river cruise and have narrowed it down to an 8 day Amsterdam to Basel cruise. Thinking of Viking Vidar or Emerald Sky. Itineraries are very similar. My husband and I would be going. We are 58 years old. We would be booking the most inexpensive stateroom. We are active and not fussy. The Viking cruise would be Sept 7, 2017. The Emerald cruise would be Oct. 8, 2017. Curious regarding: if Sept. weather would be much better/warmer than October? Opinions on Viking vs. Emerald. Thank you !

 

Temp difference is about 10 degrees.

 

Amsterdam highs in 60s vs 50s

Basel highs in 70s vs 60s

Based on averages

 

After 6 Viking cruises with 4 more booked, I am a big fan. But I have no direct knowledge of other cruise companies.

 

Here is an article comparing the two companies.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=2385

Hello,

 

even though this post is a few months old, I find it very helpful.

 

For those who done emerald, do you tour any castles on this itinerary?

Looking at either June or October trip. How much Octoberfest festivities are there?

 

thanks

mark

 

Oktoberfest is a Bavarian thing, the "real" Oktoberfest is in Munich, it has a long tradition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest

 

However, it has caught on in other parts of the country (and the world). There are now some in Mainz and Koblenz on the Rhine, yet they are small and do not last as long as the Munich one. that one always starts in September and runs into October, i.e. do not expect to see an Oktoberfest on 20 October!

 

There are not such festivities in June of course, but some cruise lines put on a "German evening" throughout the season which looks similar to a Bavarian Oktoberfest. Past cruisers can hopefully help you there.

 

 

On the Rhine you get wine festivals in September and October. They are more traditional to our region.

 

notamermaid

So as not to make myself crazy with all the posts and information, I'm going to address everything here. I can't answer for Emerald as we have not cruised that line and it was not one of the ones I looked at when we were booking our Rhine cruise.

 

I looked at AMA and Avalon mostly, but also Tauck and Uniworld. I chose Viking for the stop at Kinderdijk (we wanted to see all those windmills in one place - some people go to the Netherlands for the tulips - we go for the windmills :hearteyes:). I chose Viking for the design of the ships. I just loved the clean modern design. I loved the blue glass of their dishes and a tableware (weird - I know, but I am). I chose them for the room (we had a veranda), the itinerary in general, and what I had read about Viking from other Viking cruisers. Price was somewhat of a factor - but not at the top of the list. Food was not a factor - just that it was provided and from what I read, good. The beer and wine included was nice - but again, not a big factor.

 

We are nearing 70 and very active. To be honest - I couldn't tell you the age make up of the people on our cruise. There was one young couple in their 20s that stood out a bit, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. The rest were fun people who seemed to all be having a wonderful time.

 

We thought about the French Balcony, but we wanted a full balcony, so we got a Veranda cabin on the middle deck - NOT a suite at all (someone mentioned that you had to get a suite to have a full balcony - not true). Just a nice room. There were 2 chairs and a small table on the veranda/balcony

Room 231 on the Viking Mani

 

Fuelscience did a little comparison:

Viking:

Incudes Kinderdijk, whereas Emerald doesn’t.

Koblenz stop includes Marksburg Caste tour; Emerald had city tour.

Offers optional tour to Colmar from Breisach.

 

Emerald:

Staterooms are 10 sq. ft. larger

Transfer to or from Zurich airport is an option, whereas Viking only gets you to or from Basel. This may be significant since Zurich has non-stops to the U.S. Basel doesn’t.

Heated pool/cinema at stern.

All gratuities included.

 

As I mentioned Kinderdijk was a factor for us. Marksburg Castle was one of the highlights of our trip. Colmar was also one of the highlights. Loved it, but it was not an included tour, it was optional and there was a fee.

 

Transfers weren't high on our list. We did Amsterdam on our own, so had no transfer there. We did the Lucerne extension through Viking and did have transfers to Zurich included. We spoke to a number of people who were doing extensions on their own and they said it was quite simple to get from Basel to Zurich. We had a direct flight from Zurich to JFK.

 

Having a pool and a cinema was not something we even looked for, and would not have used in any case - but that's us.

 

Having gratuities included also wasn't a consideration. We've done a lot of ocean cruises, so it was just routine as far as that goes - again for us.

 

Notamermaid commented,

Also on the minus for me is the area around Kinderdijk. Some people have reported the area to be too unappealing

I'm not sure what this means. We left Amsterdam at night and were docking at Kinderdijk around 9:30. We had breakfast on the Aquavit Terrace. I thought it was lovely cruising through that area for the most part. And Kinderdijk was wonderful. We are getting ready to book the Grand European Tour on Viking and were delighted to find that it's on that itinerary. We will skip the tour and just wander around on our own. Someone mentioned you can rent bicycles there and we might do that!

 

This was one of the many photos I took in that section. Perhaps we missed the not so nice part while we were sleeping!

 

 

Viking also had a tour of Alsace that was optional, but my husband wanted to do the Mercedes factory tour. Personally, I could have skipped that for the Alsace one ;p

 

On Viking we had both Rudesheim and Strasbourg - LOVED Strasbourg. Was a little disappointed in Rudesheim - wasn't as lively as we'd heard. We didn't do the dinner, but thought we stop into one of the taverns for a beer after dinner on the ship. Most looked like they were finishing up for the night and it was still fairly early.

 

Our Viking itinerary included a trip to the Black Forest - loved the cake, did the hike and skipped the Cuckoo clocks and the glass blowing.

 

Viking has a referral bonus.

 

Trump - we did not eat dinner on the Aquavit Terrace, but we ate breakfast and lunch there - LOVED sitting out there. We did our cruise end of August into Sept and we had great weather - a little hot at times, but mostly perfect. The Aquavit Terrace has a more limited menu, but there were people who ate there at night.

 

Viking has wonderful 24/7 coffee & tea bar. The machine made regular, decafe, several specialty coffees and hot chocolate. There was a selection of tea, juice in the morning, still and sparkling water, muffins in the morning, cookies (heavenly cookies) in the afternoon and usually fruit as well. There were snacks in the bar at cocktail time.

 

This is coffee station

 

You could bring wine, liquor - pretty much anything you wanted on board. You could drink your wine in the dining room, or in your room. We had a bottle of cognac, that we usually had as a night cap on the veranda, but I'd heard from others that you can leave a bottle of liquor with the bartender, they will put your name on it, and make you drinks with it.

 

They only had to lower the things on the sun deck once during our cruise and it was in the middle of the night. We were up because we were going through a lock - and the locks fascinated us! There was a structure - a walkway, I think - that seemed to low. The ship started forward, then reversed quickly. We could hear them putting everything down. By morning it was all back.

 

It's difficult to compare ocean cruising with river cruising. They are two completely different experiences. If you go into river cruising expecting the same, you will probably be disappointed. I thought of it more as having a floating hotel while I got from place to place rather than a "cruise." We had local entertainment and some trivia, and a very lively dance session, but no big shows. There were no casinos, no one selling gold by the inch, no photographers in your face (but the staff were happy to snap a photo for you with your camera), there are no announcements every 5 minutes for sales and activities, no hairy chest or belly flop contests, no DJs - all of this BIG pluses in our opinion - though we really do like ocean cruising.

 

I really can't speak of what the other lines are like. We enjoyed every minute of our cruise and had no complaints except that it was over too soon. Viking gave us no reason to look elsewhere and we have another cruise booked with them,

 

Hope you choose one that works for you and that you have a wonderful cruise.

So as not to make myself crazy with all the posts and information, I'm going to address everything here. I can't answer for Emerald as we have not cruised that line and it was not one of the ones I looked at when we were booking our Rhine cruise.

 

I looked at AMA and Avalon mostly, but also Tauck and Uniworld. I chose Viking for the stop at Kinderdijk (we wanted to see all those windmills in one place - some people go to the Netherlands for the tulips - we go for the windmills :hearteyes:). I chose Viking for the design of the ships. I just loved the clean modern design. I loved the blue glass of their dishes and a tableware (weird - I know, but I am). I chose them for the room (we had a veranda), the itinerary in general, and what I had read about Viking from other Viking cruisers. Price was somewhat of a factor - but not at the top of the list. Food was not a factor - just that it was provided and from what I read, good. The beer and wine included was nice - but again, not a big factor.

 

We are nearing 70 and very active. To be honest - I couldn't tell you the age make up of the people on our cruise. There was one young couple in their 20s that stood out a bit, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves thoroughly. The rest were fun people who seemed to all be having a wonderful time.

 

We thought about the French Balcony, but we wanted a full balcony, so we got a Veranda cabin on the middle deck - NOT a suite at all (someone mentioned that you had to get a suite to have a full balcony - not true). Just a nice room. There were 2 chairs and a small table on the veranda/balcony

Room 231 on the Viking Mani

 

Fuelscience did a little comparison:

 

 

As I mentioned Kinderdijk was a factor for us. Marksburg Castle was one of the highlights of our trip. Colmar was also one of the highlights. Loved it, but it was not an included tour, it was optional and there was a fee.

 

Transfers weren't high on our list. We did Amsterdam on our own, so had no transfer there. We did the Lucerne extension through Viking and did have transfers to Zurich included. We spoke to a number of people who were doing extensions on their own and they said it was quite simple to get from Basel to Zurich. We had a direct flight from Zurich to JFK.

 

Having a pool and a cinema was not something we even looked for, and would not have used in any case - but that's us.

 

Having gratuities included also wasn't a consideration. We've done a lot of ocean cruises, so it was just routine as far as that goes - again for us.

 

Notamermaid commented, I'm not sure what this means. We left Amsterdam at night and were docking at Kinderdijk around 9:30. We had breakfast on the Aquavit Terrace. I thought it was lovely cruising through that area for the most part. And Kinderdijk was wonderful. We are getting ready to book the Grand European Tour on Viking and were delighted to find that it's on that itinerary. We will skip the tour and just wander around on our own. Someone mentioned you can rent bicycles there and we might do that!

 

This was one of the many photos I took in that section. Perhaps we missed the not so nice part while we were sleeping!

 

 

Viking also had a tour of Alsace that was optional, but my husband wanted to do the Mercedes factory tour. Personally, I could have skipped that for the Alsace one ;p

 

On Viking we had both Rudesheim and Strasbourg - LOVED Strasbourg. Was a little disappointed in Rudesheim - wasn't as lively as we'd heard. We didn't do the dinner, but thought we stop into one of the taverns for a beer after dinner on the ship. Most looked like they were finishing up for the night and it was still fairly early.

 

Our Viking itinerary included a trip to the Black Forest - loved the cake, did the hike and skipped the Cuckoo clocks and the glass blowing.

 

Viking has a referral bonus.

 

Trump - we did not eat dinner on the Aquavit Terrace, but we ate breakfast and lunch there - LOVED sitting out there. We did our cruise end of August into Sept and we had great weather - a little hot at times, but mostly perfect. The Aquavit Terrace has a more limited menu, but there were people who ate there at night.

 

Viking has wonderful 24/7 coffee & tea bar. The machine made regular, decafe, several specialty coffees and hot chocolate. There was a selection of tea, juice in the morning, still and sparkling water, muffins in the morning, cookies (heavenly cookies) in the afternoon and usually fruit as well. There were snacks in the bar at cocktail time.

 

This is coffee station

 

You could bring wine, liquor - pretty much anything you wanted on board. You could drink your wine in the dining room, or in your room. We had a bottle of cognac, that we usually had as a night cap on the veranda, but I'd heard from others that you can leave a bottle of liquor with the bartender, they will put your name on it, and make you drinks with it.

 

They only had to lower the things on the sun deck once during our cruise and it was in the middle of the night. We were up because we were going through a lock - and the locks fascinated us! There was a structure - a walkway, I think - that seemed to low. The ship started forward, then reversed quickly. We could hear them putting everything down. By morning it was all back.

 

It's difficult to compare ocean cruising with river cruising. They are two completely different experiences. If you go into river cruising expecting the same, you will probably be disappointed. I thought of it more as having a floating hotel while I got from place to place rather than a "cruise." We had local entertainment and some trivia, and a very lively dance session, but no big shows. There were no casinos, no one selling gold by the inch, no photographers in your face (but the staff were happy to snap a photo for you with your camera), there are no announcements every 5 minutes for sales and activities, no hairy chest or belly flop contests, no DJs - all of this BIG pluses in our opinion - though we really do like ocean cruising.

 

I really can't speak of what the other lines are like. We enjoyed every minute of our cruise and had no complaints except that it was over too soon. Viking gave us no reason to look elsewhere and we have another cruise booked with them,

 

Hope you choose one that works for you and that you have a wonderful cruise.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Castles for me are a priority. I noticed that Vantage goes through 2 castles.

The other thought was to do an addon at the end of the tour in Basil and go back to Germany and hit a few castles.

 

I was also thinking that June might be better due to more sunlight. Viking is currently running a reduced airfare promo that ends this month. I doubt I will be ready to do the deal tomorrow. I hope they will run something similar again