Double docking

[va2pa]

Double docking wasn't a problem on the Rhine for us, but it happened on our Danube cruise and on the Rhone/Saone. I don't remember reading that it could happen so I was surprised the first time a ship pulled alongside ours! But no big deal - we checked out the rooms (size, amenities, beds, decor, etc) and of course the lobby and sun deck. Yes, we didn't have an unobstructed view of the water, but guess what - we went up to the sun deck and had a great time there! I viewed it as an opportunity to see what other cruise lines looked like and it didn't bother me at all.

As for the locks, I found them fascinating, day or night. Did they wake me up? Once or twice but again, no big deal - said "oh must be going through a lock" and went back to sleep.

Both situations were all part of the experience of river cruising and I wouldn't change a thing!!

[molymoo]

Just back from Russian cruise with Viking ... it was our third cruise and our first experience with "double docking". I don't remember seeing anything in the literature about this possibility but as we pulled up to the ship in St. Petersburg and saw them tied up three and four deep it was pretty obvious what was going on. It was covered in the embarkation briefing and was no big deal. We enjoyed seeing some of the other ships (frankly made us happy to be on Viking!).

The only time there was a problem (not for us) was our last day in Moscow when we were tied up with one of the other Viking ships ... which was exactly like the one we were on. One poor woman from the other ship went to the front desk and was inadvertently given the key card to "her" room ... which wasn't "her" room. She opened the door and jumped back screaming "Oh my God! I'm on the wrong boat!!!" No one was in the room so no harm done but it was pretty funny!

[goleta]

I slept through the lock noise at night!

[Peregrina651]

Originally Posted by editor@cruisecritic

In a new review of Uniworld's River Beatrice, a member expresses his dismay about the frequency of double docking (when the ship was tied up to another), and writes: "Nowhere in the Cruise brochure, Cruise Companion or the itinerary details, shows any reference to this double docking and I consider this a clear misrepresentation by omission."

Do you agree? Can river cruise lines do a better job of alerting passengers to this possibility?

Carolyn

Carolyn Spencer Brown
Editor in Chief
Cruise Critic

Gripe! Gripe! Gripe! I have no sympathy for this guy.

When does it become the passengers' responsibility to find out what to expect on a cruise? When does it become the passengers' responsibility to make sure that the chosen cruise is appropriate and meets any special needs? Is it the role of the cruise line to spell out in detail every single possible thing that could happen while on the cruise?

River boats double dock. River boats can't sail under bridges when the river is high. River boats can't navigate on flooding rivers. Etc.etc.etc.

Good grief, any time someone does like the way things are going, it is the cruise lines fault for not telling them about it. IMHO, Carolyn, just another chronic complainer looking for something to complain about.

Do your homework before you book and stop blaming it on the cruise lines any time you don't like something or have made a bad choice.

[ddschur]

Originally Posted by Peregrina651

Gripe! Gripe! Gripe! I have no sympathy for this guy.

When does it become the passengers' responsibility to find out what to expect on a cruise? When does it become the passengers' responsibility to make sure that the chosen cruise is appropriate and meets any special needs? Is it the role of the cruise line to spell out in detail every single possible thing that could happen while on the cruise?

River boats double dock. River boats can't sail under bridges when the river is high. River boats can't navigate on flooding rivers. Etc.etc.etc.

Good grief, any time someone does like the way things are going, it is the cruise lines fault for not telling them about it. IMHO, Carolyn, just another chronic complainer looking for something to complain about.

Do your homework before you book and stop blaming it on the cruise lines any time you don't like something or have made a bad choice.

As said above...I couldn't agree more!

[Peregrina651]

Originally Posted by Peregrina651

Good grief, any time someone does like the way things are going, it is the cruise lines fault for not telling them about it. IMHO, Carolyn, just another chronic complainer looking for something to complain about.

Sorry. I can't type and I'm even worse at proofreading. That line should read someone doesn't like.

[Jiminkcmo]

It boils down to this:

If you are afraid that something won't be to your liking while you are on a trip away from home, STAY HOME.

Just my $0.02.

Jim

[Talisker92]

Amen!!! We were stuck in Deggendorf due to high water for 2 days. One day we went to Straubing and visited a cathedral that had a wonderful Durer stained glass window of Moses. The second day we went to an outdoor museum that was very interesting.
If you travel you have to be flexible and make lemonade out of the lemons!

[cassandra44]

We loved our first river cruise on the Viking Sun from Basel to Amsterdam but having paid for a french balcony we were rather upset to discover that for 3 out of the 7 days we were docked beside another ship which basically made the balcony quite unusable. It made me think that I would take a cheaper option next time around.

[pacmom]

As more and more boats sail the rivers of Europe, double docking will be the norm. It has been in Egypt--once we were the fifth boat out. By next season Viking will have added 12 new boats with no word of whar is going to happen to the present fleet. The gentleman who was so upset about has been very vocal about slow, overweight, dementia type on his cruise--must still be looking for Utopia. When we started river cruising 11 years ago, there really weren't many boats sailing and it was rare to see double docking--now it is almost the norm.
We need to research where we are spending our vacations and not except the lines to spoonfeed us everything. We leave in about 2 weeks for a river trip in China and have been researching since we placed our deposit. Can't leave everything to the cruise line, plus a lot can be PR. Pat

[hcross888]

By the time we hit our room at the end of a long interesting day, we didn't really care about what we saw out our window. I know that I was little surprised the first time our boat was double docked, but I thought it was neat to see other ships.
In the evening on the Danube, we talked to people on the neighboring boats comparing trips.
It is good to know what to expect, but that is the responsibility of the customer.
There is nothing that puts a damper on vacation more than complainers.

[Viking River Cruises]

Originally Posted by cassandra44

We loved our first river cruise on the Viking Sun from Basel to Amsterdam but having paid for a french balcony we were rather upset to discover that for 3 out of the 7 days we were docked beside another ship which basically made the balcony quite unusable. It made me think that I would take a cheaper option next time around.

Dear cassandra44,

We’re so happy to hear that you loved your first river cruise! We do understand how the occasional necessity to dock river ships together can come as a surprise—and we are sorry that this proved to be the one thing that detracted from your experience.

We’d very much like to speak with you about your experience and concerns and hope to hear from you soon at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com.

Sincerely,
Viking River Cruises

[tassietravellers]

Originally Posted by goleta

I slept through the lock noise at night!

me too :-)

Was on the Avalon Panorama Budapest to Amsterdam mid August, we went thru 68 locks..apart from the ones during the day I hardly heard or felt anything duing the night ones...I know some people did tho, suppose it depends on how soundly you sleep..or maybe its the level of alcohol consumption :-)

We were double docked a couple of times..and once triple docked...it wasnt really a hassle, only one of the ships didnt really line up and we had to go over the top, other times just thru the lobby, was more interesting looking at the decor of the other ships. Most times it was just for a short time anyway, we were never double docked over night.
Its a necessity with the amount of traffic on the rivers and some towns only have the one dock.
I think it just adds to the river cruising experience :-)

[jacksonnh]

Have been on six cruises with Viking and have double docked twice, once in Amsterdam on the Sun and the second time in Budapest on Primadonna. Both were for less then a day. Just part of the cruise experience.

With the new ships, not sure if Viking will not be using Primadonna in the future but it was really a unique sailing vessel especially with the stadium seating in the front of the ship and the small but full balconies and internal seating area. Oh well, on with the new!

[MURPHY27]

Actually it is common practice to tie up to another boat when dock space is not available even for small craft. Sail boats don't always drop anchor and row to shore, they will tie up if dockage is deep enough. Not the most private way to do things, and doesn't happen all the time. It seems as longboats increase in size and number, more alternate towns may be "discovered".