loriva

A question on this from a first-time Crystal ocean cruiser. Do people wear their white clothing for the entire evening? Or only change between dinner and the start of the White party?

That's an excellent question, Keith. I had it in my notes but now I cannot find the source of that information. Although I would have had to see it somewhere. But thank you for the response. In trying to find the source, I checked my "Before you sail" guide and, of course, you are completely correct. (Not that I would have ever doubted that.) Many thanks,

Sorry to ask such a basic question, but I could not find an answer in a search of the Crystal board. In my pre-cruise materials from Crystal, it says our boarding time (in Brooklyn, NY) is between 1300-1500 hours. But I believe the Waterside restaurant closes at 1300 hours and The Marketplace at 1330 hours. I realize cabins might not be available until after 1500 hours, but is there not an option to board earlier to enjoy lunch? (And maybe this is all moot and we'll receive a different time when we print out our e-tix in early September. Just the planner in me that wants to know.) Many thanks,

As first-time Crystal ocean cruisers, we were surprised to learn that Crystal has ship photographers. Neither of the upscale lines we have sailed post-COVID (Regent and Viking) have them. Do people really use the photographers a lot? If not, it would seem @KenzSailinghas a valid point for Crystal's new ownership as they refine their offerings and plan new ships.

Thank you, Bob, for a wonderful thread. I enjoyed your thoughts as well as appreciate the effort of posting the menus and daily Reflections. I think you might be on the sailing just before ours, so hope to see your experiences on the QC to NYC trip.

Because I enjoy a Cuba Libre before dinner sometimes AND I like to sleep the night afterwards! 😀😉 DH is one of those people who can drink a regular double expresso and fall asleep five minutes later. But I'm a no caffeine after 1400 hours person. Thanks to all for confirming what I hoped was the case. I'll submit my request soon for our cruise in October. And if it doesn't appear, we have two port calls in the U.S. where we could purchase what we need. Or just find something different on board to drink. Don't think it will be a problem.😀

@Dianesaquilter -- Not sure if you are doing a Christmas market cruise or not, but we did our first Viking River cruise on the Elbe. Here's my review if it helps your planning.

The Crystal Society party is listed as "Captain's Reception AND CS party." Does that mean everyone on board is invited? Not just previous Crystal cruisers? If so, how crowded was it since you are sailing at near full capacity? Or does the availability of free drinks all the time limit the scrum the captain's receptions are on ships not offering included drinks?

Very surprising. We put in a special order for caffeine-free Coke Zero and sugar-free ginger beer a minimum of 30 days before a Regent cruise. Some has always been waiting for us in our cabin--at no charge. I would have thought Crystal would be at the same level of service. We are sailing on our first Crystal ocean out of NYC, so no problem bringing a six-pack of each but somewhat disappointing that we'll need to do so.

This has been a problem on the Princess IT system for years. I cannot help but think your statement is what is behind the continuing failure to fix the problem. (And, yep, just had the same thing happen this week when I made reservations for ourselves and another couple (with Premier) sailing with us. Have made an entry on my embarkation notes to get the credit from Guest Services.)

Thank you again, @RLK33853, for this thread. So helpful as we prepare for our first Crystal ocean cruise. One thing we do enjoy on Princess is the daily trivia contests. I saw some daily programs posted on another review of Crystal but did not see any trivia play listed. We have ended up with lots of time at sea on our cruise since Crystal significantly shortened our time in two ports, so wondering if trivia is part of the enrichment we are likely to see.

Yes, Transylvania was beautiful. So many places I thought we were in Bavaria.

Since not everyone reads the "Reviews" section on CruiseCritic.com, here's my--albeit somewhat lengthy--report on our experiences. We—husband and wife in our early seventies and mid-sixties, respectively—sailed on the Viking Ullur on the “Passage to Eastern Europe” itinerary from Budapest to Bucharest Europe with the post-cruise extension to Transylvania 27 May-09 June 24. Overall, the trip met or exceeded our expectations, and we will sail with Viking River again. Pre-cruise: Overall, engagement with Viking during the booking process met our expectations. We booked this cruise while on a Viking Ocean cruise in 2023 and had cruise certificates bought on a Viking River cruise in 2022. Since we had a Viking Ocean cruise booked for 2025, Viking extended our final payment date to six months before the trip. We had added Viking Air Plus and contacted Viking on the first day available. The proposed itinerary for the contracted fee had two stops on both the outbound and inbound legs, so we opted to cancel Viking Air and book independently. (We found flights with one-stop from MCO or other FL airports to be prohibitively expensive—we were leaving Memorial Day weekend—so we also ended up with two stops each way, but at a decent savings from the Viking fare.) The other shortcoming in the pre-cruise experience from Viking involved the shore excursions. They did not show up until a few months prior to the trip and Viking did not send out the promised email about availability. Since I check in MVJ often, I found them—but one optional excursion in which we were interested was already sold out. (We did get the one other optional excursion we wanted and found out onboard that we could have joined the other one we had considered—so don’t lose hope if you cannot book in advance.) Budapest, Hungary: With things the way they are these days, we opted to arrive in Budapest a day earlier than the start of the Viking tour. We booked an extra night independently at the hotel Viking was using for our tour, the Dorothea Hotel, which is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. I had communicated with the hotel prior to arrival to link our independent and Viking’s group bookings to ensure we could stay in the same room the duration of our stay. Like many in Budapest, the hotel is a converted former palace updated with all the modern conveniences. It is a great location in Pest, convenient to Vörösmarty tér (lots of restaurants around this square, including the famous Gerbeaud bakery), public transit, and the Chain Bridge. Breakfast at the hotel on our first morning was wonderful—but the second morning they were overwhelmed by the Viking passengers who had arrived the day before. It was a 15-minute wait to be seated and a similar wait to receive our coffee order—the table next to us never received theirs. So, arrive early for breakfast before the included Budapest panorama tour. The hotel also has a nice spa, pool, and gym. Viking had a desk off of the lobby and we checked in with the local Viking Host to pick up our welcome letter. We only did the included Viking tour, which was a bus tour around Pest and then a stop on Castle Hill on the Buda side. (We had booked a private tour of Castle Hill for our first (non-Viking) day in Budapest, using the company Taste Hungary. We had used the company for a tasting of Hungarian wine on our first visit to Budapest in October 2021 and had a great experience. We booked a second tasting plus a food and wine tour through the Jewish Quarter with them as well this time—from what we heard from those on Viking’s version of the latter, ours was the better choice. Less crowded and smaller, better restaurants. Highly recommend Taste Hungary.) Since we had visited Castle Hill and Matthias Church the day before on our private tour, we opted to leave the tour there and walked down the hill, over the Chain Bridge, and back to the hotel. We strolled down the walking street (Váci u.), to the Great Market Hall, stopping at Anna Café for lunch. Viking Ullur: After three nights in Budapest (one on our own and two included on the Viking tour), we put out our luggage by 0800 hours and then spent a relaxing few hours in the spa for a massage and pool before walking to the Ullur. It was docked on the south side of the Chain Bridge, so was less than 10 minutes from the hotel. After lunch onboard, we unpacked and then had fun taking turns to walk up to the bridge and take photos of ourselves on the Aquavit Terrace below. At around 1800 hours, we had the Welcome aboard briefing and Port Talk followed by the mandatory Safety Briefing (including going back to our cabins to get our life vests and then checking in at our muster station). Taking advice from CruiseCritic boards, we found a table on the Aquavit Terrace immediately afterwards. (We did find many started camping out there during the nightly port talks. On some days, they had a grill going at lunch—we had a delightful salmon one day.) We sailed about 2000 hours, going upstream on the Danube. The captain then turned the ship around and we had an incredible sail-by the lights of Budapest, including the fabulous Parliament building. The cruise director narrated the scenic sailing. This was our first time on a true Viking Longship—our first Viking River was on the Elbe River on one of Viking’s purpose-built “baby longships.” Same layout, just a bit more spacious. Viking’s cabins are smallish, but well-designed and we had plenty of space to store our things. Just had to plan ahead since the routes around the cabin do not easily accommodate two people trying to pass each other! The bathroom sink is also very shallow making washing anything difficult. Laundry service was very fast—we left a bag at breakfast and clean laundry was back by lunch. It is somewhat pricey--$10 for a pair of pants, $4 for tee shirt or underwear. Stewards on our two Viking cruises did their job of maintaining the cabin but are not as personable as we’ve found on other lines. As others have reported, only the wall between the bed and the bathroom is magnetic, as well as the trim around the bathroom door and the trim around the mirror located outside the bathroom on the wall—which limits where one can hang things (itinerary, various paperwork on the cruise, etc.) in the cabin. We did end up adding the Silver Spirits Beverage Package. On Viking River we like the option of being able to order a bottle from the wine list with the package. With a cocktail before dinner, we probably came out slightly ahead of the $25/pp daily charge. The bartenders were excellent and crafted a few bespoke cocktails for us based on preferences. While we left the automatic gratuities in place, we also gave a little extra for this service. The food at all three meals was excellent, with a buffet plus omelet station as well as an a la carte menu for breakfast and table service at lunch and dinner. There was a regional tasting menu at dinner every night and lots of options for vegetarians at all meals. The evening dress code is “country club casual,” but we’ve found on Viking River that leans to the casual end of that spectrum. We had a great time meeting fellow guests as well both in the lounge, at dinner, and on tours. We heard three different numbers given for the passengers on this cruise, ranging from 160-166—or about 83 percent of capacity. Ports: --Kalocsa, Hungary – The included tour went to the small city of Kalocsa for a tour and an organ concert at a church. It continued to an equestrian center for a performance of traditional Puszta horsemanship. You can take an included carriage ride and they have paprika and other local products for sale (credit cards and Euros accepted. And probably Hungarian Florins. We exchanged a small amount to use for tips, but many others did not, and the guides did not seem to care if you tipped in local, USD, or Euros—as long as you tipped.). Sailaway was during lunch and then a nice, relaxing afternoon on board. The chef does a very brief demonstration of poppy seed strudel and then everyone can enjoy a piece with tea. We had great weather so spent most of the time on the sun deck, including taking our lunch on top. On this and every other stop, the CD, chef, and others greeted us as we boarded and always had some little treat—a virgin sunrise, a candy, or a cookie. --Osijek, Croatia – A home visit and then a short walking tour of Osijek comprised the morning included tour. We found the home visit to be overly long (although offering an interesting perspective before visiting Serbia) and the visit to Osijek too short—the old town was charming, and we would have liked some free time there. Return to the ship for lunch. There were two optional tours in the afternoon, but we just walked from the ship into Vukovar and then to the water tower (a symbol of resistance during the Croatian War of Independence, 1991-1995.) Croatia is the only country on the itinerary that has the Euro as its currency. In the lounge, Viking offered a Tamburica Concert before the port talk, followed by the Captain’s Welcome party, and then a panel with officers and crew on “Growing up behind the Iron Curtain” after dinner. (One thing we like about Viking is they broadcast the port talks and most of the enrichment/entertainment events live into the cabins. We experienced some technical difficulties on this sailing, however, so it was hit or miss.) --Belgrade, Serbia – Depending on what day of the week you arrive, you may awake to music and revelers still at the bars along the river. The included tour was a guided walk through the grounds of Kalemegdan Fortress and then some free time along Belgrade’s pedestrian street. Although the paths were paved, it was more than some expected. On our sailing, at least, Viking did not have a designated gentle walking group and it made for some very slow tours—and missing or rushing through some aspects as we waited for others to catch up to the group. After lunch on board, Viking ran a shuttle back to the pedestrian area. You could also walk from the ship—it was about a 15-minute walk with a stairway with about 100 steps. Again, it was interesting to now hear the Serbian side of the Balkans conflict after hearing from the Croats—including an enrichment lecturer on board in the afternoon. There was also a Serbian Folklore music and dance performance before the port talk, dinner, and sailaway. --Golubac, Serbia – The ship docks at the Golubac Fortress, which has a gift shop and facilities in a lovely park setting on the river. It is one of the best-preserved medieval fortresses in Europe but has also been affected—partially submerged some of its outer walls—by the construction of the hydroelectric dam downstream. The included tour is a guided tour of the fortress followed by some free time to explore the museum and grounds followed by scenic sailing. There are two optional morning tours—the fortress tour followed by a hike from the fortress to the Iron Gate national park (very strenuous and a scary scramble at times according to those who did it) or to the Lepenski Vir archeological museum with remains of a settlement from the Mesolithic era. The actual settlement site also fell victim to the dam, but an effort was made prior to construction of the dam in 1964 to move a portion of the building foundations and finds from the site to the museum on higher ground. Very interesting and a lovely walk in a cool forest to the site—we felt this excursion was well worth the price. We ended the morning in an artist’s private compound high above the Danube and watched as the Ullur sailed downriver into our pick-up point at Donji Milanovac. There were several vendors in the docking area, but we thought we were leaving as soon as we arrived so did not stop. We were there through lunch, however, so could have stopped before boarding. Since this was a technical stop only to pick up passengers on the two optional tours, we could not leave the ship once we boarded. In the mid-afternoon, we passed through the lock at the dam and then scenic sailing narrated by the CD through the Iron Gate, a series of spectacular narrow gorges that slice though the Carpathian Mountains to the north and the Balkan Mountains to the south. We had superb weather, and it was beautiful. For the best views, be sure to be on the Sun Deck if the weather permits. Sailing to the east, you will also pass the enormous rock sculpture of Dacian King Decebalus (from the 1970s) on the Romanian (port) side of the river and then Trajan’s Tablet on the Serbian (starboard) side of the Danube, which marks the location of a Roman military road. The Viking Explorer Society reception (open to all) followed in the evening as well as a special Balkan dinner where you could help yourself from the buffet in the restaurant or have a sampler plate served to you. Desserts were on the buffet. (NB: Along this stretch of the river, you might want to set the time on your cellphone and/or smartwatch manually as in automatic setting they will flip between Central (Serbia) and Eastern (Bulgaria) time zones. Overnight, you will need to set your clock one hour ahead to Eastern European Time. On our sailing, the CD did not schedule anything in the lounge after dinner due to losing an hour from the time change. --Vidin, Bulgaria – A long bus ride to see Belogradchik Fortress, built right into the striking Belogradchik Rocks. There is a short tour to the second courtyard of the fortress ruins. Again, even this was rough going for some of the passengers. Then you can opt to climb up another one or two levels. The climb to the next level was okay, but somewhat scary and a risk of slipping at some points. We did not even try the climb to the top level--you cannot have any fear of climbing or heights if you want to do it. Again, there are some vendors set up around the parking area. We could use the restrooms when we arrived, but the attendant wanted payment if you wanted to use them again before departure—I think it was two Euro (or the equivalent in Bulgarian lev if you had some). Lunch was onboard. Viking had an optional afternoon excursion to the Baba Vida Fortress in Vidin and then to a winery, but you could DIY at least the fortress part. It is about a one-mile walk along the waterfront from where the ship docks. You’ll pass the Soviet-built Monument of Freedom (now turned into a skate park) en route as well as the now-restored synagogue ot Vidin. As of June 2024, entrance to the interior of the fortress costs 7 BGN/3.5 EUR pp. Or you can just walk around its perimeter and the moot that surrounds it. We spent part of our afternoon free time packing as the next day featured an all-day tour. The tour of the wheelhouse and the Captain’s Farewell party preceded dinner and the after-dinner entertainment this evening was the CD and resident pianist, who did a very enjoyable set of songs spanning a few genres. --Ruse (for Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi), Bulgaria: In what probably works well for the Bucharest to Budapest routing of this itinerary but is not so great for us going downstream, the included Viking tour runs 0900-1800 hours. After a 90-minute bus ride, we had a 30-minute stop for coffee, some treats, and restrooms at an event venue. Then onto Arbanasi for a guided tour of the Nativity Church, then a walk around the village to a shopping stop for the Damascus rose products, locally made from the essence of roses, and a visit to a local merchant house from the 1800s. Lunch followed—it was really hot inside the restaurant but nice out in the garden, but you had to sit where they assigned your bus. Then a drive to Bulgaria’s former capital, Veliko Tarnovo, where there was a photo stop (no visit) to see Tsaravets Hill and the ruins of the royal castle. Finally, free time to shop for local crafts along Samovodska Charshia. We followed the CD and had a beer in a shaded restaurant. And then a long bus ride back. (The tour seemed overly long—more time in the church than was needed following the local guide, the rose shop and merchant’s house were somewhat redundant, lunch was drawn out, and the free time in Veliko Tarnovo was not really necessary—other than something to balance out the long bus rides. The tour was heavily promoted by the CD and gave the feeling of getting us all off the ship for the crew to have a light day before (or after on the reverse itinerary) turn-around day. There is an option for a shorter included tour, half-day around Ruse, but those who did it said it was not very interesting—nothing really historic.) A final dinner on the Aquavit Terrace while the ship sailed for five minutes from the south side of the Danube to the north--and then finished packing. Bucharest, Romania: We stayed docked in Giurgiu, Romania, overnight and then waved goodbye to the Ullur. The bus transfer to Bucharest included a comfort stop at a shopping center about halfway and a panoramic tour of the city (with a photo stop and brief walk at the Parliament). Then parked for a walk through the Old Town and the restaurant for lunch and another folkloric show. Walk back to the bus and then out to the Village Museum, which houses a collection of historic buildings from around the country. (We opted out and walked to the near-by Hard Rock Café so DH could buy a pin to add to his collection—it was along the same lake as the Village Museum. Some people on the extension opted to go out to the HRC for dinner, but it was a 45-minute drive though the very heavy Bucharest traffic.) From there, the bus took us to the J.W. Marriott Hotel, which is one of the buildings—the only privately owned one--built as part of the grand design of the Parliament area. Viking had two tables set up to the left of the front desk in the lobby, one for passengers ending their tour in Bucharest and one for those on the extension to Transylvania that was manned by the Tour Director. (If you make independent flight reservations CHECK that you are on the airport transfer list. We were not on the preliminary list we received onboard and added our information. It was not, however, added to the list we received in Bucharest. It still wasn’t on the final list on our return to Bucharest after the extension. But our flight departure was very similar to passengers who were, so we told the Tour Director we would show up for the transfer at that time. Since we’d had a problem with luggage pick=up at the beginning of the extension, we just brought our luggage down ourselves.) We walked back to Old Town for dinner at Caru’ cu bere, the oldest beerhouse in the city. (We had luckily thought to make a reservation when we paused at the building during our walking tour of Old Town as there was a long line to get in for dinner.) Bucharest has Uber and we had some credit, so we used that to return to the hotel. --Extension to Transylvania: After luggage call at 0800 hours (ours was not picked up) and breakfast, we boarded the bus to Transylvania. We had about 30 passengers on the extension. We had about a 2.5-hour drive (including comfort stop) to Peleș Castle. Constructed in the late 19th century for the newly selected royal family of Romania, the castle is both ornate and modern—it was designed to have electricity and indoor plumbing. It is also unique in that it survived the Communist era largely intact—so the finishes and furnishings are originals. It was a decent walk from where the bus could park to the castle and again Viking needed to do a better job of separating groups of walkers. (The Tour Director did eventually call a cab to help someone back up the hill.) Back in Sinaia, we had free time for lunch and whatever. We ate at a place called Bistro 21 and it was nice, including options for vegetarians. It was probably more time than needed but we were hurried along in the castle by the staff (crowd control) and had an assigned time to arrive at the hotel. It was about an hour from Sinaia to Brașov, where we checked into the Radisson Blu Aurum Hotel. A very modern hotel, but right around the corner to the pedestrian area and Old Town and across the street from a park that had several artisan booths set up. We had a few minutes at the hotel, then met the Tour Director for a walking tour of Braşov’s Old Town, seeing the Council Square and Black Church (exterior only). Since it had been a long day and we had our main meal at lunch, we opted to stop by the grocery store in the pedestrian area for some picnic supplies and had that plus our final bottle of wine from Taste Hungary for our evening repast. The next day was a free day in Brașov. Viking offered a full-day excursion to the medieval town of Sighișoara and the fortified church of Viscri as well as a separate Transylvania dinner. We opted to book a similar tour privately through Active Travel, which also added a stop at Rupea Fortress. It was about half the price of the excursion offered by Viking, but we were on our own for lunch. With only the four of us, however, we had a minivan versus the full-sized Viking bus and were much more mobile. This became a factor on the return to Brașov when a semi-truck jackknifed on the road. We were just far enough ahead of the Viking bus and small enough that we got by the accident while the Viking bus was delayed for 90 minutes—making it very rough on those who had booked the dinner excursion as well. Our guide also took us to an incredible restaurant in Viscri—called Viscri 32—that rivaled some Michelin-starred places we’ve experienced. The Viking tour had no such luck. The Wooden Spoon shop in Sighișoara had some great handcrafted souvenirs, including some nice, small ceramic plates for about U.S. $4 each—they came through just fine in the suitcase. A great day. The third and last day of the extension would likely be considered the highlight of the extension—a visit to Bran Castle, the castle of the Dracula of legend. Of course, none of it is true—Vald the Impaler—never stepped foot in the place. And it had been stripped of its finishes and furnishings during the Communist era. And it was packed. The Tour Director became frustrated with the group as we were not staying together—but it was impossible to do so between the small rooms of the castle and the crowds. Viking really needs to book exclusive access to the castle before opening time. Afterwards there was free time for lunch and then a three-hour drive (including comfort stop) back to Bucharest, where we checked back into the J.W. Marriott. (This allowed us to store luggage at the hotel and take only what we needed to Brașov. Viking gave us different-colored tags for take and stored luggage and the latter was waiting for us in our room upon return to Bucharest.) After another long day, we happily just had a light meal in the Club at the hotel, then finished up the final packing and tried to get some sleep before our 0500 hours luggage call and 0530 hours transfer to the airport. To her credit, the Tour Director spent the night at the hotel and met each and every departure. Those leaving before breakfast hours at the hotel received a breakfast box, which as always included things that could not go past security at the airport. (The check-in at Tarom and lack of a lounge that could be accessed with a Priority Pass were not great, but neither were they under control of Viking—just be warned!) Overall, Viking has a very well-organized river operation and provides a solid product at a decent price. We bought a couple of Cruise Certificates onboard and have booked another river for 2026. (FYI, the CD said Viking is experimenting with booking on board on river ships as it does on its ocean ships. So, Cruise Certificates may be going away soon.)

We will try! Given the presence of Umi Uma onboard, the ship should have a supply of ahi tuna. Might have to ask the day before so they can fetch from ship's stores. At least that has been the rule of thumb for special requests on other lines.

Salmon not the same as ahi tuna, of course, but DH likes it as well! Thanks for the info.

There is a fast ferry option between the Bahamas and Ft. Lauderdale if that would be more palatable. Website: https://www.baleariacaribbean.com/en. This is what we were going to do when we booked our first cruise on Crystal ocean for 2022.

Does Crystal offer an ahi tuna steak sandwich at the pool grill for lunch? That is DH's favorite thing on Regent and Viking also makes an excellent one. Could you also make a quick comment on dress for the dining venues on Crystal, please? I think the dress code for Crystal and Viking (and Regent) is "Resort Casual" or some similarly named thing. There is a definite difference between Viking (a premium not luxury line) and Regent, however. Dress is just a little more upscale--same on Crystal? I know we have one formal optional night and the White Party on our cruise--did you find most guests dressed up for these events?

As fellow Princess Elite "refugees" we are following this with interest. We started our exploration of alternatives to Princess in 2021 for the same reasons as you. We've since completed four cruises with Regent, one with Viking Ocean (plus two rivers), and looking forward to our first on Crystal in October. (The latter should have been summer 2022 after an awesome experience on Crystal River in October 2021--a similar "what can we do for you" experience as you noted--but we know what happened then. We are doing Princess again in December--but mostly for the experience of cruising out of a port a 30-minute drive from where we live.) Thank you for starting this thread and looking forward to learning of your experiences! Take care,

Thank you for posting this, Keith. For anyone who has used this service, how far in advance do you need to book it? Thinking of one-way back home after disembarking Serenity in Quebec City in mid-October.

This part of your review caught my eye: "Considering that Crystal’s ships just underwent major refurbishments before relaunching in 2023, it’s unlikely that the Tastes space will change significantly, we were told. The line is working with Beefbar’s architecture team so that some elements of the restaurants will come onboard." It confirmed my suspicion that there will be some period of time where there will be no Tastes and no Beefbar. And, likely, just our luck it will be during our first sailing on Crystal ocean in early October! (Although the website did allow us to make reservations for Tastes during our sailing.)

That would make sense. It would be the ship's last sailing before it crosses the Atlantic to start its homeporting in Port Canaveral. We, too, are Space Coasters excited about Princess coming to our backyard! Will be sailing on the ship (our third time) in December. Loved the old little Princess ships and not fans of the trend to bigger but will give it a shot since it is so close. Alternatively, the missing time in the schedule could represent a private charter. But hoping for some refurbishment before we sail!

They did board business class first. But only made the announcement at the last minute and then had everyone move to another area. Easier would have been to have a designated area where passengers could line up at their leisure.

The experience on Condor was fine. Its business cabin is modeled on its former parent, Lufthansa, and the seats were comfortable. Amenities on the flight were nice--Condor gives you one of four travel organizers (a small metal box like a pencil case, an insulated lunch bag, and two others) along with the usual toothbrush, etc. The meal was quite good, with the appetizer course coming with three different items plus cheese (you can save for dessert) and a salad. The crew were very personable and served quickly so we could get some sleep on the route to Germany. The pre-flight experience is where it was more problematic. Condor only books the lowest-fare economy on any connecting (non-Condor flights). We had to reach out to each individual airline to upgrade and/or book seats. Also, boarding German airlines seems like a free-for-all--no lining passengers up in groups, any order in boarding. (Our friends on this cruise flew Lufthansa out of Munich and reported the same experience.) They also do not start boarding nearly early enough--meaning the flights are consistently late. (FlightAware showed both of our flights were consistently delayed by over an hour--and this proved so for both our flights. Luckily, we had built in enough extra time at connecting airports and made all our connections.) The price was more than a thousand less per person than Viking's offered flights and the latter only offered us routings with two stops (same as Condor) so we booked independently. That price rose a bit once we booked seat assignments/upgrades but was still a savings. Would probably use Condor again, but only if we can find a one-stop routing. Condor partners with Alaska Airlines, so if you don't have one of their frequent flyer accounts you can sign up and use it. Please let me know if you have other questions,

As of Sunday (when I used it), Frankfurt Airport has expanded its Smartway service to include U.S. (and I think Canadian) airports--at least from some of the gates. (We were flying Condor from the B gates--using the Ost security point. You'd need to do a test of your flight to see if it is available.) This is a service run by Clear but you do not have to be a Clear member to use it. There were no lines at any of the security checkpoints at the time we went through, but it would have been very useful if there were lines. Here's the link to Smartway: https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/airport-guide/check-in-and-luggage/fra-smartway.html

Very hesitant to try Scenic again as we were affected by the hack on the company's IT system in early 2022. It was a nightmare getting information for months after the hack, including right up to our sailing. And they missed our pick-up at the airport in Vienna. It was nice after that, but not as nice as our first river cruise with Crystal (RIP). That said, I'm intrigued by their chef-led tours in France and their Asia tours. By 2026, the pain of dealing with them may have faded enough to try again.