pontac

😁Seems I was reading and replying to it same time as you were posting here. Glad you had better weather than we did.

Well spotted, I didn't notice. I just saw that Arnhem shows as an overnight stop and that had been swapped with Nijmegen on our tour. I have found a map showing the 2024 route with stops in Hoorn & Ghent but I think it's too small to display here. The itinerary we were given when we booked in June 2023 was so it does seem the itinerary was later changed - and probably moving the overnight stop from Arnhem to Nijmegen is only temporary. I see Hoorn is a stop on their Holland & Belgium cruise, but I can't see a visit to Ghent. Shame software prevents me from editing earlier posts to make corrections.

@notamermaid as a resident of Germany you probably have a different perspective than the intended audience. Me too. As someone who lives in a city with a history going back more that 2,000 years, a mediaeval centre, a cathedral dating from 900, Roman and ancient British tribal ruins all within 20 minutes walk of my house, I am less impressed by visiting old towns than many of the New Worlders on cruises with me who live in towns where buildings more than 100 years old are to be remarked on. Also, as you are aware, practically most excursions must be to places that can be travelled to, guided around and travelled back from in the space between mealtimes.

Ah, I was a trifle confused, mostly tho' because I thought you were the OP, your handle being May B which my memory thought was the OPs, though going back to the top I see it is @Maybelline True Shucks, I sensed the faint possibility of a future stay with you in Florida.

Viking now require you to register for all excursions, both the (free) included ones and the (additional cost) optional ones. You can register as soon as you book using a website - MyVikingJourney dot com (you'll have seen referenced on this forum as MVJ). Before that you heard the loudspeaker announcement, made your way to reception, were given a group number and left the boat. Unfortunately the chefs didn't seem to know it's supposed to be cooked. I couldn't face the limp rashers with white fat; I expect the fat to be browned and crispy

The only buffet lunches were the embarkation/disembarkation lunch and the Taste of Holland. I remarked on the change to Aquavit lounge lunches in my report of our 2023 Rhine & Mosel cruise and as we cruised with Viking in 2022 I think the change happened with the 2023 seaon. Other changes I remarked on in that 2023 report were: - There is a Viking app which has menus for each day, details of excursions and the ability to book them. - There were tickets for excursions, both included and optional. Tickets were placed in the cabin the evening before to be given to the guide. The ticket has your name, cabin number and tour-guide group number. - British style back bacon joined American style crispy streaky bacon on the breakfast buffet. A change this year is no loudspeaker announcements for excursions 15 minutes before they are due to depart. You have your departure time on your ticket and it's your responsibility to be there on time.

Hiya Daisi I don't understand the question. I have never had a Viking meal which I didn't eat sitting at a table.

Please note this report is of the cruise we took in 2024 which deviated from the brochure and web-site description. I could not get a clear answer as to why. I was told that all cruise boats were banned from Arnhem from 2024 onwards, another were because the moorings were being repaired. When I was at Arnhem I saw workings happening along the shores by the bridge, so the deviation may be temporary. No matter, we still had the excursion to Arnhem and we enjoyed the cruise. All timings in my report are in 24hour format, thus 07:00 is 7am in the morning and 19:00 is 7pm in the evening. I am happy to answer questions.

Day 10 - Friday 5 April 2024 Our bags must be outside the cabin at 06:30 and the coach leaves for the airport at 07:45. We have time for breakfast, and have our only cooked one. The egg chef cooked brilliant easy-over fried eggs. Our flight is not scheduled to depart until 11:40 and as the journey takes less than 20 minutes there is plenty of time. Two Viking staff meet the coach and take two groups to the respective check-ins. Check-in is quick, and although security in this terminal is closed and we must walk to another terminal to pass security it is relatively painless. So we hunt for the business lounge partner, take a lift and it all goes wrong. There are about 50 people waiting to get in, it's at capacity they say, and when there is a space they give priority to members of their own. They say we must clear the area or they'll call security. So we go down to the main public lounge. We're no longer in Viking's World. A 65 minute flight delay shrinks to 10 minutes and at last we are in the air with a glass of Champagne. Good views of London as we descend and Andy whisks us home from Heathrow. Comfort food is needed, so Mrs P drives to a chippie to get fish, chips and mushy peas which we have with a bottle of Villa Maria NZ Savvie. Now we have to wait patiently for the next cruise in June.

Day 9 - Thursday 4 April 2024 The last full day of the cruise, with a well anticipated included excursion at 08:30 to Keukenhof Gardens and its tulip display. But when we awake it's pouring. The rain is coming down in a fury, and it doesn't let up. We decide not to join the excursion. About 30 minutes after coaches depart the rain stops and the sun shines, but ten minutes later the rain in all its fury returns. The rain stops at lunchtime. I enjoyed the Fettucine Bolognaise with a green salad and dry Wiener Gemischter Satz, Nussberg, 2020. So many excursions had taken place on mornings while it was raining while the afternoons had been sunny. Today was no different. After lunch we set off for the Tulip Museum, passing the war memorial in Dam Square (above). The museum entrance is at the rear of a shop that appear to be the main purpose of the venture and there's a long queue of people buying bulbs and tulip related paraphernalia. One thing I took away is the word 'tulip' come from the Turkish word for a turban, because of the similarity of their shape. We might not have seen Keukenhof but we saw plenty of tulips. These were in one of many large pots on bridges. In all my many stays in Amsterdam I never saw use being made of the hoist at the top of buildings, but today I saw two being used. This chap is lowering wood panels out the window to another on the pavement. Our last dinner of the cruise was accompanied by this rather pleasant Chianti Classico

Day 8 - Wednesday 3 April 2024 The morning included excursion started with a walk through the attractive small city of Zierikzee. Access to the old town and harbour was via pull-up bridges and a gatehouse. Four coaches had set off from the boat, but to avoid crowding only two visited the same site at the same time. We drove first to the Delta Works. Local fishermen objected to the enclosing of the Zuiderzee as the enclosed water would become salt-free and wouldn't support the fish they caught and oysters they farmed. So either side of a man-made island were constructed a line of gates which would let sea tides ebb and flow, but be shut during exceptional high tides to protect land and dikes. All week we'd been hearing about land reclaimed from the sea and how much of the Netherlands is below sea level protected by dikes. Our last visit was to Watersnood (Flood) Museum. This is at the site of a dike break on 1 February 1953. A storm surge and gale caused wide spread flooding and drowned 2,500 people in Netherlands, Belgium, England, and Scotland. Netherlands suffered the most because it had so much land under sea level. Engineers repaired breached dikes but all attempts at closing the dike at Ouwerkerk were washed away by the force of the currents. On the night of 6/7 November 1953 they carefully manoeuvred a line of four huge floating concrete caissons into the breach, filling then with boulders and sand to sink them. Even so, the currents moved one out of line but the engineers were able to fill gaps and repair the dike. The caissons - codenamed Phoenix - had been constructed to make the artificial 'Mulberry' harbours and breakwaters of the Normandy coast after D-Day in 1944 but these were surplus to requirements then and were towed by tug to Netherlands in 1953. They stick up above the earthen dike and now house the museum. The caissons are gigantic, 62.5x19x19 metres (205x62.3x62.3 feet), and the museum is housed in the upper part, above the rock and sand filling. And back to the boat for lunch. The boat cast off heading for Rotterdam. There was on 'Open Wheelhouse' session and then 'Teatime'. Plates of dainty sandwiches and cakes were on lounge tables, with jam and cream for scones. We were supposed to enjoy a selection of specialist loose-leaf black and green teas with them, but actuality was the same wooden box of tea-bags we had a breakfast was brought around by waitrons. Dunking a tea bag into a cup of hot water doesn't make tea as any fule kno. And where were the scones? The restaurant manger said they'd run out, but perhaps because I took him to task the previous day for running out of the diet cokes our lunch companions wanted, he rustled up one each for those at our table. They were stale, more like small biscuits. We had the misfortune to sit through the Programme Director's disembarkation talk in which, with the aid of a projector, he droned on into minute detail about every aspect even explaining what each column of the Departure Information sheet meant, perhaps because a column headed 'time to place your luggage outside your stateroom door' would cause of confusion. We arrived in Rotterdam during dinner. A pre-dinner glass of Champagne and a bottle of dry red restored equilibrium. We left Rotterdam for Amsterdam at 22:00. Tomorrow would be the last full day of our cruise, and highlighted by the included excursion to Keukenhof Gardens.

Day 7 - Tuesday 2 April 2024 Viking Ve moored in Middleburg during breakfast, and we joined a 09:00 walking tour in drizzle. And back for lunch The boat left Middleburg at midday so we sailed towards Veere as we ate. When we arrived at 14:00 there was an included walking tour of 'Historic Veere'. And back for dinner But first, a pre-dinner glass of Champagne Jacquart. Celeste Crianza Ribera de Duero went well with the braised lamb shoulder roast.

Day 6 - Monday 1 April 2024 We arrived at Antwerp during breakfast and went on the included excursion, a walking tour of Antwerp. But first we had to get on the quay. Another boat, which refused to move, was in our space so we moored alongside The Elegant Lady, a boat in Plantours fleet. Elegant she was not. The steps down from her sundeck were metal, narrow and steep. Covered in water from the rain they were dangerously slippery. Only one person could descend at a time, and it was safest to descend backward. There was only one handrail. Thus it took ages for everyone to get down and we set off late. First was the impressive remains of the old city wall. I thought the building on the left was a church, but the guide said it was the Butchers Guild building and the steps next to it were known as the 'bloody steps' because blood & innards flowed down the steps like a waterfall from the abattoir above. In a square is a statue of Nello, a young orphan boy, and his dog Patrasche frozen to death in their sleep. The adventures of Nello and Patrasche is very famous in Japan, Korea, and Philippines because of an anime TV series. Hordes of tourists from those countries came to Antwerp and were puzzled that no-one had heard of Nello and Patrasche. Which wasn't surprising as the origin was a book A Dog of Flanders written by a British author and not published in Netherlands. The city had the statue made in the 80s, and when I was there 20-30 Japanese were taking pictures of each other by it. Then we entered Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady which houses three huge Rubens' triptychs and another painting by Rubens. There were many tourists there, including groups following guides' flags and paddles. After an exhaustive description of the first triptych the guide led our group o the next, but we found a seat and sat down. The programme director was in the cathedral so I asked him if the tour continued after the cathedral, because otherwise we'd head back to the boat. He assured me it did, so we sat in the cold and eventually the guide completed her commentary on the fourth Rubens and said that was the end of the tour. That was the third time I'd got duff info from the programme director so I bother him again. So back to the boat for lunch. Fish'n'chips today. Last time I'd had this on Viking was the previous year on the Mosel, and then we were sitting outside on the prow enjoying the sun. We didn't go for a self-discovery walk of Antwerp in the afternoon because we were still moored alongside Elegant Lady and I didn't want to risk their dangerous steps. The afternoon talk about life in Belgium was amusing and well presented by a young lady.

Day 5 - Sunday 31 March 2024 Easter Sunday and breakfast tables were decorated. And when we returned to our cabin we found a large Lindt chocolate bunny. We arrived at Kinderdijk at lunchtime. I had the Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich. The menu said it came on a Kaiser Roll, which is did on the 2023 Rhine-Mosel cruise but they were either out of them or the chef had no idea what a Kaiser Roll was and used two small bread rolls. It's not the first time we've been to Kinderdijk; last time we just went for a walk along the waterfront, and this time Mrs P stayed on the boat. But it wasn't raining so I joined an excursion in the afternoon. The windmills built in the early 1700s are pumps to keep the reclaimed land dry. We can go in one from 1738 and while I am there I see the miller, wearing clogs, turn the mill with the large wheel so it faces the new wind direction and anchor it in the position with chains. We have a talk about the windmills from the guide and a quick visit to a steam pump room that also houses a gift shop, then it's back to the boat as it leaves for Rotterdam at 15:30. An hour later we moor in Rotterdam. There's an optional walking tour but, unusually, no included excursion. And as we ate dinner the Viking Ve cruised on to Antwerp.

Day 4 - Saturday 30 March 2024 We moored in Nijmegen. At 09:00 we boarded our coach for the brief drive to Arnhem for our included excursion Operation Market Garden which first stopped at Arnhem bridge - the 'Bridge too Far'. This is a post-war rebuild to exactly the same style as the bridge destroyed in October 1944. Some of the bases survived, including the concrete stairs and supports on the north bank. The new bridge is named after John Frost, British Forces commander. We went to the Airborne Cemetery at Oosterbeek where some 18,000 allied soldiers are buried. Guide David had written two books about the battle and was in a group of archaeologists that uncovered remains of missing soldiers. He took us to some graves of those he'd found and told us their stories. He also told us that after the war local school children 'adopted' each grave, and they'd contact the families. Soon other war cemeteries were also adopted by school children and when they grow-up and leave school another younger child takes over. Each year, on the same day, each grave has a lit candle to show the soldiers that they are not forgotten. This unofficial tradition continues to this day. I don't think anyone there didn't have tears. Next stop was the nearby Airborne Museum. During the Arnhem Battle as the British troops were defending a decreasing area while facing increasing German forces Hotel Hartenstein was taken over as HQ and now houses the museum. Then a drive around the area where the guide pointed out terrain features that affected the battle and Kate ter Hors' house in which she nursed wounded and dying soldiers. A quiet coach returned to the boat for lunch. We had a short walk in the afternoon and caught up on reading. Before dinner was an enthralling talk on the Liberation of the Netherlands by historian Edwin Popken. The Dutch thought the war was over when the allies arrived in Market Garden. The German troops had left, for Germany it was thought, and crowds were blocking the streets to cheer on the troops.

Day 3 - Friday 29 March 2024 Viking Ve left Amsterdam at 01:00 to sail across Ijsselmeer (once known as the Zuiderzee) now the largest lake in Europe, and the view from the boat when I woke on Day 3 was unexpected for a river cruise as it looked like we were at sea. We moored at Enkhuizen and joined a walking tour at 09:00. A few moments from the boat we were invited to eat herring. The proper way is to take the whole herring by its tail, tilt your head back and slide the fish down your gullet. For those who didn't want the full experience there were slices of fish on cocktail sticks. Then a tray of battered fish nuggets was passed around. It was said to be cod, but the man behind the counter said that it used to be cod but they now used pollock. It was bitterly cold as a strong wind blew from the Ijsselmeer. I sheltered in the warmth of the small shop. Then the walk continued, stopping to see the city gatehouse, our guide said we were lucky because today we would be able to see the Half Moon ship leave the harbour. Half Moon is a replica of Halve Maen, the ship that Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609. The replica was constructed between 1988 and 1989 at the Snow Dock in Albany, New York. Assisted by an inflatable and launch Half Moon was turned and passed under the now opened bridge towards Ijsselmeer. Lunch was A Taste of Holland with the waiters in what I suppose was local costume but I didn't see Dutch Caps on the waitresses... Food was a self-serve buffet and there was a chocolate fountain. In the afternoon we strolled around pretty Enkhuizen. Back on board there was the VES Cocktail Party. I remember on our first trip wondering who the half dozen people quaffing drinks in a Aquavit Lounge were. This cruise 116 people (out of 184 guests), having cruised before with Viking, were Viking Explorer Society members and so the event in the lounge was open to everyone. Dinner menus had two pages. On the left was the Always Available dishes, plus wine suggestions for that night's menu (with the price for those who didn't have the drinks package) and the red and white wines they were pouring for everyone. The white was a (rather nice, crisp) Riesling. By the way, Riesling is pronounced 'reezling', note the 'ie' like in 'field'. I heard one guest 'correcting' her waitress who pronounced it as reezling by telling her that she should call it ryezling. On the right are the dishes for that night. There's a different menu every day, both lunch and dinner, plus the 'always available' dishes. The dinner menu will have three local dishes, then a choice of international starters, mains and desserts. You can pick from each menu as you like and make substitutions - I loathe mashed potato so I swapped that with fries from the 'always available' menu. Some people have two starters instead of a starter and main. Some people have two mains and quite a few have two desserts. As if........ Click on the menu images to get them full size.

Day 2 - Thursday 28 March 2024 We assembled on the dockside for an 09:00 Canal Cruise. As we waited for the last guests to join us it started drizzling and by the time we'd got to the nearby canal boat it was pouring. On either side of the boat there were three seats facing each other across a small table. The boat was covered with glass panels so you could see above and around, but the glass was covered with rain on the outside and steamed up inside. Joan and I faced each other at the waterside. Wipers were handed out so we could remove condensation and it was suggested we open a gap in the sliding side windows but it made little difference as the windows steamed-up again almost immediately. The Viking guide pointed out sights either side as we passed but we could see little, and when there were photo opportunities by the time we'd tussled the sliding window open we were usually too late. Such as this picture, which the guide said was the most photographed sight on the canals because a picture taken through the middle of the bridge would see under a line of bridges down the side canal. I was a little too late, but those not at a window or on the left side would not have a chance. The cruise ended at a diamond factory. If you don't want to visit it then Viking have a coach to take you back to the ship, but the canal boat was returning so we went on that. And as we boarded Viking Ve it stopped raining and the sun shone. Peter & Sue, who were on the cruise a day ahead of us, said the diamond factory was 'simply a buying opportunity'. The excursion was billed as a Canal Cruise and Walking Tour but the only walk was from the Viking boat to the canal boat. After lunch we walked 15 minutes to the National Maritime Museum. It's in an old stone building surrounded by water with four wings around a glassed over quadrangle. Outside is moored a reconstruction of a Dutch East Indiaman which we boarded and explored. Also on the jetty is the Royal Barge, with a movie background of it is use. A Canal Tour boat takes a close look at the East Indiaman The museum closed at 17:00 so we walked into central Amsterdam and had a coffee in the Renaissance Hotel in Spuistraat. I used to stay there when it was the Sonesta Hotel when in Amsterdam on business. The we crossed Spuistraat for dinner in Gauchos. This is the branch I used to eat every business trip as they were the only one to have a salad bar. That's gone now and Gauchos has spawned a multitude of competitors but Gauchos still has their trademark black and white cowhide seating and the tenderist, most flavoursome Argentinian steaks cooked over an open fire, and served with complimentary Chimichurri sauce. And then a taxi back to the boat.

Day 1 - Wednesday 27 March 2024 Pick up from home was at 07:30 and although M25 was busy we kept moving so we were at the airport at about 08.40. Check in was now self-service, via a machine which printed luggage tags which you had to place on your bags and put bags on a conveyor belt. We got breakfast in the business class lounge and boarded on time. BA434 was scheduled to depart at 10.55 but by time we got in the air and they started serving drinks and we put our watches ahead an hour to European time, it was legitimately lunch time and while we didn't have the offered meal we did have a glass or two of Champagne and landed at 13:05. The baggage carousel at Amsterdam stopped working after one of our cases came out and we waited about 55 minutes before an operative climbed onto it and it jerked to life and delivered the rest. A Viking person was outside and led us to a people carrier where we were joined by two others then driven 20 minutes to Viking Ve. We dumped our hand baggage in our cabin and made it to the restaurant before it closed at 15:00. I had a Thai Green Curry from the embarkation buffet. In the afternoon we took a walk to central Amsterdam. In the past Viking boats moored alongside the Centraal Station but now they moor at the old liner terminal. Centraal Station is visible from it, but it takes 25 - 30 minutes to walk to it. We chatted to the manageress of Gauchos in Spuistraat and planned to return for dinner that night. We got back to the boat too late for the mandatory safety drill. Viking Gymir was moored ahead of us, so we went there hoping to see Peter & Sue who were doing the same trip on Gymir a day ahead of us, but they didn't reply to our text. Back on Viking Ve we decided we were too tired to return to Gauchos that night and so ate in Vikings restaurant instead. With dinner Mrs P chose a really excellent Wieninger Wiener Trilogie 2018, a blend of Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Tulips & Windmills - Amsterdam to Amsterdam 27 March – 5 April 2024 was our 14th river cruise and our 13th with Viking. The original route, as per the website We’d booked it last year. Mrs P fancied seeing the tulips in Keukenhof Gardens. I had stayed in Amsterdam many times on business and I knew the weather at this time of year can be very wet and cold, and there’s nothing to stop piercing winds from the North Sea. So I wasn’t that bothered about excursions, Viking’s embrace was reason enough to cruise. We had Gratuities and the Silver Spirits Drinks Package included in the booking again, plus OBC applied in response to my complaint about an excursion last year. Before the cruise we received notification of a change to the itinerary: In order to improve the guest experience, we have replaced our previously planned stops in Hoorn and Arnhem, in the Netherlands, as well as Ghent, Belgium, with new destinations. The shore excursions initially outlined in your itinerary will be modified to correspond with these new docking locations and will be available for booking in accordance with the standard schedule. · Day 3: Enkhuizen, Netherlands (previously Hoorn) · Day 4: Nijmegen, Netherlands (previously Arnhem) · Day 7: Middelburg and Veere, Netherlands (previously Ghent) The original itinerary (above) is still shown on Viking’s website for 2025 and 2026 so I am disappointed that guests on those cruises won’t have an improved guest experience. The revised route, printed in Viking Daily We’d intended using the OBC to buy wines not included in the drinks package, especially Chateau Mouton d’Amailhac 2009, but they didn’t have any on board so we used our OBC on Viking Vouchers. We were in a French Balcony room on the upper deck. Because of the time of year it wasn’t worth getting a veranda, and we only went on the sun deck to cross to a rafted boat. This cruise only runs for about a month, and Viking lay on many boats. Some dates have two Viking boats following the same route, which makes places visited busy. Keukenhof Gardens are open only mid-March to mid-May and there are plenty of river cruise companies about. There are three major themes. Tulips, land reclaimed from the sea by dikes, and Operation Market Garden. We were surprised by how few people had heard of this. Two places visited, Nijmegen and Arnhem, saw important battles to take and hold their bridges in September 1944. Visits make more sense to those who know about Market Garden. The easiest way is to watch the 1977 Hollywood movie A Bridge too Far. Our guide pointed out places and named people, and the actor who portrayed them in the film. The weather was cold and wet but we enjoyed the cruise. Viking’s Longships are superbly designed and their offering over delivers on Viking's description.

Anything is possible. Do you know of relatives in England?

It's hot air. I'd like an explanation of what "ultra luxury" actually means and how Scenic delivers it.

The Rudesheim Coffee also contained brandy! And that's a chocolate straw! For me coffee is black. Coffee, hot water and nothing else. Which makes me fume at coffee shops when people in front are having a zillion of ingredients in their so called coffee. I'm also grumpy because I can no longer ask for a black coffee but they insist it's an americano. Grump over: I'm going to make myself a Nescafe.

Be aware though Keukenhof is closed from Monday, May 13 Brilliant lyric!!

Well, the dike protects the polder from the Lek river, so yes it is on a river that goes through Rotterdam and that's how river boats get to it. The windmills are below the dike on the polder and pump low lying water up to a higher holding oblong pond, and from that to another before the water is pumped out into the river. The windmills aren't at the edge of the river, but at the holding ponds, so the photographs you commented on weren't showing the river. Not that the rivers have large waves either or Mrs P wouldn't go on a river cruise.