pontac

Then you didn't read my trip report. I did enjoy the trip; but I disliked the hyperbole of Scenic on the trip I was on. I am going to phone Scenic tomorrow about their latest offer of business class flights and a 35% discount. Is this not an example of a hierarchy that you said is not be found on a river cruise? Only the main restaurant is open to all, the other one only to those with an invitation, with at least one invitation promised to those on the middle and lower decks. We had one invite

Only Avalon can answer that. Maybe its like buying something at full price and then seeing it on sale two weeks later. 🙂

I have no personal experience of this adaptor, but they illustrate a 'Shuko' socket, which is commonly found, which has the holes in a circular depression and they say their adaptor works in it. This is the illustration (However the British Isles are coloured the same blue and this or any 2 rounded pin plug will not fit into UK or Irish sockets)

This was on their site when I looked just now: RIVER CRUISE DEALS Welcome to Avalon Waterways river cruises, where five-star service comes free from stuffiness, accommodation is spacious, food is top-restaurant quality, gratuities are included My bolding. Good news eh?

From Avalon's FAQ EUROPE Electricity: Onboard electricity is 220v. Wall sockets take a European 2-prong plug. To use any small personal appliance such as an electric razor, curling iron, or electric plug-in type alarm clock, you will need an adapter to plug in to the wall sockets for dual voltage appliances and a converter as well as an adapter for appliances that are not dual voltage. Converters must be EU certified. Cheap, non-certified converters may damage your appliance and are a fire hazard on the ship. Staterooms are also equipped with USB outlets which are useful for charging phones, tablets, cameras, etc. So USB sockets are provided. You'll need a US to Euro plug adapter for other devices, like this https://www.amazon.com/Unidapt-European-Adapter-Converter-adaptor/dp/B077WJYNQ5 Laptop computers are dual voltage so the above is OK. You only need a converter if you have a device that is not dual voltage such as an iron or hair drier. Hair driers are suppled. Others have posted on this forum in the past that they have found it cheaper to buy an iron in Europe than a power converter in the USA. The German Amazon - amazon.de - has irons at EUR 24.99.

It wasn't a Viking hierarchy, just some people talking. But I am surprised you don't think there's a hierarchy on any river cruise vessel. Your own favourite Scenic has restaurants La Rive and Table d'Or 'Exclusive for Royal and Junior suite guests on cruises of 7 nights or less, and for all Diamond deck guests on cruises of 10 nights or longer'.

I have been on 12 Viking cruises and I have had cabins on all 3 decks. I have read here on this forum about people staying on the upper deck getting noise from the walking track on the sundeck but I have never experienced it myself. I see no benefit on one deck above another. The middle deck is on the same level as the restaurant and entrance/exit to boat so those on the middle deck don't have to use stairs to exit the boat when going on daily excursions or to eat in main restaurant. The upper deck is the same level as the lounge and open bow area where you'll want to to go to see both banks during the Middle Rhine, also the hot drink machines are on that level. Also, the Aquavit lounge which has some tables you can have a buffet breakfast or restaurant meals at lunch & dinner. As there's not much difference in pricing, I'd suggest the direction of travel* and the time of year** is a more important consideration, chose those and then if there's only A or B available pick it. * I have been Basel>Amsterdam twice. I think the opposite way is preferable for scenery ** Pick summer time otherwise it'll be too cold to enjoy sitting on your veranda

There are no bad ones..... You'll enjoy whichever you pick. Assume the boat and service are the same and pick based on the excursions and places you moor. Check both directions as excursions can differ) A bit more info from you about your desires and time of year you are considering would help... Do you want to see countryside, do you prefer small old town and villages or big bustling cities, are you interested in trying local foods, are you interested in wine? Our first Viking cruise was from Basel to Amsterdam, a cruise we repeated in 2023 which is a route many first timers do. I think scenery wise the opposite direction is better. This cruise might be more convenient for your air travel. I loved the Rhone - between Lyon and Avignon, again a cruise we taken twice, once in each direction. As @CDNPolar says, the Douro has splendid scenery, but I didn't enjoy the long coach ride from Lisbon to Porto and the flight back from Porto goes to Lisbon to connect with onward flight. But if you've not been to Lisbon before it's a great place to visit. (We had both been there many times before and would have preferred to fly straight to Porto). If, like me, you're heavily into wine then the Bordeaux cruise will take you through those famous vineyards, but if you have no interest in wine then I'd not recommend it for your first cruise

I'll disagree with you; spelling is important in conveying meaning. There is a difference, for example, between bell and belle 😉

The English language has darned weird spelling. There is no consistency. It can be explained by being very old, and a mongrel taking in words from other languages, and being modified by fashion, and by changes in pronunciation over time. I wonder that any foreigner manages to write it, You wrote neighbor, I write neighbour. I understand those extraneous 'u's in words like neighbour and colour were added in admiration for the French, at a time when French was fashionable. But when the US attempted to simplify English spellings, they didn't get very far. Why change neighbour to neighbor for example? Why not Naybor? It also puzzles me that American English changed ise endings to ize except for advertise...

I didn't say it was a fault of computer spell-checkers, just pointing out that a writer cannot rely on a spell-checker. Not spotting a homonym is a fault of a proof reader though, who should see that the wrong word has been used within the meaning of the sentence/paragraph, such as my uses of rote, sea and red. They are proper words, correctly spelled but used in the wrong circumstance

I was taught 'I before E except after C' which is not only good but rhymes. The rest, on months, I do remember

@notamermaid You are so correct. If we rote it then we can't do a final proof because we sea what we expect to see, and if we uses a homonym it doesn't get picked up by a spell checker. I've proof read books for others and others have proof red my books and all the proof readers pick up something. Not picked up by spell checker in the above because they are not misspelled - just the wrong word. rote should be wrote sea should be see uses should be use red should be read

Look again at the line above 😉 Re complimentary vs complementary a complementary experience isn't necessarily free. Complimentary Land Package is correct imo.

To change the subject, I have this advert for Ama Waterways at the top of this forum:- Did no one at the ad agency or Ama Waterways actually read it before approval?

Not so on Scenic. Those on top deck have their own restaurant, and there's another restaurant with a special menu to which others in the middle on lower decks get an invite.

Yes, I meant 10 January. I am doing a lot of stuff with Feb dates and I got confused!

I am on the Tulips & Windmills cruise departing Amsterdam on 27 Mar. Two days ago (on 10 Feb) I received an email from Viking telling me the excursions were now open for booking. However, we had already booked the excursions we wanted as they had been available for booking on MVJ for several weeks. So that Viking Cruise-at least-is not delayed. Might be worth you checking MVJ every day and refreshing the page in case you are seeing a cached page.

No problem. I didn't know that signatures do not show on phone until reading @gnome12's post above. My report on 2022-04-23 Viking Tialfi 'Rhine Getaway' Basel>Amsterdam link 2023-04-24 Viking Hild 'Rhine & Moselle Discovery' Basel>Trier link below

Thanks, @knoxclone for the comparison review. The lack of a fridge rules Uniworld out for me - I need to keep my eyedrops refrigerated. I also greatly dislike bathroom soap and shampoo being in wall dispensers.

I think you'll need to ask Viking about your transfer arrangements. But if you need to arrange it yourself, there is a good train service between the two. I used to stay in Brussels when on business and some nights I'd train to Antwerp and back to have a decent steak in Gaucho's Argentinian steak house in Antwerp.

Wise to book all the included excursions. You don't need to go on them. It's possible to book an 'optional' excursions on board. The Programme Director will promoting them during the evening briefings before dinner, but some do fill up, OTOH there are cancellations, so ask. I've cruised with Viking on the Rhine between Basel and Amsterdam and once from Basel to Koblenz (before turning along the Mosel). You might like to read my trip reports; there are links below in my signature. However what excursions are offered can and do change year by year, also according to the direction travelled. MVJ will show what is offered on your cruise. FWIW I think the Amsterdam to Basel is the more interesting direction as the scenery gets better. There's no check or restriction on leaving and no bag check on return It's 'German Night'. I can't speak for 2024; they used to have a German Oompah band in lederhosen walking around the dining room,and the guests made a conga line, but they didn't have them post-covid. As it's you first river cruise I'd suggest you don't book 3rd party excursions. Timings depend on many factors, state of the river, locks and how busy. Also mooring position is out the control of the Captain but is chosen by harbour master. On our cruise earlier this year we missed one place when there was an optional evening excursion as we got held up at dock. I'm European, The US tipping culture is .... When we were in the US Mrs P and I took turns in paying for restaurant meal. I found out she was tipping 10% and she argued when I said in the USA 20% was standard. You'd expect Europeans to conform to US tipping standards when in the USA, but I know from reading this board that Americans don't conform to European tipping standards when in Europe. Booking in the UK means gratuities are included. We don't add more. Before gratuities were included, Viking gave us envelopes at end of cruise with suggested amounts. You could also pay with credit card, which we did, paying the suggested amount. Viking suggest an amount to tip the guide and coach driver; as I recall that amount is per day, so if your excursion is 3 hours in length then the full day amount is not appropriate. Also remember that the coach driver is an employee of the coach company with a competitive pay, paid holidays and free heath care. We only tip guides who are exceptional; above and beyond the standard. Chilled sparkling water is available 24hrs from dispensers outside the lounge, as are teas and coffees. You have time in Amsterdam to buy soft drinks which you can bring on board, and restock during the cruise. Ditto spirits, wine.... If you drink a lot of cocktails or spirits or want a daily glass of Veuve Cliquot or different bottle of wine at lunch and dinner from the standard supplied then the drinks package is worth it. if not it's borderline whether it's worth it.

Hi @bobbysgirl48 We've not been on any ocean cruise, but plenty of river cruises. From reading this board I understand you'll find they are not the same in many ways but I expect you'll greatly enjoy it. Mrs P wanted to see the tulips also, which is why we booked this cruise. We are on the upper deck in cabin 336 and I'll be wearing a bow tie at dinner. There are photos of me with my trip reports on this board, and here's me on the Rhone in August. We're looking forward to meeting you

This is the beer page of the Viking bar-menu from August 2023 on the Rhone. I think the bar list are the same throughout the European river cruises, but I can't swear to it as I nowadays drink only wine. (It also lists non-alcoholic cocktails.) And whether it'll be the same in 2024 only Viking knows !

Thanks for this, we haven't looked at MVJ recently. (Been abroad on holiday hence my delay in replying)