dolllover

I did the Danube and Rhone in October. The weather and lack of crowds was wonderful. We did have a bit of rain but that didn't bother us. Loved the cooler weather. Both trips were fantastic and we added pre and post cruise stays with Viking which we loved. I loved both rivers equally.

We traveled on one of Avalons older boats and to any newbies trying out Avalon for the first time try to book a newer vessel. It was the Luminary and the issue with noise kept us up all night and I can handle a lot of noise. It was grating on the nerves and unfortunately Avalon couldn't do anything about it. Their newer boats look really nice so I'm looking to book one of those in the future if the itenerary and price is what I'm looking for. 

On 11/3/2019 at 7:10 AM, Peregrina651 said:

May I re-post your comments on

Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

 

That would be great! Thanks.

My DH and I just came back from an excellent Rhone cruise with Viking. Our second river cruise with Viking. Loved everything about this trip. We upgraded thru Viking our pre cruise hotel to the Prince de Galles hotel which was walking distance to the Seine and the Arc de Triumph. Great location! Our post cruise hotel was the Le Meridian hotel in Nice and was close to the sights as well with the added bonus of a fantastic view of the mediterranean. The crew was fantastic and was always ready to top your drink off and with anything else that you needed. Loved eating quite a few of our meals on the Aquavit Terrace. It was wonderful having our meal looking out on the Rhone or the town we were docked in that day. Food was very good. Local wines were served as well. We didn't have a drink package and were satisfied with the wines that Viking provided. As far as tours we had excellent guides. Most of the time we had 3 levels of walking tours, easy pace, normal and fast pace. We had a mixture of passengers on this trip with age ranges from 40 on up including singles. We will be trying out Uniworld for the first time next Sept. sailing on one of their Italy cruises. Quite a bit more money than our Viking trips. It'll be interesting to see if Uniworlds service justifies the added cost of this upcoming trip. I don't do full reviews just a quick summary. If anyone has any questions ask away.

Nice pictures! Did you end up taking malaria pills and if so how did they make you feel?

Wow nice photos. Did the falls have a lot of water? I read that October isn't the best time to visit Victoria falls. 

I bet France is getting cold too. Thanks for the reminder as I prepare my packing for my upcoming Rhone cruise.

Have a great trip! Please review it when you get back. 

7 minutes ago, Roz said:

 

I copied this from the Croisi website - "For safety and health reasons, it is forbidden to smoke indoors on board any of our boats, as it is a closed environment. However, smokers are invited to go to the sun deck, where ashtrays are provided."

 That could be a problem if one wanted to use the sun deck. If it isn't confined to a certain area of the sun deck it could get very smokey outside. Since this is a European line it's something to consider if one doesn't like smoke. 

Does CroisiEurope allow smoking on their ships? If it's allowed all over the ship that would be a concern.

Farring ,Wow that's worrisome. I hate that feeling of being understaffed on my cruise. We had that with Avalon and I felt badly for our servers on that trip.We will be using Uniworld for the first time next Oct. We never felt understaffed with Viking. That's a shame the excursions you were on were not up to par. Hopefully this isn't a current fleet wide issue. 

On our Italy cruise next Sept our room got moved to another location to make room for an additional suite. 

13 hours ago, vino100 said:

We have AMA booked for October 20. Africa ! 5 days on the river and then 10 days on safari. 

Which of AMA's safaris did you book?

Next month I leave on Viking for the south of France and in 2020 trying Uniworld for the first time in Italy. I travel quite a bit combining land, river and ocean and knock on wood all have been great!

7 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

YES!!  Great tips and sharing on this thread.  Wonderful insights.  So glad that in 2016 that we allowed five days for doing exploring in and around Cape Town before starting our cruise sailing.  So much to do and see, including the excellent winelands areas.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 46,890 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Terry, did you end up having to take malaria pills when you went into Botswana? 

Can't wait to hear about the Tanzania portion of your trip. Glad you're having a great time so far.

Wonderful review and pictures. What type and brand of camera did you use?

We're staying in Nice post cruise for 3 days with the Viking package. Has anyone taken the Panoramic Cote d'Azur optional excursion? Wondering if we should sign up for it.

In regards to Vikings payment policy I was told by my agent they do this because of their fantastic flight deals. I don't fly business and love the fact I can get great flights, pre and post land packages , the cruise in a veranda cabin for 10 grand including insurance. Even though I have a Viking cruise coming up in October I'm not loyal to any company. I book a cruise with where I want to go. Knock on wood every trip I've taken so far has been fantastic and consider myself blessed I'm able to travel.

I’ve only traveled on two river cruise lines Avalon and Viking with my second Viking cruise coming up in Oct. We found Viking to be superior to our Avalon one . We still enjoyed our Avalon cruise . I agree the cruise director is important . I found the Viking staff to be excellent from start to finish and on our pre cruise hotel stays always ready to answer questions and give suggestions . In fact when we were at the hotel in Amsterdam on our Avalon cruise Viking had the whole bottom floor ready at your disposal. Avalon came very late and had a small room on the third floor. Food was excellent on our Viking cruise but it really depends on the chef on any given cruise . River cruising is great and my favorite way to travel now. 

DH and I have no desire to visit the Pont Du Gard. Is Avignon an interesting town to walk around on our own? We figure we would do the included walking tour then eat lunch in town and walk around on our own . 

I would love this trip as I love small towns .We would spend time on both ends in the big cities and the small towns would be a nice change . Hoping to do this trip in the future.

Man oh man wish I could do this trip . Very booked right now but it’s on my radar . The pictures and reviews have wetted my appetite 

Gate 1 has a deluxe safari for 13 days  that includes land and river and flights for around 9000 . It’s two days on the river with the rest land . I’ve been researching as well . Africa is on my bucket list .

Are you set on AMA ? I’ve thought about doing a safari with them but the price they charge is outrages . Plenty of other safaris out there that give you more bang for your buck .