MyDogRudy

I am looking for dailies from the new Viking itinerary of Lyon, Provence & The Rhineland, particularly how the transition from the Rhone River to the Rhine River is handled. I am assuming it is land transport from one ship to another ship? I am also interested in the port times for Avignon when taking the Avignon to Amsterdam route. I have been on the Viking Rhine Getaway in 2019 and will be going on the Viking Romantic Danube early this summer, but am trying to plan a Viking river cruise with friends new to river cruising for 2025 as part of a retirement/birthday splurge for several in the group. Since some of us are still going to be working, I am hoping if we take such a long (for us at this time) cruise we would not need to do add a pre-stay in Nice/Avignon to be able to enjoy the area, but I feel even though it lists an overnight in Avignon, you really only get the first afternoon to explore before heading out the next morning to Arles, which does not leave much time for any exploring if there are any travel issues, much less getting over any jet lag. We do not have unlimited funds to just travel Business class to rest on the plane or the time off to take extra days off when looking at this longer (for us) cruise. Any info from those of you fortunate enough to be taking this itinerary this year would be of great help to us as we start the fun of planning the next adventure. Happy cruising to all!

On 9/10/2022 at 9:01 AM, travelingman said:

@MyDogRudy  first, when are you cruising?  We are on the June 4

cruise from Budapest to Regensburg.  We were originally booked for August 2022 but move it due to low water concerns.  On that cruise Passau had the walking tour of Pasau in the morning from 9:30am - 11:00am (1 1/2 hours) and the E-bike tour was in the afternoon I believe starting at 1:00pm or 1:30pm.  This gives enough time to get back to the ship for a quick lunch in between the excursions.

Sorry I do not have the total time in port.

 

By the way their is a "roll call" under Viking River Cruises for 2023 Romantic Danube Cruise - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2875010-all-2023-viking-romantic-danube-river-cruise/#comment-63911273.  You will see a link in post #12 to a google doc you can enter your information and maybe see other others sailing on the same cruise.

 

 

Thank you so much for this information! It doesn't matter to me whether the extra tour is before or after the included tour, just was curious to know if you could do both. One thing about researching river cruises is there are fewer detailed reviews that show the itineraries for each day, so it is more difficult to plan ahead. For the ocean cruises I have done in the past I would book excursions directly with each vendor in each port, but Viking did such a nice job with theirs that I am likely to use their excursions - they just do not let you know when they are going to be, so to book them prior to seeing the schedule for the day risks missing something else,

I have posted on the roll call thread and added our names to the roll call excel document. We will be sailing after you, but it is still a nice way for everyone to share any helpful hints they have learned specific to these cruises. 

I hope this is the right place to post this question. I was an avid Cruise Critic researcher a few years back prepping for ocean cruises, but I am a little less familiar with the etiquette of postings for River Cruises with the fewer thread options and I have not found as much information specific to my questions in my reading thus far. I'm also still getting used to the newer format of CC - so much so that I haven't even figured out how to change/update my signature.

I'll be doing a Romantic Danube cruise on Viking in June 2023 (traveling with someone who has not taken a river cruise before) and am trying to determine which excursions to book through Viking for when they become available in October. I have only done one river cruise myself on the Rhine in May 2019 with Viking and loved it! We are very interested in the Bavaria by e-bike optional excursion, but since we don't have specifics on how long we are in the various ports, I don't know if that would still allow any time to see much else in the city of Passau. The tour is 3 hours but it looks like we have the whole day in Passau, so I am hoping we would still have time to tour a bit on our own either before or after lunch, depending on when the e-bike tour would be. 

Anyone out there who has done this tour with any feedback? I have seen a few clips of this from others' videos on YouTube, but nothing more specific. I will also be posting in the general river cruise forum area looking for anyone with some daily programs from a somewhat recent (but not modified due to low water levels) Viking Romantic Danube sailing from Budapest to Regensburg to help plan our other stops. Thank you to those who have already posted information from their previous journeys - I hope to do the same after our cruise next year.

As tempted as I am to not chime in on the concierge lunch so as not to increase the number of people attending, I found being able to eat lunch in the MDR on embarkation day to be absolutely fantastic! I hate the crowds at the buffet when everyone is trying to eat at the same time. Previously, I would pay the additional nominal charge for Bistro on 5 when there were crepes to avoid the crowds at that time, but not interested in Sushi on 5. The concierge lunch is nothing special as far as food other than what you would get for lunch on sea days in the MDR, but being able to sit at a table and experience the staff in the MDR early was great. We had the lunch on our last cruise and found our favorite waiter and sommelier right away - requested them often for our anytime dining (Alaskan cruise, various port times, otherwise I like assigned dining). It is not the end of the world to miss it, but it was a relaxing way to start the cruise. It is on the main (lower) floor of the MDR. Enjoy!

Thank you all so much for the quick responses on the 2 for 1 Viking sale, I feel I can relax a bit now. And thank you for the suggestion of the Rhine Getaway as well. I still like to book as soon as possible so I can start planning all the rest of the details for ports and pre and/or post cruise stays.

I definitely at the very least want to arrive a day prior to embarkation so we can relax a bit and wipe off some of the jetlag so we don't miss anything once we are on the boat. I feel so much better knowing we do have a little time to still get a decent price and OK cabins. We only need two rooms for my parents and then my sister and I sharing a room (leaving the husbands home for this trip as they are both a bit picky and would not enjoy the trip as much for the cost). I know my parents will want the French balcony for sure, I am still undecided on the standard or French balcony. I get a bit claustrophobic, so will probably want the big window, but we'll see,

Super excited about this - most weekends I have to spend a couple of hours here checking for more info and looking at pictures and reviews from others' great journeys. Thank you all so much for your advice!!

Looking at a river cruise for 2019 and the 2 for 1 deal with the cheap air through Viking is a great price. It expires at the end of January (next week) but we can't book anything this early due to my sister's 2019 schedule being a bit up in the air until later this year. I am a bit worried this deal only comes around once a year at this time and it would be too late to book a 2019 Romantic Rhine for the date we need in the category we want if we have to wait another year for the same deal.

I am VERY new to looking into river cruises (have only seriously considered it over the past month), so I am unfamiliar with the trends of the sales. Can anyone help shed some light on how often this deal comes around? Or, at the very least, will the price actually double once the deal is over? If so, then Viking would seem to be way more expensive than other river lines. We are also looking at AMA and Avalon, and regardless we need to book during the best deal as this vacation is nearly double the cost of any other vacation we have ever taken as it is. We're splurging due to my parents celebrating their 50 year anniversary and are very excited to do this since we have limited vacation funds (this will be my first time even flying across the ocean to finally see countries other than Canada, Mexico, Caribbean islands and I will be 47/48 years old when we take this trip).

Any information on how to get the best bang for your buck when planning a Rhine River cruise while still maintaining a nice experience would be greatly appreciated. I have been reading through the river cruise threads like crazy, but there are a lot fewer posts here than for ocean cruises, so I am soliciting further specific information with a new thread. Thank you so much - love the resource of Cruise Critic as it has helped immensely with our last three or four cruises.

I was on Infinity over the summer and found all their staff to be top notch. We booked our Alaskan cruise 15 months in advance and at that time could still only get the select dining, not early or late seating, but that was fine with us due to the later port days we had (if we pick a time, we prefer early dining). We are not elite as it was only our second Celebrity cruise and for the 10 others we traveled with it was their first Celebrity cruise. We did have Concierge rooms, so had the welcome lunch the first day and loved our waiter and sommelier so much that we had on a couple of occasions reserved tables with our favorite waiter if we knew what time we wanted to eat the day prior or by lunchtime. We had no issues getting a reservation (might have been a little later than requested, but we could request a specific waiter).

I can't speak on the excursion issue because, like others, I book excursions independently if possible. I did book the long ship tour and one excursion in Juneau through the ship and there was some kind of error made in the billing,(I think it was being billed for both of us in the room when I was the only one who attended the tour), but one call to guest relations and they fixed it by the next day.

Sorry you are having or had such a rough time on Infinity. So far it has been our best experience with staff on a cruise ship yet and all our previous experiences were pretty good if not great prior.

If you enjoy beverages at all, the drink package is the perk you will get the most bang for your buck. The classic package is great if you are not picky about the types of alcohol in your drinks, or ordering the specialty drinks and martinis. I enjoy specific spirits and wine, so I upgrade (which is relatively cheap when the classic package is included).

We cruised Carnival for our first four cruises and were quite happy with them. However, at the time, we sailed with a group that allowed us to get a true Open Bar Card (before the Cheers program). When Celebrity started offering a drink package as part of their perks we switched over and are very happy with Celebrity. The décor is more elegant, fewer kids, fewer announcements, just more laid back. There are no upcharges in the dining room for certain steaks, the room service is still entirely free, so Carnival nickels and dimes a little bit more than Celebrity. We also really love the nearly smoke-free environment. There are only a few designated smoking areas and none of those are on cabin balconies, so no more neighbors smoking right next to me and ruining my balcony experience.

I recently priced another Carnival cruise since we still enjoyed that line and would sail with them again if we were with certain people or the price was right. However, once I figured in the drink package prices - Celebrity was cheaper. I miss the piano bar and the comedy acts on Carnival are better, but otherwise, everything else is comparable or better. I feel less pressured to purchase any extras like the photos or items in the shops. And, Silhouette was also our first Celebrity ship.

Planning a Caribbean cruise for next January on Celebrity - can't wait! You will enjoy your first Celebrity cruise!

Thanks MyDogRudy! I'm so glad that my Avalon post was helpful. It was so much fun to share such a detailed review with so many of my pix.. really brought back the sweet memories of the week for me.:D

Did you see my similar thread about our most recent cruise on Viking on the Seine from November?

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2565043

I think that whatever line/river you choose you will have an amazing time. Comparing Viking and Avalon I can 100% say that both experiences were very similar.. both F A N T A S T I C!

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Great review! There are not many river cruise reviews like this, so your thread is likely to get resurrected from time to time since it is detailed with lots of pictures. I am researching river cruises for next year and there are so many options. Which river? Which cruise line? We are comparing Viking, Avalon, AMA, and looking between the Rhine and Danube - leaning toward Rhine. This review was very helpful. Thank you!

Not sure if you are still reading or following Mimmy52, but I loved your review. My parents were planning a river cruise for their 50th anniversary in 2019 and earlier this week decided to make it a family affair and invite my sister and I along! I never thought I'd actually get to go on a river cruise due to the expense, but now am able to look forward to planning one. Still in the very early stages of planning, but due to research my Mom already did it is highly likely we will be doing the Rhine River through Viking so your review is of immense help! Loved the commentary and pictures, especially the daily programs. Although it has been over three years since your cruise, it helps a lot to get a general idea of what a day looks like as I have only done ocean cruises; mostly in the Caribbean. I am getting so psyched after reading your review. Thank you again!

Thank you so much JenZ!! I hope you're catching up on some sleep. I am happy to hear the ship was clean and staff were excellent.

I was also wondering about the semi-formal nights. Were there two? When was the second one? Were they also a bit casual?

I never take vacations in June and haven't been to Alaska, so it's hard to believe I leave Wisconsin in three days for such a beautiful adventure!

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We got in pretty close to Hubbard Glacier on May 31st. on Celebrity Infinity..Very clear day and warm. Some people even up on deck in shorts.

 

Not alot of calving but we still got alot of nice photo's

 

Jimbo :)

 

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Thank you Jimbo! How was everything else about your Infinity cruise? We will be on her next week and I'm dying to hear feedback of the first Alaskan trip of the year for her.

Welcome home Infinity Alaskan cruisers! Anyone off the first Infinity Hubbard Glacier cruise of 2017 ready to give us some feedback? It's been a whole four hours since you returned. I cruise next week and am dying to hear about the current ship/crew/weather conditions. It is great to not have to wait much longer, but that also means there is not much chance to get recent feedback before sailing. I promise to pay it forward and report back ASAP after our cruise so the others taking this journey the rest of the year have some good info.

Thank you to those posting weather conditions in Alaska. We will be there next week and this helps a bit with packing. I know we have to bring layers regardless, but it is useful to know how many really warm layers we will need since we are flying. We are from Wisconsin so can handle the cool weather, but I saw one review talking about down coats and it being freezing, but they never gave the actual temperatures, so I didn't know if it was someone not as used to cooler weather and I got worried I wasn't planning for enough extra warm layer(s).

Happy to hear the weather seems to keep improving and glacier access is less problematic than it was just a week or so ago. I'll be posting a very thorough review of our trip when we get home either June 19th or the 20th.

Thank you for the replies and pictures! We'll be there in two weeks and I was also wondering what the conditions were like lately.

Thank you for the nice review. I'll be on the Infinity in two weeks, so it was great to hear how attentive the staff are.

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I'm leaving next week for a 7 day on the Celebrity Infinity and appreciate all this information.

I'll be boarding when you get back. Hoping someone on this week's first 2017 Infinity Alaskan journey reports on their experience!

We leave in 21 days on the Celebrity Infinity out of Vancouver (round trip). I've been planning this bucket list trip since last March and have 11 family members coming with. I am dying for information too! Thank you cheeto for the above links. I saw the first Eurodam review but hadn't seen the recent one that was started. Happy to have another one to follow until more start rolling in.

I am trying to get set up to do a review as soon as possible once I get home. I do not pay for internet when traveling as part of my joy of cruising is the lack of communication reminding me of the responsibilities I am trying to forget as I relax while on vacation, so no live review because I want to be sure not to miss anything. But, I have cleaned up and organized all my old digital pictures so am ready to start filling my card with new ones and am freshly re-acquainted with downloading my pics from my digital camera to get them uploaded easily.

We have 60 days to go...

 

I've read a few on HAL - this one is taking his time, but he has great photos & is fairly funny: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2497409

Thank you for sharing the link here. I will be following, hoping to see some more Alaska pictures soon. I will also look to some other resources too. Not sure if Celebrity has any kind of board like CC, but I'll do some general google and youtube searches to expand the possibilities of finding more info. Thank you for the suggestions.

Hello early 2017 Alaskan Cruisers!

I am anxiously awaiting reports from the first few Alaskan cruises of 2017, particularly conditions of Hubbard Glacier as well as feedback on Ketchikan (Misty Fjords), Juneau, and Icy Strait Point (whale watching). We are sailing out of Vancouver on June 11th on Celebrity Infinity and I can't wait to start seeing some recent reviews. I know there have only been a few sailings so far, but I am getting a little impatient and excited. I have completed all pre-planning, booked excursions, and basically just need to pack and get on the plane, yet we don't leave WI for a little over three weeks, so I am looking for new Alaska reviews to pass the time. :cool:

I am bringing a group of 11 other people with me, so I really want to be sure everyone else has a great time. The more info I feed them early, the more excited they get too. I figure it would be pretty difficult to have a bad time on a beautiful Alaskan cruise, but of course, as a bucket list item, I am more psyched for this trip than some others. So, let me hear from all of you who might have any first hand 2017 feedback about any of the key points highlighted above. I promise to give a full review when I get back...we will still be pretty early in the season so hopefully will help others for the rest of the year.

So excited for your review! We leave for Alaska out of Vancouver in four weeks so I'm eager to hear details from this year's season. Weather, glacier viewing, etc. Following...

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Great review!! For some reason there just aren't many reviews like this on the Celebrity boards. Although this is a couple years old, from a different ship and slightly different itinerary, it was super exciting and informative to read prior to our Alaska Hubbard Glacier cruise out of Vancouver on the Infinity. I believe most menu items are still the same, so the food pictures help me immensely. I've only sailed Celebrity once and that was over three years ago, so it is helpful to have some visuals when deciding on what to order. I also loved the captions and plan to do the same to my pictures in five weeks! I am sure this took many hours to put together so I just wanted to send a quick shout out as thanks to let you know the hard work is still being appreciated by planners. The attention to detail with all the dailies and menus being posted is great. Again, I know there are changes each year, but it still gives a great idea of what to expect. I really hope I am able to keep up with all the photos on my trip and follow through with posting them as well for others. Our sailing being the second week in June is still early enough that any info I can post after our trip would be helpful for those sailing the rest of the Alaska season.

Are you doing the Pacific Coastal cruise along with the first Alaska cruise of the season? If so, I am super interested to see how your Alaskan leg goes...we will be doing the same cruise on June 11th and really want to hear about Hubbard Glacier conditions, menus, night time entertainment, and current Infinity staff.

We have only cruise on Celebrity once, but LOVED it. Our cruise was on a bigger, newer ship (Solstice), but I am looking forward to a slightly smaller ship to compare. Alaska is scenic and we splurged on an aft balcony, so I am not worried about the ship experience as much, but am still excited to go back. Those last steps off the gangway onto the ship still gives me goosebumps. Enjoy your glass of sparkling something and explore! I'd love to see a review if possible. I loved the previous Bistro on Five venue and would have suggested that for embarkation lunch if you didn't have Concierge or a suite to escape the crowds for a nominal fee, but that is a sushi place now with fairly pricey a la cart options, so I will be skipping that. The ice martini bar is usually a hit. Otherwise, I don't have any "must see" tips from my one Celebrity cruise.

I hope to one day have the time (and maybe a little more money) to be able to do a more lengthy cruise, but I am still pretty happy for our week long adventures every couple of years or so.

There is no limit to how many starters you order, so just go ahead and order both soup and salad. So many people complain about the length of time of dinner I guess by having all starters at once the service goes a little more quickly. If you really need them separately, just ask for the soup or salad first and see if they can bring the other in a staggered fashion. They probably won't split everything up entirely into "four courses" to keep up with the rest of the tables moving from starters to entrees, but if one items is hot and the other cold, eat the hot one first. If you want wine paired with each one, just ask for two different wines slightly staggered as well.