Sacramento2012

In addition to Viking suspending all River and ocean cruises until April 30, President Trump just announced this evening that starting this Friday, the 13th, no one from Europe, except Great Britain, will be allowed into the US for the next 30 days.  I can’t even imagine what a nightmare that is going to be. So my sister's and my upcoming trip (3/27) along the Rhine will have to wait. 

On 3/4/2020 at 1:28 PM, notamermaid said:

Let me wind down the day (for me as it is after 10pm here) with something joyous. The Geoffrey Chaucer has arrived in Rüdesheim and will overnight there. It is her first proper journey after trials around her harbour. Unfortunately I missed her for a photo shoot but the guys from Binnenschifferforum caught her on camera. She looks lovely, the standard elegant hull design from Scylla that I like. Safe travels to her always.

 

Water levels: going up after more rain, predicted to go to over 630cm at Maxau which means river traffic has to slow down. Wider problems due to flooding not in sight.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you for all your helpful information, 

On 3/5/2020 at 1:48 PM, iscrk said:

I just found this most useful thread! We are traveling on the AmaStella, departing Amsterdam on March 23rd to Basel. We are rolling the dice and still plan on going...purchasing extended trip insurance at this point won't help us, so off we go! We are mid-50's, and in great health with no underlying health issues. Any insight as to what the river cruise companies are doing at this point? Hoping the COVID-19 virus calms down in the next 2 weeks. What are other soon-to-depart river cruisers doing?

We are leaving on a Viking River Cruise Amsterdam to Basel on March 27, with two days before in Amsterdam. Viking has temporarily relaxed their cancellation policy to allow cancellations up to 24 hours prior to departure.  We still plan on going but are watching the situation closely. I'm almost as much concerned about our flights home after 2 extra days in Basel, as well as water levels. We fly Basel to Charles de Gaulle to Los Angeles and then home to Sacramento and Phoenix. I hope we don’t get stuck anywhere through strikes or quarantine. 

2 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We always compare itinerary and price before booking any river cruise.   We have taken one AMA and three Vantage World Travel.  Now we are looking at Gate 1, since I have talked to several persons that loved Gate 1, which had great prices.

Research the cruise you want, then compare the options, Scenic, Viking, Vantage World Travel, Uniworld, Avalon, AMA and more.

 

I always try to do a spread sheet.  I come up with a way to rate (also examine reviews) quality.  Look at what is included in the price and how much per day the cruise cost.  Viking's brochure got us interested in river cruising, but they have never been the best deal.  They are a good cruise line and worth looking into, but it is best to compare.

I have taken 2 Gate1 River cruises and 1 Viking and will be on my 2nd Viking River Cruise this March (Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel). I found the Gate1 River Cruises (December, 2019 Danube Christmas Markets, and 2016 Budapest to Prague) to be every bit as good as the Viking (2019 Lyon to Avignon). Most of the cruises stop in the same ports, and ships often tie up together at the same dock. Viking advertises that an excursion is included in every port, which is true, and it’s often a walking tour of the town. Gate 1's stops often included that as well. Both offer additional excursions for an added cost  in most ports. Both ships were very nice, with the cabin on Viking being a bit of a step up from Gate1, at least on the two ships I've been on. I found the meals comparable, with Gate1 getting my vote for Far better arrangement of the buffet. Gate1 offers ordering off the menu at each meal in addition to the buffet. Both have included beer and wine at dinner, and Viking offers it at lunch as well (lesson learned: it's only included if you order the house wine,) 

29 minutes ago, Judy1985 said:

Hello Viking Travelers:

 

I was wondering which excursions offered by Viking for the Romantic Danube cruise (both optional and included) that travelers love or dislike.  I would like to book worthwhile excursions, but avoid those that people find were a waste of precious travel time. We intend to travel during the summer.

Thank you for the help.

What ports will you be stopping at? I've done two river cruises on the Danube, 1 from Budapest to Prague (Nürnberg was final Port) and one from Vienna to Nürnberg, neither on Viking. I'm happy to share some ideas with you. 

10 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

Your advice is convincing me  that I would rather spend the day in Paris than go to Versailles. On our first trip there we stayed in Montparnasse, and walked from the Louvre to Notre Dame and then back to our hotel (ah, to be ten years younger again!). We saw the Pantheon, the Sorbonne, the Cluny, and the Jardin du Luxembourg on that walk. This time, I think I would focus on the right bank, maybe the Marais or Montmartre, with some assistance from the metro.  

I just spent a week in Paris in April, and to respond to your question about taking the time to visit Versailles, my humble opinion would be to skip it, particularly since you've been to Catherine's Palace. I was underwhelmed by Versailles. We stayed in an Air BnB in Montmartre and really like staying there. We were about 3 blocks from Sacre Cour on the other side of the hill, and loved walking around the neighborhood. Lots of restaurants and little shops that the locals shopped at. We took a walking tour that was really interesting, and took us to places in that neighborhood that were a bit off the dense tourist areas. We were a five minute walk from the metro station (Lamark) from which we could get all over Paris. 

On 5/16/2019 at 9:08 AM, Peregrina651 said:

I have finally managed to get pictures from our trip up on Shutterfly . Here's the link for those who are interested. It is less than 50 pictures, just enough to whet your appetite. The rest of the share site is not finished (barely begun would be a better turn of phrase) but then again, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.

Paris - a cautionary tale. Beware the very clever pickpockets in Paris. My sister and I are here in Paris for a week before our Viking cruise from Lyon to Avignon. We've been warned repeatedly about pickpockets, there are signs all over, we thought we were being very careful. Today, as we enjoyed a nice walk along the Seine from the Musee d'Orssey to the Eiffel Tower, we passed a British couple, and the woman had just apparently been dropped on by a bird. A couple walking by stopped and offered her tissues. A few minutes later, as we were walking down the stairs, my sister said she felt something wet land on her. A nice Spanish and English speaking couple stopped to help us, as we had both been bird-bombed big time. We both had grey crap all over us, but the woman kept pulling handy-wipes out of her purse, and both of them were cleaning us off: hair, backs, jackets. We thanked them profusely for their assistance. We then went on a boat tour for 1 1/2 hours, and then walked for another hour or so, then stopped for lunch. My sister went to pay, and when she opened her wallet, she found 2 of her credit cards were missing. Nothing else was taken, fortunately.  She logged onto the restaurant's wi-fi and had 5 notices from her two credit card companies of either purchases or declined purchases that had all been made within an hour., very shortly after our encounter with the "nice" couple. The total amount of charges or declined charges was $7,873.69! High end accessories, perfumes, watches, shoes. All the shops were just across the Seine in the nearby area. I was wearing my concealed neck purse under my shirt fortunately, or I'm sure I would have met the same fate.  The fact that they could, in the confusion, unzip her purse, remove the wallet, remove the 2 credit cards and replace the wallet and replace the purse without either of us having any idea she was being robbed is astounding. Thankfully they left her passport and envelope of money. You cannot be too careful. 

7 hours ago, Cairn Mom said:

On 3/26/2019 at 8:13 PM, peabody304 said:

For people going Lyon to Avignon: 

After the included tour you can stay in Arles. There are 2 shuttles back to the ship. One is at 2:45 and the other is at 5.

You can also return to the ship at 12:00, after the tour, and have lunch. Viking provides a shuttle back to Arles at 2PM. 

Uber worked well for us in Paris but we did not use it to the port.

Great information - thanks! 

6 minutes ago, dolllover said:

So we will be in Arles on a Sunday. Concerned a lot will be closed. We're scheduled to take the included morning walking tour but was wondering if there is enough to do in Arles in the afternoon on our own with the stores and attractions potentially closed or would our time be of better use signing up for an optional tour.

My Viking Trip is coming up on April 16 from Lyon to Avignon. We will also be in Arles on a Sunday, which is Easter Sunday. Is that the Sunday you will be there? I'll post what's going on, but it may not be a typical Sunday. 

20 hours ago, Cairn Mom said:

 The US state department notified us that there will be protests in Paris this weekend. We hope to be able to enjoy our time there. 

Good luck. I hope you stay safe and are able to enjoy a wonderful time in Paris. 

On 3/13/2019 at 11:16 AM, MURPHY27 said:

 

Viking sends a form requesting your travel plans.  I always deviate and never use Viking transfers.  I would talk to concierge early and ask to prearrange a car transfer for you; don’t rely on reception getting you a taxi that morning.  You can also check AvigninForumTripAdvisor for car service suggestions.  There are several.

 

Planning to transfer early is wise.  The TGA station is prob 15 min from the dock but traffic is the variable.  Bring some fruit & danish from the ship, buy coffee & settle in.

 

Please post a trip report.

Thank you for this information. Very helpful. I will post updates as I can.  We leave home on the 8th, arrive on the 9th in Paris. We're on our own for a week. We bought the Paris Pass, and booked one full day tour - half day visit to Giverny, then a nice lunch, and the afternoon at Versailles.  That night we're booked on a night tour of Paris by Citroen. Then will take the high speed train to Lyon on the day of embarkation. Other than that, we'll see what we can see using the pass for three days. I hope the protests are done by then! 

18 minutes ago, MURPHY27 said:

 

 

A prearranged car is smart.  Viking errs on the side of caution with transportation.  If you arrive early, you can get coffee. 

Avignon is a nice modern station w elevators as well as a ramp up to the platforms, so very user friendly.

Is your train direct or do you change in Lyon?

Thank you for the information. So will Viking help me prearrange a car? I always prefer to be early and not rushed. Our train is a direct train to Besancon where my friend lives. 

Thank you all for the feedback. One less thing to fret about! 

I have a question. This is my first Viking Cruise, and first time to France. We sail on April 16 from Lyon to Avignon. We're visiting a friend of mine in France after the cruise, and I've purchased train tickets and made reservations for the Avignon TGV high speed train. Our tickets are for the 8:51 a.m. train. My question is, is this adequate time to get to the train station, and does anyone know if taxis are easy to get? Would the Viking program director be able to help us secure a taxi? It looks like the train station is not too far from the dock, but does anyone know how much time it will take? Thanks! 

On 2/22/2019 at 6:50 AM, Peregrina651 said:

 

Hope you will join our conversations on

Everything Viking France: Normandy, Paris, Provence

and

ALL 2019 Viking FRANCE'S FINEST

•  

 

Thanks Peregrina for assembling these posts. I've gotten a lot of good information. We leave in less than a month. So excited - my first trip to France! 

On 10/28/2018 at 8:03 AM, TerryLipford said:

 

The other gotcha is the time of year - France has a definite winter, and cruising in April you are likely to find it chilly. Dress accordingly and it isn't a problem.

Thanks for this information. My sister and I are sailing on the Heimdahl in April (16-23; Lyon to Avignon), and have been wondering what the weather might be on the river. 

You can add Sacramento 2012 plus 5 others (Diana, Sarah, Donna, Diane, Charlene, Henry) to the Sail Away Gang, April 11,2015, on the Westerdam, 16 days FLL to San Diego.