Roz

How would a TA benefit from changing a cabin to guarantee and taking off included gratuities? Isn't the deposit and final payment charged directly to HAL?

Is there an included excursion in Regensburg? If so, I would do that. Is $300 the typical cost for a Viking excursion? I think that's steep. On my recent Tauck cruise, there were no added cost excursions. Even when we were bussed to Bruges, Ghent, and Delft, it was included. To the OP, I'm not criticizing your choice of Viking. I'm merely providing a basis for comparison for those interested.

What exactly do you get for $300?

I think it's Viking Radgrid, Paris and the Heart of Normandy 2025.

I bought the Tessan adapter from Amazon and used it on my recent Tauck river cruise. Worked at my hotel in Amsterdam as well as on the river boat.

I've found I get better airfare from the cruise lines when the cruise leaves from one port and comes back to a different one. Not as much savings on a round trip.

My understanding is that you have to download the app to a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.

@Sherry H, when I book onboard, my new booking is automatically transferred to my TA. This assumes that the TA you booked your current cruise with is the one you want the new cruise assigned to.

I've wondered the same thing. I can't consume that much liquid in a day without spending my waking hours in the restroom. 😁

I agree 100% with everything @CDNPolar said. I think you're going to find a river cruise difficult and challenging.

Single is a marital status.

Solo isn't a marital status. Married people sail solo.

I still intend to do a summary follow up, but I had THE most miserable flying experience of my life. 😭 I was originally supposed to fly Amsterdam to London, London to Nashville. AA changed it to Amsterdam to London, London to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Nashville. The first 2 flights were on British Airways, and both were really late getting off the ground. The first one was 1.5 hrs. late, and the second one was 2 hrs. late. When we got to Philly Wednesday night, I had 40-45 min. to clear Customs & Immigration, grab my suitcase and take it to the transfer area, and walk to my gate. My name and some others were called at the baggage claim, and we were told our bags didn't make it on the plane from London, and to proceed to the gate for our connecting flight. Our bags would be delivered to our homes if that was our final destination. When I got to the American Eagle gate with my final boarding pass, I was told I couldn't board because BA had sold my ticket to another passenger. What the heck??? I never heard of such a thing. The gate agents couldn't tell me what my next move should be. I spent the next 2 hrs. circling the drain between Terminals A and B, trying to find something from BA or AA who could help me. I just wanted to lie down in the terminal and cry. Finally I located a AA customer service agent, who informed me that BA had booked me on a flight to Nashville the following morning at 8:20 am. I found an email titled "Travel Document" that was sent while I was in the air, notifying me of the change. No offer of hotel accommodations or meals. There were other passengers from my flight in the same predicament. There was no announcement on the plane, nor in the baggage claim area, notifying us that there were passengers who had been rebooked. There's a Marriott in Terminal B of the Philly airport, so I got a room there and then flew home to Nashville Thursday morning. I was mentally and physically exhausted. When I got to Nashville, I went to the AA lost luggage desk to see if they had my suitcase. They didn't, and I filed an official report with them because my bag was tagged for Nashville as the final destination, flying on American Eagle. Last night (Friday) my phone rang close to midnight. I was the delivery service with my prodigal suitcase. I was so happy to see it, and I immediately unpacked it to make sure everything was there. I stayed up until 4 am and got 2 loads of laundry done. Air travel has become so difficult. That is the only thing that may keep me from cruising going forward. Thank you for listening. 🤪

@ontheweb, my advice is to look beyond Viking. There are lots of river cruise lines out there that have more inclusions than Viking. Viking spends a lot of money on advertising, but may not be the best choice for everyone. Most river cruise lines include one or more excursions at each port. I recommend taking a close look at Tauck and Uniworld.

You may also want to check out Tauck's "Bridges" cruises which is their family and multi generation program. It includes some Christmas market cruises.

Enjoyed your review. What is the cruise line?

My last night on the ship. I'm in the lounge sipping a lemon 🍋 drop martini. I stayed onboard the ship yesterday. It was quiet and kind of nice. This morning I went to Zaanse Shanse (sp?) to see the windmills. We had perfect weather, considering it's winter in The Netherlands. This evening I did the canal cruise again and the local guide did an excellent job of narrating. When I get home I'll do a summary of the pluses and minuses of the cruise. Thank you for following along with me.

I thought Sapphire Reserve was a credit card. My mistake.

I believe the OP said it was a $300 credit on a credit card.

NYE was a lot of fun - music, dancing, drinking, and crew shows. The fireworks over the Maas River were spectacular! This afternoon we sail back to Amsterdam. Tonight is a special New Year's Day dinner. Happy 2024 to all CC River cruisers.

The fireworks 🎆 last night over the Maas River in Rotterdam were spectacular! Happy 2024 to all CC HAL cruisers.

I would never get a manicure in a port where I wasn't confident that the local/regional sanitation standards were equivalent to what they are at home. I don't want to risk an infection, or worse yet, hepatitis.

In case anyone is interested, the fireworks in Rotterdam last night were phenomenal.

@Gourmet Gal, I wish I had had enough time for some mussels. The museum took up a lot of time and I was only able to grab a waffle and a coffee.

The food tour was disappointing. Last year there were 4-5 stops. This year we did 2 - poffertjes and kibbeling. The only surviving medieval structure, a church, was only mentioned in passing. Yesterday in Bruges I spent most of my time at the Groningen Museum, which wasn't even mentioned by our cruise directors as an option. It's a wonderful museum that features the Flemish primitives. I had done my own research using Rick Steves' guidebooks. Tauck's emphasis was on buying chocolate, eating mussels, and shopping for Christmas ornaments. I guess that's what the average American tourist is looking for. I skipped the torture museum. 😳 The tours don't seem to be run as tightly as last year's cruise. As an example, yesterday, a lady in the group needing assistance got left behind at the bus parking lot in Bruges and had to take a taxi into the city. No one is counting heads and/or taking down names and calling roll. I and about 5-6 other people were abandoned in the Delft factory while the others were escorted to lunch.