Pre River Cruise packages

Great feedback and suggestions - thanks to all for contributing

We went from Amsterdam to Basel on The Alruna last week.The ship left Amsterdam around 11;30pm . We were not docked in the center of the city but Viking had shuttles running back and forth.

We were docked right near the train station. I wonder if that has anything to do with what time they leave. It's a very busy area with a LOT of river ships. Perhaps the port schedules them so they are not leaving at once! That would have been a nightmare! They were all pretty much leaving one after the other like planes waiting on the runway!

We are doing this cruise on Viking Hlin in late June--booked only in February in response to a 5-day promotion with free air. Viking's pre-cruise extension in Amsterdam was sold out, so we booked the post-cruise extension in Lucerne. We will arrive in Amsterdam around 8:45 a.m. on the day of departure. Apparently Viking is not offering a walking tour of Amsterdam on the day of embarkation, so we're on our own. My apologies if you answered this on another thread, but can you tell me when the ship usually departs Amsterdam? We have booked tickets for the Anne Frank House online for 2:45 p.m., hoping that this will give us enough time to freshen up, get a bite to eat, visit the house, do a little more sightseeing, and get back to the ship in time for departure. In Lucerne, we are also thinking of doing the Golden Ticket trip to Mt. Pilatus on our own, if the weather is good. I am a little alarmed about the gondola part, though! Any other suggestions you have about Amsterdam or Lucerne would be appreciated!

Don't sweat the gondola. My husband has height issues and he was fine. You take this one up to a station near the top

Then you switch to a larger one for the final leg. I kept asking him how he was doing, and he said fine. I think he surprised himself. They are very sturdy and looked well maintained.

When we did our Rhine Getaway with Viking in 2016, we booked the Lucerne post cruise, through Viking. It was wonderful having them handle all the details, and not worrying about a thing. We weren’t wild about the hotel (Hotel Flora), but it was conveniently located and the included breakfast was very good. We just had some issues with the staff - which the Viking rep handled. We did the walking tour, and then the Mt Pilatus Golden Round Trip on our own

 

Before the cruise, we did 3 days in Amsterdam on our own. We’d been there before so we were comfortable with that, plus the Viking extensions on both ends of the dates we wanted to cruise were sold out. We had to keep shuffling around just to get Lucerne. Do keep that in mind when booking - and we booked over a year out.

 

We did book Viking Air (with Air Plus) so we paid the deviation fee. I read a number of reviews for hotels and we decided on The Toren - one of the highest rated in Amsterdam. It’s centrally located on the Kaisersgracht, around the corner and 1 block up from the Anne Frank House and the Westerkirk.

 

It’s lovely hotel with a great staff. We booked a Double Canal View and they upgraded us to a really big room with a huge whirlpool tub - same price. It was fabulous! We also arranged with them to have a driver meet us at the airport with a sign. So nice when you arrive early in the morning after a long overnight flight.

 

No wrangling luggage. No searching for a taxi or dealing with a train or bus. He was waiting as we left the customs area, knew right where to go and he spoke English!

 

We went to a concert at the Concertgebouw. Had several delicious meals at various restaurants, including a Amsterdam Jewel dinner cruise (highly recommended - fabulous!). Saw the sights, visited several museums, took another canal cruise, and on the last day had the hotel call us a cab for the ride to the ship.

 

And all that was still less than the Viking extension [emoji16]. So weigh your options carefully. We didn’t do it to save money, but to be able to do what we wanted when we wanted - and we still saved money.

 

 

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We are doing Amsterdam to Basel, with pre cruise extension,. However we are spending 6 days in Switzerland on our own, going directly to Lauterbrunnen and Swiss Alps. We also booked 3 nights at Hotel Flora in Lucerne. Could you tell me what the negatives were? We liked the close location to the train station and Chapel Bridge.

We are doing Amsterdam to Basel, with pre cruise extension,. However we are spending 6 days in Switzerland on our own, going directly to Lauterbrunnen and Swiss Alps. We also booked 3 nights at Hotel Flora in Lucerne. Could you tell me what the negatives were? We liked the close location to the train station and Chapel Bridge.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu so I don't know anything about the Hotel Flora. But, we LOVED Lucerne. Hope to go back one day and spend more time. Be sure the check out the bus routes. The hotels give passes for the duration of your stay. We took one and just rode the entire route - about a 30 minute trip. Great scenery. We also took one to the base of the castle and rode the incline up. The view from the terrace is AMAZING. The only negatives we found in Lucerne were food prices. Be prepared for sticker shock. We ate Burger King one day at lunch and whopper meals were $14. Be sure to go to Café de Ville and have the Max Chocolate. Best hot chocolate! Worth the $9 each. Fondue for two of us was $67 - and neither of us liked it! Town is very walkable. You will love it.

:)

Don't sweat the gondola! The cog railway is an interesting engineering feat, but the views from the gondola are completely different and well worth the mild agita. If Viking isn't giving you a boat ride on Lake Lucerne, do the gold ticket that includes one. Otherwise you can take a train from Lucerne to the base of the railway and save a little money.

Thanks for your response. I'll just concentrate on the beautiful views!

Don't sweat the gondola. My husband has height issues and he was fine. You take this one up to a station near the top

Then you switch to a larger one for the final leg. I kept asking him how he was doing, and he said fine. I think he surprised himself. They are very sturdy and looked well maintained.

Thanks for the encouragement. I hope I'll be too busy looking at the scenery to get nervous!

We’ve done it both ways, booked our own (Paris-pre) and used Viking (Cologne-post, Lucerne-post). Our decision making revolves around our familiarity with the area and the complexities involved. When we booked the Lucerne extension, we also booked Viking’s “Pearls of Switzerland” optional tour on day 2. While a long day it was a great tour and figuring we’d never return to that area, wanted to soak in as much of the region as possible and felt it was well worth it.