Our first river cruise

[Margate Cruiser]

We are going on the Viking legend on the Oct 25th. Can anyone give us any suggestions. To be honest we have cruised Seabourn and crystal never a river cruise i know it will not be the same. But if you have any suggestions it would be great. And since it's last minute we are on the lowest deck. But we are troopers and we are always ++++ The ports to us are very exciting. We would like some comments. Judy and Steve

[parkie]

We are going on the Viking legend on the Oct 25th. Can anyone give us any suggestions. To be honest we have cruised Seabourn and crystal never a river cruise i know it will not be the same. But if you have any suggestions it would be great. And since it's last minute we are on the lowest deck. But we are troopers and we are always ++++ The ports to us are very exciting. We would like some comments. Judy and Steve

My wife and I have done 5 river cruises and three ocean type cruises (small ship -- Oceania) and really like both of them. It seems to me that the ocean ships are "all about the ship" while the river cruises are "all about the scenery". Both fine, both different.

One difference is the entertainment -- there is basically one guy with an electronic keyboard on the river cruises that we have been on, and the larger ships seemed to have some sort of nightly musical review, although I would just as soon go off to bed.

Also, the river cruises tend to be much more informal. Oceania didn't require formal nights, and on most nights, I didn't even wear a sport coat to dinner, but on the river ships, I didn't even bring one on the last two trips. I tended to wear khakis and a couple pairs of dress slacks to dinner, and a combination of jeans and khakis on the excursions.

 

This is a shot gun approach to addressing your questions; let me know if you have any specific questions, and there are a lot of folks on these forums that can help you.

[Margate Cruiser]

How was the wi fi did you have a lap top with you? . Would you say about the food was it above average. Will they make any special requests for dinner?

[jcrandle]

How was the wi fi did you have a lap top with you? . Would you say about the food was it above average. Will they make any special requests for dinner?

I'm not the original responder, but on our Elbe cruise, the Wifi connectivity was spotty, as the ship uses the European cellphone connectivity to provide an uplink. That means that you may lose the server when you are in the boondocks. In any case it is not high bandwidth, so photo and graphics take more time than on broadband at home. I took my netbook, and used it to check email and send running text commentaries with a few photos compressed to small file sizes.

 

As to the food, Viking will address any dietary issues or food allergies if you make them aware upon boarding. There is always an option of a grilled chicken breast or a steak at dinner, if nothing seems to strike your fancy. We are more meat & potatoes folks rather than cordon bleu, but we always found something on the menu to enjoy. It's always good to expand your horizons (at the expense of expanding your waistline).

 

If you enjoy wine, you will have stops in many different wine growing regions, and Viking allows you to bring it on board (along with beer and liquor) and consume it in your room at no charge. If you want to take the bottle to dinner, there is a corkage fee.

 

There are a couple of other threads on this board with experiences from past cruisers this year on the Legend on the Grand European Tour.

[alexandra cruiser]

I m also one of those cruisers who enjoy both river and ocean ships. The main difference is the amount of time spent docked and ability to explore the various ports.

As far as entertainment, it varies by ship.Have taken some that have a new performer in each port,in France a singer,in Portugal some dancers,Germany a small band,etc. They usually have a crew special of some sort,sort of hokey,but funny.Most have a piano player and area to dance,also.

Re. the food.This also varies between ships and countries.Mostly similar to a good restaurant, but not gourmet.Plenty of variety,mostly buffets for breakfast and lunch, but you can order omelets, waffles, etc.

Its also much less formal, lots of slacks,sweaters,extra walking shoes A few people dress up more for Captains Nite, but not necessary.Just be comfortable.In Oct.,remember to dress in layers and bring small umbrella or raincoat.

The rooms are smaller than ocean vessels,but not in them much.Plenty of deck chairs,lounge,etc..I hope you enjoy it.Let us know......