Onboard Viking Sky--Trier to Nuremberg

[nanbobs]

OkieCruiser49, thanks for your excellent and detailed description of the cruise; we are taking the same one on Oct.13 and looking forward to it. When we return home from MI to GA next week, we will print it out as our tour guide!

[Bill'sBride]

The link to your thread was posted on one of mine. I am taking the reverse itinerary in October and your postings as you traveled are so helpful to me. I have really enjoyed your tips, and comments, and know I am even more excited about this trip, which I didn't think was possible. I just wanted you to know that the amount of time you spent to share your trip has been greatly appreciated by those who read it. Happy Sailings!!! Lisa

[OnWeGo]

Nanbobs and BillsBride - we will be doing the Cities of Light trip next June. Would love to see a post from both of you on your trip. Can never read too much to prepare for a trip!

[Bill'sBride]

I will be posting about the cruise. Much like on TripAdvisor, I like to post about things I was most curious about before the trip, or wish I had known!

[jiminyC_fan]

Thank you for your great trip report. You said you mailed some souvenirs home. I'm just curious how you went about that. Did Viking do it for you (which I doubt), did they tell you where to do it in a port or did you find a shop that would ship things for you? Thanks!

[OkieCruiser49]

Thank you for your great trip report. You said you mailed some souvenirs home. I'm just curious how you went about that. Did Viking do it for you (which I doubt), did they tell you where to do it in a port or did you find a shop that would ship things for you? Thanks!

 

We did it through a particular shop (Kathe Wohlfahrt) in Rudesheim.

[tml1230]

your comments are greatly appreciated and helps us plan our first river cruise....safe travels

[roothy123]

Nanbobs and BillsBride - we will be doing the Cities of Light trip next June. Would love to see a post from both of you on your trip. Can never read too much to prepare for a trip!

 

I'm not Nanbobs and BillsBride, but I did that cruise - loved, loved, loved it! It was back in August 2010, but things probably haven't changed that much. Pictures are posted on www dot pbase dot com /roothy123 /cities_of_light if you'd like to see what we did. (Just replace each "dot" with a dot and take out any spaces - or maybe this will get posted without being messed up: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/cities_of_light) (Ignore the first photos from Heidelberg. We had FF miles and did a roundabout air/train route to join the group in Paris instead of buying Viking's air.)

[travelfirst]

The photos are beautiful. I want to go on this river cruise now...

[OnWeGo]

Thank you for posting these pictures! They are beautiful. I am even more excited!! Did you take any of the optional tours or did you explore on your own? What would you say are the "must sees" on the trip?

 

 

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[Bill'sBride]

Your pictures are great! I can't wait to be there - 6 weeks and counting!

[roothy123]

To those who asked about optional tours and/or my pictures: We didn't do any of the optional tours, but that was because I generally like to have plenty of time to explore on my own, am tired after doing that, and/or want to keep costs down. However, I SHOULD tell you that not all of the pictures were taken while on the included city tours, as I normally would go on those and then wander off on my own after part or all of them. I'm always wanting to photograph rather than learn a lot about the city and what I'm seeing, so I get impatient at times with the tours. I also do a LOT of walking and exploring, so you may not see as much as I did. However, I also DO have to say that except for the China trip we did with Viking, Cities of Light was my favorite cruise. I loved the vineyards and castles in Germany, loved Prague, was surprised by the prettiness of Luxembourg City, and liked Paris a lot, although I had been there before. (Actually, I don't think I even went on the bus trip they provided in Paris. Instead, I went off on my own.) To me, Germany is an under-rated tourist destination, and rolling down the rivers and stopping at pretty towns like Rudesheim is a great way to see a part of it.

 

As for Heidelberg, I think that might be offered as an optional, pay-for excursion. We didn't take that, as we had gone there pre-trip as part of our travel to Paris. I don't know if I would recommend it or not, as I don't remember how long a trip it was from where the ship docked, and don't remember the cost. However, I really liked it a lot.

 

There may be an optional trip to Rothenburg, too - I forget. I was there a long time ago with my parents, and liked it quite a bit. However, I think it is a little over-run with tourists now, so I don't know if I'd take that tour or not.

 

As to "must sees" that's hard, so I guess my answer would have to be "no," except that you don't want to miss the day you cruise down the best part of the Rhine. It's possible you'll need a heavy sweater (or the blanket from your cabin) and of course, it's always possible it may rain - but it's really what river cruising is all about! There will probably be someone on board to tell you what you're seeing.\

 

Oh, on second thought, I guess one thing I might add as a must see would be the **** stuff in Nuremburg - chilling but you can't help but think, "wow." Also, the Charles Bridge in Prague with all its statues is great. The inside of Marksburg castle isn't all that thrilling, but the view from up there of the river is quite nice.

 

I would encourage you to do a little research pre-trip to see if there are any things you want to do, as you'll probably have about a half day in many cities to either chill on the ship or explore on your own. Viking will give you a map of the city, and since river ships visit smaller places, it's pretty easy to find your way back to the ship.

 

Enjoy!

[roothy123]

Sorry, I meant Reichsburg Castle, not Marksburg! Also I think I may have mispelled Nuremberg .....sometimes I mix up my bergs (mountains) and burgs (towns)!

 

Bill's bride: Would love to see your review! I'm from the DC area, too, by the way!

 

As for things to know pre-trip: Hhm...I take a little wrist wrap to hold my key card (or keys if they still have those on Viking - did on the Fontane in 2010, but that was an old ship...)...anyway, I take one of those things that are sold for carrying cell phones around your wrist. That keeps me from having to take a loose key card with me every time I leave the room and lets me not even worry about a small purse.

 

Take those blister band aids with you in case you walk as much as I did and get blisters! Might want to take a little compass, too, if you're prone to wandering as I am.

 

If you're really a stickler about knowing what you've photographed, have a tiny notebook and a pen when you cruise down the Rhine for the castles. I kept notes. Viking will probably send you a little booklet on the castles, so I suppose you could just mark that up instead.

 

If you want to use the internet on your vacation (afraid I did, but mostly just to chat with our house/dogsitter - she loved hearing what we were seeing while she was stuck at our house!) use it early in the morning or late at night. Internet on the water is slow!

 

Take the phone number of the ship or ship's agent or your tour director with you if you're prone to wondering and think there might be any chance of you not getting back to the ship by sailing time!