Review of Viking Grand European Tour on the Tor in November 2013

[ticonderoga]

I really enjoyed your review. We will be doing the reverse cruise in September. Could you elaborate on the Romantic Road optional excursion? Ii was thinking of doing it. What was the name of the restaurant you ate at?

 

Also, how difficult was the climb to Marksburg Castle? I will be with my 88-year old mother who goes to the gym 3 times a week, so she's in better shape than anyone her age but still....

 

Loved your photos. Wish you were on our trip. I'm always looking for people to go with taking pictures at night.

Thanks again,

Ti

[Kohola]

Hi Kohola! Thank you very much for your review! I must admit I have never river cruised but have wondered about it for a few years now. Yours is the first review I have read and I loved it! The way you write, your descriptions of places, people, languages, history and everything in between really added to the readers (my) enjoyment. I also enjoyed your pictures coupled with brief descriptions...a real plus! When I finally do take a river cruise, I hope that I can harness your contagious enthusiasm! It would be a great pleasure to meet you as well! Thank you again!

Thanks for taking the time to reply that you enjoyed my post! You never know who may be sitting next to you at dinner on one of your cruises.:) We enjoy ocean cruises as well!

 

Thanks so much for this review. We were trying to decide which tour company to go with, and this helped us make up our minds. Sounds perfect!

Hope you enjoy your cruise. Viking has always delivered a great product for us!

[Kohola]

I really enjoyed your review. We will be doing the reverse cruise in September. Could you elaborate on the Romantic Road optional excursion? Ii was thinking of doing it. What was the name of the restaurant you ate at?

 

Also, how difficult was the climb to Marksburg Castle? I will be with my 88-year old mother who goes to the gym 3 times a week, so she's in better shape than anyone her age but still....

 

Loved your photos. Wish you were on our trip. I'm always looking for people to go with taking pictures at night.

Thanks again,

Ti

 

We didn't do the optional excursion with Viking, but had stayed a night in Rothenburg a couple of years ago. Based on my knowledge of the village with what those that went told me the Romantic Road excursion takes you to Rothenburg which is an idyllic German village that time forgot for hundreds of years. The quintessential medieval German town with half timbered houses and flower boxes in every window...it's what most people visualize Bavaria to be. It's about a two hour drive in each direction through the German countryside, then a walking tour followed by free time. Lunch is included, but I don't know where the group ate. When we were there we ate dinner at the Hotel Restaurant Klosterstüble. Rothenburg has over a mile of original wall, with all the towers intact, which was largely unscathed during WWII. Rothenburg is noted for a round, doughy pastry concoction known as a schneeball (snow ball). They can be flavored or sprinkled with powdered sugar or similar. Another one of those things that get over-hyped, but most people try it while they're in Rothenburg.

 

In addition, you still can tour the Palace in Wurzburg which is the highlight of the town. Our friends from the cruise that went really enjoyed it, including an 80 year old grandmother and her adult granddaughter.

 

The alternative is to spend the day in Wurzburg which is a city with a population of over 100,000 which has a fortification on the hill and a number of churches and squares to visit.

 

Marksburg Castle is not much of climb for anyone that walks regularly; the path has switchbacks or you can opt for stairs that would be the equivalent of doing the stairs at a typical stadium. I would say the elevation gain from the parking lot to the castle entrance is less than a hundred feet over about a quarter of a mile.

 

I could have used you for protection in Budapest when I naively ventured into the "ladies of the evening" after dark.;)

 

The crew told me they stay in Bratislava longer going your direction which I would have liked.

 

Rothenburg: This is probably the most photographed location in the entire town.

The sauerkraut is the red cabbage on the plate...very fresh and now we are spoiled.

The Night Watchman of Rothenburg armed with his hellebarde; his tour is the highlight of the town. Unfortunately the timing doesn't work on a Viking cruise.

The stairs are above the bus on the left...the path goes beyond the one on the right then switches back a couple of times. Unfortunately, the woods are too dark to get any definition of the path.

[ticonderoga]

Thank you so much for all this information. I guess I'll just see how my mother feels. I'm sort of inclined to perhaps just stay in Wurtzburg even though your photo makes Rothenburg so enticing. You're right: it's just like people picture Bavaria. I've recently developed a taste for all kinds of sausages, so I think I'm headed to Hog Heaven, so to speak.

Ti

[MsChloe]

Thank you so much for all the info...We are doing this cruise in late October. Could you tell us what the weather was on your cruise. What temperatures should we expect during this time...thank you...

[Kohola]

Thank you so much for all the info...We are doing this cruise in late October. Could you tell us what the weather was on your cruise. What temperatures should we expect during this time...thank you...

 

Imagine a trip from Calgary, Canada to Duluth, MN in late October as a reference to how far north you will be when traveling from Amsterdam to Budapest. Amsterdam is influenced by the warm Gulf Stream much like Seattle is from the Japanese current so it stays milder than its latitude would indicate. In late October I would expect highs in the 50's and lows around 40 with rain about half the time. Dress in layers and you should do fine.

 

We packed our parkas, their shells and gortex rain pants, but fortunately our weather was quite nice for late November; highs around 50F and lows in the upper 30s with very little rain so we only used the shells and never pulled out the parkas or the rain pants. Our cruise directer said they had snow at Kinderdijk the cruise before ours. You should see some beautiful fall colors along the rivers.

[Madkel]

Thank you so much for all that information. We will be having our first river cruise doing 3 weeks from Bucharest to Amsterdam in May and I found your "Diary" awesome. I hope we enjoy our cruise as much as you did. Cheers.

[Texas]

What a wonderful review of your trip. We will be on the Thor in May for the Rhine Getaway. I lived in Germany for five years (many years ago) and sadly, I only remember a few phrases. I can still order wine for the table!

 

Dankeschon!

[MsChloe]

We appreciate your weather report...this is what we thought it might be. Thanks so much...

[tracyasu]

What a great review/post. We will be going in April to several of the cities you visited and the information/insights will be invaluable esp. when we get to Budapest.

[Mr Top Cat]

Wow! What a thorough review. We will take this same tour in the opposite direction in August 2014. Thanks for so many great suggestions. We are traveling with 3 other couples looking forward to a great trip. I have passed on your review to them as well.

 

Just a few questions.

 

1. Any problem with all 8 of us dining together or touring together in the various cities?
   
2. Any suggestions on pre and post trip tours in both cities & would you do this with Viking or on your own in a group of 8?
   
3. Would you do Prague pre-cruise? And if so any suggestions?
   
4. Have you traveled to Belgium? Thinking of this post cruise after Amsterdam. Any suggestions if so?
   
5. Then after all this we are on to Paris before heading home and are open to any suggestions there as well.
   

Based on the detailed review you gave, it seemed you might have some detailed answers.

 

 

P.S. Really like your thoughts on trying out the language of those you come in contact with. We might not be as skillful with the various languages as you but we sure will give it a try:)

[waverley7]

Thanks for the review! Awesome!

 

I have been looking at this cruise with Viking for 2016. By my calculations it looks like the cheapest balcony and airfare from Ontario will cost me around 16,000..... :eek:

 

Anyone have an idea how I can make this cheaper but still have the balcony?

 

Wait to it's closer to sailing to get a deal?? I like booking in advance when I can. Do you get the price drops like you do on Ocean cruises??

 

I really want to do this cruise, but just not sure if I can swing it.....

 

Anyone that can help me out, much appreciated!

 

I also need to find out the best time to go....I like travelling in May. I would not be impressed if they had to cancel part of the cruise due to water level issues so I want to make sure I am sailing when that is most unlikely to happen.

 

Janice

Edited February 3, 2014 by waverley7

[ticonderoga]

Hi Janice,

The cost issue has been dealt with in other posts you can find on this board and basically it boils down to about $400/day per person, not taking into account the flight. But if you calculate one shore excursion per day, free wine and beer at lunch and dinner, free WiFi (such as it is), it's really quite "affordable" assuming you would have paid for these extras on an ocean cruise. The French balcony is cheaper than the Veranda, which is a real balcony. I don't think you can get it cheaper closer to departure, and since there are not that many French balconies on each ship, they tend to sell out rather quickly. When I booked my Grand European Tour last October for the trip I'm taking in September 2014, I got the last French balcony on that particular cruise. The reason I'm traveling in September is because it's not too hot, the days are still relatively long and the tourists are more or less gone. Also, I prefer to putter in my garden all summer and enjoy my veggies. A way to do things less expensively would be to go in November, and if you're inclined to pre- and post- cruise stays, to do them on your own. I think the cost of the flight with Viking is about the same as booking on your own but they will do free transfers and are responsible up to a point for you in case there are flight delays etc.

Ticonderoga (from Montreal)

[waverley7]

Thanks for your help Ticonderoga!

 

So, book early and a French Balcony it is!

 

Still think I would enjoy May for the weather as long as the river co-operates! I would be dissapointed if I were put on a bus for part of the cruise!

 

Yes, a savings on the booze part of things from the Ocean cruises and the excursions as well.

 

Looking forward to seeing this part of the world! :D

[duck addict]

Thank you for the detailed review. I will be doing the same cruise in Mar 2015 (though different ship). Helps me plan :D

[derrick22]

Thank you for taking me along on your review. I felt like I was there. Doing this same trip in July 2015.

 

Did you write all of your activities down each day and what did you use?

 

Thanks

 

Denise

[jiminyC_fan]

Fantastic review. Brought back so many wonderful memories of our Grand European Cruise on the Magni in November.

[Kohola]

Thank you for taking me along on your review. I felt like I was there. Doing this same trip in July 2015.

Did you write all of your activities down each day and what did you use?

Thanks

Denise

 

We enjoyed the trip a lot. I didn't do anything special to write my review; just created a timeline using the daily activities newsletter that is placed in your cabin each night combined with my photos to recall the details of the trip.

 

I try to take reference photos during the journey to use once I return home to jog my memory about particular events...photos of the name of the town we passed first thing in the morning as well as the last one before night falls, a photo of the KM markers for towns and locks we passed that were of any interest, photo of any unusual food items and each different wine we were served. I find it to be a great aid to keep track of each day since the photo properties have the exact time the shot was taken. If you combine the photos with the guide books Viking provides it makes it relatively easy to recreate the trip kilometer by kilometer.

[Kohola]

Fantastic review. Brought back so many wonderful memories of our Grand European Cruise on the Magni in November.

 

Thanks, we did the trip in November also...better weather than we were expecting.

[rubrrick]

Thank you Kohola for a wonderful introduction to exactly what we will be doing in May of this year, with a different company.

 

They have professionals that write the itinerary highlights, yet you seem to be just as professional, with your wonderful personality added!!:)

 

Danka,

 

Rick

[jklc123]

Also enjoyed your comprehensive cruise review, which covers in part where we were on Danube cruise and will be in part on Rhine cruise this fall, when we will spend 3 days in Amsterdam post-cruise. Do you have any recommendation about which direction to take a train out to see the countryside and villages?

 

You are so right about change for the public WC . In a small town outside Budapest I tried to use one but only had Euro coins. The dragon lady wouldn't let me in!

 

We must have seen the same horse farm outside Budapest that you did. Quite a show! I've enjoyed language lessons on our river cruises in China and Russia and it was fun to try out the little I learned on the crew.

[jiminyC_fan]

. Do you have any recommendation about which direction to take a train out to see the countryside and villages?

 

 

We had an awesome private full day tour that got us out of Amsterdam and we were able to see exactly what it sounds like you want to see. I am going to provide the link. I hope that is allowed here. http://www.privatehollandtours.com/index.html We highly recommend Ray. He can customize your tours. You can also read the great reviews on Trip Advisor that others have left.

[jklc123]

We had an awesome private full day tour that got us out of Amsterdam and we were able to see exactly what it sounds like you want to see. I am going to provide the link. I hope that is allowed here. http://www.privatehollandtours.com/index.html We highly recommend Ray. He can customize your tours. You can also read the great reviews on Trip Advisor that others have left.

 

Thanks for the link. This does look perfect.

[jojocmcla]

Kohola, thanks for the wonderful review. We will be cruising Nuremberg to Budapest with AMA Waterways in May 2014...about a month from now. Your review was most helpful and I took copious notes!!:)

I've always tried to learn a few helpful words and phrases when I travel. Thanks for some of the pronunciation guides for Czech and Hungarian languages.

[kazoojan]

Thank you so much. My father always wrote journals of his travels much like this one you have written. At 90 years old he still enjoys going back and reading his. I hope you will have that same enjoyment in your last years when you can no longer endure the actual travel. From all of us who will benefit from your journal, please know that we each appreciate your efforts.