Review of Viking River Cruise July 2014 Amsterdam to Budapest

[steverhodes]

As I said in my original post, what we enjoyed hands-down the most were the people we met on the boat. Several people have now responded negatively about the seating arrangements.

 

A few groups on our ship came on board together, but mainly it was couples. We had a great time meeting people at dinner. We would simply go to a table not yet full and ask if we could join them. We met some many wonderful people this way. By the end of the cruise we probably had 10 different couples that would repeat a few meals with but mainly we tried to join tables of people we had not yet met. We always went with the round tables for 6 by the windows. Best views and it is easier to talk with them than the rectangular tables for 8 in the middle that we sat at once for the first meal.

 

Only a couple of times at breakfast did we pick an empty table since we were the first ones in.

 

We spent about 1.5 hours at breakfast, the same for lunch and 2 or more at dinner. Since we found this was the best part and since our fellow dinners were not leaving, we just kept talking with them.

Edited August 11, 2014 by steverhodes

[owllady2250]

We researched extensively before we took our first river cruise as we had heard of the problems encountered in 2013 by many of the ships with the water levels. Many could not go through the locks or under the bridges.

 

We chose AMA Waterways because of their reputation and how they handled the situation described above. If a cruise line cares more about its bottom line than customer satisfaction, beware if there's a problem as no one will take care of it.

 

We ran into problems with a lock being broken in Budapest which tied up many ships for days. Our captain has contacts with the people who run the locks and had advance warning that maintenance was going to be done so we left Budapest a few hours early to get through before the locks closed down. Once closed, more problems were found and those locks did not open for days. Those on ships that got stuck saw Budapest in depth, but did not have a complete river cruise.

 

Also, AMA, as several people mentioned earlier, divides people into far smaller groups, usually no more than 15 and often as few as 6, to maintain the pace established for that group. We chose "Easy Walker" as that gave us enough time to take the pictures we wanted to without holding up the group. Rarely did we have to bus as we docked right in town and walked with our guides throughout the towns we visited.

 

We ran into people many days later in our cruise who had been stuck in Budapest, missed several points to "catch up" to the itinerary and had lost their docking space so they had to be bused to the towns, in some case, up to 1.5 hours. The whole purpose of taking a river cruise is to really visit the towns, on foot, and to spend as much time as you desire in each town.

 

We did miss one of the ports on our stop, Melk, as a very low bridge was ahead of us and the water was rising. Our captain took on extra water and fuel to lower the boat, took down the sun deck almost entirely and made it through with inches to spare. We were always kept informed of what was happening and why and agreed that our captain had made the right decisions to keep the cruise on track. Our biggest disappointment was not being able to visit Salzburg as we had planned, but given the situation and that we were told what was going on, cannot blame the captain or the cruise line for the decision made.

 

Again, research, go on the boards to see what people say about the various cruise lines, go on line and type in the name of the ship line and COMPLAINTS, and then go with your gut reaction to what is being said.

 

We are not employees nor in any way related to AMA Waterways, but felt our research paid off with a great river cruise: good food, wonderful company and terrific service. By the way, when we arrived home after staying for a few days in Prague, we had a postcard from our cruise director thanking us for traveling with AMA. Another reason to cruise with them again: the personal touch!

[steverhodes]

We researched extensively before we took our first river cruise as we had heard of the problems encountered in 2013 by many of the ships with the water levels. Many could not go through the locks or under the bridges.

 

We chose AMA Waterways because of their reputation and how they handled the situation described above. If a cruise line cares more about its bottom line than customer satisfaction, beware if there's a problem as no one will take care of it.

 

We ran into problems with a lock being broken in Budapest which tied up many ships for days. Our captain has contacts with the people who run the locks and had advance warning that maintenance was going to be done so we left Budapest a few hours early to get through before the locks closed down. Once closed, more problems were found and those locks did not open for days. Those on ships that got stuck saw Budapest in depth, but did not have a complete river cruise.

 

Also, AMA, as several people mentioned earlier, divides people into far smaller groups, usually no more than 15 and often as few as 6, to maintain the pace established for that group. We chose "Easy Walker" as that gave us enough time to take the pictures we wanted to without holding up the group. Rarely did we have to bus as we docked right in town and walked with our guides throughout the towns we visited.

 

We ran into people many days later in our cruise who had been stuck in Budapest, missed several points to "catch up" to the itinerary and had lost their docking space so they had to be bused to the towns, in some case, up to 1.5 hours. The whole purpose of taking a river cruise is to really visit the towns, on foot, and to spend as much time as you desire in each town.

 

We did miss one of the ports on our stop, Melk, as a very low bridge was ahead of us and the water was rising. Our captain took on extra water and fuel to lower the boat, took down the sun deck almost entirely and made it through with inches to spare. We were always kept informed of what was happening and why and agreed that our captain had made the right decisions to keep the cruise on track. Our biggest disappointment was not being able to visit Salzburg as we had planned, but given the situation and that we were told what was going on, cannot blame the captain or the cruise line for the decision made.

 

Again, research, go on the boards to see what people say about the various cruise lines, go on line and type in the name of the ship line and COMPLAINTS, and then go with your gut reaction to what is being said.

 

We are not employees nor in any way related to AMA Waterways, but felt our research paid off with a great river cruise: good food, wonderful company and terrific service. By the way, when we arrived home after staying for a few days in Prague, we had a postcard from our cruise director thanking us for traveling with AMA. Another reason to cruise with them again: the personal touch!

 

We traveled at a time of low water. We ran into people on other companies cruise ships who were forced to bussed down River to another boat but our Viking ship made ii fine. Very impressed

Edited August 11, 2014 by steverhodes

[rudeman]

Just an FYI. We NEVER ha 50 people on a walking tour on our Avalon cruise. 20-25, usually.

 

 

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[travelqueen555]

Thank you for posting your perspective on river cruising. As I have posted on previous posts, we are cruising on AMA in September of 2015. I am thoroughly enjoying reading "everyone's" take on river cruising. As you mentioned everyone has a different style of travel that is right for them. Your review has given some insight as to what to --and what not to --expect, and is very helpful in knowing ahead of time what we may want to plan for and adjust in our schedule, as we travel next year. This is why cruise critic is such an amazing resource.

 

So again, thank you for taking the time to post your comments, and look forward to any other information you have to share.

[jklc123]

I hear you about spending two hours to have dinner every evening, as delicious as the food might be and as congenial (hopefully) as your table mates are. After a busy day of touring, sometimes a quiet light dinner would be our preference. And if we're docked long enough after dinner, a walk along the docking area can be quite pleasant, so we've been anxious to eat a quick bite and leave the ship for a bit, which is easier on ocean cruises with various restaurant options/room service.

 

On the river cruise line we use, so far the wait for the buses hasn't been very long and the walking groups were of 20 or fewer. We do like the free time after the tours to explore on our own.

[Floridiana]

This is the first time I realize that there is not host/ess seating passengers in the dining room. It's never occurred to me before.

 

By the way, I have read complaints from passengers about Tauck groups 'taking over' a small ocean going ship that Tauck booked partially. Any large group tends to exclude others, not a nice feeling.

[ural guy]

jklc123 said "I hear you about spending two hours to have dinner every evening, as delicious as the food might be and as congenial (hopefully) as your table mates are. After a busy day of touring, sometimes a quiet light dinner would be our preference."

 

This is one thing that I really like about Viking, the front area of the boat is called the Aquavit Lounge. You can either sit inside or outside. They have a limited menu for dinner. Fast, great view, and few people. Usually 10 or so people would eat there. The bar crew acts as your servers and I enjoyed getting a chance to chat with them. Some nights, the main dining room would be too noisy for me.

 

Do other lines have a seating area directly behind the bow? Looking at the boat layouts, most seem to have that area off limits to passengers.

[marazul]

Just an FYI. We NEVER ha 50 people on a walking tour on our Avalon cruise. 20-25, usually.

 

Viking does fill the bus. That means about 40 passengers per bus.

Other lines, like AMA and Scenic limit the tours to about half that per bus.

That will be a big factor in choosing my next river cruise line.

Edited August 12, 2014 by marazul

[followyourheart]

The Aquavit Lounge was one of our favorite locations on the Viking Idun. We ate dinner there about 3 or 4 times over 2 weeks. We liked the food in the dining room, but sometimes we just didn't feel like having a multi-course meal especially when we had eaten a larger than normal lunch. Most nights it was just us and another couple. We liked the quiet and relaxing atmosphere in the lounge and thought the food was very good. A nice alternative for us.

[jiminyC_fan]

Viking does fill the bus. That means about 40 passengers per bus.

Other lines, like AMA and Scenic limit the tours to about half that per bus.

That will be a big factor in choosing my next river cruise line.

 

That is not always the case if at all. Our Viking bus was not "filled". Our groups were not 40 people. The groups were very manageable.

[1SGCruiser]

Viking does fill the bus. That means about 40 passengers per bus.

 

Other lines, like AMA and Scenic limit the tours to about half that per bus.

 

That will be a big factor in choosing my next river cruise line.

 

 

That was not our experience at all.

[steverhodes]

That was not our experience at all.

 

I never counted but I think we had about 2 dozen people per group. What I do know is that with the quiet boxes they use for sound, if there had only been 2 people per group the experience would have been the same. We never wished we had fewer people in our group.

 

The main variable was the quality of the guide. We had a couple of super ones but the rest were adequate but no better. None were bad.

[ural guy]

I never counted but I think we had about 2 dozen people per group. What I do know is that with the quiet boxes they use for sound, if there had only been 2 people per group the experience would have been the same. We never wished we had fewer people in our group.

 

The main variable was the quality of the guide. We had a couple of super ones but the rest were adequate but no better. None were bad.

 

Your experience matches ours on the AMS to Budapest cruise. It really was luck of the draw with the guides. With some, I would wander around and turn my quietvox off. Some feel the need to give out every factoid possible, and never come up for air. And trying to point out every gray building that you are driving past on a bus @ 30 mph/ 50kph...that get's old.

 

Our best guide was in Bratslava. Some humor, quick history of the region and split w/ Czech republic, and a lot of how current life is, how earnings compare to Soviet Union times. Turns out she was an economist. Very interesting.

[steverhodes]

Your experience matches ours on the AMS to Budapest cruise. It really was luck of the draw with the guides. With some, I would wander around and turn my quietvox off. Some feel the need to give out every factoid possible, and never come up for air. And trying to point out every gray building that you are driving past on a bus @ 30 mph/ 50kph...that get's old.

 

Our best guide was in Bratslava. Some humor, quick history of the region and split w/ Czech republic, and a lot of how current life is, how earnings compare to Soviet Union times. Turns out she was an economist. Very interesting.

 

Our best guide was perhaps the most unlikely. In Regensburg we had a young American girl who moved there 4 years ago. She knew plenty of facts but she was the best of all in making the tour equal measures entertaining and informative.

[marky63]

I'm jumping back a bit to the dinner seating. My wife and I do like to talk to people and have some drinks at the bar, however we typically like to eat alone at table for 2. Do the ships usually have that available? thank you

[steverhodes]

My wife and I just finished a nice cruise on the Viking Alsvin from Amsterdam to Budapest.

 

Already our friends are asking would we recommend it. I answer them with a question.

 

Do you like cruises? If the answer is yes, then I tell that this could well be the best cruise they have ever been on since it is smaller, newer and the guests and staff as so super friendly.

 

However, if they don't like cruises, or, if they are like my wife and me, and have done lots of international travel but no cruises, I would recommend it as ONLY as a one time experience. Cruising is something we will not be doing again. We had a great time but we prefer to set our own pace and spend less time eating and on buses and more time seeing things.

 

The breakfasts and most of the lunches were great. The dinners were hit and miss with about half of the dishes being failed experiments.

 

We spent about 6 hours of every day eating and talking, which was fun, but would rather have been able to set our own pace and spend more time sightseeing. Also, about 2/3 of the time, we had to take a bus into the city so we spent a fair amount of time on or waiting for buses.

 

Still, we made great friendships on board and the staff was amazing.

 

But, as we look back on the cruise, all of the time on shore was way too hectic so we came back pretty exhausted. Also, except for Amsterdam (which we did completely on our own for 4 days), Vienna and the phenomenal evening lights when coming into Budapest, neither of us can remember much of anything about the other cites we saw. They are now just a blur.

 

Finally we got so tired of having to get up in time to make the many 8:15am bus calls. This was supposed to be a vacation and not a forced march.

 

A funny thing happened. We came to love river cruising. Once we got into it, we found that we really, really loved it. No kidding.

 

And, as I writing this, we have now taken 3 Viking Cruises, have a 4th booked and are looking at possibilities for our 5th. In fact, our Viking Cruise to China was the best trip of any type we've ever taken, and we've been on 39 different foreign vacation trips.