Viking Rhine Getaway - Our photo intensive review on the Viking Ingvi, Summer 2014

[cruisinskier]

Jerry ~ your photos and comments are fantastic!!! We did this cruise last December in opposite direction - just lovin' re-living it!!!! And thanks SO much for adding Belgium & Amsterdam - that was fun to see, even place we never experienced!!!

 

This thread should be a "must" for anyone taking the Rhine cruise, especially on Viking!! You've answered almost any questions anyone could think of - and mostly in photos so people could "see" the answers - fabulous!!!!

 

Thanks SO much!! Looking forward to the rest of your adventure!!!

 

Peg, thanks again for your kind comments. So glad I can assist you in re-living your trip! And I am enjoying going back through it as well!

 

I spent lots of time hovering on these boards over the past 18 months so I was very aware of the repeat questions. I have tried to cover off as many of these as I can. I knew before I left that I wanted to put something like this review together to assist others with their planning. And based on the comments so far it appears some of this info may be useful. As I said at the start, there were so many people who assisted us in planning our trip (yourself included!) that it is the least we can do to pay it forward.

 

Hopefully more to come later today...

Jerry

[banditoo]

Great to see the dailies and Viking tour info along with your sightseeing pictures. I almost feel like I was there already!:cool:

[SoccerMom#3]

Thank you so much for posting the pictures, comments, and helpful hints. Our cruise is not until next April but your review is so helpful. Thank you!!

[cruisinskier]

Great to see the dailies and Viking tour info along with your sightseeing pictures. I almost feel like I was there already!:cool:

 

Betty, I had to try and add some info you didn't already have in all your planning docs ;)

And while seeing the photos is nice, I am sure you want to go and experience the Rhine in real life. Thanks for following along.

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Thank you so much for posting the pictures, comments, and helpful hints. Our cruise is not until next April but your review is so helpful. Thank you!!

 

Hi SoccerMom, Glad I can help with some of your planning. Still lots more to come...

Jerry

[cruisinskier]

Shortly after we were back on-board, it was time for the safety drill. viking still asks you to wear you life jacket to the drill. It was done professionally and taken seriously.

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

And then it was time for lunch! We had the choice of a casual lunch at the Aquavit Terrace....

 

 

Or lunch in the dining room. The dining room always had a buffet area which included salads, breads, cheeses, etc.

 

[cruisinskier]

We chose the casual lunch, relaxed, and then spent the next few hours either enjoying our balcony or up on the sun deck as we cruised down the Rhine.

 

 

An office building shaped like a ship

 

 

Enjoying the day...

 

 

And of course, a replica of Noah's Ark!

 

 

 

 

(So I had to look this up when I returned home....some info about the Ark is here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246247/Dutchman-Johan-Huibers-launches-life-sized-Noahs-Ark-replica-Dordrecht.html

[followyourheart]

I had forgotten about the Dutch Cheese Soup. Delicious!

[cruisinskier]

After all our busy days, we were enjoying a relaxing afternoon!

 

 

We waved to those sailing past on the Viking Sun

 

 

And saw various wildlife along the Rhine

 

 

 

There were bridges of every size and shape along our journey

 

 

[cruisinskier]

That afternoon Captain Marcel held an open Wheelhouse for anyone to stop by. We learned lots about how they control river traffic, how he communicates with other boats, and how he can adjust his radar to see what is down river. He was very accommodating and told us to drop in anytime during the week.

 

 

 

The Captain's view

 

 

Our weather forecast had nice temperatures but lots of rain ahead....would that turn out to be true???

 

Edited August 16, 2014 by cruisinskier

[cruisinskier]

After relaxing in our cabin for a while, we got dressed and headed up to the Captain's welcome dinner.

 

The Management Team

 

 

Tonight's menu

 

 

 

Food for Thought

 

 

[cruisinskier]

I kept forgetting to take photos of the starters....I must have been hungry! But here is the Chateaubriand

 

 

And dessert

 

 

These were the wines which were served most of the week. We are not wine snobs but have become more choosy as we have aged. They were ok, we enjoyed the white better than the red. They did keep the wine coming and topped us up right up until we were leaving the table.

 

 

After dinner tonight, they had trivia in the lounge and it was a full turnout. The questions were challenging and varied, and our team got 13 of the 20 questions correct. The winning team had 14.

 

After trivia we stayed in the lounge and listened to Louis for a short time, then sat up on the sundeck for a while, and then called it a night to get ready for Cologne!

[cruisinskier]

I had forgotten about the Dutch Cheese Soup. Delicious!

 

All 6 of us enjoyed each meal all week. Overall the food was very good. They could have added more veggies to their menu....

[followyourheart]

All 6 of us enjoyed each meal all week. Overall the food was very good. They could have added more veggies to their menu....

 

One can never have too many veggies. Overall, we thought the food was very good, but thought the soups were exceptional. Thanks again for posting. So nice to be able to relive our cruise.

[jklc123]

We're doing the cruise in opposite direction and now know to look for the ark as we approach Amsterdam. I hope it's not too early in the morning to see it. Thanks for your excellent photos and commentary.

[SoccerMom#3]

I shouldn't have looked at the food pictures right before I ate dinner. Now I'm not only hungry, my dinner just doesn't stack up to the dinner options on the ship :-)

 

Elise

[cruisinskier]

We're doing the cruise in opposite direction and now know to look for the ark as we approach Amsterdam. I hope it's not too early in the morning to see it. Thanks for your excellent photos and commentary.

 

Thanks for following along and happy planning for your trip! Hope you find the Ark!

[cruisinskier]

I shouldn't have looked at the food pictures right before I ate dinner. Now I'm not only hungry, my dinner just doesn't stack up to the dinner options on the ship :-)

 

Elise

 

Hi Elise. I had to post those photos and then go make our dinner. Our Butter Chicken tonight was good, but not that good :rolleyes:

[cruisinskier]

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

We were still cruising when we woke that morning....we could see some locals camping along the shore

 

 

 

Pulling into the dock

 

 

This is one of my favourite photos...it is almost like Chef Minko is planning the meals as I took this.

 

 

It was a busy morning for boats in Cologne

 

[cruisinskier]

After another very filling breakfast (their omelettes were great!), we headed ashore to join the morning tour groups. The main site to visit in Cologne is Der Kolner Dom (the Cologne Cathedral: http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=home&L=1 )

 

 

It is a 15-20 minute walk to the Cathedral, mostly level along the waterfront....

 

 

 

That is St Martin's Church, not the catherdral. My in-laws actually went to mass here this morning.

 

 

And then you come to these to get up to the Cathedral. I believe the slower paced tour group walks a different way through the old town with a gradual incline rather than all the stairs (our tour group returned that way to see some of old town).

 

 

Edited August 17, 2014 by cruisinskier

[cruisinskier]

The Cathedral is massive!! In fact, hard to get it all in one photo...

 

 

 

 

 

With it being Sunday, there were numerous masses throughout the day

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

With us being in Cologne on a Sunday, I do feel Viking can do a better job with their tours specific to Sunday's. After walking to the cathedral and hearing lots about it from outside from our knowledgeable tour guide, we were then given 15 minutes to go inside. However they were getting ready for a mass so you could really only stand in the back of the very crowded church as the rest of the church area was restricted unless you were there for mass, which is fine but needs to be considered in the tour planning. I feel Viking needs to either move the included walking tour to the afternoon when there are no masses, or come up with a different option for tours on Sunday mornings and then let you visit the Cathedral on your own later that day. We felt we had to return that afternoon in order to see it properly so while we learned lots about the Cathedral, the experience was not as good as it could have been, and we felt we duplicated time at the Cathedral which kept us from seeing more of Cologne. We recognize this would be totally different on other days of the week.

 

After our time at the Cathedral, we walked back via old town

 

 

The Town Hall clock tower

 

 

And when you look closer at the clock tower, you see this head below the clock (sorry, can't remember the story but there is one...)

 

 

Lots of beer gardens

 

 

 

 

[cruisinskier]

At this point our tour ended and we were only 10 minutes from the boat so we went back on-board for lunch.

 

 

Today's lunch menu

 

 

The buffet area in the restaurant

 

 

Not too crowded at lunch...many stayed in Cologne for lunch