Rare Got2Cruise Posted December 29, 2015 #26 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Hi. First word of advice: Throw everything you know about ocean cruises out the window. [emoji2] River Cruises are a different planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compass Rose Monica Posted December 29, 2015 Author #27 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Good morning, A few more questions: What time does Viking allow people to start boarding? We are staying in Budapest pre-cruise for two nights under the Viking hotel package. Do they take everyone to the ship at a particular time? Payments onboard: Do they use a cashless system like the bigger cruises or pay as you go? What time does the boat leave a port to go to the next one? Late at night? Will there be time to enjoy the towns in the evenings? Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compass Rose Monica Posted December 29, 2015 Author #28 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Nor have we. We brought our wine to dinner, with no corkage fee, on our Viking trip and shared it with our table mates. Thanks. Good to know. If they allow at dinner, I hope they will do the same while sitting top deck. Would be nice to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deec Posted December 29, 2015 #29 Share Posted December 29, 2015 On Viking AMS to Budapest 2014 we enjoyed our own cocktails in the lounge before and after dinner, wine at dinner and after dinner drinks up on the sundeck....no one ever said a thing to us. On Vantage Irrawaddy 2014 Amazon 2015 we had our own cocktails in the lounge and again no one questioned or gave us a disapproving look. When wine is FREE it is strange that any line would charge a corkage fee? We always bring a corkscrew!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denims Posted December 29, 2015 #30 Share Posted December 29, 2015 (edited) Good morning, A few more questions: What time does Viking allow people to start boarding? We are staying in Budapest pre-cruise for two nights under the Viking hotel package. Do they take everyone to the ship at a particular time? Payments onboard: Do they use a cashless system like the bigger cruises or pay as you go? CARD What time does the boat leave a port to go to the next one? Late at night? Will there be time to enjoy the towns in the evenings? Monica No cash. The times vary PS: We are also taking our first river cruise. April - Paris to Basel. Edited December 29, 2015 by denims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted December 29, 2015 #31 Share Posted December 29, 2015 We will choose opposite aisles when traveling Economy but these days will only fly longer international flights (6 hours and up) in Premium. It is just too miserable in most coach cabins these days. And we still avoid CDG whenever possible. We're the same regarding Premium Economy--just can't do Coach any more across the pond. But really, CDG was very pleasant and well-organized. I agree that the further up front you are in the plane, the nicer... Just came home from Barcelona yesterday with a change in CDG. Flight to JFK was in the top deck of an A380. Love those seats! Changing planes in CDG is decidedly a mixed bag. We have done this at least 5x in the past few years with very mixed experiences. The experience totally depends on whether you're going between Schengen and non-Schengen zones. This requires a terminal change and that's where the fun can potentially start! When we flew JFK-CDG-Cairo, our flights arrived and departed from the same terminal (2E) which is the non-Schengen terminal. Easy! No passport control, no added security, just like changing gates in any airport in the US. Most of our Air France Schengen flights have arrived or departed either 2F or 2G. 2G is a dump. You have to take a bus there no matter what. Hate it. 2F isn't that bad. You can walk to parts of 2E from 2F without clearing security again which can be nice. They have expanded 2E into 3 sections now - K (the original), L, and M. So our most common scenario is that you're going between one of them, and 2F. You can walk from 2E (L) to 2F easily without leaving the secure zone and this is the best scenario. That's our favorite transfer. Fast and painless. You can walk from 2E (K) to 2F, but you'd have to leave the secure area. 2E (K) is the old part of the 2E terminal and that's what you used to do. Now there is a bus that will take you without leaving the secure area. The bus is well marked but the lines can be miserable. You have to bus between 2F and 2E (M). That's what we did yesterday. It took in total about 40 minutes from gate to gate. That's because the line at passport control was longer than usual. There is also a train connecting K, L, and M. Theoretically, I suppose you could walk from 2F to 2E (L) and catch the train to 2E (K) or (M), which I haven't tried yet. Might be tempting. I hate those buses! So - hopefully this explains why some have easy connections at CDG, and others find it horrible. We have had both kinds of experience. I don't necessarily avoid it, but I know full well what I'm in for! Lastly - our last experience in AMS was horribly disorganized. The construction seems to be wreaking havoc on what used to be a very easy airport to change in. Plus they have started pre-clearing all US-bound flights at one gate (en masse), then sending you to a different gate for your flight departure. That confused us the first time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrokitty Posted December 29, 2015 #32 Share Posted December 29, 2015 The same thing happened on our last Grand Circle trip. They took us to a winery and then wanted 10€ corkage fee to bring the bottle to dinner. Makes no sense to me. I think I should clarify that if you had your own corkscrew and opened the wine in your cabin there was no charge. The 10E (which is outrageous) is if the wine steward opens your wine and stores it for you. From now on I will throw the corkscrew into my checked bag (NEVER in carry-on). Hi. First word of advice: Throw everything you know about ocean cruises out the window. [emoji2] River Cruises are a different planet. :D:D:D I LOVE being on both planets!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Got2Cruise Posted December 29, 2015 #33 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I think I should clarify that if you had your own corkscrew and opened the wine in your cabin there was no charge. The 10E (which is outrageous) is if the wine steward opens your wine and stores it for you. From now on I will throw the corkscrew into my checked bag (NEVER in carry-on). :D:D:D I LOVE being on both planets!!!! Me too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzzzinma Posted December 30, 2015 #34 Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) What time does Viking allow people to start boarding? We are staying in Budapest pre-cruise for two nights under the Viking hotel package. Do they take everyone to the ship at a particular time? Payments onboard: Do they use a cashless system like the bigger cruises or pay as you go? What time does the boat leave a port to go to the next one? Late at night? Will there be time to enjoy the towns in the evenings? Monica We did the Viking Grand European from Budapest to Amsterdam. I don't remember what time the bus was scheduled to depart from the hotel (maybe 1) but we checked all our bags, except for our valuables, with the Viking concierge, then headed out to play tourist. We stayed at the Elizabeth Park (which used to be the Meridien) on the Pest side. It was a short distance to the area where Viking docked. We headed to the boat to drop off our valuables. At 10:30 am there were already people in the lounge who had checked in. The reception desk offered to move up the ready time for our cabin, but we honestly told her we'd be out for two or three hours. Our bags were in our cabin by the time we got back to the boat. Payments - everything was cashless. Leaving port - mostly left just before or during dinner. Some places you stop just for the excursion then board and depart. Vienna and Budapest were the exceptions. In Budapest you sail at night so that you can see the beautiful lighted buildings. In Vienna, they have an optional excursion for a Mozart concert in the evening. Many of these places have industrial ports so there is no walking around, anyway. Edited December 30, 2015 by cruzzzinma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzzzinma Posted December 30, 2015 #35 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks. Good to know. If they allow at dinner, I hope they will do the same while sitting top deck. Would be nice to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. Monica They allow it anywhere and will provide glasses and open bottles for you. We had a couple of 6-10 person groups and they brought their own booze and snacks to the lounges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted December 30, 2015 #36 Share Posted December 30, 2015 They allow it anywhere and will provide glasses and open bottles for you. We had a couple of 6-10 person groups and they brought their own booze and snacks to the lounges. IMO, bringing booze to a lounge where drinks are sold is tacky. I understand wine that the line can charge a corkage fee for but I would never bring liquor. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compass Rose Monica Posted December 30, 2015 Author #37 Share Posted December 30, 2015 We did the Viking Grand European from Budapest to Amsterdam. I don't remember what time the bus was scheduled to depart from the hotel (maybe 1) but we checked all our bags, except for our valuables, with the Viking concierge, then headed out to play tourist. We stayed at the Elizabeth Park (which used to be the Meridien) on the Pest side. It was a short distance to the area where Viking docked. We headed to the boat to drop off our valuables. At 10:30 am there were already people in the lounge who had checked in. The reception desk offered to move up the ready time for our cabin, but we honestly told her we'd be out for two or three hours. Our bags were in our cabin by the time we got back to the boat. Payments - everything was cashless. Leaving port - mostly left just before or during dinner. Some places you stop just for the excursion then board and depart. Vienna and Budapest were the exceptions. In Budapest you sail at night so that you can see the beautiful lighted buildings. In Vienna, they have an optional excursion for a Mozart concert in the evening. Many of these places have industrial ports so there is no walking around, anyway. Thanks for the information! Do a lot of people skip dinner on the ship and dine in town when there is a late departure? Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted December 30, 2015 #38 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for the information! Do a lot of people skip dinner on the ship and dine in town when there is a late departure? Monica That has not been my personal experience on river cruises. We often do but most will go back for lunch and dinner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzzzinma Posted December 30, 2015 #39 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Thanks for the information! Do a lot of people skip dinner on the ship and dine in town when there is a late departure? Monica I think most had dinner on the ship. Eating "off the boat" was more likely at lunchtime. "The daily brief" was every night at 6:45 PM where we heard important stuff for the next day. Some people started skipping it but that was when they told us we had low water, had to be bussed to Nuremburg and we're leaving at 8 am the next morning. Most of the people who skipped, started coming after that. Your time in ports can be different, but here was our experience: With an overnight in Budapest, you can have dinner locally. We sailed well after dinner and got to see the beautiful Budapest lit up at night. Bratislava, is charming, but we got off, had a tour, had some time to wander around and the boat sailed. Vienna - docked away from the city center but subway/metro is right there. We had a morning "included" excursion along with two optional excursions and many did all three - Shonbrunn Palace in the afternoon and Mozart concert in the evening. Melk - this is just a stop to see the Abbey. They bus you to the top of the hill. You have the option to walk down or take the bus back. From the bus ride, the walk seems daunting, but there are stone stairs (with hand rails) and it is an easy walk down. The town is charming and I wished we had more time there. We stopped at a wine store and headed back and sailed very quickly. Passau - docked right in the middle of things. Very walkable. The first wurst stand not too far from where docked had the best wurst of anyplace we had wurst. We didn't overnight, so I don't know about restaurants. Linz - we didn't stop there. On river cruises, you just have to go with the flow. Port times are often much shorter than an ocean cruise. For reasons I don't understand, although there is a daily newsletter, important information is transmitted at the daily brief. Everything feels a lot more last minute than it needs to be. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcfad2 Posted January 4, 2016 #40 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Budapest is a beautiful city and the tourist areas are very walkable. We hired a private guide for a full day tour and walked miles and miles. We did the Viking pre-tour extension on the Grand European Tour, which we probably won't so again. I planned our entire time in Budapest and we did not use the Viking concierge at all. There were no included Viking tours during our pre-cruise. The hotel was fine. The docking area is very close to the historic area. We left our bags at the hotel for a Viking transfer and walked down to the ship to drop off our bag with the valuables. The reception desk took our bag at about 10 am and promises to put a rush on getting our cabin ready. We said thanks but we are heading out for more sight-seeing. We had a balcony cabin and we will book aquarium class the next time. We were rafted in almost every city and our balcony got very little use. The cabins themselves are very well designed. What does "rafted in" mean? I am getting ready to book a Viking river cruise tomorrow for August 2017 and I was going to go for a verandah. Maybe I should do a French balcony instead. I was planning on using the verandah a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted January 4, 2016 #41 Share Posted January 4, 2016 What does "rafted in" mean? I am getting ready to book a Viking river cruise tomorrow for August 2017 and I was going to go for a verandah. Maybe I should do a French balcony instead. I was planning on using the verandah a lot. There are so many river ships now that it is becoming rare to be able to tie up to a dock all by yourself. Often two or even three ships tie up to each other. So the cabins on one side of the inner and outer ships have the view you might expect, but all the rest look directly into the cabin of the adjacent ship. This, plus the port-intensive itineraries, means you probably will not be able to use the verandah as much as you think. On most river cruise lines, my advice is straightforward: I think the French balcony is the best compromise because it gives you a big glass wall for light (and views while sailing); "aquarium class" gives up the light and views; verandahs steal space from inside the cabin and may not provide any benefit. We chose French balcony cabins (on the middle deck) on both our AMA cruises and found that they worked very well for us. But on the Viking longships, there is an added complication: they enlarged the verandah cabins by shifting the corridor off-center, and as a result the French balcony cabins are very small. Not having sailed on that type of ship, I don't know what to advise. BTW, welcome to the River Cruising forum! Have you read the sticky at the top of the forum called "New to River Cruising"? There are many different river cruise lines, and many excellent itineraries. It would be better to do your research before you make a non-refundable deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmcfad2 Posted January 4, 2016 #42 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thank you! I will read the stickies. I am an experienced ocean cruiser, but brand new to river cruising and looking forward to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compass Rose Monica Posted January 4, 2016 Author #43 Share Posted January 4, 2016 What does "rafted in" mean? I am getting ready to book a Viking river cruise tomorrow for August 2017 and I was going to go for a verandah. Maybe I should do a French balcony instead. I was planning on using the verandah a lot. My friends booked a french balcony for their river cruise and told me they would never book one again (nor a balcony cabin). They said they were hardly in their room, so so it wasn't worth the extra cost. 'Rafted in' means there's another boat next to yours. They can be tied up together, so you end up (if you are on the outer boat) walking through the other boats to get to land. :) Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compass Rose Monica Posted January 4, 2016 Author #44 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I think most had dinner on the ship. Eating "off the boat" was more likely at lunchtime. "The daily brief" was every night at 6:45 PM where we heard important stuff for the next day. Some people started skipping it but that was when they told us we had low water, had to be bussed to Nuremburg and we're leaving at 8 am the next morning. Most of the people who skipped, started coming after that. Your time in ports can be different, but here was our experience: With an overnight in Budapest, you can have dinner locally. We sailed well after dinner and got to see the beautiful Budapest lit up at night. Bratislava, is charming, but we got off, had a tour, had some time to wander around and the boat sailed. Vienna - docked away from the city center but subway/metro is right there. We had a morning "included" excursion along with two optional excursions and many did all three - Shonbrunn Palace in the afternoon and Mozart concert in the evening. Melk - this is just a stop to see the Abbey. They bus you to the top of the hill. You have the option to walk down or take the bus back. From the bus ride, the walk seems daunting, but there are stone stairs (with hand rails) and it is an easy walk down. The town is charming and I wished we had more time there. We stopped at a wine store and headed back and sailed very quickly. Passau - docked right in the middle of things. Very walkable. The first wurst stand not too far from where docked had the best wurst of anyplace we had wurst. We didn't overnight, so I don't know about restaurants. Linz - we didn't stop there. On river cruises, you just have to go with the flow. Port times are often much shorter than an ocean cruise. For reasons I don't understand, although there is a daily newsletter, important information is transmitted at the daily brief. Everything feels a lot more last minute than it needs to be. Hope this helps! Thanks!!! We'll most likely eat on the ship and enjoy lunch/dinner pre-cruise in Budapest and post-cruise in Prague. Monica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzzzinma Posted January 4, 2016 #45 Share Posted January 4, 2016 What does "rafted in" mean? I am getting ready to book a Viking river cruise tomorrow for August 2017 and I was going to go for a verandah. Maybe I should do a French balcony instead. I was planning on using the verandah a lot. Rafted means you are docked side by side with another ship about 12-24 inches apart. Sometimes it was the port side, sometimes the starboard side. I don't think we would have a verandah on Viking again because it is often unusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted January 4, 2016 #46 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Pretty unusable!!! We Rafted next to several of those pretty verandas and they where 6 inches from my window. We did share wine with one couple and laughed about the situation as we sat window to window! Edited January 4, 2016 by JVilleGal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted January 4, 2016 #47 Share Posted January 4, 2016 A balcony is a personal preference and we love having a real balcony and use it often. Having that personal outdoor space to enjoy a bottle of wine or a coffee really works for us. We don't travel during high season and rarely has rafting compromised our privacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVilleGal Posted January 4, 2016 #48 Share Posted January 4, 2016 What does "rafted in" mean? I am getting ready to book a Viking river cruise tomorrow for August 2017 and I was going to go for a verandah. Maybe I should do a French balcony instead. I was planning on using the verandah a lot. Curious why Viking and did you investigate the other companies??? AMA, Uniworld, Avalon, Scenic, Tauck, everyone is having great sales right now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caviargal Posted January 4, 2016 #49 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Curious why Viking and did you investigate the other companies??? AMA, Uniworld, Avalon, Scenic, Tauck, everyone is having great sales right now! I also suggest looking at options other than Viking, sales or not. Edited January 4, 2016 by caviargal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber Kat Posted January 4, 2016 #50 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Pretty unusable!!! We Rafted next to several of those pretty verandas and they where 6 inches from my window. We did share wine with one couple and laughed about the situation as we sat window to window! That actually sounds fun! We sprang for the balcony. Just like knowing I can go out if I want to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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