Viking Grand European Rivers 6/25/06

[Venturagirl]

All packed and ready to go! We leave tonight for 2 days in Amsterdam prior to our Amsterdam to Budapest cruise. Thanks to all who have posted their experiences and answered the many questions on this board. We will return late 7/9 and hopefully be awake enough to post a cruise report in the following few days. Thanks, Steamboats, for the good river and weather report! Happy travels to anyone else cruising this week!

[BJS]

Venturagirl have a great cruise. Looking forward to your review upon your return.

 

Would love to hear about best place to purchase cuckoo clocks at a reasonable price. I imagine the most shopping time for them would be in Rothenburg.

 

Our 10/15 trip from Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking Spirit is still a ways off but we are already excited about it.

[Venturagirl]

We are back as of 8:30 last night and I am badly jet lagged so not in the mood to write a report. But I did want to let those of you traveling on Viking between Amsterdam and Budapest know that you are in for a lovely time. The Viking Pride Cruise Manager, Anabelle, is delightful as well as being very organized and able to change plans on the fly when needed. We had a little rain in Amsterdam and Cologne at the beginning of our trip, and then sunshine throughout, culminating in really warm, humid weather beginning in Melk and through to Budapest. The service aboard the Pride was really excellent and plentiful, and I liked the food very much but my husband did not enjoy the dinners. More about that later. The scenery along the Rhine was magical, and even when we went through our 68 locks(!) or traveled through occasionally unremarkable scenery, we loved sitting on the sun deck where the ride was so smooth and quiet you could hear the birds calling from the passing shore. We both are now avid fans of river cruising and believe we like it better than ocean cruising. I promise I will provide specifics later in the week.... :)

[BJS]

Glad to hear the positives and anxiously awaiting your report when rested.

 

I'm anxious to hear about the food because sample menus, on any or the river cruise lines, I've seen haven't thrilled me. Not taking the cruise for the food but will be interested in hearing why your DH "did not enjoy the dinners".

 

Glad to hear that DH didn't have any trouble with the flights and Heathrow was survived with no missed flights. We should find out from Viking next week which flights we have from LAX to Budapest and back from Amsterdam.

[Twice_a_year]

Awaiting your feedback with the feeling that a child has just before Christmas.

[Jswen]

Hi Ventura Girl,

Glad to hear you are home. I am anxious to read your report. So glad you had mostly good weather and a smooth flight.

Judy

[Venturagirl]

We flew from Los Angeles to Heathrow and from Heathrow to Amsterdam on British Airways, arriving 2 days before our cruise. We stayed in a junior suite at the Ambassade Hotel on the Herengracht canal. The sitting room had a delightful view of the canal, and since the sun did not set until after 10 p.m., we spent hours by the huge open picture windows, enjoying the peaceful, quiet neighborhood and watching the boats and people go by below. We walked all through the canal district of Amsterdam, saw the floating flower market, toured the Van Gogh Museum, spent time in Vondel Park, walked through the Leidesplein, Damrak Square, the Red Light District and toured the Anne Frank House.

On Sunday afternoon, the day we were to board the Viking Pride, we took a cab from the hotel to the ship, which was docked along side ships from other companies, e.g. Uniworld, not far from the Central Train Station. Upon boarding, the ship’s crew took our bags and stored them as the rooms would not be ready until 3:00 p.m. We checked in at the reception desk, turned over our passports, got our room key cards and then went to the Lounge at the front of the ship where a light lunch of salads, sandwiches and soup was available from a buffet table. We then walked back to town and up the Damrak to do some shopping and get more Euros from the ATM. We were back at the ship at 2:50, and promptly at 3:00 we were escorted to our room where our bags had already been placed. We were to learn that punctuality is a hallmark of the Viking Pride experience.

We had booked Room 203, which is toward the front of the ship on the Main Deck, directly beneath the Lounge. The room has a queen size bed, a big closet with a safe and several shelves, a counter that runs from the closet to the window with 2 sets of bureau drawers (four drawers on each side), a desk drawer and a mirror and chair. There are two 220 V plugs with the European round holes and one 115 V 50 Hz plug with the European round holes. There are small nightstands with 2 shelves on each side of the bed, and a small cruise-ship style bath with sink, toilet and shower. We each brought a big suitcase, which we were able to store under the bed, and a carry-on, which we stored in the closet. We stuck an adapter into one of the 220 v plugs and used it for recharging our mobile phone and camera batteries. We used the other 220 v plug for the Viking provided hair dryer. The 115 v plug I used with an adaptor for my curling iron. There is no mini-frig, and I need to store insulin, so I used the ice bucket which I filled twice a day from the ice machine at the stern end of the main deck. There is a telephone that can be used to make onboard calls as well as outside calls, I assume, although most people brought their own mobile phones for making international calls. We used the telephone to program wake-up calls for the few mornings we wanted to be sure to be up early.

We unpacked and explored the ship, had cocktails in the lounge and attended the first of our daily briefings by the Cruise Manager, Annabell Conrads. Annabell is a gem of a Cruise Manager. She is a beautiful young woman, with an electric smile, a happy personality and a gift for organization. When she said that an event would begin at a certain time, it began promptly at that time – not a moment before or a moment after. She announced first and second calls for tours and for onboard events through an intercom that is heard in public areas of the ship and in the rooms. If you want to turn off the intercom in your room, you can do that by adjusting a volume knob above the desk. During the daily briefing you learn about the schedule for the following day, which is supplemented by a paper called the Viking News that is left on your bed by the cabin housekeeper when she turns down your bed, leaves fresh towels and prepares the cabin for the night. The daily briefing was usually scheduled for 6:45, followed immediately by dinner at 7:00.

Dinner is open seating at tables for 4, 6 or 8 people. The menu choices are described in detail by the Head Chef at the daily briefing and a printed menu is also posted on the bulletin board each day and provided at the table during lunch and dinner. The dinner menu consists of a choice of two appetizers, two soups, two entrees (a fish entrée and a meat entrée) and two desserts. I didn’t bring any menus home with me so I can’t give specifics, but I can say that the food was beautifully plated and presented and that there was a good variety throughout the two week cruise. Ingredients typical of whatever region we were in were used, and I would categorize the style as continental or European cuisine. However, here my husband and I differed in our assessment of the cruise. I liked the food very much, but my husband, who is usually not a picky eater, didn’t like the food at all. One reason is that he doesn’t like any fish other than salmon, and since fish was always one of the two entrees, his choices were limited to the meat entrée. Another reason is that we eat a lot of chicken on the bone, e.g. roasted chicken, and don’t generally enjoy deboned cuts like a chicken breast; the only chicken offered the whole trip was a grilled chicken breast which could be ordered as an alternative to the regular two choices. A third reason is that he doesn’t like sauces on his meat every night, and most nights the entrees were served in a gravy or other sauce. He also prefers his meats cooked less rather than more, e.g. on the rare side, and most of the meats tended to be medium to well cooked. The non-fish entrees were most often pork or veal medallion type dishes in a sauce. One night there was steak, one night mixed grill of lamb chop, beef and pork. On the Fourth of July they served an all-American meal of turkey rolled around stuffing with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and a cranberry jelly.

After dinner we went out again to enjoy Amsterdam street life in the Red Light District. It was as much fun watching the people walking through the District as it was seeing the show the window girls put on when they see unattached men strolling by. They don’t give a guy a second glance when he is accompanied by a woman, of course.

It started to rain, so we were back at the ship and in bed by 10:30, looking forward to our first day of touring.

[Venturagirl]

For those who get up early, Viking offers an early bird breakfast from 6:00 - 7:00 consisting of coffee, juice and pastries. I never once saw it :p . From 7:00 to 7:30 one could also do morning light exercise with Cruise Manager Assistant Anna. I never did that, either. We were normally up at 6:30, showered and ready for breakfast by 7:30 am. The shower curtain, by the way is the freaky, clingy type found so often on cruise ships. However, the water strength was excellent and you could set the temp you like once and just turn the water on after that to have it reach that temp within a second or two every time. The shower head was both removable and adjustable in height, so if you want to shower during the day or evening without affecting hair and make-up, you easily could. They provide a squeeze bottle of shower gel to use both on body and hair. I strongly recommend bringing your own shampoo and conditioner. Also, the bottle was a little hard to squeeze, so for anyone with arthritic or weak hands, you might want to bring along a bar of soap, or plan on using the tiny bar of soap Viking provides at the wash basin.

 

Breakfast usually was available from 7:00 - 9:00 am. It is served buffet style in the restaurant and every morning includes boxes of Kellog cereals, canned and fresh fruit (both cut up fruit and whole fruit), cold Muesli, cold cuts, salmon and cheeses, rolls and pastries, toast for toasting yourself, hot scrambled eggs, sausage (the type changed during the trip according to where we were on the itinerary), bacon, boiled eggs and one item that changed every day. In addition, you can order items cooked for you from the kitchen such as pancakes with blueberry compote, french toast, omelets (the flat kind, not fluffy) with cheese or ham or bacon inside, eggs cooked to order and hot oatmeal. Service at the table was excellent, with your coffee or tea cup filled constantly and used dishes removed immediately so you could go back for more without looking like an overeater. Regular, low fat and non-fat milk was available from the buffet table, plus 3-4 kinds of juices and a bottle of champagne in case you like Mimosas in the morning.

 

The shore excursions began at different times each day. I am not going to describe the sights in detail in this report, but will talk about the schedule and special events that occurred so those of you traveling later this year have an idea of what to expect.

 

On Monday, the Amsterdam city tour was from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. When we checked in on Sunday, we were each given a name tag with a number 1, 2 or 3 typed on it. This was the number of the bus we would board each time there was a bus tour. In Amsterdam, the first part of the tour was of the city by bus, with a city guide in each bus. After the bus tour, we boarded canal boats and our bus guide became our canal boat guide as we toured all of the main canals in Amsterdam. Having walked the streets of the canals, it was fun to also see them by boat and to hear the running commentary. The boats ended their tour near the Museumplein where we were supposed to have had a 2 hour tour of the Rijksmuseum. However, during the bus tour the guide announced that the Rijksmuseum had experienced an act of violence the previous evening -- some deranged person had sprayed acid on several paintings and the floor. The museum would be closed the whole morning for investigation and clean-up, so our Cruise Manager had scrambled to obtain tickets to the Van Gogh Museum instead. This was a huge disappointment for me, as we had skipped the Rijksmuseum in our pre-cruise days and seen the Van Gogh Museum in depth already. One of the reasons I had selected this Viking tour was because of the included Rijksmuseum visit. Of course, this was not in their control, and they did a great job of seamlessly substituting a comparable alternative. We didn't want to see the Van Gogh again, so we told Annabell, who met the groups at the Museum, that we would go off on our own and be back at the ship at 12:30. Viking had provided a great city map the night before, so we used it to walk back to the Herengracht where we toured the Bible Museum, which is in a wonderful, centuries old canal house with an intact 17th century kitchen. As a student of the Bible, I very much enjoyed the exhibits, including the fascinating to-scale hand-made models of the Tabernacle and Herod's Temple. But still I was disappointed to have spent 2 1/2 days in Amsterdam during the 400th birthday celebration of Rembrandt without seeing one of his paintings there! My husband reminded me that we have seen many Rembrandt works in our travels and says we will just have to plan to go back -- maybe when the Rijksmuseum reconstruction is completed.

 

After a final stroll through the streets of Amsterdam, we arrived back at the ship at 12:15, just slightly ahead of the buses containing the other passengers.

[Venturagirl]

Lunch began promptly at 12:30, and Annabell announced that Viking was trying something new this year -- a Light Lunch Buffet in the Viking Lounge, which could be attended instead of the regular lunch in the Restaurant. We only went to the light lunch twice, so I'm hoping my description of the differences is accurate.

 

The full lunch in the restaurant is both buffet and served at the tables with full linens set for 4, 6 or 8. The light lunch in the lounge is buffet only, no service except if you want to order a drink from the bar, and you eat it on the little round cocktail tables without table linens or flatware set-up. The buffet at the full lunch consists of two or three kinds of lettuce and prepared salads -- like carrot, tomato, cabbage, cucumber, green peas, and other -- that can be eaten alone or used to top the lettuce to make a garden salad. There are two kinds of salad dressing and sunflower seeds, croutons, etc. for topping your green salad. Then there are small finger sandwiches on trays that are different each day, and two hot dishes, which are also different each day -- pizza slices or burritos, for example. These buffet items are the entire lunch offered in the buffet in the lounge, although they also have a toureen of soup in the lounge and a tray of small desserts, like cakes, brownies, and pastries as well. For drinks in the lounge you can order from the bar or go to the table just outside the lounge that always offers serve-yourself sweetened iced tea and ice water. In the restaurant, you take your plate of food from the buffet and sit at one of the tables, where the wait staff takes your order for drinks -- e.g., iced tea, sweetened or unsweetened -- offers you a cup of the soup of the day and takes your order from the menu between the two hot lunch entrees and later for dessert. So, basically, if you think all you want to eat is a salad and sandwich, then the light lunch is the place to go. If you have looked at the menu and are interested in the main lunch entree and/or the dessert, then you should eat at the restaurant. We usually chose the restaurant, even if we were only having the buffet items, because I found it uncomfortable to eat at the little round cocktail tables in the lounge. They are small and low and not really made for dining with knife and fork. Plus, people tended to eat by themselves in the lounge and with other passengers at the dining tables in the restaurant. But, I do think it was nice to have the option.

[BJS]

Venturagirl - Great information that you are giving us. There is only one problem ---- it is getting even harder to wait for October and our cruise.

 

Can't wait to read "about the schedule and special events that occurred ".

 

If possible could you give us an idea about what things were within walking distance from where the ship was docked that weren't included in the tours and you found worthwhile? A 20-30 minute walk maximum. If a particular dock is too far and requires some transportation would love to hear what you used.

 

I read previously that Ann Frank's House is walking distance from the ship's dock. Is that what you found? We are still hoping to get there, and not the canal or museum included tour, even though our reverse itinerary puts us in Amsterdam just one afternoon.

 

The free afternoon in Vienna did they give you the option of staying in the city after the tour and if so how does one return to the ship? We have been to Schonnburg palace before and have no idea what to do instead. Any suggestions? Unfortunately we're more the tour rather than the "self doers" and leary of subways, etc. but I'd rather see new sights than repeat those we've already seen.

[BJS]

What were the optional tours and how much were they?

 

What type of evening entertainment was there? We are not expecting ocean cruise type entertainment but just curious what, if anything, they did. Was there a dance floor and dance music?

 

Thanks

[DEEGEE]

I was in Vienna during may of 2005. During that time the frescoes at St Charles de Borremeo church were being restored and visitors to the church could go up in the construction elevator to the scaffolding the restorers had installed so to see the restoration process up close. There was also a stairway to the top of the dome. It was very interesting and I thought quite unique to be able to see this up close and personal. The church is also one of the most awe inspireing churches I have seen. It' about a 25 minute walk from St Stephens

[BJS]

DEEGEE Thank you for suggestion will include that in plans.

[Venturagirl]

We found that everything in Amsterdam was easy to get to by walking, and walking is the way to go since getting there is half the fun! The walk from the ship's dock to Central Station is approximately 5 minutes, taking into consideration you have to cross a busy street near the dock and waiting for the traffic light to change eats up the most time. Anne Frank's House is then about a 20 minute walk from Central Station. So, you could definitely get there in 30 minutes. Viking will provide a good map of the city and you can ask them at the reception desk to show you the best route to take. The visit to her house was a must-do for me, and I didn't rush it. I believe we spent 1 1/2 hours there, even though the guidebooks say an hour is all you really need. The lines are long, during the day, I understand, so you would need to build that in to your timetable as well if you are going in early afternoon. We went very late in the afternoon around 4:30 on a Saturday, and it took us maybe 15 minutes to get through the line to the ticket office. Once you buy your tickets, you immediately enter the ground floor exhibits, which include a 5 minute video and models of the annex rooms as they looked when they were furnished. It is helpful to look at the models to understand what it was like to live in the rooms, because the actual rooms when you see them are no longer furnished. At your own pace you leave this exhibit and go upstairs to the first floor offices of Otto Frank's business for more photos and displays and a video of Miep Gies, who helped hide them, describing the offices and people who worked there, and then you go up another flight of steep stairs to the warehouse, which is the one exhibit you can walk through quickly without missing anythng important if you are pressed for time. Then you go to the swinging bookcase entrance and into the rooms of the secret annex. Then you walk down to the front of the house through a number of exhibits that cover the arrest, deportation, the deaths of the ones who had lived there, a very moving video from a friend of Anne's who talked with her at Bergen-Belsen shortly before she died, and then the story of the diaries from Miep's and Otto's perspectives. It's a wonderful museum and the thing I liked the best was that you can stay in any location for as long or short a time as you like.

 

Regarding Vienna, you definitely could stay in town after the tour, but you would have to use the subway to get back to the ship or take a taxi. The subway was VERY easy to use, and Viking provides specific instructions for which stops to use. Steamboats descriptions in the posts on her cruise are good for understanding how the subway works. You would defnitely want to have Viking's map of Vienna with you, because where your city tour ends depends on which tour you choose. Two included city tours were offered: one which ended at the Albertina and one which ended at the Belvedere. I'll describe those options, and all the optional tours, in more detail later. But I do appreciate you telling me what you want me to focus on and responding to these posts! I was beginning to wonder if anyone was reading them :)

 

By the way, I can't go back and double check right now, since I'm in the middle of this post, but I think it was you who had a question about cuckoo clocks before I left. We saw cuckoo clocks in souveneir shops everywhere. The greatest number of clocks were in Rothenberg, but they were also the most expensive. I saw wooden clocks in Rudesheim, for example, starting at $40 euro and going up to $150. In Rothenberg, the same clocks (it appeared to me) were double the price. I didn't see any wooden clock under $80 euros there. Now maybe the Rothenberg clocks were better made -- I wasn't shopping for one, so didn't inquire much, but they were definitely more expensive. I wonder if Steamboats has any advice regarding that subject.... As I go through my report, I'll talk about how much time we had for shopping, so you can get an idea of that. But, unless someone knows that the quality is better in any particular shop, I would say for the best price to buy your clock in one of the other German towns.

[Venturagirl]

At 1:30 we left Amsterdam to sail toward Cologne. The scenery was not all that great, but because it was our first day sailing, almost everyone spent the afternoon up on the Sun Deck watching the world go by and marveling at how quiet it is when you are saling. Absolutely no engine noise and very little water noise. We saw a few windmills in the distance early in the afternoon, which was worth sitting up top for. In the lounge at 2:30 a Dutch cheese and Jenever tasting was offered (Jenever is sort of a Dutch gin) with the Assistant Cruise Manager, Anna, dressed up in a Dutch girl costume. After more time on the sun deck, we went to our cabin to change for the welcome dinner.

 

I expected people to dress for the Welcome Dinner and the Farewell Dinner, but I hadn't expected people to dress for dinner every night. It turns out they did. It may have been because we had a large contingent of English, Scottish and Australian passengers on board. In any event, the one packing mistake I made was to not put in enough clothes for dinner. I brought two pairs of nice slacks and 4 nice tops for me and only two dress shirts for my husband. We needed double that, and I wished I had brought a sport coat for my husband as well. We didn't go to the optional concert in Vienna (more detail later), but people who did got very dressed for that -- sparkly pants outfits or dresses for the ladies and coats and ties for the men.

 

Every evening from 5:00 to 6:30 pm was the cocktail hour where an alcoholic and nonalcoholic drink was featured at discounted prices (5 and 3 euros respectively) with peanuts or chips. The ship musician, Jerry, played background music on his electronic keyboard. Then at 6:30 or 6:45 was the daily briefing and dinner at 7:00. This night the briefing was 1/2 hour because we were introduced to the captain and the hotel manager and toasted each other with a welcome sparkling wine before hearing the briefing by the Cruise Manager. Annabell described a tour of the wheelhouse (ie., the bridge) which would be available the next morning in small groups, and I signed up for that at the reception desk on the way to dinner.

 

After dinner every night the musician, Jerry, would play music on his keyboard and sing soft lounge-type songs from about 8:30 until the lounge was empty. There is a small dance floor and a few passengers danced regularly. We don't like synthesized music much, so we tended not to stay in the lounge in the evenings, but rather sat up on the top deck or at the bar at the back of the lounge, or went to our cabin to read the maps and prepare for the next day. We watched CNN international news on TV or, once, watched the movie; two new movies were offered on the TV each day.

[Venturagirl]

Tuesday morning we cruised. The wheelhouse tours began at 9:00 and a new group entered the wheelhouse every 15 minutes or so. Annabell did all the talking, as our second captain was sailing that day and I think he didn't speak much English. I highly recommend seeing the wheelhouse and getting all your questions answered about navigation and how the ship operates.

 

At 10:00 Milk-shakes from the bartender were offered -- with or without alcohol -- in the Lounge, but we didn't go so I can't comment on that. We were in the middle of a very competitive scrabble game on the Sun Deck instead.

 

We arrived in Cologne during lunch, and the ship docked right at the Leystapelwerft, a riverfront promenade just one block away from the center of town. You could walk off the ship and be at the Cathedral in less than 5 minutes. The walking tours began at 2:00. This time the passengers were divided into 4 groups, so the bus numbers on our nametags did not apply. Annabell and Anna simply counted out passengers as we walked off the ship and sent us over to a waiting guide as soon as there were enough for one group of about 30. It was raining during the first half of our walking tour, so we didn't spend as much time seeing some of the outdoor city sights as we otherwise might have. The guide tried to stop under overhangs or trees, etc., but the town was packed with visitors because the World Cup was going on in Cologne and places to stop and stand were limited. There were several huge stages and jumbo-tron viewing areas set up around the city, and they were filled to overflowing with soccer fans watching the ongoing matches and wearing their various country's team colors on body, face and hair. We loved the energy of the fans and the activity in the squares, so it was difficult to concentrate on the history and sights of Cologne, and the guide, who was very good, knew it and didn't stay anywhere too long. We walked to the Cathedral, where we had a good, interesting and sufficiently long visit both inside and outside. Then we walked to a wonderful Brauhaus, where the Viking had a room to itself for complementary beer. Here the official tour ended at about 4:00 pm. You could stay at the Brauhaus for as long as you wanted, but the guide had shown us how to get to the pedestrian shopping streets and back to the ship, and the rain had stopped for awhile, so most headed out on their own, armed with a street map. This map, by the way, was the worst of the ones Viking gave out on the whole trip, because it was a xerox copy and the street names were hard to read. There is no need to bring city maps with you except perhaps for one of Cologne for that reason. Viking also provided a sheet of Cologne City Tips, with addresses and directions to the Tourist Info Office, museums, places to cash travelors checks for no charge, internet cafes, souvenier shops (including the 150 year old Chocolate Factory near to where the ship had docked), restaurants and other suggestions of things to do -- Rhine Cable Car, Mini-Train, Bike Rental. While we were on shore the Pride left the dock to sail to a nearby port where the Viking Deutschland had been in drydock for repairs a few kilometers away. The Deutschland was having trouble with her propellors and couldn't leave the drydock alone, so the Pride was going there to assist and perhaps tow her out. The Pride would not be back to Cologne until 6:00 pm, so we were on our own until then. It was easy to fill the time. We checked email, shopped for gifts for our family and walked the narrow picturesque streets.

 

After dinner, we went out again and now soccer mania was in full throttle. We watched the people watching the games at indoor and outdoor cafes, and stood for awhile watching the performance of Gilberto Gil on a huge stage set up right in front of the Cathedral. It was a carnival atmosphere, with outdoor street vendors and lots of music throughout the town. We all had to be back at the ship at 10:30 pm, because the Pride set sail for Rudesheim at 11:00.

[Ladyarli]

Like another poster already said, I feel like it's Christmas. I'm savoring every word, and can't wait for the next posts. FINALLY, someone who went on a Viking cruise, and similar to the one we are taking in August, is posting a DETAILED review! HOORAY! YIPPEE! The answer to your question about whether or not anyone is reading your posts is, YES! Bless you.

[BJS]

By the way, I can't go back and double check right now, since I'm in the middle of this post, but I think it was you who had a question about cuckoo clocks before I left.

Yes it was me who asked about the cuckoo clocks. Will take your advice and look "hard" before Rothenburg.

 

Wonderful detailed answers to my questions. We can't thank you enough for them or for your other posts.

 

Maybe you can take all the cruises we'd like to take just before us and post when you return.:D

[jgnova]

Venturagirl:

I'm enjoying your review -- not as much as going again, as I'm sure you understand, but it's fun to read about a few different cities that we didn't visit, a boat we didn't sail on, how things are the same/different. I'd do any of these again -- ours or yours! :D

 

BJS:

J and I would be glad to go on any cruises you like -- we'll forward our bank account info so you can deposit the funds to cover it -- you won't even have to force yourself to go -- we'll take pictures and write detailed reviews for you. :rolleyes:

 

S

[BJS]

BJS:

J and I would be glad to go on any cruises you like -- we'll forward our bank account info so you can deposit the funds to cover it -- you won't even have to force yourself to go -- we'll take pictures and write detailed reviews for you. :rolleyes:S

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :D

 

 

 

 

--------------------

[Venturagirl]

Thanks, everyone, for responding. I so enjoyed everyone else's reports that I was afraid mine was either redundant or too detailed or not detailed enough. So, it helps to know that others are enjoying my trip along with me as well as finding info to help in planning theirs.

 

On Wednesday were were up early as the scenic Rhine portion of our cruise -- one of my main reasons for coming -- was set to begin at 8:00 am, with commentary on the Rhine from 8 - 12 by Annabell from the Wheelhouse. So we had breakfast shortly after 7:00 and gathered binoculars, camera, hats and jackets and headed for a good seat on the sun deck. Luckily the day was cloudy but fairly warm, and the scenery did not disappoint! Charming towns nestled in the hills, restored and unrestored castles and towers, the Lorelei -- every turn was a picture postcard. I tried to capture as much as possible with my camera, but the pictures just don't do justice to the beauty. Toward 11:00 the sun came out, so off came the jackets and out came the cameras again to try to capture the colors under sunlight. I highly recommend bringing binoculars. Even though the shores of the river are never far from the ship, the details of the castles in the hills and the interesting architecture in the towns was truly enhanced when you could study them close up. That morning was worth the whole price of the trip. It was spectacular.

 

At 10:00 am, the head bartender gave a demonstration on how to make Rudesheimer Coffee. We missed the demo but dashed downstairs to bring one back up to the sun deck. I think that day was the first time I have ever had brandy at 10 in the morning.

 

Lunch was early, at 11:45, and we arrived in Rudesheim at 12:30. The dock was in front of a park area, which was about a 4 minute walk from the town. We couldn't see the town from the ship. At reception was a good map of the town and a sheet with a detailed walking tour. At 1:00 pm we boarded a green mini-train for the ride to Siegfried's Mechanical Music Museum, about a 10 minute ride uphill through the streets of the town. I was not sure I was going enjoy this stop as it sounded very touristy, but in fact it was a delightful experience. Not only were the mechanical music instruments fascinating, but the building they are housed in was charming as well, with centuries old frescoes on the walls and ceilings. I didn't write down how long the tour was -- maybe 45 minutes. And afterward Annabell and Anna were waiting in the museum courtyard to answer any questions we had about where to find shopping, internet (my husband needed that at every stop) and the cable car ticket booth. The latter is only 2 blocks away from the museum, so we walked over there, passing the Drosselgrasse, which was so packed with people we resolved not to go down it until evening. We bought 2 round trip tickets for the cable car at euro 6.50 each, and rode up the mountain over the vineyards surrounding the town. As soon as the cable cars leave the turntable, it is silent, and we quickly had an amazing view of the roofs of the towns on both sides of the river. At the top of the mountain there are trails to the Niederwald monument and also through wooded areas which we enjoyed. Back in town, we found the internet store, checked email, wandered the streets and did some window shopping, stopped for some cake and a coke at a little cafe and then walked back to the ship. We had spent about 3 hours on our own after the museum tour. And once we got our bearings we realized it would be impossible to get lost. If you wanted to find the river, just walk downhill. The walk back to the ship took about 20 minutes, not because the river was far from town but because the ship was docked quite a way down the river. Several day tripper boats are docked right in front of town, and then some French lines, then there was an empty Viking dock and finally ours. At least we weren't the farthest -- two other cruise ships run by European companies were docked beyond the Pride.

 

We decided to have dinner in town, so after the daily briefing at 6:45, we walked back into town and to the Drosselgrasse. At this hour, 7:30, the street was almost empty. We walked up and down, reading all the menus and peeking inside to find that most had very few diners at that hour and all had some type of live music. We finally chose the Rudesheimer Schloss, and had a wonderful dinner -- roasted duck for two carved table-side -- on the patio with a 3 piece band playing lively music all during our meal. You are never rushed when you are out eating or drinking in Europe, which is such a nice change from restaurants at home. They are happy to let you sit there long after your meal and wine and coffee are finished. So civilized. The hard part is finding them to get your check when it is time to go. So we spent a couple of hours in that lovely place, and then, since it was still light at 10:00, we walked slowly down through town to the river, window shopping and meeting fellow passengers along the way. It had been a wonderful day.

 

For those who stayed on the ship, a special German dinner was served, and at 9:00 an art exhibition and lecture by a local artist was given in the lounge followed by Jerry's "soft musical entertainment" and a late night snack served at 10:00. The late night snack was served every night, and I never once ate it or even saw it, except that by 10:30 I sometimes noticed that all that was left was crackers or bread.

[Jswen]

Hi Ventura Girl,

I am throughly enjoying your trip report. I am almost convenced this must be our next river boat trip.

Thanks so much.

J

[BJS]

Venturagirl I just thought of a couple more questions.

 

Do you have to wear name badges?

 

Do you recall how much the Viking windbreaker/jackets are - I've seen pictures with people wearing them. I'm assuming there is a small shop on the ship?

 

Thanks :)

 

Can't wait for more installments of your cruise.

 

 

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[bala girl]

Venturagirl - thank you for your detailed posts. I am going with Viking Sun late Aug from Antwerp to Basel. Assume I can expect things to run pretty much the same way as you described. Appreciate the time you spent with these posts.

[Venturagirl]

Thanks, Judy and Bala girl. I highly recommend it! I don't think there was one person on the ship who didn't have a wonderful time. In fact, several were talking about booking China next, and one gentleman had been on two back-to-back Russian Waterways cruises with Viking and said he had really enjoyed those as well.

 

BJS, there is a small shop -- really a corner of the reception area -- selling jackets and hats and umbrellas and then typical souvenier items that change during the trip. In the last few days, some of the items were marked down a bit. The windbreakers, I think, were between 30 and 40 euros. I'm not positive about that, though.

 

We didn't have to wear our name badges. Most people did the first few days, just to get acquainted. As long as you knew your bus number, the badges could stay behind.

 

The ship stayed docked in Rudesheim until around 5:00 am. One more thing about Rudesheim, though. In order to get from the river walkway to the city, you have to cross railroad tracks. Sometimes three or four trains come by in sequence, and the crossing arms don't go up between the trains even if they are 2 or 3 minutes away, so you end up standing at the track for what seems like forever. We finally discovered there is a tunnel beneath the tracks that connects the walkway to the first street paralleling the river. So, don't stop at the first railroad crossing when walking into town unless the arms are up. Keep walking past the day-tripper boats until you see the tunnel.

 

We arrived in Mainz at 7:30 am during breakfast on Thursday and our walking tour began an hour later. Again there were 4 guides, so we toured with whatever group of people we walked off the ship with. We were docked right in the middle of town and within a minute or two of walking were at the Cathedral. The tour covered the cathedral square, and inside visit to the cathedral, an inside visit to the Gutenberg Museum which is very close to the cathedral, and then it ended behind the cathedral in an adjoining square and pedestrian area. You could stay at the museum if you wanted to see more of it at leisure. The guide pointed the way to other sights you might see on your own, such as some Roman ruins and a really pretty roccoco church that I liked called the Augustinerkirche, all within 5 minutes or so of where he left us off. We had until noon before we had to be back on board, which gave everyone an hour and a half to follow the great map Viking gave us to see the main parts of the town and do some shopping. In addition to visiting the church, we again found internet access, bought some World Cup soccer T-Shirts for our boys back home, wandered the streets and found a little street market selling meats, produce and bakery goods to the locals.

 

At 12:30 pm we left Mainz, and the Rhine River, and began sailing on the Main River.