Looking for Venturagirl

[KeyOfSea]

We are in the planning stages of our first river cruise. We've decided to take Viking from Amsterdam to Vienna, which is similar to your trip, in May 2008. (I really enjoyed your review from last Summer.)

 

I have some questions regarding cabins, clothing, walking and general information. Would you like me to post them here for everyone to "enjoy" or would you like to email me directly?

[Venturagirl]

Trish,

 

Sorry -- I haven't been back to this board for awhile since we have no river cruise planned for this year.

 

Let's talk here -- other folks will benefit and also chime in with their own opinions. So, ask away! And I promise to check in every day for awhile.

 

:)

[KeyOfSea]

Thanks so much for being willing to help! :D

 

I forgot to say that we're planning on taking Viking as you did.

 

Now to my questions:

 

1) What's the difference between the cabin categories, especially A, B and C? What would be the best selection for the least amount of stair walking?

 

2) We plan on changing for dinner but what is the usual attire for during the day? Are jeans appropriate? What about capris or shorts? Aren't I being hopeful, since we'll be going the end of May. :cool:

 

3) On included excursions, how much walking is there usually? Please respond in terms of time because it's hard to judge by miles.

 

4) Is the walking pace pretty leisurely or more 'get there and then wander'? I'm "only" 50 but I broke my leg pretty severely about 12 years ago and am a little concerned if the pace is brisk.

 

5) You mentioned in your review that there was an optional excursion to Munich that you didn't take. Can you tell me anything about it? Even just the length of it?

 

 

I'm sure that I'll have more questions in time. Thanks again for the reviews and all the good information.

[Venturagirl]

1) Cabins A, B, C and D are all the same size, but A and B have bigger windows that open. C and D windows are big enough for a nice view, but they don't open because they are closer to the water line. To get to Cat A cabins you must walk up a small flight of maybe 8 stair steps from reception, but the dining room is on that level. However, there are a few steps down into the dining room from the Cat A hallway. Cat A would be the most convenient if you are trying to have the least number of steps during the day to deal with. But you still travel down the steps to reception and the observation lounge and then up them again to reach the dining room. To reach Category B cabins from reception you must go down about 6 stair steps. Cat C and D cabins are another 6 steps down from Cat B. So -- wherever you go on the ship there are steps. The steepest steps are those from reception up to the Sun Deck, which is where you want to be for the best views, especially through the Rhine castle area and coming into Budapest.

 

2. Jeans, capris and shorts are all perfectly acceptable for touring off the ship. Let's hope you have wonderful warm weather!

 

3. Many of the excursions are completely walking excursions, where a guide meets you at the ship and then leads you on a walking tour of the streets of the town. You may walk for an hour or more, stopping every 10 - 15 minutes or so for an explanation of a sight. On many tours you enter a church or museum where you may be able to sit for a few minutes while the guide explains the surroundings. But some interior tours, e.g. Siegfried's Musical Museum, Melk Abbey, etc., you are walking or standing for the whole tour. After an hour to hour-and-a-half of a walking tour, you have time on your own, so then you can find a cafe or bench to sit for awhile before going on. I think you should count on doing a lot of walking, sometimes on uneven cobblestone streets and sometimes up and down cement stairs and up and down hilly streets.

 

4. I'd say the walking pace is more leisurely than brisk. There were some seniors on our trip who brought along a small 3-legged seat that was light to carry as they walked, but then they could unfold it and sit while the rest of us stood listening to the guide. I don't know if that was worth the trouble to carry or not.

 

5. You must have mixed my review up with that of another cruise critic. On our cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest there was no optional excursion to Munich.

 

Hope this helps. If you have other questions, don't be shy. Answering them brings back a flood of wonderful memories! :)

[pacmom]

Key of Sea,

 

My husband and I use camp or cane chairs on all of our cruises. They are light weight and a small seat folds out. They are great for leaning or sitting during those "talks " on a tour. They are very reasonably priced. Ours were about $20 at Dick's sporting goods in the camping section. I'm sure you can find them on line also. Travel safely and enjoy. Pat

[KeyOfSea]

Thank you both for your help and advice. This river cruise stuff is pretty new to us but we're very excited about it.

 

I had considered getting the cane with a seat. I have a regular cane that I use when I travel but I don't need it on a regular basis. I do have trouble standing so I will pursue it. The one I found in a catalog is $30 so I'll check out the camping stores. As I said before we're not going until next Spring, so I have plenty of time.

 

I can't think of any more questions tonight but we'll see what I come up with tomorrow and in the next few weeks. If you can think of anything general, different from ocean cruising and/or more than you said in your review, I'd appreciate it. (Anyone else for that matter.)

[Trash Queen]

Those little lightweight three-legged, folding stools are available from Magellen online for about $15 plus shipping.

 

charlotte

[KeyOfSea]

Thanks for the information re: Magellens. I'll look into it. We're taking a land trip to Ireland this June and I think they might have some things we'll need.

[KeyOfSea]

1) I was just reading that some river cruises only allow one checked bag. Is that true of Viking? I'm pretty sure that I can't live for 2 weeks with only 1 (less than 50 lb) bag. At least we won't need to bring snorkeling gear and formal attire. :D

 

2) What time do the excursions leave in the morning (in general)? How much time do we need to allow for breakfast?

 

3) For breakfast and lunch, does everyone eat at the same time or is there a "range"? I assume that we all eat dinner at the same time - is that correct?

 

4) Did you use the pool? Is it heated?

 

5) Are there beverages and/or food available throughout the day? If yes, what kinds of drinks and snack things?

[Venturagirl]

1. Viking didn't put any restrictions on luggage. They did advise passengers to know the restrictions of the individual airlines being used, however.

 

2. An early bird continental breakfast was available from 6:00 - 7:00 and the full breakfast was usually scheduled from 7:00 - 9:00. Morning excursions began between 8:30 and 10:00, depending on when the ship arrived at the port. Each day the schedule for the following day was printed and left in your cabin so you always knew how much time you would have. Afternoon excursions usually began between 1:00 - 2:00 pm.

 

3. There was a range for breakfast, which was served between 7:00 - 9:00 AM. Lunch and dinner began at set times, depending on the touring schedule of the day, Lunch was usually at 12:00 noon and dinner at 7:00. You could certainly wander in to lunch at 12:30, but by 1:00 they were putting everything away.

 

4. There is no pool on the Viking Pride or Spirit. I just realized that you will probably be traveling on the Sky, so all of my earlier comments regarding stairs will not apply. I believe the Sky has an elevator between reception and the main deck where the restaurant is.

 

5. There is always ice tea, water and coffee available, and of course you can buy soft drinks at the bar. Because you are off the ship most days, there are not snacks provided all day like on ocean cruises, although there is always some wonderful local delight to buy and bring back to the ship from whatever town you are visiting. Sometimes there was a bowl of fresh fruit at the reception desk, but I didn't notice it every day. Whenever we were cruising, rather than at port, for a full morning or afternoon, they had some type of special event involving food, like afternoon tea with cakes and pastries, or Rudesheimer Coffee making or apple strudel making. During the cocktail hour and the daily briefing, from 5:00 - 6:45 pm, peanuts or pretzels or chips are served in the lounge. At 10:00 pm there was always a late night snack offered, but as I said in my report, I never ate it, so I don't know what they offered.

[KeyOfSea]

Thanks so much, again, for your help.

 

It does look like we will be on the Sky - at least that's what the schedule for 2007 says. Who knows what we'll have for 2008.

 

I just looked at the picture again and it looks like a hot tub in a solarium and not a pool. There also is a sauna. A hot tub might feel pretty nice.

 

Not that I think I will go hungry but I think that I'll bring some raw almonds just in case.

 

I'm not too concerned about 1 flight of stairs and 2 is sort of my limit. Since that seems to be the whole ship, I think that I'll be fine.

 

Next question(s):

Did you use their air and transfers? If so, did they fly you in the day before departure? Since you also are on the West coast, I'm wondering how you got there and met up with the ship.

 

I'll keep pondering and post again if I come up with more questions.

[Venturagirl]

We didn't use Viking's air arrangements for two reasons:

 

1. My husband hates to fly and he is only comfortable in a window seat. Viking couldn't guarantee seat assignments.

2. Viking flies you in the day of embarkation. I wanted to spend extra days in Amsterdam and I didn't want to buy the Viking pre-trip package.

 

So, we made our own flight arrangements and flew British Airways from LAX to Amsterdam via London. The information packet Viking sends with your documents gives great instructions on where the ship will be docked, and it was not a problem to take a taxi from our Amsterdam hotel to the ship. On the day we left the ship Viking called a cab to take us from the ship to the airport and told us what the fare would be. While those who purchased the Viking transfers had to leave when Viking scheduled the transport, we were able to tell Viking when we wanted the cab to pick us up. We met up with other passengers at check-in at the Budapest airport, said our final goodbyes and flew British Air from Budapest to London and then from London to LAX. Piece of cake! :D

[KeyOfSea]

We'll end up in Vienna but I'm sure that the same arrangements can be made. We were hoping to fly in a day early. DH doesn't have enough vacation time to spend extra days. I really wanted to spend a couple of days in Munich at the end but it's not meant to be on this trip.

 

We're hoping to take a German class at the local community college next Winter or Spring. I know that it won't be necessary but do you think that it will be useful at all. I took German in college but that was almost 3 decades :eek: ago. DH took French in high school but nothing since.

 

I can hardly wait to book this trip. Our TA says the schedules won't be out for another month or two. :(

 

Thanks again for your assistance!!

[steamboats]

KeyOfSea,

 

I´d say your German might be helpful to find your way around, reading signs .... Because of the various dialects spoken in Germany and Austria you might have problems understanding us :D !

 

I´m born and raised in Bavaria and I´m able to speak three of the different dialects. But there are still parts of Bavaria where it´s totally impossible to understand the people there.

 

But don´t worry everyone is trying to give his best and to avoid speaking in a dialect as soon as he realizes that you´re not a native :) !

 

Go ahead and learn, it´s always appreciated by the native in any place of the world!

 

steamboats

[KeyOfSea]

Steamboats,

 

Thanks for your encouragement!! I was always pretty good at grammar but my vocabulary was never very good. I still remember some but not very much. It should come back to me though. I still remember how to say "auf English bitte". ;) :D

 

It would be really great to find others planning on taking this same trip. Or perhaps we could meet for lunch (or something) in Nurnberg (or somewhere). If you're interested, please email me (thughes at worldvision dot org). I've been to Germany twice but it has been many years. I'm so excited about this big adventure!!