Roll Call: Viking Neptune, Nuremberg to Bucharest, July 26, 2009

[parkie]

Who's going? We have been on several Viking cruises, and only recently booked this, as the prices seemed reasonable. We are flying from Dallas to Frankfurt and then taking the ICE train to Nuremberg. Having been to Nuremberg on a trip last fall, I believe that I remember that the docking area is close to the city center and therefore, we will be able to find the ship!

[ddean52]

how did you rate your previous cruises with viking? we are doing Budapest to Amsterdam with viking on aug 16. thanks, and good luck with the roll call, we have had zero luck with ours. enjoy your cruise!

Dean:)

[parkie]

This is our 4th one, so we must like them OK...also did an Avalon Tulip Time cruise in late April and really enjoyed that one. This cruise had a good price point, and so we decided to sign up.

 

We did the South of France, and then Paris to Normandy, and then last fall we did the "Cities of Light" (Paris to Prague). Liked all three itineraries, but were on the Viking Fontane for the Paris to Prague outing; we understood that they were going to rehab this ship, and could see why, but don't know its' current status. The other two ships were fine -- the Viking Burgandy, and I can't remember which ship we were on for the Paris to Normandy trip.

 

In any event, I think that Viking represents good value, the food is OK to good, and the staff is generally helpful...it all depends on your cruise director and we have had real good luck in that department.

 

Accomodations are small, but well thought out. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[ddean52]

have you had any issues with river conditions? what are nights aboard ship like?

did viking offer any on board lectures in reference to ports you would visit? while your cruising are there any pa announcements with regard to points of interest on the river? and one last question, did viking provide you with some kind of "travel book" that related to different parts of the river(s) and the history of the cities you would visit? (oh alice would like to know what bathroom amenities are provided?) sorry to be a pest! thanks. dean

[parkie]

River issues: none (our trips have all been in the summer and fall; I understand that the river issues tend to be flooding that is the result of spring rains...or at least that is my impression).

 

Nights aboard ship: in our cases, a leisurely cocktail hour prior to dinner, a leisurely dinner, and then off to bed. I generally am fairly tired after a fast-paced day of walking, touring, sight-seeing (and I am in decent shape and walk about 50 minutes per day 4 or 5 days per weeks). This routine seems to fit me. Our experience is that there is some sort of keyboard player on board who provides music for dancing, but as stated earlier, we do not hang around for the frivolities.

 

On-board lectures in reference to ports to be visited: there is always a daily briefing that highlights what you will see the next day on the included and optional excursions; this is normally done right before dinner. We were on an Avalon ship this spring and they had a lecturer who spoke a couple of times, but I do not recall a lecturer per se on Viking. They did have some experts come on board a couple of times to talk about some specific topic, like diamond-cutting in Brussels, for example.

 

PA announcements with regard to points of interest on the river: not that I remember, but on one cruise they provided a sheet that pointed out the various sights by referring to mile markers that lined the banks of the river. One other time, the cruise director did provide information on the specific sights on the river when we were going though some special gorge on the Rhine River (the Legend of Lorelie, I think) but I do not recall the details.

 

Your travel documents will provide some sort of listing/booklet of the cities/excursions as an information source.

 

Bathroom amenities: as I recall, shampoo, conditioner, and soap were all that was offered.

 

Hope this is helpful!

[ddean52]

Thanks