Viking River cruise A to B

First time on a river cruise? There're no casinos, shops, etc. on board and most cruising is done at night. So there's not much to do but eat and drink on the boat. My advice is to sign up for the afternoon (optional) excursions for every day, or plan your own.

I always recommend that people go to cruise critic with their river cruise questions. It's a site dedicated to all things cruising. I'm guessing that you'll find several reviews discussing that exact itinerary, as well as threads discussing current river levels.

My first advice is to post in the correct forum. Neither Amsterdam or Basel are in Denmark.

We just did this cruise from Basel to Amsterdam though in November. There is scenic cruise 1/2 day to see the castles. If you are interested in WW2 history take the extra excursion to the Colmar Pocket out of Breisach, Germany. The tours were fantastic. Food great. Make sure you take extra days to see Amsterdam and Basel as you don’t get much time to see them on the cruise. There is a Face Book Viking River Cruise page that is good to follow and get your questions answered.

This is the River Cruising forum on Cruise Critic that was mentioned above: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/115-river-cruising/

There are also dozens of YouTube videos about river cruising in general (highly recommended for first timers), and Viking in particular. In particular, look at the river cruise videos by Gary Benbridge - Tips for Travellers channel.

I second going to Youtube and watching videos that talk about the river cruises.

I think the main points to realize:
They are different than an Ocean cruise. Less amenities on board, no buffets, little open bar, limited entertainment.
The demographic is decidedly older, retired couples or friend groups. Younger and solo travelers often comment that it was a negative.
The schedules are more regimented than an ocean vruise. Breakfast served at a certain time, the excursion for the day leaves at a certain time, back to the boat for lunch, etc.
The pace is quick, a different city everyday, so not much time each place, you are just touching on the highlights.
Despite the commercials and brochures, less time is spent cruising during the day than one thinks, many regret spending more to get a balcony. Even in port, your view is usually another boat berthed a few feet away.
In April, water levels should not be an issue, but weather can be cool and rainy.

All of the above can be positive or negative depending on your traveling style.

Many complement the food, though I would hesitate to call it the food of the region, more fine cruise dining. There are many good reports of the guides and educational information presented.

An Edit: Another comment often made is that Going downriver (Basel to Amsterdam) is sometimes seen as preferred to up river. Down river gives you a bit more time in towns and a smoother cruise, but either way works.

Get euros before you go.
I have seen many times people try to pay in dollars in europe and the locals won’t accept it.
(And guests complaining at dinner how no one would accept dollars, but they did on their previous Caribbean cruise.)
these people go the concierge who will convert dollars to euros but at a terrible rate. Ive even heard the front desk people telling guests the will be getting a terrible conversion rate.

Get euros before you go.

Or better, just use an ATM there, but most all places visited on the cruise are easy for credit card use.

For more: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-tips

Get euros before you go

Only if you have no other means of getting euro cash. Your bank may or may not give you a favorable conversion rate. Credit cards, preferably contactless, are the preferred method of payment in most places in Europe, even in kiosks and markets. Otherwise a bank owned ATM in your arrival city, using your bank card, will get you cash at the most favorable exchange rate. Bonus points if you have cards that don't charge transaction fees.

Only someone too lazy to do ANY due diligence would assume that their currency would be accepted in Europe.