Massive Ad Program

Have a look at Cruise Critic to read reviews and take part in the forums. Some of the cruises are well worth it and others aren't. Whether it is the accommodation, the food, the excursions, etc. they all differ.

We also receive the monthly Viking River Cruises (VRC) booklet . I find it interesting that, month after month, every single room in every cruise is priced "2 for 1". Does VRC think that one would really believe that they are getting a huge bargain, when in reality the "real price" is simply half of the "regular price"? I have not yet compared their prices with other cruise lines to see if their "regular price" is inflated. For example, Burt Wolf (another travel guru with a PBS series) cruises with AMA Waterways, which looks to be very high end. But the VRC brochure is very nice, the itineraries look excellent, and the commercials are eye-catching.

I have seen the ships this past summer in Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. They are small and we saw a variety of people disembarking.....not any young children but teens. cruise Critic's website is not very well set up like this one. I have a cruise booked next summer (Ireland and Scotland) and am trying to get info such as do you have to tender, is the town/city walkable from the pier, are there local buses or cabs. I really do not want to go on the excursions from the ship, I Find them overpriced, not timed very well, and many times boring. I had put in a suggestion for a cruise category here but nothing so far. I know this is not a cruise sight but many people, like myself, combine the two on trips to Europe - we will be staying in Amsterdam for 10 days also.

Teens on Viking Cruises? The ships dock here in Frankfurt from many companies, Viking, Arosa, etc. and I have never, ever seen teens on any of them. They are mainly middle aged to seniors.

Try Fodors forum if Cruise Critic doesn't have what you are looking for.

This past summer I saw families with teens - a cousin of mine took her 15 year old niece on one during Christmas. There aren't many but if grandma and/or grandpa are taking them they go on the smaller ships. And thanks for the Fodor tip.

Tony,

TV audiences in this area are also inundated with Viking ad's numerous times each day. I've thought of taking a river cruise, but they don't seem to be a good deal for solo travellers. I attended a Viking presentation at one of the local travel agencies last year and asked about single supplements, since they don't show much / any information on their website or brochures on that topic.

The rep. told me that a few of their ships have single cabins, but if I wanted to travel on one of the others, I'd have to pay for two fares!!! I told her that I'm on a pension and that's NOT going to happen, so I've pretty much given up on Viking. I've looked brieflly at Ama Waterways, Tauck, Avalon, Jerry van Dyck and some of the others, but they all seem to be pricey. In addition to the fares, I believe passengers are "encouraged" to pay gratuities at the end of the cruise of about €15 per day for all the staff.

I'd like to try a river cruise but this seems to be in the same category as flying business class - at my budget level, it's not going to happen!

Ken, I agree on solo travel, especially on a ship. They really hit the solo traveler hard on exrta fees. I would not want to room with someone in an 8x10 cabin that I did not know. The RS tours do charge extra for a single room but give you the option to room with another tour member. I have done that and it worked out well. You have no tips and extra fees to contend with. On other tours, someone always has a hand out looking for a tip. Imagine I will pass on a cruise and stay with Rick's tours.

A lot of people posting here regarding their pre tip and post trip arrangements. Most common is "where is the dock located in {city}". In researching these, I usually find a statement to the effect "precise dock location is at direction of the city port authorities. Buses will be provided if it is outside of the city." Probably not an issue on the Rhine or Danube, but once you are into the smaller rivers and canals. Extremely high or low water in these narrow waterways can sometimes require substitute bus service to be provided.

We seriously considered a Viking cruise two years ago but when we did the math we figured out we could probably do about 3 weeks independently versus about 8 days on the river cruise. They sound great, but that is just too expensive. I also worry that I wouldn't mesh well with their main clientele, and the social aspect is huge to having a nice cruise (I do enjoy a Caribbean cruise in the winter, when affordable).

When I cant walk too much maybe I will look into a cruise someplace. This is the add that plays a lot in my town: http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7wvw/viking-river-cruises-see-things-differently- Its pretty good as 75% of it is filmed in Budapest and naturally that makes it popular around my house. Still I am always confused; if so much of what is worth advertising is in Budapest then why leave Budapest?

We took a week-long Danube cruise a couple of years ago, part of a longer tour in central Europe. We liked the ship, food, service, and all that, and the stops (Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, Melk, Linz, Passau). There was a well-done free walking tour at each stop, except Budapest and Vienna where they used buses. The dock for Vienna was several miles upriver from the center, but they provided a shuttle bus or you could take the streetcar. It wasn't Viking, but Luftner Cruises. My impression is that they are all pretty similar, though some ships have more amenities (like elevators) than others. Much of the travel was at night, through not so very scenic areas, the daytime cruising was beautiful. It was a great way to see things along the river that we probably couldn't have otherwise. But quite expensive compared to land-based travel, whether tour or independent.

Viking sponsors a lot on our PBS station, and as James notes they pay a lot of attention to Budapest, making you wonder why go elsewhere. But there are other fine destinations along the Danube and other rivers. The question is how much more you want to pay to see them from the water. We like ocean cruises and think they're often a good value. Not so much the rivers, for us.

Stick to the roads and rails, Tony. :-)

@Andrea,

"I also worry that I wouldn't mesh well with their main clientele"

That was one of my big concerns too, especially as a solo traveller. I'm not sure how much I'd have in common with the rich folks that can pay prices like that for cruises. Some of the deluxe cabins are $8-10K PP, which is WAY above my price level, and yet those cabins always seem to sell.

Many of our customers ( older and well to do) love Viking Cruises... in fact have never had any one say they didn't love their cruise. Its not for everyone.

I totally disagree with poster who said the Cruise Critics boards are not well set up.. I think they are exceptional.. and I have cruised 8 times( but not a river cruise) and gleaned tons of great tips and good advice from them.

I would take one if money was not an issue.. but , as noted, they are very expensive .I personally would wait till I was 60 plus at least. I realize there may be some younger folks on board.. but I believe most are older.

I have also been seeing the TV ads all the time for Viking River Cruises. I have gotten a booklet from them each month for the past 12 months. Yes, the cruises look very nice, but I would still rather not be limited to sights only along the river. For a future trip to Germany, I would prefer to travel on land, by train. Also, the river cruises are luxurious, but expensive. And the cruises turn into bus trips when the rivers are too full or too shallow. That would be a real kick in the pants to pay out the nose for a beautiful river cruise; then suddenly, the tour operators take you to a dock, where you leave the ship, get on a bus, and do the rest of the tour on the bus.

I am sold on river cruises! I love traveling with my bed in tow and spending my time sightseeing rather than dealing with the logistics of packing/unpacking, finding a hotel, transportation, etc. which consumes a big chunk of vacation time.
I've been on Grand Circle and Viking. Both have their pros and cons. I'd give a preference for GC, since their beds convert to seats and tables during the day.
Gate One, listed as budget travel, has gotten consistently the best reviews from friends, who have traveled on other cruise lines.
I got a great deal in April on Viking because we booked 3 weeks before the trip and r/t airfare from the west coast to Amsterdam was $299.

Apparently Viking does massive ads in the UK, so the bonus was getting to have dinner with Brits each evening.

I like the concept of a river cruise, however, have to agree with others in that they are very expensive and cater more to the elderly with some (lots?) of disposable income. In just looking at the ads, I don't even really see anyone on there that would be below 50-years-old, so even their ads are targeting a particular demographic.

A big part of my travel experience thus far has also been the food, and I feel like this is something I would miss out on on a river cruise situation. Also, how much time would you get in each particular city? I guess looking at the itineraries would answer that, but if it's a few hours before heading to the next dock, then that would be a con as well.

We've done independent, RS tours and a Viking cruise. After the river cruise we decided we'd stick with the former two methods until mobility becomes an issue.

Pros: Only unpack once; rooms were surprisingly decent sized
Food was uniform quality and plentiful
They moved 130 people through shore excursions efficiently and guides were quality ( with one exception)
Daily seminars on topics of interest
The extra shore excursion($) we're well worth and we wish we'd done them all
Staff were well-trained and attentive

Cons: Because we stayed on the boat, there wasn't the sense of really getting to know an area. When the ship sails, you'd better be on it.
Food was " boat food" not local food.
Only got to know a few of our fellow travelers. Many people come as groups, and with 130 people, it's easy to just stick with your group.
We were on a French river and there was only 1 staff member that was French, the captain.
More sitting, less walking
Tipping fest at the end of the trip
The lining up for meals early so you'd get the table you wanted.

This kind of travel works for lots of people and make work again for us someday. For now, it felt too much like drive-by touring.