My husband would like to take his mother and her husband on a Viking Tour, looking at May 2023. They are in their 80’s. She is very much in shape, better than most 50 year olds, he not so much.
If anyone has ever done one, what are your thoughts? I’m thinking Paris-Budapest is an option.
Do you mean a River Cruise?
If you don't want to have to pay a 'single supplement' - I recommend Tauck over Viking for MANY MANY reasons - one, there is no single supplement and two, it is ALL INCLUSIVE - meaning all tours, excursions, tips, port charges, unlimited alcohol is included - by the time you add it all together - it's about the same price for a MUCH better experience. Either way, you are in Europe and both are great - we just LOVE Tauck the best. Feel free to PM me if needed.
EDIT -- sorry, I just saw her husband it going too - so no single supplement needed. We still love Tauck better for the food, experience, service, excursions, etc - we also like Uniworld and AMA a little better than Viking. Viking is the best known as it advertises the most - it is considered 3 star. We go on a River Cruise every year and love them. Esp the Christmas Market River Cruises. The ships are smaller and you can request a room closest to lobby/lounge/dining area. There is a lot of walking on the tours, but you don't have to go on them - you could also take the bus into town and hang out in a coffee/pastry shop if the walking is too much. Or you can stay on the boat in the lounge. They offer shuttles back all day long to the boat, so you don't have to spend a full day in town.
What are you concerns? A river boat is much smaller so you don't the distances involved going to dinner, on and off the boat etc., The river boat will have less than two hundred people so it is much quieter. Viking throws in a half day tour at each stop. Generally they are walking tours but you have options and there is almost always a bus tour. We have been on two Viking tours and enjoyed both of them and especially the people we met.
Yes, I meant a River cruise. So, each stop is just a half day, like regular cruise ships in port? I thought maybe you’d have an entire day. I was just wondering what they were like, no concerns yet. I will be k out those others, too.
It depends on the city. One problem with full day tours is that we had some Viking ones where we spent too much time in traffic returning to the ship for lunch. Of course there are some passengers who don't really want to eat-local. But I think it's also a matter of money for a second lunch in the daytrip price. In China, Viking (river, not sea ... ) used specific restaurants (very safe hygiene, for example) integrated with a huge jewelry store and a huge rest-room facility as a midday stop. Like the idea or not, it was very efficient.
I know you're talking about Europe, but I'm just saying there are different kinds of river cruises, even within just Viking. Something similar happened with Viking in Russia for us, years ago.
We have done 4 river cruises and love them.
Never used Viking, but I know many that say they are excellent.
We have done 3 river cruises with Vantage World Travel and one with AMA Waterways.
We did
Russian River cruise
China with a 4 day river cruise
The Rhone/Saone Rivers in SE France
The Douro River in northern Portugal,
There are many river cruise companies, and it is best to compare prices and itineraries.
Viking always has competitive prices. Also, consider Uniworld, AMA Waterways, Vantage, Emerald, Gate 1, Avalon and Scenic.
https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/comparisons/
It's my impression (I've never cruised) that the river cruises generally do stop for a full day at each port. It's just that the included local tours may run for just half a day. As noted upthread, one reason for that is that lunch back on the ship is included in the ticket price. You'd miss out on that covered meal if you were away from the ship all day. There's nothing to stop a traveler from doing that, though, or from returning to the ship for lunch and then doing more city sightseeing in the afternoon. <-- That's all "as I understand it", since I've never experienced it myself.
Most stops are a full day, but it totally depends on the itinerary for the town and if they have to take off early for some day cruising. Usually off the boat right after the amazing breakfast - bus or walk to town - tour with group for the town highlights, history, cathedrals, sometimes a demo - then around lunchtime - the tour is over and the rest of the day is free to explore on your own - with frequent shuttles back to the boat till nighttime - you return to the boat when you are ready. Another benefit of Tauck is they often take you out to a local restaurant for lunch, or give you Euros to buy lunch, or provide you with regional snacks - or you can always take the shuttle back to the boat for lunch. We have always felt like we had ample time in the towns. The breakfast is so huge and so is the dinner - that lunch isn't always necessary, but Tauck will be sure you are taken care of. Viking, AMA, Uniworld town times have always been about the same on the ones we've been on. We go yearly (except these past two years due to Covid), but we will be going in Dec of this year and have one booked for 2023 already. It's a great way to see lots of quaint European towns without having to unpack a lot. We always stay another week after the cruise ends on our own.
Viking does better at commercials and advertising in general, and that's about it, for reasons aforementioned.
Travelling with Viking River Cruises, we did Danube Waltz about 9 years ago with 2 other couples and liked it very much. I would suggest you look carefully at the stops each cruise makes, as I suspect what they see is very important. Also, it is certainly possible to add several days at one end of the trip or the other since, for instance one day in Paris might not be enough. I do not see a Paris-Budapest option, but I do see several that start or end in Paris.
Our experience was that after breakfast, you boarded a bus for a tour, (2/3 hours) that introduced you to the city and usually was very well done (they used local guides). At the end of that, you could return to the ship on the bus or you could stay in the city and sightsee on your own. We often opted to stay in the city for the rest of the day and often chose to have dinner off the ship as well. Each stop was usually a day long with the ship travelling at night to the next destination.
The rooms were fine, the ship was small and there were only 92 passengers. It was lovely. The staff was certainly familiar with taking care of elderly cruisers. I am not sure how well a wheelchair dependent traveler would do, but slow walking or cane using traveler would do just fine. You really have a great deal of control over how you spend your day and a bus outing followed by a return to the ship for a lovely lunch and then some time to read or enjoy the view on the rooftop deck really is pretty darn good.
Follow up to my earlier posting. Viking is generally full day at the stop. The basic idea is that you have a half day tour -- sort of an orientation -- and the rest of the days is yours till the ship leave and that can be from 5pm till midnight depending on the schedule. Often the tour will end in town and we stay for a light lunch in town. If the ship is beyond walking distance, Viking always had a late bus pick up point in town to get you back to the ship. And a couple of times we have just taken a taxi back to the boat.
We did a Viking River cruise (Rhine Getaway, Basel to Amsterdam) in 2017. We enjoyed the cruise very much.
As mentioned, there was an included excursion at each stop. There were also optional excursions (wine tastings, special tours, etc) that you could add for an extra cost. Some days we did the included and an optional excursion. Some days we jumped off the ship as soon as it docked and spent the day on our own. They also offered some ‘slow paced’ walking tours for those who needed more time.
Viking is very much customer focused and treated us very well. We’ve done several Viking Ocean cruises and are planning another river and an expedition cruise in 2022 and 2023.
I'm only posting again because I just got a subscription newsletter that mentioned Seine cruises, and Viking. This is a very high-end newsletter where I never expected to read about Viking. But they found that the all-new (?) Viking Radgrid had enough touches of luxury for their exalted taste (!), and that it will compete effectively with their previous preference, Uniworld.
I'll also note that the Radgrid itinerary they mention sounds perfect for Americans who mistakenly think that the D-Day beaches are a subway ride from Paris, and who really want to get there without substantial effort. (I don't like to use boats to get somewhere "better" visited by Independent land travel, but that's a personal preference.)
Viking ... will be predominantly Americans. Americans are their market. You will meet people from all over the United States but few fellow passengers from other countries. Many of the people will be repeat customers. Consider that a good sign.
The free excursions may be walking tours of a couple hours. They give you a good overview of history, architecture and major sites.
Depending on the journey ... some of the side-trip tours meet the ship up/downstream from your port. I did not find this to be a problem. If a side-trip was over lunch, Viking Excursion included a served (not boxed) lunch. We never paid for a lunch while on an excursion. If you elect to not take an excursion but spend the day in town, lunch is on you. Depending on the port, ANY river ship may be a long walk. In Vienna it was easily 6 blocks to a subway. Then, a subway ride to city center.
Every port is different.
On excursions Viking did a good job of curating the Guide companies and the guides. Some were downright delightful!
OP, some people are happy to stay on board. Mobility issues would not be any better or worse than other mode of touring. For some excursions it will be a difficulty. Others, no so much.
One other note. Several of the other ships I saw had their dining rooms on the first deck. Viking dining was one level higher. As we passed one ship we were looking down on them. :)
Food ..... was good. Some people complained. Others praised it. For us, the "American menu" was the worst of the food. the free Wine selections were good. A good paid Wine list. At the bar, 10 different Single Malts.
I traveled with my parents on several Viking river cruises, the most recent four years ago when mom was 89. In some cities there was a choice of a "low activity level" included tour-basically a bus tour wirh several stops to step inside sites rather than a walking tour. The included tours ended before lunch; that usually allowed time in the afternoon for independent exploration. Viking's concierge staff were very helpful in arranging taxis when needed; one cruise director guided us to nearby biergarten while in Berlin. (Didn't see anyone we recognized from the cruise while there.)
If anyone in your group is celebrating a birthday or anniversary during your trip be sure to notify the cruise company in advance. My parents still talk about their experiences on these cruises!
