You are in luck! Today guest blogger, Don Albrecht, is here to share 7 Important Tips in his Beginner’s Guide to European River Cruising. He shares the saga of his first river cruise and then 7 great takeaways he learned from the experience.
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European River Cruising – A Dream Delayed
As ardent fans of Masterpiece on PBS and watching all those Viking promotions, we had put European river cruising on our travel bucket list several years ago. With retirement around the corner, watching those commercials convinced us to purchase our first-ever trip to Europe and a 10-day river cruise. That was in early spring 2019 with a scheduled departure and retirement for April 2020. As you might guess, COVID-19 had other plans.
First canceled in 2020 and again in 2021, we found ourselves booked on our first “real” extended vacation without children, and our trip was confirmed. Two full years of hoping and planning prepared us for our first-ever trip to Europe and our Rhine river cruise. Seeing the tulips in Keukenhof Gardens dictated our schedule which covered the last week of April and the first week of May 2022.
Selecting a Cruise Line
We chose Viking and booked its Rhine Getaway for our big trip. Both were highly recommended by everyone we knew who had been on river cruises. We added a 2-day pre-cruise extension in Amsterdam to the 8-day cruise to Basel, Switzerland. As newbie travelers, we had Viking Air make our travel arrangements to include airport and hotel transfers, etc.
Getting There
We flew from our home airport of Corpus Christi, Texas to Bush Intercontinental in Houston. What a surprise to learn our business class tickets gave us access to United’s Polaris Lounge very close to our departure gate. Why didn’t we know about this wonderful place? We found great food and drink in this comfortable and calming atmosphere. Most of our anxieties were washed away as we prepared for our first overseas flight.
The outgoing flight to Amsterdam on United Airlines in its Polaris Business Class was nothing short of amazing. As first-time business class flyers, we marveled at the lie-flat seats, elevated service, blankets, and meals. Every aspect of the flight was better than we could have ever expected. The attentive crew and comfortable seats made the long flight to Amsterdam very relaxing and restful.
Arrival in Amsterdam
Our arrival in Amsterdam at Europe’s third-largest airport was on schedule, although making our way to baggage claim was almost overwhelming. It was a long trek through very crowded concourses. We gathered our luggage without incident and were quickly met by our Viking representative who transported us to our pre-cruise hotel. We met our first cruise couple-friends in the van on the way to the hotel.
The two-day extension in Amsterdam was very helpful in combating our jet lag. We arrived on a Sunday, and with almost no businesses open to distract us, we rested well most of that afternoon. If we had it to do over, we would not have arrived in Amsterdam on a Sunday when almost everything was closed.
The Viking European River Cruising Experience
Onboarding our ship was easy. Our luggage was already in our stateroom waiting for us. To us, the room was a bit smaller than the pictures indicated but provided all the space we needed. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the room. However, our veranda stateroom had a balcony that we used most days. Seeing a river lock up close and personal was exciting.
Dining
The food on the ship was wonderful, varied, and plentiful! Breakfast was served as a buffet with special made-to-order items. Two menus were provided for each lunch and dinner. The first was standard every meal whereas the second changed daily and highlighted regional dishes. We ate off of both and always had something we were very happy to try. Soft drinks, beer, and wine were included at lunch and dinner. We did not purchase the alcohol package and were pleased with that decision.
European River Cruising Excursions
Our excursions began the day after our arrival and all were wonderful. A few were “over-the-top” amazing! Maybe all the tour guides on river cruises are excellent or maybe we were just lucky, but their expertise and training provided insight and details that would have been difficult to get on our own. For the Rhine Getaway, the excursions to the Keukenhof Gardens, Kinderdijk Windmills, Cologne, and Colmar were exceptional.
Takeaway 1: Join The Cruise Line Facebook Group
Long before your river cruise, join a Facebook group associated with your cruise line. We joined “Viking Cruise Travelers” after our trip, upon the recommendation of other travelers. There is so much useful information shared through this social media with very little complaining, etc. We would have appreciated this information as we were planning our trip. Had we paid better attention earlier, we would have purchased tickets to tour the Anne Franke house before they were sold out. Questions about attire, room amenities, schedules, etc., are available from the cruise line, but getting this information from other travelers provided more authenticity and reassurance.
Takeaway 2: Select Your Dates Carefully
Choose your dates as carefully as your cruise line and specific cruise and associated excursions. Consider weather, season, etc. Prime tulip season is only in April and May, and the Keukenhof Gardens are only open 5-6 weeks per year. River levels fluctuate greatly and can be problematic due to dry spells during the summer.
Takeaway 3: Take Advantage of the Excursions
Sign up for every included excursion and at least some of the optional ones. We enjoyed all the included ones and purchased Keukenhof Gardens and Colmar in WWII. We particularly appreciated these two and would happily return and do these again. (The French bakery near Colmar provided the best pastries we have ever had—get two of everything!). Be aware that the difficulty level described for each excursion may be a bit deceiving. Fortunately, Viking provided some additional support for travelers with mobility issues and explained the realities of each excursion at the daily briefings. Be prepared to walk a lot on a variety of uneven surfaces.
Takeaway 4: Using the Cruise Line Air Service Has Advantages
Unless you have extensive experience traveling in Europe, use Viking Air (or a comparable service) for your flights. Having all the transfers and luggage handled for us was a wonderful benefit worth every dollar we could have saved by booking our own flights. And, we still earned travel points in our rewards programs. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for assistance or a cart if the amount of walking would be too strenuous or problematic in getting to a connecting flight in enough time.
Takeaway 5: Pack Like a Pro
Although there was plenty of storage in our stateroom for our large pieces of luggage, we could have easily packed lighter. Dress on the ship was very casual, so having a whole new “outfit” for each day was not necessary. We did not take advantage of the ship’s laundry service offered but realized we could have used it to reduce the amount of clothing we brought with us.
Takeaway 6: Credit Cards are Easy to Use
We purchased $500 in euros from our bank before our trip and returned with over $300. Euros are important for gratuities, tram fares, etc., but most businesses preferred credit cards and had “no-touch” technology options.
Takeaway 7: Enjoy Your Fellow Travelers
We were surprised at how easy it was to meet and enjoy fellow travelers on the ship. There was no assigned seating at meals and we quickly found several couples we particularly bonded with and eventually shared most of our meals with them. By mid-cruise, we felt as though we had been life-long friends and hated to say goodbye at the end of the cruise. The same goes for the warm and caring crew that worked tirelessly to make our first river cruise so enjoyable and comfortable, and only the beginning of many more.
Your European River Cruising Vacation
Bon Voyage! I wish you a safe and wonderful experience when you take your first (or second, or third) European river cruise!
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My husband and I booked with Viking twice. The first was a 15-day Grand European tour with three rivers (Rhine, Main, and Danube) from Budapest to Amsterdam. Loved every minute! I concur with every accolade shared in this post. Viking did not disappoint!
The second was an 21-day ocean cruise: the Greek Isles and the Holy Land. My only regret was too little time for the Holy Land. Again the tours and guides were knowledgeable and a delight. If I were lucky enough to tour again, I would book another river cruise. It was easier to form friendships on the smaller ship. The Viking standards were exceptional in both cases.
Thanks for sharing your fabulous experiences cruising with Viking. We love hearing from our readers and learning from each other.