Viking needs to step up it's communication, in all forms. The few missteps we had resulted from this. Unfortunately on a 7 day trip, 3 unexpected things stand out disproportionately. Glad we did a river cruise, but I think for us once was enough. (Also see review of Koblenz)
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Apparently Viking was supposed to send us (and our travelling companions who booked separate) an email or text telling where the boat would be docked. So we started at the possible places listed on our paperwork and with a gradually 'unhappy' driver we finally found the boat in the 3rd/last location. We were happy to see the boat... BUT.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Understanding that this is not a large ship or a restaurant that serves a certain amount of people at a certain time, we thought the food and selection were very good. I can't think of a poor meal at any time of day.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
There really should be a "not applicable" button for this category on a river cruise boat... although the best onboard activity was watching the scenery go by, transiting a lock or having a chat with the captain as he steers you up the river.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Entertainment was limited but something was available frequently.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent. We found we liked our service staff and always went to their tables. Vert nice people and very efficient.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Not moch to say about a river boat. rooms at one end food and lounge at the other.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
I think everyone would like a few more square feet, but I feel this type/size cabin was adequate. Not sure I'd say the same about the French balcony. Bed was comfortable although we ask for an extra topper. Cabin was always clean.
Ship tip
If you have any question about some instruction, don't assume anything. Make sure all of their instructions, arrival pier, shore excursion everything and anything else are to your understanding. We did'nt and those were the low points of the trip.
Took a tour offered by the UNESCO museum at the site (a 5 minute walk from where the boat docks). Took the hop on hop off boat and toured two windmills. Much less cost than the Viking barge tour.
We took the afternoon shuttle bus (which would have been nice to know about a bit earlier) to the Cathedral. Had a nice walk about and look inside then back to the boat.
This is where the cruise "itinerary" on Viking's website gets a little blurry... "Proceed along the Rhine, disembarking for a walking tour of Koblenz". Where we disembarked wasn't anywhere near where you could take a walking tour. Don't remember exactly where we docked, but it was across the river and a bus ride from town. This is where I think I start to understand Vikings 'included' tour a each stop. Because there are now so many boats on the Rhine, very few get the prime downtown parking spots. So, advertise a town, park slightly (or far) away and bus in. Good business model but not so good for the traveler likes to do a more independent type of city visit.
Pretty much a disaster. Once again the afternoon shuttle bus reappeared. I decided to take it in with my cousins' wife (he had walked in earlier (about 50min) to the cathedral. I had a map, I had the bus schedule, just one tiny thing wasn't right. The plaza that the guy on the ship had circled as where the bus would take us - wasn't. The bus dropped us a some place called "Gare Routière de Strasbourg", the bus station. It was only a 15 min walk but we expected 2 blocks. We crossed a river and followed several people from the bus but started to get shaky when after 3 more blocks were weren't there. Having no idea were we really were we returned to the bus stop and with the help of some local folk determined that if you turned the map over to the larger scale side they found the bus stop. Since by then there wasn't a lot of time before the next bus and we weren't really sure what was going on, we called my cousin to walk to the bus stop and meet us. Turned out that the plaza on the map was were people were to meet a guide (maybe it was made for the earlier walking tour?). Not a good one.
Took the Black Forest tour. Turned out to be a nice bus (Viking has it's out fleet of Viking busses) ride to a kind of nice place with some demonstrations that was basically a stop for you to buy something (which of course we did). Not sure what I expected, but maybe something a little more 'black foresty' (whatever that means.
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