Our stay in Budapest ended with a check-in to our Viking cruise on the Danube, which we did at our hotel. In the Budapest article, we told you about everything we did in the city including the tour offered as part of our Viking cruise. So this article is just about the cruise itself and how we came to be on the Viking Lif. All about the ports in the next articles.
Why We Chose To Take A Viking River Cruise
About a year ago, I was visiting with my father. We had a pleasant chat, about some of our recent travel experiences. He had read about our unsatisfactory transatlantic cruise on MSC the prior spring. After our MSC experience, my father frequently suggested Diana and I consider a trip with Viking River Cruises. He wanted us to enjoy a river cruise as he had.
By the time we had this sit down, his body was failing him. He knew his time was limited, but he had chosen to spend some of that time looking into cruise options for us. He then presented a large packet containing the complete list of current Viking cruises worldwide, with full itineraries and descriptions. I said I knew many people enjoyed taking Viking river cruises, but they were kind of expensive.
Finally, in his hoarse, weakened voice, he said: “Forget what it costs, take some of your inheritance from me and Take The Viking Cruise!” Here, sitting in front of me, was my father, mustering his strength to speak out and plead with me from his deathbed to go on a cruise. I just had to laugh. It seemed like a scene from a comedy movie, this dying wish of his. I told him how his request came across and he started to laugh, too. It was the last good laugh we shared and I will always cherish it. So, naturally, to honor his plea, we had to take our first Viking River Cruise.
Days On The Danube
After a thorough review of all of the offerings, we opted for a 10-day cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest, places entirely new to me and mostly new to Diana. As seems to be normal these days, the “10-day” cruises are comprised of seven nights on the ship and one night extra in a hotel on each end. Land tours are arranged in these first and last cities as well.
Given I had not experienced this “book-ending” on a cruise before, it only made sense to me upon reflection. It allows the cruise provider to extract more money out of guests for these extra nights while also providing a buffer for guests to still be on the ship for all seven nights in case their arrival and departure plans are disrupted. It can mean extra transfers to and from the chosen hotels, but not for us as we opted to extend our stays on either end in the same hotel.
The Lif, Our Home For Seven Nights
We were supposed to be on a different ship, but a couple of weeks before embarking, we got a note from HQ. They apologized and said our original vessel had a mechanical issue and we would be accommodated on the Lif instead. These were, in fact, identical ships, so I’m not really sure why the apology. Neither our stateroom nor the facilities would be any different. Of course, compared to any ocean-going vessel, these ships are tiny.
I should note I have heard of issues of low water on river cruises in prior years. It reportedly happened when the ship was unable to traverse certain parts of a river. Guests had to be bussed from their ship to an entirely different ship further along the river. It’s even possible they would have to take long bus trips to visit ports in between. Thankfully, none of this happened to us, but it is something to be wary of.
Having said that, the Danube is flooding in Budapest as I write this. I imagine cruises have been interrupted and canceled in many places along the river. Although Viking will probably try to make their guests while on the cruise. However, those who booked their own air to Budapest will probably be at the mercy of whatever insurance they may have arranged. I wish those poor souls luck.
Personal Space
The stateroom we chose was cozy, as is typical for river ships. Even though the cabin was small it was fairly comfortable. We had booked our cruise several months in advance, so we had a decent selection of rooms to choose from. Although we upgraded to get a balcony, we used it rarely. We have decided to try a room without a full balcony in case we cruise again, especially if it means a little more interior space.
One bitch I have about the experience was the WiFi availability. We were permitted two, non-streaming devices at a time per stateroom, period. Even then, the Wifi coverage on the river was frequently bad. Given the overall cost and the availability of satellite service, I would think the tour operators could provide better service. On the plus side, because of our local eSIMs, we had decent coverage as long as we were on a stretch of river near a town. This was the case most of the time.
The Onboard Experience
The amenities were nice, but limited. There was one lounge, one small outside deck for eating/drinking, and one restaurant. No gym, no pool. The top deck had a fair number of deck chairs and some shade, but nothing else. The lack of amenities on the ship didn’t impact us much because, after our free tours every day, we just wanted to rest.
The lounge was the center of activity on the ship. I appreciated the pianist who played there frequently. We were told live music was uncommon on river ships these days. Any ship-wide announcements were communicated in the lounge. I enjoyed the port briefings, too. As we traversed the Balkans on our cruise, the cruise director frequently touched on how the perspective on the regional challenges was different in our next port.
Shore Leave
We opted for a port-side stateroom, recalling the port view on an ocean-going vessel often had a more interesting view. As it happened, the ship almost always docked on the starboard side. This meant our view usually faced the river, which turned out to be better. Given the river ships are not tall, a port view would have exposed our window to an adjacent quay, making privacy challenging.
As river ports are usually small and crowded, sometimes we were docked alongside another ship. This would have also made privacy an issue in the mornings. To get off the ship, we had to cross through another ship. We were used to this from our Croatian cruise a couple of summers ago. One day, we took the opportunity to get a tour of an AMA Waterways ship, since we were walking through anyway. It compared favorably to Viking. Should we cruise another river, we may give AMA a go.
The cruise included a decent, fairly engaging tour in every port of call. Often, the included tours were low effort, attesting to the advanced average age of the guests. We chose a mix of free tours, upgraded tours for a price, and even just walking around on our own, depending on how the offerings suited us. We will cover specific port experiences in our next posts.
Dining On Board
Being foodies, we felt the food was decent, but rarely anything to write home(or an article) about. Certainly MUCH better than MSC and about on par with the standard dining on our Celebrity cruise. The menu often included a dish or two commonly found in our port of call. I appreciated that more than Diana since she didn’t care for any of the local food, anyway.
Food service for a large group can be a challenge because strong flavors are bound to put somebody off, so the offerings are often a bit bland. This really became evident at our last meal. We were sitting with some friends we made onboard and an off-the-menu, out-of-the-blue dish arrived for them: chicken adobo, a Philippine specialty. It seems our new friend, Jane, a Philippine-American, made a special request to the Filipino chef for this dish. I did manage to get a taste and it was wonderful, full of flavor. So good. Note to self: consider making such special requests to the chef on a future cruise.
Final Thoughts
Our river cruise experience worked out because it allowed us to get to know a new region without having to take on the logistics of planning for ourselves (really, Diana planning for us). This would have been even harder given the limited English we encountered in what used to make up much of Yugoslavia. It is a fascinating place to learn their history, culture, and customs.
Still, we won’t be rushing to line up the next cruise. We have become accustomed to our slow travel pace, spending more days in a given place. The day-after-day “get up early for your tour” cruise pace can be a grind. But, there is something to be said for not having to pack and unpack every time you move. We will look again at cruising when the itinerary is best served on the water. I’m sure it will happen again, sometime. And when it does, we’ll try to go in style, as my father wished.
Which river cruises appeal to you?
