Aug 9
We picked up our bagged breakfasts and gave back all the
liquids since they couldn’t go past security. That left pastries and 2 wraps.
It took about 45 minutes without traffic at that hour, and
we were at the airport. (only us for the transfer)
I accidentally forgot
to pack my scissors in my checked luggage, however they measured them and said
I could keep them. Phew! The plane left on time, and everything went well until
we hit Frankfurt.
We had a 4-hour layover in Frankfurt. Unfortunately, it was a tiny terminal with only 2 snack bars with pastries and cold sandwiches. Flight didn’t leave until 2:00
I have 2 words for our experience in Frankfurt. GOAT RODEO. After going through passport control & security we had to go through passport control and security again and yet again. Everyone got scanned and patted down. It is the first time I have ever had anyone have me lift my shirt so she could pull out the waist of my jeans and look down them before jamming her hand down there. Greg said he had to take off this belt so they could do the same to him. Both of my bags were flagged. They took the scissors and literally opened or touched everything in both the carryon and backpack.
We got some sandwiches since the breakfast box the hotel gave us didn’t have much in it. Most was liquid and we had to toss that. So, we were left with a wrap and a bunch of stale pastries. Threw out most of it.
We sat and walked the small area unit time to board. Then they announced that everyone had to vacate the waiting area and go out and have their passports verified again before boarding the plane. Huge mess and many tried to stay in the waiting area. They rounded up everyone before they started the process. Then they announced anyone with kids would go first. I’m sure they meant small children that needed extra assistance but, even nearly grown kids were in the line. We wondered if the recent bomb threat at the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna had them on high alert or what the deal was.
I did pick up a magnet for Germany since when we visited, I didn't have time to find one during our tour.
Final Thoughts:
Viking:
Viking was mostly a positive experience. They are well organized and adjusted times of lunch and dinner to match tour times even if they changed on the day. Not much to complain about.
A big plus was it’s all adults - no one under 18 can be onboard.
Meals were geared to
the American palate, with a nightly regional menu that you could mix and match
from either menu. The food was quite good & always fresh and hot. Dining
service could be slow but considering we pretty much all arrived at once they
did a great job. Most were personable and eager to please.
There are no casinos or nightly elaborate shows. They did however bring on some regional performers for folkloric shows that were fantastic. They also had occasional local beer tastings, and games like music trivia, liars club etc.
Since we were visiting Eastern Bloc countries, we had a couple of talks where you could ask a panel of various staff members of varying ages on their views of communism and what life was like for them during that time. (or their parents of they were young)
Viking includes a tour in every port. Generally, a good overview type tour. In some of the small ports it was all that was needed.
There were also tours at an additional cost if you wanted. Those were all well done. It's good to book them advance as some did sell out. Some had availability on board to book on the spot. Guides are always hit and
miss on any tour (even private ones I organize), but most were good. Some were
boring guides that acted like they were reading monotoned from a book compared
to the ones that were excited and told stories that made you want to listen to
them. (plus, we all have certain types of guides that we prefer)
All the evening dinner and folkloric tours were very well done.
Hana (cruise & tour director) was great with her port talks and adding buses when needed for some tours. She came in every night and circled the room to the song Pretty Woman. She was always working with the local guides to make sure every tour was handled properly.
Dress code:
Resort casual day or night. It did state shirts with collars and no shorts at dinner, but no one was turned away. Sometimes a tour ran right into dinner with no time to change. No one cared how you showed up.
Passengers:
Obviously, passengers will be different on every sailing, but we had an “interesting” mix on this one. I imagine most river cruises are skewed towards an older passenger base. Friends that have done several Viking River cruises said this was quite a different passenger base than previous cruises.
I know river cruises are casual (and we like that), but most were dressed like they were going to Walmart. (things we wear to be comfy at home) We aren’t fancy dressers, but it was surprising to see what some of these people wore on tours. Again, not that I care, just an observation.
Many whiners and complainers. It was mostly an older crowd and many with walking issues. There were a few younger couples on board but not many. We did meet some very nice people and a few royal pains. Having them on multiple tours became tiring. Though, sometimes you just had to laugh.
We had a Mrs. “I have to be first, sit in the front seat of the vehicle on every tour, get my photo taken with every performer and on and on.
There were two couples that had to voice every thought out loud. Mostly bickering with each other or complaining about something, just never a quiet moment.
Another couple that was always last and held up the tour.
The people that refused to take the leisure tours, so they held up the regular tours.
The one guy that had to correct and even argue some minuscule fact with most tour guides. He was always kind of loud and blustery. We spoke with him at a few meals, and he was pretty knowledgeable as was his wife and he didn't act like that.
Much more could have
been seen on most days with a private tour. There was a LOT of time spent
explaining the same thing multiple times and then answering the questions
asking the same things that had been explained multiple times.
All of the above is par for the course (more or less) when you are in large group tours. (and of course on private tours when you don’t know them before touring together) However, on the river cruise portion there really is no way to set up a private tour since things change often and you don’t have any exact times to deal with. Now, in hindsight we could set up private tours for the pre and post portions of the cruise.
On our second to last breakfast, we sat next to a couple complaining to the server. They were friends traveling together in separate cabins. They couldn’t understand why they had to each pay double for one person occupying a double cabin. Told him they’d never go on Viking again. While they have every right to complain, it’s not like the waiter could do anything about it. Admitted they had a fabulous experience but refuse to pay double again. Of course, they knew all that upfront when they booked. I just felt bad for the waiter who of course was busy and needed to go and he couldn’t do anything to help them.
We enjoyed the special Balkan dinner but while waiting to disembark we overheard one couple say when they filled out their survey that they rated it the worst. It was just so bad. We loved it. Honestly, if they didn’t like that sort of thing, I’m sure Viking would have found them a burger or something.
We booked this cruise solely on itinerary. It’s a part of Europe that was new for us. Every country was new except Croatia and those river ports were new as well. Our country count is now 103. (Greg has a couple more than I do) This was even more special since we traveled with good friends Cathy & Tom.
We seem to prefer the smaller ships since consistently we experience better food & service.
We will book more cruises on Viking. I have my eye on one that includes Switzerland and another that has a post trip to Poland. (will add 2 more countries) While we are seeking to add countries, we are also interested to see new places and learn more about them through travel.
We would also like to try out Viking's Ocean Voyages as well.
I am sure that I forgot many things as I took no notes on this trip. (unusual for me) It was touring every day and I wanted to just enjoy it. So, as always so sorry if I mislabeled something, spelled something wrong and of course I’m the queen of run on sentences and misplaced commas.
Thanks for following
along on our journeys.
