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Other dining options included the Aquavit Terrace that served lighter fare food, and the Lounge which had drinks and snacks available all day. In-room refrigerators were stocked with bottled water daily. We sailed past this spectacular 430 foot Lorelei Rock where legend has it that the beautiful maiden Lorelei sunk the ships of distracted sailors.
Viking Rhine River Cruise: Best For First-Time Cruisers
Spend time in historic Bergen, a city with deep Viking roots. Experience the highlights of the legendary Rhine in just 8 days. In Germany, sail past castles commanding the riverbanks, and tour both Marksburg Castle and the ruins of Heidelberg Castle. Admire Cologne, the jewel of the Rhine, with its awe-inspiring Dom, and witness the lush landscape of the Black Forest region. Explore Holland’s famous windmills and waterworks, and encounter multicultural Strasbourg in France. To learn more about each port of call and our included as well as optional excursions, click on the individual days below.
DAY 3 Cologne, Germany
While there is much to see and do, Randy and I found the cruise to be well-paced. Viking expertly coordinated every detail of the daily Viking Rhine River excursions. On this cruise we experienced minimal wait times, comfortable transport, and quality guides. There are lots of optional night tours too like the popular Cologne’s Beer Culture Dinner but we enjoyed touring the beer halls on our own so we were happy to eat dinner on the ship. If you want more relaxed, casual food with perhaps a table for just 2, the Aquavit upstairs is a great alternative. We had lunch a couple times there and it’s quite nice to see the river views and sit outside.
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Land of cuckoo clocks, fruit elixirs, and its namesake hams and cakes — the Black Forest seems like a place dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm for their fairy tales. Read more about what to expect when visiting Germany’s Black Forest with Viking River Cruises. You'll also visit Breisach, the gateway to the fabled Black Forest region which is particularly magical in wintertime.
Castles & cathedrals
Our Viking program director gave a guided audio tour along the way, pointing out castles left and right. You can choose to start or end the 12-day Paris to the Swiss Alps itinerary with two days in the French capital or the largest Swiss city of Zurich, nestling on a shimmering lake. A comfortable motor coach transfer will take you to and from your Viking ship. There's no better way to enjoy cities than on a Viking river cruise where your comfortable Longship is your floating boutique hotel. Sailing from one destination to the next at a leisurely pace, instead of traffic-filled highways you will admire an ever-changing panorama of riverside scenery. The Rhine is Germany's largest wine producing area and Viking shore excursions provide plenty of opportunities for tastings in between sailing through glorious landscapes.
Rates are in USD and valid for US and Canadian residents only. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. There is one free excursion per port included in the cruise fare. It tends to be a 2-3 hour morning overview of an area, often a walking tour.
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A Fabulous Rhine River Getaway With Viking River Cruises - Daily Meal
A Fabulous Rhine River Getaway With Viking River Cruises.
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The post tour was in Luzern and the additional paid tour was probably the best tour of the entire cruise..although quite expensive, but it lasted 10 hours. The included shore excursion this morning is a scenic coach ride through Germany’s Black Forest Region. You will motor past quaint villages, farms, and forests on your way up into the mountains. Later in the day, you will travel to the town of Speyer, Germany.
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We elected to take the top of the cathedral tour in Cologne and it was breath taking ( if not scary to be on top of the roof of the tallest Gothic church in Europe ). Also the Colmar tour has made us really want to take the RS Eastern France tour as a result...so beautiful. The wine tasting tour was excellent as well the evening out tours with music and dinner..I don't think we could have done any of these ourselves. To be fair, I never heard anyone complain about the optional tours, however, I'm not sure I would have been happy with them because of the cost. Viking will tell you their price includes airport transfers.
My favorite part of our floor was the coffee & espresso bar to grab pastries and java any time of day. I helped myself to endless madeleines and double dark chocolate muffins. The ships are well designed to really maximize space and cabins feature a giant closet and tons of drawers to put away your clothes, should you wish to fully unpack.
It often docked within walking distance of port cities or within a short bus ride (there was no tendering into port). Onboard rocking was minimal and there was little-to-no seasickness. The upper deck of the ship has a clear overhang making it perfect for being able to take in the sights while staying dry. Viking handed out a map of the castles and Sara, our Program Director, gave commentary over the loud speaker. If you want to see the castles up close and personal, pack a pair of binoculars. You may be wondering is it worth getting a balcony on a river cruise and I can definitely say it was amazing!
Europe Is Reopening For Vaccinated Travelers: See It Via These Viking River Cruises - Forbes
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This is an included tour so it costs no extra money! It is such a spectacular sight to behold and straight out of a fairytale. Our local guide took us into a working windmill where families still live today. The cruise also takes in ports along the lesser-known Moselle, which joins the Rhine at Koblenz. Quieter and narrower than the Rhine, the tributary winds through wine-growing regions that were first cultivated in Roman times.
In that case you may want to consider an optional tour that gives you more shore time. We looked at doing some Moselle wine tasting on our own from Koblenz. There was not enough free time to use the bus to get to the closest wine town, a taxi might work. You will have to look at the amount of free time you have that day. In the morning, visit the city of Cologne, Germany for a walking tour. The highlight of the tour is the magnificent gothic Cologne Cathedral in the Old City.
Basel is an underrated tourist attraction and the third largest city in Switzerland. The town has a gorgeous Medieval center and plenty of world-class art museums. Viking also offers the same route in reverse, from Amsterdam to Basel so you can pick either option. For a couple stops on the journey, boats running in opposite cities are docked together. I would recommend this trip if you enjoy small colorful towns, World War II history and good food. Colleen Lanin, MBA, is the founder and editor Travel Mamas and Grownup Getaways.
We found that without assigned seating if you did not arrive early, you were apt to be ‘stuck’ at a table of folks traveling in a group. We quickly found a few other couples to make up a table, and these became our dining companions for the rest of the trip. This is common on river cruises no matter which company you choose but it’s definitely something I want you to know before you go. We opted to extend our stay in Europe after the cruise. Viking offers both pre and post extensions, which are a fun way to see more of Europe and combine the best of both worlds (guided group tours with individual trips). There’s generally an opportunity to sight see in the morning and afternoon, with one included tour and one optional tour.
So I recommend booking airfare through Viking (after doing a price comparison on your own, of course). It seems the company has relationships with partner airlines and is able to typically find flights cheaper than you can do on your own. Enjoying the comfort of a luxurious ship without worrying about transportation from town to town and only unpacking once. The nice thing about this stop is the ship can dock right into town, so you can join the tour or explore on your own.
Internet service is a slower than usual, as it’s satellite service on the river and therefore inherently slower. Each ship has a giant painting of the Nordic god at the top of the main staircase, dedicated to the deity it’s named after. Everyone still has to be back on board at the same time, so for certain port stops, you would get much less time in town if you were part of the last disembarkation group.
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