10 Reasons to take a Viking River boat cruise on a longship include luxury, excellent service, local guides, and much more! I could go on and on. After taking three Viking River boat cruises, here are my top ten reasons why I have booked yet another riverboat cruise with them.
Let’s start with the list, then get down to the fun stuff.
- Luxury accommodations
- Excellent customer service
- Attention to detail
- Local guides
- Variety of destination
- Included excursions at each port of call
- Personalized service
- Pre and post-cruise extensions
- Viking Daily
- Opportunity to meet like-minded travelers
Luxury Accommodations on your Viking Longship.
River cruising on a Viking longship is truly cruising at its finest. From comfy beds, balcony staterooms, and top-of-the-line room amenities, there is little more a tired traveler could ask for upon arriving at your chosen longship. Words are great, but this video of the Viking Longship Sineus for our Ukraine adventure paints a full picture for you!
But wait, there is more!
Meal choices always include a set menu and a special menu with local specialties. Need a pair of trousers laundered? No problem! Luxury accommodations may be an important consideration for you, trust me, Viking delivers.
Another reason to cruise with Viking River Cruise is the excellent customer service.
Can you imagine walking into the lounge or casino on one of those cruise ships the size of cities, and having the host call you by name? Or arranging your dream excursion, even if it’s not listed on the choice of activities? How about having the ship’s Program Director sit down and ask you personally for feedback on your experience? Or arranging excursions to match activity levels.
When you are cruising on a Viking longship, these are all reasonable expectations. In fact, these are Viking standards for the river cruise experience.
Expect attention to detail on your Viking River Cruise.
Viking’s attention to detail starts long before your river cruise begins. From receiving detailed instructions for your travel itinerary, videos, and reading material to prepare for your long-awaited cruise, and detailed longship descriptions and diagrams that help with knowing what to expect in your stateroom. All these and more help travelers prepare for their Viking experience.
But it doesn’t stop there. Your Viking host greets you at the airport and coordinates airport-to-ship transfers. Personalized check-in is easy. If you arrive in the morning before staterooms are ready, relax in the lounge or explore the city with maps provided by Viking.
During the cruise, expect to be called by name. To be assisted with any special request. Don’t be surprised if the dining staff already knows which items you will select, based on your previous choices. Really, they are that good!
Local guides are one of my favorite parts of the Viking experience.
Who could top the farmer’s daughter hosting the Austrian beer-tasting event, the Hungarian girl talking about her childhood under Communist rule, or our Austrian guide taking you to Hell? WHAT!!!!
Lena, on the left, was our Ukrainian guide preparing us to enter the Odessa Catacombs – very appropriate as she grew up in Odessa.
In Cologne, a local showed us the swastikas carved into the cathedral tower walls on a behind-the-scenes tour and told the story about why they weren’t erased.
Would you enjoy having a local miller teach you about UNESCO-protected windmills in the Netherlands, making a traditional black forest cake right in front of you, or giving you directions to the best cake in Breisach? Ye did, and these are the types of experiences you can expect from Viking Guides.
Excursions with local guides are one of my favorite reasons to take a Viking River Cruise.
Where do you want to visit? A Viking experience can get you there.
We have chosen to experience Viking while cruising on a longship, but they also have ocean cruises.
Where do you want to go? We’ve visited the Danube River Valley, experienced Nuremberg, beer-making in Regensburg, Mozart in Vienna, and an amazing experience in Budapest.
Cruising on a longship down the Dnieper in Ukraine was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some of the sights we enjoyed no longer exist as we saw them.
On our most recent river cruise, we explored Basel, the city of three countries, the little-known gem of Breisach, and well-known destinations like Strasbourg, Cologne, and Amsterdam. Our wish list includes Thailand, Portugal, Norway, and Antarctica.
What other cruise line can get you all these experiences? None that I know of! These are some of my favorite reasons to take a Viking River Cruise. Believe me, you deserve a Viking River cruise!
Too much information?
There’s more.
On a Viking River Cruise, in general, longships sail at night and dock in the city during the day. This means you can spend the day exploring instead of being stuck on the boat. An excursion is included at each port of call at no extra charge (with those local guides of course!).
Staff doesn’t just pay attention to detail, they personalize service to each guest. Special request for your in-stateroom refrigerator, no problem! For dinner reservations at a famous restaurant, just let them know. Cruise not long enough for you? Choose a pre or post-cruise extension. That’s how we got to explore Vienna, Budapest, and Amsterdam on our own.
Maybe you want to learn more about each port of call. Attend the captain’s briefing or read the daily Viking newspaper delivered to your stateroom. Literally, however, you want it, you get it.
Now for my second favorite reason to take a Viking River Cruise – fellow guests.
Papa Joe and I are lifelong learners. On these cruises, we often meet others wanting to learn more about the world around them. Learn about the history of a famous destination AND learn why it is still special today. On our most recent Rhine Getaway, we found younger travelers, which broadened our ability to meet different people.
We enjoy meeting the guides, as well as talking to locals while exploring the towns we are docked in. Explore, explore, explore! That should be Viking’s mantra. It’s not, but I’m adopting it for them!
You may be asking how to book one of these amazing river cruises.
It’s not difficult.
Visit the Viking website, check out my cruise planning post, or email me at DynamicDenise@TravelAcrossTheWorld.com. My travel agency would be happy to help you explore the world with Viking! Be daring, take the first step, and the entire world is at your fingertips.
Leave a Reply