Cruise travelers spend a lot of time planning what to do and what not to when they travel. Those efforts are tempered with personal variables that change from traveler to traveler. The other day I thought of the most important elements of the river cruising experience that set Viking apart from others. Through that process came five things to know about Viking River Cruises.
The Massive Viking Fleet Offers Distinct Advantages
A common but rather severe alteration to our itinerary happened on a Viking Elegant Elbe river cruise in Eastern Germany. There, the ship never moved an inch. That turned out to be one of the best travel experiences ever but was not as planned.
That Viking has more ships than other river cruise line enabled us to travel. Had we booked a different line, we would not have had that option.
Viking Has The Best Value Per Person Per Day Cost
That massive fleet of Viking Longships got to be that way by offering a comparatively superior travel value. Up until Viking’s rapid expansion, cruise travelers coming from ocean travel did not apply the same cost per person per day theory used to compare ocean travel products. Viking changed all that by utilizing the available space more efficiently with a different ship design featuring an off center hallway that brought a variety of accommodations not available on other river cruise lines.
I never thought this would apply but do the math: Viking brings more value per person per day. View Prices on Viking River Cruises
River Cruising Includes More, Viking Includes More Still
The river cruise experience, in general is a more inclusive one. Viking’s inclusions are more than other river cruise lines and they back what they do with a sincere desire to make that happen on each and every sailing. On another line, our visit for shopping with the chef in Vienna might have cost extra.
On Viking: included. Discounted Air Is A Huge Cost Savings
Book a Viking cruise a year or more in advance with totally free airfare from North America is not hard to find. After recent terrorist events stopped a number of would-be river cruisers for going, nearly every river cruise line was giving away air. That scare past, Viking continues to do so by buying huge blocks of air seats.
Right now, that adds up to free air and even more value on 2018 sailings and beyond.
Diverse And Interesting Itineraries
One would think that there would be standard itineraries that go to the places travelers want to see like clockwork and most river cruise companies do. Viking’s klout opens the door to exclusive experiences other river cruise lines can’t get close to. Never satisfied to sit still for long, Viking is always updating their experiences based on passenger feedback, evolving itineraries one would think would never change. Still, advertising and delivering are often two different things.
An onboard Viking Program Director most commonly born and raised in the part of the world where your ship sails, provides qualified continuity throughout the experience.
Chris Owen shares frank, inside information about cruise vacations on ChrisCruises.com
I could not agree more with this piece, in every respect. My wife and I just returned from the Viking Danube Waltz cruise with the Prague extension. It was the best vacation I have ever had, bar none. They will see us again, though I don’t see how they can possibly top the experience of this one. One important supplemental note: Though some might be hesitant to book far in advance (we did so about 8 months ahead of the trip), Viking offers, for free, a cancellation credit equal to your payment for a future voyage. Summary: Every single thing from booking through final transfer exceeded my expectations and my expectations were high.