Monday, April 1, 2024

Treasures of the Rhine 2024 Itinerary Amsterdam to Basel Viking®

viking cruise amsterdam to basel

I'd suggest waiting till you get on board and look at wine and bar list before deciding if you want to buy the package. Drinks not covered by the package are marked with an asterisk. I believe it is called the Silver Spirits package and you can buy it at the bar when you first board. Probably can buy it ahead of time but we have twice done it onboard. We were at Breisach on a Sunday and everything was closed.

viking cruise amsterdam to basel

Pre & Post Cruise Extensions

It’s also home to a number of European Union institutions, although the Viking itinerary doesn’t include any tours to these government offices. We love pizza, coffee, fine dining, wine, street food and cocktails. In other words, we eat and drink everything at all price points. Check out our comprehensive food travel guides loaded with real-life photos and insightful pro tips. While you're here, why not try one of our easy recipes filled with eclectic ingredients? Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website.

Night Rhine & Rhône Revealed With 1 Night In Amsterdam &...Details

A Rhine River cruise with my father - Cruise Critic

A Rhine River cruise with my father.

Posted: Wed, 17 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

I'd just add that everyone in the cabin has to buy the package even if your partner doesn't drink. It does not make sense that they would shuttle you to any other airport. Finally  if you are a wine drinker or a cocktail maven, do take the silver package.

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However, since we docked in the late afternoon, time felt even more limited here than in Speyer. At every port of call, Viking offered one included (free) tour. These tended to be walking tours that lasted about two hours and introduced guests to the various cities. However, if you’d rather explore one of the stops on your own (or even stay on the ship), you are more than welcome to skip any of the tours. Cologne is the largest city this cruise stops in, so there wasn’t enough time to explore all that I wanted to.

Itinerary

These tours really offer travelers an intimate chance to experience many of the cultural delights that Europe has to offer. It’s hard to not enjoy a luxury cruise on the Viking Eir, a longboat with 95 staterooms and four decks. Food is plentiful and cooked to order, and the German beer onboard is some of the best in the world. Coffee flows all day long on a Viking river cruise ship, and the crew’s main mission is to make everybody happy. To learn more about each port of call and our included as well as optional excursions, click on the individual days below.

viking cruise amsterdam to basel

The landscape here is so pretty, and one of the highlights of this visit was being able to see the inside of a mill. All in all, a short visit to Kinderdijk was a great way to wrap up our final full day on the Viking Hermod. In all honesty, the Rhine (which turns into the Waal) is less scenic in the Netherlands than it is in Germany. You’re no longer surrounded by hills, vineyards, and castles.

Night Rhine & Rhône Revealed With 2 Nights In French Riv...Details

This may not seem like a big deal, but it was a game-changer for us. In the grand scheme of things, people can be separated into two categories – cruise people and everyone else. Stroll through Cologne’s Old Town and see the city’s famed Gothic cathedral, a UNESCO Site.

Sailing past all those castles was the highlight of this cruise. Longtime readers of my blog will know that I don’t shy away from giving my honest opinion when it comes to travel. With that in mind, I’m happy to report that this Viking River Cruise was an outstanding experience! I’ll cherish the memory of going down the Rhine with my extended family for the rest of my life. You can also pre-book one of many “Optional Excursions,” which are tours that you’ll have to pay extra for. I never did any of the Optional Excursions, so I can’t say if they were better or worse than the included tours.

We now like to clink the bottom of our glasses and say ‘Prost! In addition to drinking beer, we also enjoyed soaking up Cologne’s history through this walking tour of the town’s narrow, lively, rebuilt North German streets. Discover the turreted fortresses, grand cathedrals, historic cities, medieval towns and stunning scenery of the Middle Rhine—a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The included Viking tour served as a brief introduction to the riverfront and Kölner Dom, the city’s massive iconic cathedral. After that, we had the rest of the day to explore on our own. However, the optional excursions are the ones that truly wowed us with their passionate guides and small group format.

Visiting the fortress was interesting, but there didn’t seem to be much signage in English, so I don’t feel like I learned a lot about its history while I was there. Speyer is a small city on the western bank of the Rhine. Some notable landmarks include the Dom zu Speyer (Speyer Cathedral) and the Altpörtel (Old Gate) directly west of there. The two are connected by the short Maximilianstraße, which serves as the main street in the historic district.

After two long years of pandemic restrictions, Europe is fully open again! I’m lucky to have an extended family of fellow travel enthusiasts, and we’ve all been looking forward to a reunion vacation in Western Europe for a while now! A Viking River cruise seemed like the perfect offering for a group of eight people spanning three generations. This post is a review of my time on the Viking Hermod as it sailed down the Rhine.

Taste the region’s renowned white wines, the roots of its terraced vineyards reaching back to Roman times. With calls in Amsterdam, Cologne and Basel, this journey reveals a rich landscape of beauty and culture. Every time I've been on a cruise departing Basel we've flown into Basel Airport. Those on a pre-cruise extension may fly into another airport. One thing I really loved about this cruise was that there were lots of fun optional activities onboard the ship in the afternoons and evenings.

Sometimes, when traveling in Europe, we just like to slow down, plant ourselves at an outdoor cafe and soak in the atmosphere. Some people like this quicker style of travel, but it’s not our preferred approach. As full-time travelers and influencers, we usually travel slowly with a week or even a month in each location. Though it was great to hit five countries in twelve days, it wasn’t so great to have to leave each one so quickly. We also enjoyed visiting a modern German farm complete with its on-site schnapps distillery not to mention adorable goats and cows. Furthermore, Cruise Critic makes no guarantees for availability of prices advertised on our site.

As such, the Hermod was already passing through Utrecht by bedtime. We docked at Amsterdam very early in the morning on our final day. As you leave Rüdesheim, the Rhine River goes from picturesque to spectacular.

Itinerary and shore excursions are subject to change and may vary by departure. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices. Just want to clarify that even if you do not purchase the SSBP you still have access to all spirits and wine and beer on their extended list, you just pay per drink.

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