River Cruise

[Rollie]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie

[Stu from NYC]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie

Before the virus there was a local company that put on numerous seminars about them but do not remember their name. Attended one and was interesting.

Might be advertising in local paper though.

Who knows when cruises will even be back.

[davem4616]

you might give the local Triple A office over on 441 a call, they may not specialize in Viking, but they book a lot of travel for folks

we still use the TA that we have for decades...she thinks that Viking is pricey...and tells us that there are a lot of companies doing the same river cruises, just as nice and less $$$

have fun

[Stu from NYC]

One more thought.

a number of TA's do post on here and might specialize in river cruises.

[Villageswimmer]

Costco Travel. Great deals.

[milling73]

We have taken 5 Viking cruises. You dont need a travel agent to book them. Go on line or call. Once booked Viking takes care of pretty much everything. Great company.

[brislenn]

I agree with others, Viking is pricey. We go with Overseas Adventure Travel OAT) and Grand Circle Travel ( GCT). Same type of ship, cheaper, and a great adventure. If you would like more information, you are invited to send me an email at Brislenn@aol.com.

[rjn5656]

We enjoyed V iking from Amsterdam to Budapest. Check them all, see what you get (tours, meals, drinks, etc. ) We plan on doing a Viking ocean cruise in Norway in fall 21 and would conside a Viking Panama Canal in the future. AAA did our Amsterdam trip for us.

[palasmith]

I have taken 6 Viking cruises, to include Ocean and river. I have booked directly with Viking.
It’s worth the cost. Ships are smaller than most others and more intimate Ships are beautiful and an excursion is included in every port.

[wsachs]

We did the Viking Grand Cruise for 15 days between Amsterdam and Budapest. They had many discounts on the cruise and airfare from DTW. It was great. Food, trips, size of room. Don't know other lines, but Viking is the top as far as I'm concerned. Their ratings show it too.

[Marykschulz]

We did one a couple of years ago and just booked through the Viking company. They were very helpful.

[thevillager1988]

We used kevins@cruiseweb.com +1 (240) 485-1118 to book our river cruise. He deals with all the various lines (not just Viking). We find that using Kevin saves us money and aggravation. He is excellent.

[vinricci]

We’ve Ocean cruised numerous times, thought we’d try Viking. Very disappointed. They just don’t know how to handle more than 400 passengers IMO. Food was luke warm on way too many occasions. Entertainment sparse. Nice new ship. Also we found out from another passenger with 10 cruises that they don’t have a loyalty program.

[4glori]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie
We did a long ocean cruise with them. They spoiled us for any other cruise line. 😊. I did see in today’s paper that there is a Viking seminar at the Cline Executive Suites on Sept 11. 352-278-1595. You will love Viking. We have a river cruise booked already

[Stu from NYC]

We’ve Ocean cruised numerous times, thought we’d try Viking. Very disappointed. They just don’t know how to handle more than 400 passengers IMO. Food was luke warm on way too many occasions. Entertainment sparse. Nice new ship. Also we found out from another passenger with 10 cruises that they don’t have a loyalty program.

Wow didnt know that there was a cruise line out there without a loyalty program. Wonder why?

[Rapid]

My husband and I lost $500 to luxury travel (who runs info meetings at Panera’s...told us it was a deposit...after the cruise was cancelled by Viking, he refused to return it...said it was his “retainer”. beware.... if I had it to do again, I would deal directly with Viking or go with Ocala travel here in the villages. Good luck!









Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie[/QUOTE]

[nhtexasrn]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie

We used Vacations to Go. Not local, but you can do everything on the phone or by email or text. They were amazing. They handled everything!

[MacScuba]

We used Viking for Russia and China. They were two of our favorite cruises. You don’t need an agent, just get a catalog and call them. They handle everything. They don’t have a points program, but they do have a past guest discount. I can send you a link to our trip videos if you wish. Message me. Also: book a cabin on the right side of the ship, you will have a better view of the things along the shoreline.

[renpan]

We love Viking and while a bit more expensive, what you get 1 excursion per day unlimited wine and beer and the food is fabulous. We go through AAA who do a great job. We use our local AAA in NY but travel out of Orlando, so much easier to get to the airport instead of Kennedy. We cancelled our 10/20 Grand European cruise and transferred without isue to 10/21

[Parker614]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie


We've booked 2 Viking Cruises with Greenwood Travel. Call JaneEllen Greenwood at 352-633-7118. She's local and very easy to work with. You will love traveling with Viking!!

[Smarlow55]

Book on-line or call and book direct you don’t need a travel agent.

[mirage]

look at a Cruise line called Scenic River Cruises. Every bit as good as Viking but with a bar in you room and no limit on drinks or wine .Viking is limited and only at meal times. As well WIFI is free on your room TV or all over the ship. Two big differences Check them out I have sailed both. Scenic is the best

[ragtag22]

Ocala Travel, they have an office in The Villages.

[GaryKoca]

Always loved Viking. We went on the City of Lights cruise - Paris to Prague - a number of years ago, and it was wonderful. You could probably contact Viking directly.

[waynehal55]

We enjoyed V iking from Amsterdam to Budapest. Check them all, see what you get (tours, meals, drinks, etc. ) We plan on doing a Viking ocean cruise in Norway in fall 21 and would conside a Viking Panama Canal in the future. AAA did our Amsterdam trip for us.

We did that cruise a couple of years ago, it was fantastic.A little expensive but well worth it. We have a Viking ocean cruise booked for March 2021, it's only the Caribbean going r.t from Miami, we love the ship and may not even get off when it docks in the islands.

[jagdl]

We love viking. Booked directly thru viking and they handled flights and transfers. Then immediately went to triple A for our travel insurance and medical insurance. All viking employees on the boat and booking speak English as they focus on Americans. Some of the lines focus on other countries. We didn't like the first price and said maybe later and got a follow up call with a better deal on our second room. Loved every minute and we are looking for our 2021 cruise now.

[doodles]

Went to AAA travel. Did not go Viking went on Ama Waterways. The prices were close but if the water is too high or too low Viking cannot fit under the bridges and they put you in buses. 2 years ago we were the only ship that made it down the Danube.

[kdolence]

Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Rollie

You don't need a local travel agent. You can call Viking directly. They are very knowledgeable and informative. We used a travel agent the first cruise and were disappointed. The second one we went directly through Viking and it was a wonderful experience.

[patrickj]

We have done 3 Viking river cruises. We call direct and have loved the experience. They are higher price for a reason...better tours on land and higher level of customer service. Only 190 persons on boat.

[Oakville]

Rollie... We work with Viking Cruise Lines and would love to assist your travel needs. We live in Glenbrook. Have traveled Viking, and have a Viking Cruise scheduled for July 2021. 352-750-3931

[TandHSTAR@AOL.com]

River cruises are like no other. There are maybe only 150 passengers. Entertainment is by locals at each stop. We loved it. Took the one from The Netherlands to Budapest and then did the extended 3 day stay in Budapest. We went with Vantage because all except gratuities was included. It was the best trip. Consider the 15 cruise instead of the 7 -8 day cruises. There are many good lines out there compare prices and what it includes then make your choice. Hope the cruises start up again sooner than later. Good luck in whatever your choice, you will not regret it. The only down side is that you hope and pray that the river is not too high because the ships cannot go under the bridges.

[chotkowskij@comcast.net]

Check out a company named Grand Circle. Wonderful cruises. Less expensive than Viking.

[Mfrench]

I would recommend Vantage over Viking. Contact them directly! TV advertising doesn’t always mean a company is good.

[Mfrench]

We loved Vantage over Viking

[Gmomlaura]

I just contacted them directly and it was easy as pie. Nice vacation.

[Ray Greene]

Check out Tauck Tours before you book. They are the best. They put Viking to shame. Not cheap though

[Laurel Maryland]

[QUOTE=Rollie;1829619]Thinking about doing a Viking River Cruise. Wondering if anyone knows a local travel agency that specializes in them?

Before you book a river cruise, check the weather and rain conditions in your country of destination. My friends booked a river cruise in Europe last year. Unbeknownst to them, the region they were supposed to cruise through was experiencing a drought. The river had dried up somewhat and was too shallow for their boat to pass safely. So the passengers spent their entire "cruise" on a tour bus being driven from destination to destination. No fun and no refund. And they did NOT receive an advance warning from the cruise company that this would happen. Suggest looking into water conditions before you book.

[KimmieK]

Add Uniworld to your compare list.

[Medtrans]

look at a Cruise line called Scenic River Cruises. Every bit as good as Viking but with a bar in you room and no limit on drinks or wine .Viking is limited and only at meal times. As well WIFI is free on your room TV or all over the ship. Two big differences Check them out I have sailed both. Scenic is the best

We loved Scenic. Excursions included. All drinks at any time are included. Treated very well from beginning to end. We traveled Prague to Budapest, adding 2 or 3 nights in Prague before boarding. Our travel agent highly recommended Scenic. Due to rivers that were too high, we had to juggle a couple of stops. We were told to fill out paperwork thru their ins company when we got home which we did. We received a check for $1000 due to those changes. I would use them again.....if we ever get to cruise again.

[JoMar]

We used AAA because we did some time in Munich and Amsterdam and Lucerne on both ends and we felt better having one vendor for the entire trip. If I was only doing the River Cruise and home would most likely deal directly with Viking. We did talk to them about what we wanted to do and they suggested I use someone else for the side trips. The price direct from Viking for the cruise portion and airfare going and returning were the same with AAA so no price advantage.

[Marla Hunt]

Travel agent Teresa Ruud at Ocala Travel located by Southern Trace does that and has been on a Viking cruise herself

[Rollie]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Rollie

[Jean G]

I highly suggest looking at AMAWaterways instead. I'm a former River Cruising Specialist.