Join me as we explore one of Viking’s most popular river cruises – the Grand European Tour! You’ll get a virtual tour of 12 cities as we travel through four countries, and learn lots of interesting tips along the way.
Contact Carol@ImagineGoingThere.com for your complimentary cruise consultation and learn how to get the best cruise at the best price and lots of extras for your journey!
Carol Shaddix
Viking Master Cruise Expert
Imagine Going There Travel
770-421-9627
Carol@ImagineGoingThere.com
Well hello thanks for joining me today I’m Carol shadex with iMagic going there travel and I’m so excited to talk to you about one of Vikings most popular River Cruises The Grand European tour we want to help you understand what the best river cruise is for you without having
To thumb through cataloges or search on the internet call a random person in 800 number but really give you some great advice and see if this is a great fit for your next vacation now who are these cruises for well they’re for those who are interested in active cruises those who are interested
In art history and culture and really like to immerse themselves in learning more about the cities and ports along the way who they’re not for is those who are either interested in relaxing cruises like sea days where you can sit and read a book and explore those um wonderful itineraries from the balcony
Of ship if you choose to we can do those on Viking ocean ships particularly are repositioning cruises like our transatlantic crossings but River cruising is a different uh type of vacation where we’re mainly sailing overnight and import during the day so not for those interested in relaxing
Those who were interested in SE days not sea days it’s also not a fit for those who are interested in traveling with children our chairman has said Viking guests like to travel with their grandchildren they just don’t like to travel with other people’s grandchildren and we find that our guests agree with that
Wholeheartedly this is a personal testimonial from one of our clients and it’s really one of my favorites and it speaks to my heart and I hope it also resonates with yours this client had always been afraid of traveling uh was afraid of the water didn’t really want
To cruise but her husband came to me and said look I’ve been married for 48 years I would love her to enjoy uh traveling I think she’d really like a cruise would you come and talk to her so we did a presentation much like I’m doing with you today and they agreed to
Do a river cruise well when they came back from their trip she told her husband on her flight home this was one of the best vacations of Our Lives that made me feel so special I’m so glad it was a good fit for them they actually
Did another Cruise after that I did a river and an ocean cruise and then her husband unfortunately passed away about a year later but you know she has those precious memories not only of a great vacation but something that was really important to him that they would do together and it turned out
To be a real home run of a vacation so I love this testimonial and I feel like so many of our clients feel the same way that’s one thing I love about sharing Viking stories with you I’m going to turn my camera off just so you can see
Some of these great uh photos this is what I’d like you to think about as your next vacation this is quintessential River cruising these are the highways of the old world so you have these ships that would carry good Services people down the river the towns are built up
Along the Waterway and this is your beautiful Viking ship it’s called a long ship it’s not necessarily longer than others it is just a tribute to the Viking Heritage but there are some unique features about it and one of those is this aave Terrace which I’ll
Tell you more about later but it really allows you to enjoy seeing your um the cities along the way and on a beautiful day like this it is a perfectly excellent way to travel we’re going to do the grand European tour as I said starting in Amsterdam going to The Budapest
Direction and what I like to say is when you are looking at the cataloges or online these white dots mean we are in Port for an extended period of time we’re overnighting here in Budapest in Amsterdam we actually Sail Out late that night so if you can come into
Amsterdam a couple days early it’ll do a couple things for you one it’ll give you time to see the city of course but you’re going to get over jet lag and you’re also going to get a chance to know other Viking guests you’ll have a city tour included with your extension
Which will allow you to spend more time in the city and then you’ll get a chance to start your cruise you’ll be relaxed and rested but if you can’t do that definitely start in Amsterdam add air plus to your reservation maybe you can get in early and see some of the city uh
During the time before we leave that evening I love getting into port and then stay moving because I try to get on local time as quickly as possible so we’re going to start as I said in Amsterdam here and Amsterdam is just a incredible City lots of waterways and
Canals this is uh the old part of the city these houses are known for their narrow uh buildings and they’re high up so the de are very frugal people and so when they realized they were going to be taxed on the footprint of the house they built them narrow and Tall but you’ll
Notice uh things like these little promontories at the top of the buildings that was to use as a pulley system to get the goods or services Furniture up in these upper windows and uh the shops or the living area would be down here and so you get a chance to just learn
All the interesting things about this beautiful city one of my favorite things to do is to do a Canal cruise in I love seeing cities by water as well as a Land Tour uh Amsterdam has 90 Islands connected by 65 miles of canals if you
Uh get here and can do a Canal cruise I love doing it at Sunset the lights on the bridges are um turned on then and of course being able to see it you’ll see the floating flower markets the the barges that are along the waterways here
It’s a lovely way to spend a late afternoon or evening in Amsterdam now Amsterdam is known for its bicycles there are hundreds of thousands of bicycles they have parking garages for bicycles like we have for cars and uh they take their cycling very seriously they do have the right away so be aware
Of that when you are traveling and make sure that you um don’t just do so much sightseeing you’re not paying attention to the cyclist and the bik B paths they cycle parking is very expensive here and so a lot of them do cycling as Transportation even as young children
They will cycle to and from school so a very important part of their culture so if you want to do a ebike tour I would recommend waiting and doing it perhaps in Kinder D where you can experience a little calmer activity uh but Kinder dke is a really favorite town when you
Actually are pulling up to the town of Kinder Dy you’re going to get off the ship and actually go below sea level you’re walking down and uh understand that the Dutch say uh God created the world but the Dutch created Holland because they actually used the poar
System to pump out this water and reclaim the land which is very rich and of course has uh incredible um produce uh because of that tulips and windmills period oh that’s such a special Cruise if you want to see the beautiful windmills don’t um hesitate to book that
It does sell out quickly so book that well in advance but that is a really special experience uh to see 70 acres and like 7even million flowering bulbs one of the largest bulb exporters in the world but anyway your day at Kinder Dy here will be very fun uh you’re going to
Get to explore one of these windmills which are operational in fact the Dutch get to live here provided they operate maintain and restore these beautiful windmills they can live here for free and you’ll tour uh one that’s actually a museum and you’ll have the experience that day of seeing a video about the
History of the windmills and touring one which is very fascinating one of the things I like to say is Viking has an included Shore Excursion in every port of call but then they also offer optional excursions these are for a fee and based on your interest and they’re
In categories such as local life work world and privileged access local life might be going on a home visit and learning about the traditions of a family and they share their photographs maybe some coffee or tea and some danishes or coffee cake with you and you exchange stories and uh share your
Culture and they share theirs working world might be like Dutch cheese making where you go and learn how they actually make the cheese and um get a t chance to sample it and then privileged access are those experiences that biking has created relationships with you can’t get
Anywhere else and that’s one of those you can do here and it’s uh getting to go to a home of someone who is working their windmill but they live there and you’re going to go by a restored 125 year old barge you’ll learn how they make their living how they maintain the
Windmills uh get to tour their home and sit down and talk with them so a very special opportunity if you would enjoy that many privileged access opportunities along the journey here when you’re looking at Viking on their website go below the map click on read more and as you click through each day
You’ll see the differences in the shore Excursion options that are available not everyone is available for every sailing of course but you’ll get an idea of what there is to do in these wonderful towns along the river our our next stop is cologne and cologne is a city that has
Some unique history here the Dom Cathedral that you’re seeing right right there at the end of that bridge it was never destroyed in the war in fact the Allied Forces use used it to help direct their uh raids so it is well preserved it is uh the city of Cologne is built on
Roman ruins and the D Cathedral is actually in constant renovation 365 days a year uh they are doing restoration exploration excavation one of the favorite tours that you can do here if it’s available is top of cologne it’s where you’ll take an excavation elevator up the top of the side of the cathedral
You’ll get to go in through the roof look down on the incredible uh um Cathedral from that Bird’s eyee view take some incredible pictures from uh the top of the cathedral and then meet with an excavation expert who can tell about how they do all the rest
Restoration of course it’s not a great one if you’re afraid of heights but it’s very popular and encourage you to do that now one of the things I like to say is Viking owns do most of the docking locations in Europe so this is not a Viking ship here but it’s um indicative
Of how close our Viking ships are able to dock right in the Heart of the City you’re able to get on and off and do your tours come back for lunch if needed and it’s so convenient and a wonderful way to stay in town for a long period of
Time and and then come back and forth and feel like you have a base to uh operate from that is basically your home another popular Excursion is the co kulch U beer culture tour you’re going to tour some pubs in the evening and uh you’ll get a chance to learn about uh
All the different types of beer that’s produced in Germany this is cul beer it’s very low in effervescence served in small glasses and they will just keep refilling that for you so if you don’t want to have a bigger bar Tap than you expect after you’ve had enough put your
Coaster on top cuz they’ll just keep refilling it as long as your glass is um half empty but that’s a really popular one that our guests really enjoy another thing you can do in Cologne is go to the fragrance Museum the 4711 house is popular and of course that’s where we
Get the Oda cologne fragrance so you can look at that museum there there’s a chocolate Museum as well that you can tour and so like I said we have a full day in Cologne leave late that night so there’s plenty of options to Great shoe shopping there if you like to shop and
Of course uh lots to do in this uh college town very friendly um English speaking you’ll really enjoy this city our next day is one two Scenic cruising afternoons this is a beautiful part of the river it’s called the middle rine it is a UNESCO world
Heritage site and it is just as lovely as it as you can see here in this picture this is going to be a really special day where you’re going to enjoy Scenic sailing you will see some 40 castles along about that same mile number of miles of the river 40 miles or
So I recommend that as you’re seeing these castles when you’re taking those pictures take a couple pictures of the mile markers along the way that’ll help you identify the castles later but the fun thing about this you’ll sitting in the Explorer Lounge in the alabe Terrace
Maybe on the Sund deck if the day is beautiful your program director is going to be talking all about the history of these castles and how the Lords of the manor would um sometimes uh very aggressively collect tolls and um of course they were allowed to do so to
Keep the rivers maintained and of course they use that sometimes uh a little too aggressively as I said to extract money from uh The Ships coming across the way but you’ll learn all about this history and it’s a very fascinating afternoon then your Chef is going to be coming
Into the Explorer’s lounge and maybe doing an apple strugle demonstration or serving some tea or coffee so it’s just a wonderful way to visit with uh your fellow Viking guests learn a lot about history take a little bit of a relaxing break from the Touring that you’ve
Already done and have a really special and memorable day along the river our next stop is going to be kaben and this is Aaron breitstein Fortress so we have the included tour option here this is better one for those who have mobility issues and it’s a great view of the
Moselle and the Rin River and you’ll learn all about this fortress on that uh tour but one of my favorites is Marksburg castle and this is amazing Castle never destroyed in the war as well and uh you’ll see the Cannons there the k is large enough to go co cow there
Are uh you’ll see the dungeon and the torture equipment The gimal Collection shows the night Armory through the years and uh just a very fascinating day with Incredible views Over the Rind and the Moselle River so this is my favorite but like I said it’s not for those with
Mobility issues no elevators here some even uh payment narrow steps but if you can do that I really think you will enjoy the tour of Marksburg Castle now this is the aave Terrace as I mentioned earlier so just imagine sailing along the river on that SC those Scenic
Cruising days sitting out here taking pictures sitting in those rocking chairs enjoying the beautiful weather uh you can come out here for breakfast or even eat dinner out here under the stars you’ll have blankets or hot chocolate if you want to spend the evening on the o
Terrace it’s a lovely way to do some Scenic cruising and it’s an area that is our guest favorite our next stop is miltenberg Germany this lovely Town we’re now starting around the M danu canal and this town is just uh like a story book half timbered
Houses uh known for its glass blowing so you’ll get a chance to get some um maybe Christmas ornaments some oil and vinegar vases some U something special I always recommend you put some bubble wrap in your suitcase and store that along the way doesn’t take up any room or weight
In your suitcase and it protects those precious things that you might want to bring back I particularly love to bring back Christmas ornaments because they’re such a fun surprise when I pull them out every year and I don’t have to dust them during the year and it’s such a great
Reminder of the cities that we’ve been able to visit along the way our next stop is bburg Germany this is the marberg Fortress which we actually do not tour this you’ll Sail by it we get to see the verburg palace and this is an incredible uh palace here back in the
Day when the church and the state were linked the Archbishop was also the ruling uh governor of the area and so he had command of the purse and did a wonderful job of creating a beautiful home for himself that you can tour this has uh the beautiful Four Seasons
Artwork by Tia Polo in the entryway some incredible Gardens one thing I would recommend here is that you do the optional tour called rockenberg over Tober which is the romantic road it is just a storybook Village that you will really enjoy and then you can of course still see this beautiful Bishop’s
Residence as well Bamberg Germany is our next stop and this is a town known for its smoke flavored beer you’ll see that this is the city hall right there in the center of the river which I think is just incredible that they can compress all their legislation that small space I
Think it’s a great idea uh for um us as well we didn’t make our our Representatives quite so comfortable maybe the Republic would have less legislation to deal with right um but this is a really popular area for uh not only for that smoke flavored beer but also for music the franconian
Countryside you could do some tours here uh beer tours uh music tours and spend a lovely day in this medieval town along the river then we stop in nurburg and nurburg is known for a couple of things medieval city 80 watchtowers here fully restored but it’s known for its role in
World War II and this was Hitler’s rally grounds and very badly destroyed it’s been again fully restored but there was a lot to do here you can learn a lot about the World War II history you can go in the medieval U part of the tour the Documentation Center tour is very
Popular and uh they recreate those War crime war crimes tribunals uh so if you’re interested in that kind of History you can delve deep into that uh there’s also options where you can explore like The Monuments Men where they made that movie and how they smuggled the art
Into Sellers and were able to preserve some Priceless works of art optional working world tours like the fa Castel um Factory is also o here so lots to do here and uh a really popular city not only for the history but also for toy making and it’s nberg is known for that
They’re toy trains they’re nutcrackers there are amazing Christmas markets along this journey especially in nurburg 700 years of Christmas markets uh very very popular if you enjoy that that’s a favorite thing to do Regensburg is our next stop this is the 12th century Stone Bridge here and you’ll see
Regensburg is a very colorful happy town uh built as an old Guild City so you’ll see the names of the towns will kind of mirror the fishmonger the tin Smith the silver smith when you cross the bridge you’ll be able to visit the altav which
Is the old Sausage Kitchen uh one of the oldest continuously operating restaurants in the world dating back to 11:30 and you can sit on the pier take uh get some nurger sausages which is what they use to uh feed the workers when they were building the bridge and
Eat a piece of history and just relax and enjoy the city of Regensburg then we go to Passau and this is where the danu becomes the blue danu you’ll see the Three Rivers converge here the in the ilz and the Dan R uh and uh you’re going
To have a tour of pasel this area here it’s a very uh quaint town I loved this town I loved our tour here our guide told us that back in I believe it was 2013 there was a a flood that was the highest in 500 years it came about to a
Foot below this conical Tower so she said her mother actually lives in this part of pass out and she said it’s just Nature’s Way of helping her clean out her basements it’s amazing they just repaint and remark where the flooding was and restore it and it just looks
Pristine uh lovely town uh those onion domes in the back are part of the St Stevens Cathedral and if you can get here and hear an organ concert it is absolutely amazing over 177,000 pipes one of the largest Cathedral organs in the world and the Acoustics are just
Incredible but we have some optional excursions that you can do here uh the nanstein castle is one uh going to salsburg is another one it’s a full day tour so um lots to do here in pesel and really enjoy your day here here exploring on your own then we go to m
Abby this Abby is stunning and one of my favorite memories is sailing away from the Abbey as the sun was setting and just looking back behind taking these incredible photos of the gold paint just reflecting off of the sunset it is just beautiful right there along the river
But it’s not only beautiful outside it is stunning inside as well and one of my favorites was this circular staircase uh which was beautiful but of course the absolute highlight for me was this incredible Library thousands of volumes handwritten by the monks um many of them just hundreds of years old uh that
Fresco looks like it’s been freshly painted and um you’ll just want to spend some time here just admiring the incredible intricate work of U these volumes which are so beautifully designed now one of the things I will say that our motor coaches follow our ships and what I recommend you do this
You can go back to the ship after your tour for instance here at Mal ABY but you can also go down to the village and just explore maybe there’s um the farmers markets is open at the time that you’re traveling or just go into shops you can certainly wander on your own get
Back to the ship that’s part of the fun of exploring with Viking is you don’t have to uh stay with the schedule all the time one thing I do recommend take a picture of your Viking daily because that’ll help in a couple ways one it’ll anchor your photos to all the pictures
You take from one day to the next and because they do start to blend together after a while but two it’ll also give you the contact information for the ship just in case you ever need to have that it’s on your phone and it’s um a great it serves dual purposes in that
Way but this is a great place to stop and do some touring buy some little jams or uh schnaps special stocking stub along the way in these little towns is what makes it part of the fun we have a second day of Scenic cruising you can
See this is very different this is the vea valley which has a lot of Vineyards and Orchards and beautiful landscapes so not quite as many castles as you saw along the way but we still have some beautiful scenery here you’re going to enjoy this day of um Scenic sailing
Before we get to goth fig Abby in crems now goth fig sits high up on a hill it is going to give you some commanding views of the vka valley as well when we got here we it was July the apricots were just dropping it smelled so
Heavenly and we were greeted as we got into the Abbey with um samples of the schnaps or apricot nectar it was delightful and you’re able to purchase that and bring it back with you or have a chipped home one nice thing about biking there is no corkage free so you
Never have to worry about sneaking your bottles of something into your room um not only that they will open it for you at the bar or at dinner time if you have something you want to share uh with your TBL mates or your travel partner and that is perfectly fine so a wonderful
Way to experience those uh special Blends that you’re able to pick up along the way but a beautiful um Abby here again some incredible frescos and amazing views and then we get to Vienna what a beautiful Town architecturally stunning large and um you’re going to get to overnight here which is really
Great because there is so much to see so we will dock uh probably about 15 minutes from the center of town your motor coach will take you there and your guide will talk about the city as you’re traveling and the Ring Road is what you’ll get a tour around and kind of get
Anchored to the city and then your guide will take you get off the ship off the off the the motor coach rather um and start walking you around and telling you about some of the history this is hoffberg Palace uh we don’t actually tour the palace but we were able to uh
Learn about the history of the monarchs here I actually got to see a lipon stallion and uh her um no air and her and her fo because the time we were there in July the stallion and and actually the the whole um group of the libon horses were on holiday but certain
Times you can actually see go backstage to the LI Anan tour how they actually uh take care of them and groom them and help them do this incredible dancing horses uh that they do and sometimes you can actually uh get tickets to see it while you’re in Vienna which is
Incredible lots of amazing architecture this is the rat house City Hall U beautiful area to walk around we just walked and walked and walked uh when we got tired we stopped at the soccer hotel and had amazing uh break of soccer tort which you can see here um some
Incredible uh coffe Vienna I had some amazing soccer Hotel tea and duckhead apple strudel I had the soccer tour we sat and the second floor and just watched the horsedrawn carriages take visitors around it was amazing and the soccer Hotel would had this incredible chandelier that went from the second
Floor there was a whole drill in the second floor and went down to the first floor so the architecture of the opulence of Vienna is incredible and of course you want to be able to explore everything and there’s just not enough time to see it all this is the Shan bran
Palace uh so if you’d like to do the tour there it’s very expansive and a lot to see um beautifully decorated Christmas time if you want to do a Christmas Market tour and then the evening the mosart and straw concert in Vienna a wonderful uh diversion for the evening a combination
Of of uh orchestral um vocal and then dance uh pieces so it’s a wonderful evening broken up by a little champagne break of orange juice or whatever you would like in the intermission and a real highlight as you take go back to your ship see under the twinkling lights
Of Vienna at night then we’re going to end our stay in lovely Budapest Budapest is actually two City two uh towns that were merged together but it’s divided by the danub river the Buddha side and the PES side are uh two very different experiences you’re going to get to
Experience both of them on your city tour we’ll go here to the SAS Church up there at the top of the hill this is Fisherman’s Bastion right here for some incredible views of the danu river and you could stop and get ice cream or a sandwich a snack here and then we’ll do
A motor coach tour of the opposite side of the river where you get to see uh the Shan as they say of Budapest it’s like the Paris of the East as they like to call it and it’s a wonderful day of exploring so much uh there is a lot to
See here if you enjoy thermal bath the Spas here are incredible and Viking will take you to the SNY thermal Spa you’ll just need to bring your swimsuit and they’ll provide slippers and robes and transportation wonderful way to spend an afternoon like the locals do great Market Hall is an option that
You can go either with the chef if that is an option for a um Chef’s tour or you can just walk here we do a um we dock very close to this down from the Chain Bridge and I loved experiencing this and seeing the fresh fruits and vegetables
Great place to buy those Hungarian paprika sets and they make wonderful gifts to bring back on the upper decks there is they option to have the street food and U markets you could purchase Hungarian lace or handtooled leather things that are memorabilia of Hungary so uh just a wonderful way to spend an
Afternoon and the shoes on the danu is also very U moving uh like I was saying we this is the Chain Bridge and we dock right here nearby the shoes on the danu is a somber stop well worth visiting it commemorates 40 pairs of cast iron shoes where um the Nazis shot the
Um resins into the river and uh of course that’s commemorated there so you’ll see candles or vigils or um songs it’s just something to see and just to remember that period of time it was very turbulent and painful to this area but of course well worth remembering if you
Can extend your stay then Budapest is a lovely place to do so we we always stay in four or five star hotels this is uh the side that you’ll stay on with these commanding views of the river we’ll stay at the pilton the Four Seasons the Intercontinental beautiful areas to stay
And of course again an a wonderful way to extend your time and really get a chance to explore more so if you can’t stay for 15 days we do have some popular shorter options I do have a seminars on our Viking website if you go to imagine going .c
Comvideos you’ll see a list of the ones that will talk about these other options the Ryme getaway is 8 days it’s Amsterdam de basil really encourage you to do the two days in lucern such a lovely city or Alpine backdrops of lucern which is three nights and has
More guided tours involved and um zont and Geneva such a great tour our guests really really love that we also have the romantic danu as well as the danu Ralts to cities two tours that actually do the lower half of the danu we overnight on the Romantic danu in Regensburg Vienna and
Budapest and uh on the danu Walts we start in pasal and we also go to lince which has one of my favorite excursions Jess keep klov in there it’s an optional Excursion I really encourage you to do um we get to see Bros laava an additional City there and overnight in
Budapest so both are very popular I have a video that compares the two of those again go to imagino there.com videos and you’ll be able to learn more about those options now when you’re traveling with Viking we always want to make sure you get the most discounts possible Viking
Offers past guest or new guest discounts we are also going to give you some additional bonuses which is 100 per person in shipboard credit just for attending this webinar just when you talk to us let us know that you watch this webinar we’ll be happy to add that
For you what makes us different well all we do is biking we’re not an agent that knows a little bit about everything we focus on Viking our team travels on Vikings so we know it well sometimes guests will call me and said Well I booked with this agency and they booked
My trip but every time I had a question they told me to call Viking we’re not going to have you do that we book these trips so many times there’s likely not a question we can answer but if there isn’t you don’t have to wait on hold
With Viking we will find out and get back to you so that’s one of our conveniences for you that we really do help help you save that time and we’ve also got those Insider connections so you’ll always get the best price when you book direct with Viking if there’s a
Special out there if you don’t have the code they can’t offer it to you so we know those codes we’re able to uh apply those for you help you understand the differences in U between the different sailing dates when the best promotions are and so you’ll always be getting the
Best PRS our services are free Viking pays us to make sure you have an amazing vacation so we are are here and incentivized to really help you enjoy your trip because you know we know that if you enjoy it you’ll probably come back again as most of our Viking guests
Do and you’ll talk to someone who knows you in your situation not a random person at an 800 number so uh feel free to give us a call if you’ve booked in the last 60 days that’s not a problem we can still get these extra bonuses for
You so the great thing about Viking is when you call in and talk to Viking and you talk to that sales rep they are paid by Viking but you will not talk to them again you’ll be going to your the customer service pool for future questions because they take inbound
Calls and they book people and that’s their job but Viking takes care of them however if you booked in the last 60 days we’re able to take care of you as well in Viking Paces when you travel uh whenever your trip is so it’s a great
Way to get benefits for both we can still help you give you those extra bonuses and make sure you are taken care of along the way so if this is your first time River cruising then I want to tell you why people love it this is uh
Just an overview of the benefits of river cruising one is it’s relaxing and comfortable your hotel is going to float with you if you’re tired of that packing and unpacking from those land tours then you will love the way that Viking does it where your hotel floats with you and
You dock in the Heart of the City and you’re getting on off the ship um and the scenery is traveling with you we also have these inclusions that make it wonderful as well inclusive pricing reduced air you get a Shore Excursion in every port of call and the shore
Excursions are led by knowledgeable guides local guides that will really help you see the city through their eyes and we have extended time in each destination which really helps you maximize your visit there you’re always going to get wine beer and soft drinks included with your meals specialty teas
And coffees are AA available 247 you also get free Wi-Fi now I was recently on a cruise uh with family and we did one of the mass Market cruises and I still had to work from the ship which I’m used to doing but the Wi-Fi package
Was $500 for the week well it’s free with Vikings so that’s an incredible value and I really came back appreciating all the extra inclusions that Viking gives what’s the best time of year to travel well that is up to you if you want the most popular you’re
Going to look at May and September weather is mild and uh in May it’s before the crowd in September the crowds are starting to leave and the leaves are starting to change but if you want the least expensive or fewest crowds then do the shoulder Seasons early March first
Week of April the latest or late October mid November except for tulips and windmills that is a very short season most popular time there is the last two weeks of April good value but growing in popularity are the Christmas markets it’s like getting two cruises in one I
Love the Christmas markets yes it is a little cooler but you are going to have incredible um experiences because you’ll get everything that you get on the regular cruise and in the afternoon evening when it starts getting dark early the lights come on uh the Christmas Market stalls are just magical
You can sample that glue Vine or apple cider and stay warm and it’s just a wonderful time of year great way to get all your Christmas shopping done cooler season tips if you can wear thin layers rather than heavy ones think about it you’re going in and out of these museums
Or chapels or whatever and you’re going to get hot you don’t want so many layers that you can’t uh regulate your body temperature switch out your layers go back and forth this is one of my tips is to do a screenshot of all the cities that you’re going to
Be going to visit in Eastern time when you’re doing Europe you’re they’re six hours ahead for instance so take that into consideration and uh get an idea of what the highs are for each City along your way um many of our guests are planning a year sometimes two and a half
Years in advance it’s a great way to remember okay this is what it’s like um and in real time uh as you’re considering where you’re going to travel remember you’ll get lots of exercise you’re close to the ship so you’ll be going back and forth uh easy to change
Out your clothes uh not a problem at all and so I love that about biking that it’s really convenient to stay comfortable now to choose the right State room we want to talk about the long ships as we mentioned uh they’re uh perfectly designed for the river 190
Guests only four decks total only three living areas so real quickly I’ll show you um how to basically understand the Viking um deck plan they have two Explorer Suites we’ll show you pictures of those they have um seven varanda Suites they’re up there on this this
Deck on the other side and uh then they have French balconies and Verandas which are the stepout ones here and then the standard State rooms here so this is Veranda A and B exactly the same size one level’s higher than the other on the other side are French balcony C and D
Exactly on the opposite side and then these are your standard State rooms e is more forward f is toward the rear very simple and that helps you understand the differences so a quick inside Peak the Explorer Lounge is 445 squ feet comes with lcks of extras uh 270 degree
Wraparound balcony uh the living area there actually does separate the door closes you get private transfers you get the silver Spirits beverage package which opens up the wine list and includes your drinks you get alcohol in your room as well and um it’s a a wonderful very very popular state room
Choice for those special occasions the Miranda Suite is 275 Square fet you do have the doors that close here great for either having friends over and you in your living area but it also comes with extra things as well just like the um Explorer suite comes with laundry uh
Services for you and um your balcony where you can see that couple there step outside but there’s also a French balcony in the bedroom as well um the bathrooms are wonderfully a portioned and good size all of them have heated floors anti-fog mirrors large travel amenities which are uh the writing is
Very clear color coated you never have to wonder if you’re putting lotion on your hair instead of conditioner and um they’re lovely as well The Veranda State room is the next category you can see it’s 205 ft it has a chair in the room two chairs outside and a table 205
Square fet total very popular state room size the French balcony is next 135 Square ft but it has this full wall of windows so it feels bigger you’re able to um see out lean out but not step out and then these are our standard State rooms the standard State rooms have that
High fixed window I’m 5’7 and about comes to my chin and so allows you to see out but it’s a very economical option um you’re not in your room that much they for sleeping showering and changing so a lot of times when we have
Space on a on a ship this is what is available and I would say get on a river cruise if um you can you can always do your second cruise with your preferred stateroom Choice a quick ship tour this is guest services you can uh you’ll be
Coming into of these doors on either side of the ship depending on which side we’re docked on wonderful guest services staff here to help then on the other side uh if you turn around from there is the atrium you’ll notice it’s very light filled it is uh very modern Scandinavian
Design to help you feel like you’re s sailing in your destination not a lot of um draperies or gilded chandeliers it’s just very clean and um great great views speaking of that the restaurant has some wonderful View views as well you never have to worry about what you’re wearing
Here you can just come in uh business casual as we say how you would go to a friend’s house for dinner leave those fancy frocks at home and enjoy Scenic sailing wonderful food and some uh great friendships that you’ll develop you can change up your seating every night if
You like no need to sit at the same table on the upper deck is the library as you can see um and then in front of these chairs on the foreground there are two computer so you never have to bring a computer if you don’t choose to uh as
You walk past that area you’ll see the Viking lounge and bar lovely place to hang out and visit but then turning around from there you see the lounge this is where our Scenic cruising happens our afternoon sailings and as well as our Port talks at night all the
Way to the back here is our Aqua Terrace and you’ll have a place to sit that’s sheltered as well as this oy Terrace that is um open and able to get some fresh air here then upstairs on this ship we have our Sund deck walking tracks make sure you keep your uh
Walking between a normal 9 to 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 P p.m. type of uh time frame but there’s always plenty of seaing you have the wonderful um shaded areas great for those Scenic cruising days to you can still hear the program director talk about the areas that you’re sailing past
And all the history there play a little shuffle board or do some putt putt golf there um the herb garden is also there it’s what our chefs use to prepare these incredible meals and that’s our tour of the ship and the state rooms now just in
Closing we want you to have these great memories for yourself the staff the excursions the food I just wanted to hug everyone before we left Gail said as she came back from her first river cruise and we want you to remember that this type of vacation is very special and we
Want to make it even more so for you our only focus is Viking and we know it well so we’re going to make sure we customize this trip for you we’ve got those Insider connections the deals the bonuses Etc our services are free to you
So you’re always able to uh ask us any questions that you need and then of course this is our motto Great Vacations matter because great memories matter the most and that is something we live with every day all those vacations that we take they are memories that stay with us
More than gifts we got for Christmas or um other items that we’ve purchased for ourselves they all break rust memories and great vacation memories stay forever thank you so much for joining me today I’m Carol shadex as I said we are a viking Viking Platinum Cruise seller and
That means we do a lot of Viking and we do it well because we really do value the partnership that Viking has with our clients and we want to make it even better for you my contact information is there Carol imagino there.com and our team is here to help you every step of
The way so feel free to reach out if I can help thank you so much for joining me today I look forward to talking with you soon