Viking River Cruises - My Advice? Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package

Article No. 2
Ronald J. Jack
Email: ronjackbc@yahoo.ca

THE GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR -  Amsterdam to Budapest
Some Friendly Advice
If you purchase this fifteen day travel plan from Viking River Cruises,  it is an all-inclusive package - i.e.. air, shuttle, hotel overlooking Amsterdam Harbour, the  Five-Country Cruise, shuttle at Budapest, and return flight.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider making your own air reservations and even the hotel bookings.  There are several important things to consider:

A) You are booking a year or more ahead. Standard cancellation insurance is expensive, and Viking's policy on refunds is nothing short of confiscatory.  No insurance? You will lose most of your money.

B) There is no 15th day. Viking has to empty the Longship at Budapest as fast as it can, which means they book you on very early flights out of Budapest.  When I realized we would have to get up around 3:30 AM to pack and eat (that's when they start serving breakfast) that is when I was forced to make my own air reservations (British Airways).  As a result we left the Longship at mid-morning, and Viking honoured the airport transfer agreement -  they hired a coach for our remaining party of ten.

C) The trip is five-country, but NOT language immersive. Our group was composed of two groups - Western Canadians and a large block of folks from New England.  ALL printed material onboard is in English, and it is the language used by the staff and the hired guides.  In addition, the average age of guests onboard was 60 - 65.  (I was 56 and only encountered one guest younger than myself.)  You are cocooned. Viking certainly knows the demographics of each block of passengers, but I am not sure they would share that information with your travel agent. 

D) We took out travel insurance and paid $250 for extra medical coverage.  The truth is that Viking staff and crew go to extreme lengths to ensure their passengers suffer no discomfort or injury. If you are healthy, basic coverage is fine.
E) Our travel agent told us gratuities were included in the invoice. That wasn't true, so you are responsible for those extras. Mid-way through our cruise we were transferred to a second Longship, so we went through two pay-cycles with provided envelopes, and using Chinese red envelopes to give extra to staff we especially appreciated. Our total was US$ 900, but would have been about US$ 800 had we kept to one boat.
F)  Laundry service is horribly expensive, so bring enough fresh clothes for two full weeks. (I may publish the laundry price list in an upcoming Blog articles.)

The preceding list is meant to inform and empower you, and not to discourage you in any way. A Viking River Cruise is one of the best gifts you will ever give to yourself. 

Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package

I had months to prepare, if I wished, a list of famous landmarks or sites I thought more significant than those chosen for us. But then I questioned why someone might be insistent on striking out on his own each day, after paying for excursions and services chosen by professionals. I knew I was going to enjoy myself,  but still doubted that all of my expectations could be met. What really SOLD us, and turned simply waiting into genuine anticipation, was a cruise presentation we were invited to at Shadbolt Theatre in Burnaby, a few weeks before departure.  We returned home CONVINCED, and I have to thank our Expedia travel agent, Olivia Lopez, for including us. 

 For a time I thought I would film the entire trip. That would entail research and, at minimum, some cooperation from the members of our group.  Tricky, and an imposition. Also, I dreaded many hours of editing after the return home. My wife reminded me that there would be ten digital cameras in our group, and nothing would remain unrecorded. She was right.  We logged more than 3,000 still images ourselves, and several video sequences.  If you are interested in the history of architecture, urban planning and heritage preservation, as I am,  here is an important consideration. The Europeans are fond of erecting large, visually appealing and very informative display boards around construction sites, archeological excavations, and more. There is simply not enough time on a walking tour to read much of it, so you must photograph those which interest you most. My wife carried an iPad Air that takes very high resolution images. She kindly recorded every board and banner I believed I would enjoy consulting again later.  An example:

I did think it important that we have a rough appreciation of what we would encounter during each stop on our route, and it was easy to locate a travel blog (maintained by a Dutch couple) who had taken the same tour. Other than that, I read only one book in preparation for the trip -  Modris Eksteins' SOLAR DANCE: Genius, Forgery, And the Crisis of Truth in the Modern Age (2012).  Van Gogh has always been my favorite painter, and it is quite possible that this trip would be my only chance to visit Amsterdam and the Van Gogh museum. The book whetted my appetite for my first encounter 

The default Viking Cruises hotel in Amsterdam is the ultra-modern Movenpick, on the harbour front beside the cruiseship terminal. But there are more than a hundred hotels of traditional design on the city canals, adjacent to the heritage venues we all planned to visit. My friend Charlie Lin chose one using an Internet booking service. We stayed two nights at the Hampshire - Hotel Prinsengracht,  which was an easy walk to my primary destination - the Van Gogh Museum.  In fact I paid for an expensive room overlooking the canal, but we were given keys to a very ugly, and badly fitted out room in the rear, looking out on an overgrown garden. I would have walked out, but the other four couples got their canal views and were happy. No big deal. The saving grace was that the night manager (an immigrant from the Dutch East Indies) was a willing and spirited conversationalist when the time zone difference sent me downstairs before dawn. He also provided a superb continental breakfast.  

Visitors to the Van Gogh Museum are encouraged to use

the display boards outside to take their "souvenir shots".

There is also a "selfie-room" provided inside the building.

We took our establishing shot outside with Vincent, but I

have yet to take a "selfie".  Narcissism is not in my DNA.

Visitor access to Van Gogh's work is incredibly generous. You can stand virtually "nose-to-nose" with your favourite canvases, a privilege I have still not recovered from. Sometimes I found myself examining his creations from multiple angles, enjoying how light played with the textures. Minute detail, never apparent to me in art books, is memorable.  Little things can tickle my imagination. For example, I noticed that even the dimmest flame he shaped when depicting the household lamps of the peasantry, (ref. The Potato Eaters) still required at least three colours. I thought I had seen all of his drawings and paintings, but the museum collection contains several surprises. A day with Van Gogh was not simply a high point of our trip, but one of the great days of my life.  

We had two full days in the old city, under a gorgeous sky that illuminated the urban canal network and displayed all of the city's ornamental iron and carved stonework at their best.  It was an ideal way to prepare ourselves for the coming cruise, because our cars were parked in Canada and Taiwan, and we suddenly became pedestrians again. We certainly needed to adjust to the slower rhythms of life if we were to absorb the richness of our surroundings, and truly enjoy the services that Viking River Cruises was about to offer us.  I recall my principle thought as I walked Amsterdam streets and rode the handy canal boats was, "These people   deserve to be proud of this great city. Who wouldn't love to live here and spend their days in an endless journey of urban adventure and discovery?" It was an impression that would repeat itself as each day unfolded.

THEN AND  NOW

With each of my travel blogs I plan to incorporate a Then and Now feature. This will of course emphasize the authenticity of our travel experience. Much of Europe's built-heritage survived the two World Wars, and it was our great privilege to walk through, climb over, sit on or touch with inquisitive fingers, a cornucopia of wonders.  I assembled my set of "Then" photos after returning, in preparation for writing this travel-Blog.

The Canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas circa 1890. 

In the far distance we see the spire of De Oude Kerk.

Lina Lin, my friend and neighbour here in Burnaby, helps with this comparison. The old canal warehouses are almost untouched.  I am looking toward the church seen in the 1890 photo. It still exists, but today is captive to Amsterdam's Red Light district on the Oudekerksplein, which encircles it. 

The canal behind the Church of St. Nicholas, Amsterdam.

The canal, church and warehouses are as they were in 1890.

Next:  Our Beautiful Longship

Viking River Cruises - Our (Very) Grand European Tour

Blog Article No. 1

Ronald J. Jack

Email Contact: ronjackbc@yahoo.ca

What is Life Without Adventure?

Finding adventure doesn’t require much effort. For a man all you have to do is shave, put on a clean shirt and step out into the sun. So easy, and yet we still hesitate.  Thirty years ago I imagined myself sailing East across the waterways of Europe, from the North Sea to the Black Sea, but the years accumulated like a thick crust of barnacles on my butt. I neglected that early promise to visit ancestral lands, and sought mostly Asian destinations.  My original conception of a river voyage across was as cabin passenger on a motorized cargo barge, sharing stops and meals with the tiny crew. A young man's fantasy, and a limiting way to travel, but in the 1980s I had no knowledge of Europe’s highly evolved river-cruise industry.

A few years back, Viking River Cruises began a saturation advertising campaign, offering highly attractive vacation packages for couples who wanted a more unique travel experience.  The TV ads rekindled a fantasy I had thought permanently buried, but still I dithered. Finally when a some Taiwanese friends invited us to join their tour group, I could not think of a single reason to decline.  They had booked through the Expedia CruiseShip Centre franchise in Metrotown, Burnaby, and we would round out a group of ten. The number 10 became very significant, and was a happy accident  that enhanced our travel experience. How and why,  will be revealed in a future Blog. 

Because of the limited number of cabins in each Viking longship, bookings are required more than a year in advance, and payment is in U.S. dollars. [That policy was recently amended for Canadians because our dollar suddenly lost 1/5 of its value.] I was under pressure to simply accept all that my friends had signed for, but promised that I was actually saving big bucks by booking so far ahead. That wasn't at all true, but I bear no grudge against the travel agent.  Viking's business model is sound, and if its prices or practices pinch here or there, insist on an explanation. It's your money.  The key point here in the Blog is not to carp about cost, but to explain how you can be smarter with your own travel plan. While enjoying our motorized longboat journey across Europe  I made a point of noting Viking's business practices and the individual performances of staff and crew. My observations will be honest and fair. By the time our vacation wrapped up, I was thrilled with the entire experience and content that I received value for every dollar.   Now, that doesn't mean I entered into the bargain blindly, because I did not.  

Here I give gentle warning: If all you want to do is critique a stranger's tour photos, this Blog Series is not for you.  My intent is an informative description of our recent trip, supported by historical insights, and plenty of photos.  My primary audience are my travel companions and friends.  I also hope to assist some of those now considering a Viking River Cruise, by discussing some issues the travel agents avoid, or perhaps don't have answers for. I am confident that reading this blog series will benefit anyone who plans to take Viking's 16-Day GRAND EUROPEAN TOUR,  and perhaps satisfy a few who have already sailed.

Genesis

This blog series takes its name from a travelogue written by Negley Farson and published in 1926.  I first encountered Farson's best-selling memoir  The Way of a Transgressor, and then sought out other works including his Sailing Across Europe  [full book text here].  Farson was a journalist and flying veteran of WW1.  He was also a romantic.  After surviving the Great War he spent three joyous years on Vancouver Island, sharing a houseboat with  a good woman who had patience with his writing habits.  In the twenties he produced two romance novels which flopped, and a salvo of short stories for the Pulp magazines, such as ADVENTURE.  It occurred to him to buy a small boat and sail with his woman across the waterways of Europe. It wasn't a unique idea, there are several books like it, but Farson had an engaging style. Today we call it creative non-fiction.  You cannot trust most names he uses or believe you are getting the literal truth when you read some of his breezy tales. He was all about the experience, and cared not a fig about verifiable personal history. As an historian I might find myself muttering a protest at Farson's more obvious fabrications, but there was one unexpected truth in his prose.  His lifetime of adventure made me feel like a sucker for sitting still.  How about you?

My ancestors immigrated to British North America in the 1830s and 1840s.  They were Irish peasants which means they, and I, share Viking DNA.  When the Norsemen invaded and colonized Ireland, their semen also colonized every Irish woman who couldn't find a bog to hide in.  Since Viking longbships once sailed all the navigable waterways of Europe, Viking men scattered their seed as far as the steppes of Russia. In the 20th Century the mighty German nation resurrected and manipulated many ancient myths, but some aspects of their martial past were verifiable, such as the contribution of the Viking people to the cultural development of Western Europe.  Maybe I was fated to return to Germano-Celtic shores. If there is such a thing as "Race Memory" and my old friend Col. Robert A Logan (also a WW1 airman) convinced me there is, my choice of  crossing Western Europe on a ultra-modern longship might be satisfying on a deep psychological level. What had I to lose?

Fortunately for us, the timing of our cruise could not have been more fortuitous. The water level in both the Rhine River and the Danube was perfect, the weather was ideal, and the river traffic moderate.  More, several of the scheduled venues had recently been upgraded or were offering unprecedented exhibitions.  (The meat and drink of future Blog articles.) As an historian, I was keen to spot reminders of the fact that 2014 was the beginning of the four-year period marking the 100th Anniversary of World War 1.   Even better, we were able to photograph active archeological excavations which are in progress at Regensburg and Cologne, within a short walk of where our Viking longship was berthed.  How cool is that !

In Europe every second person has a camera in hand, and on most

streets it's hard to avoid the touristy shot. This enterprising young fellow 

spread his box of cars on the Rijksmuseum bicycle path,  for some fast

and furious commercial shots.  Guerrilla camera work - without a permit.

Next:  Buy the Package, Enjoy the Package