You’ll enjoy your home away from home onboard our deluxe ships. River-view cabins, excellent dining, regional specialities and the amenities of a fine hotel, together with the friendly service from your English-speaking crew, ensure your comfort during your journey.
For more information about what a holiday with Viking River Cruises is like, please see some of the frequently asked questions below:
Life Onboard
- What’s a typical day like?
Our itineraries are designed to give you the best balance between time ashore, scenic cruising, and visits to a variety of places. Typically you’ll have at least one tour a day—morning or afternoon—with the balance of the day cruising through scenic countryside. Depending on your itinerary, on some days you will have longer tours that include lunch ashore, or you may have two tours (morning and afternoon) with lunch onboard your ship at mid-day. You’ll experience some cruising at night, and some itineraries include full days of scenic cruising.
You will receive an itinerary booklet with your final travel documents but please note that your exact itinerary is subject to change due to local public holidays, occasional temporary site closures, weather conditions, river conditions (high and low water), local mooring restrictions and lock closures, in which case we’ll make the best possible alternative arrangements to maximise your experience.
- What type of food is served onboard?
In Europe and Russia, all our meals are prepared onboard by our European chefs, and consist of European-style food. In China, your meals are prepared by both European and Chinese chefs, and our Swiss hotel management oversees your dining experience.
Breakfast is typically a buffet featuring fresh fruit, juices, pastries, eggs, cheeses and cold cuts or cereal; you can also order from featured “hot selections” of the day.
Lunch usually includes soup, a salad/sandwich bar, choice of entrée and dessert.
Dinner is a multi-course meal with a choice of entrées (typically including one regional speciality relevant to your destination).
In China, you’ll have Western-style lunches and dinners as well as family-style Chinese menus designed by celebrity chef Martin Yan.
- I have special dietary needs, what should I do?
If you wish to request a special diet such as vegetarian, low-salt or low-cholesterol, please inform us at the time of booking and also be sure to inform your Maitre d’Hôtel onboard. Our chefs will make all reasonable efforts to accommodate your special dietary requests.
- Can I sit where I want in the onboard restaurant?
All of our ships (except in Ukraine) are open-seating, meaning you may sit where you like. We do not accept table reservations so that you are free to meet other passengers and make new friends. Our Ukraine cruises are unique and feature fixed seating, provided the first evening.
- What entertainment is available onboard?
We offer onboard programmes to enhance your understanding of your destinations, including lectures, demonstrations and theme dinners with regional specialities. Depending on your itinerary, a folkloric group or local musicians may come aboard, or other activities may be hosted by your Cruise Manager. All ships have libraries and internet access; TV's with local & English programming are in all cabins except on Russia and Ukraine ships. On itineraries where your ship stays in port during the evenings or overnight, you may choose to enjoy a show, coffee, or dinner ashore on your own.
- What clothes should I bring?
Viking River Cruises believes that travellers are able to appreciate their destination the most when they can dress comfortably. We recommend you bring comfortable walking shoes and modest, casual clothing for exploring ashore. Dinner attire is casual, open-necked shirts, dresses; no suits or ties are required. Captain’s Welcome Dinners and Farewell Nights are dressier but not formal.
- What time is disembarkation?
All passengers are requested to disembark by 10 am. If we’re providing your airport transfer on disembarkation day, we’ll make sure your transfer is at the appropriate time for your flight.
- Is smoking allowed onboard?
Smoking is not permitted inside our European and Russian ships. Passengers may smoke on the exterior Promenade Deck or Sun Deck. On Ukraine and China ships, smoking is permitted in designated public areas only; this excludes the dining room.
- How do I tip the crew and what’s appropriate?
Tips are not included in your cruise price, but are your way of showing satisfaction directly to your staff for good service. You may tip onboard staff in cash, or charge your tips to your credit card at the end of the cruise. For local guides, you should tip at the end of each tour in cash.
In Europe, we suggest a gratuity of €10 per passenger per day which is distributed among the ship’s staff, including your Cruise Manager.
In China, we suggest a gratuity of $7 to $10 per passenger per day which is distributed among the ship’s staff and your shore excursion guides; and $1 to $2 per person per day for your Cruise Manager.
Additional tipping is at the passenger’s discretion. Your final ticket information will include further guidelines for tipping taxi drivers, waiters, porters, and others who may provide services, as well as indicating when no tip is necessary.
- How are onboard purchases handled?
For your convenience, all purchases or paid services aboard are added to your personal shipboard account. At the end of your cruise, your total can be paid with cash or a credit card.
Shipboard Accommodation & Amenities
- What amenities will be in my cabin?
Our cabins all include private bathrooms with showers and air conditioning/heat. Cabins on the Chinese ships all have private balconies. Many cabins have hotel-style beds and windows that open. All ships in Western Europe and China have in-room televisions offering local and some English programming. Russian and Ukrainian ships have a public colour television and a supply of movie videos. All ships have in-room phones for calling cabin-to-cabin except those in Russia and Ukraine; European cabin phones can also be used for ship-to-shore calls. Hairdryers and in-room safes are also provided on most ships. Internet service is available on all ships. For details specific to your ship, please see the ship and cabin information section for your itinerary.
- How can I get my clothes washed?
Laundry and pressing services are available onboard for a fee. We regret that clothes cannot be dry cleaned onboard. For safety reasons, we ask passengers not to irons in their cabins.
- Are there phones on the ship?
All ships have in-room phones for calling cabin-to-cabin except those in Russia and Ukraine; European cabin phones can be used for ship-to-shore calls. On other ships, you can place a call from ship to shore through the Reception Desk. The Reception Desk can also send a fax for you. Any charges for faxes and ship-to-shore calls will be added to your shipboard account.
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Can I access the Internet? Internet access is available for a fee on all ships, although satellite reception can be limited at times during your cruise due to terrain. For details specific to internet access onboard your ship, please see the ship and cabin information section.
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Do I need an electrical converter while onboard? You will need an adapter/converter to use small personal items such as a razor or alarm clock. Onboard voltage is 220V on most plugs, with European, Russian or Chinese-style prongs. Some ships have 110V razor outlets; for details specific to your ship, please see the ship and cabin information section for your itinerary.
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How can I get medical help if I need it? Staff members are trained to care for passengers in need of medical assistance. While there is no doctor onboard our European ships, due to the ships’ constant proximity to land, medical services can be called immediately from shore. There is an onboard doctor for the Eastern European Odyssey itinerary. Our Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese ships have a small medical clinic and an onboard doctor; on Chinese ships, the doctor may not speak fluent English; a staff member fluent in English will assist you. Please ensure you have medical insurance for your holiday.
- Can I bring a Wheelchair or Motorised Scooter?
Europe:
We welcome guests with special needs. Guests who have any medical, physical or other special needs must contact us for further information prior to booking.
Our vessels and coaches are equipped to European standards. Viking River Cruises will, under appropriate circumstances, permit its passengers to use motorised scooters and wheelchairs that satisfy the criteria stated in the Viking River Cruises Guests with Special Needs Policy Statement. The use of motorised scooters and wheelchairs should be based upon a full understanding and appreciation by passengers and their companions that our vessels do not have elevators that would permit easy access from deck to deck and that some decks are multi-level or contain significant thresholds. Accordingly, a physically challenged passenger will require the services of a responsible adult, since crew availability is severely limited in most circumstances.
China:
While we welcome guests with special needs on the majority of our river cruises, we are advised by the owners and operators of the China river cruise vessels that water transportation, as well as schedules and activities, are subject to change depending upon changing water levels, port accessibility and weather conditions. Ships and destinations in China generally do not have facilities to accommodate wheelchairs or physically challenged passengers. Some embarkation and disembarkation facilities can be extremely steep and impossible to navigate with wheelchairs, motorised scooters or any other mechanical devices.
Additionally, shore excursions may include walks of up to 1 to 2 miles over steps and uneven ground which are also not wheelchair-accessible. We regret our inability to offer these cruises to physically challenged passengers due to conditions and circumstances beyond our control. For your safety and enjoyment, we recommend that all passengers be in good physical condition, so that you may participate, enjoy and benefit from all tours and shore excursions, as well as the cruise experience.
Shore Excursions/Tours
- Do shore excursions cost extra?
All tours and shore excursions are included in your cruise price unless noted as “optional.” You will typically have an included tour each day. Information and pricing for “optional” tours will be available in detail onboard.
- What are they like?
Some of your excursions are designed as panoramic tours or are shorter walking tours intended to give you an overview. Other excursions may focus on a particular attraction. Meals are generally served onboard ship or in a local restaurant.
Depending on the day’s schedule, you may be able to stay longer in the city or attraction to explore on your own. Your Tour Escort will let you know when you have this option. On some tours, coaches will drop off passengers for the walking portion of the tour, returning later for the return trip. Passengers typically cannot remain on the coach.
You are always free to skip a tour and explore on your own. Simply ask your Viking River Cruises Escort for suggestions. There are no refunds for unused tours, meals or other portions of the holiday.
- How physically demanding are these?
Our shore excursions include walking tours, panoramic coach tours and sometimes a combination of both. They often require a fair amount of walking, since many of Europe and Asia’s areas of interest are best accessed on foot. Some tours may require that you be on your feet for an extended period of time. Because of greater distances and more ancient sites, excursions in China can be more demanding than the European ones. To enjoy all of your excursions, you should be in good physical condition and able to walk easily over uneven pavement, cobblestone streets, or up and down stairs and inclines. You are free to skip a tour at any time.