Viking Var Review
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Um no, no thanks. Never again.
I signed up for a Viking River Cruise "Christmas in Germany" cruise in April 2017 for my mother's 50th birthday on assurances we would see "tons of Christmas markets" in Germany - which was the ENTIRE point of the trip to Europe during Thanksgiving. Otherwise we'd have stayed home, it's cold, it rains, it's miserable but the Christmas markets are legendary and something my mother has always wanted to see. So for her birthday, I paid for this cruise.
I booked the most expensive room - one of two Explorer Suites on the third level at the aft of the boat. Our ship was set to depart Nuremberg on 25 November with everyone embarking on 24 November for a 7-day cruise culminating with a final stop in Cologne.
Response from VikingS, Community Team
Cabin Review
Explorer Suite
The cabin was nice with heated tile floors in the bathroom and a large comfortable tiled shower. The bedroom was very cozy and comfortable with nice mood lighting you can dim for nighttime. Views would have been beautiful if our ship had sailed through the Rhine as expected - but it did not. So all I saw from all the wrap-around windows and balcony were dingy ports and muddy dirty water. Staff kept the room clean and stocked with cookies and drinks.
Port Reviews
Nuremberg
The combined bus/walking tour was decent and our guide was very sweet. It was freezing and raining and we were all anxious to do some shopping and see the Christmas market. We had only 45 minutes to see the town after the tour. Sadly, it wasn't open and none of us got to see it - but we did see the central old town square where they were setting it up for the next weekend. Fun. Great.
Bamberg
This one was AWFUL. We arrived on a Sunday and it was freezing and cold. Also - as it was a holiday in Germany almost nothing was open save Dunkin Donuts (funny) and a few bakeries and the church which had mass for the holiday and kicked everyone out during that. The Christmas market here was also closed, another miss, and we had no where to go and stand. We ended up all huddled for over an hour near the bus pick-up spot freezing to death. 50 or more people. I called to see if they'd come get us sooner and was told no. We had nowhere to go to warm up.