Viking River Rhine Cruise Review: Ports and Excursions
Choosing a Viking River Cruise from their enticing selection of itineraries is like asking a child in a chocolate factory to pick just one sweet from an overwhelming array of tempting treats. After much deliberation, my husband and I selected the Rhine Getaway, an eight-day cruise on the Rhine River. Oh, what a wonderful choice we made! Review my round-up of all the Viking River Rhine Cruise destinations below.
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Basel, Switzerland
Our Viking River Rhine Cruise set sail from Basel, Switzerland. This beautiful city is home to 40 museums including one so tiny, it’s literally impossible to step inside. Expect a charming Old Town, gorgeous Rhine River views, and exquisite dining options. Read more about romantic things to do in Basel, Switzerland now!
Germany’s Black Forest
Land of cuckoo clocks, fruit elixirs, and its namesake hams and cakes — the Black Forest seems like a place dreamed up by the Brothers Grimm for their fairy tales. Read more about what to expect when visiting Germany’s Black Forest with Viking River Cruises.
Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg, France captured my heart and has left me daydreaming of moving to this beautiful French town with a German accent. Discover what’s so enchanting about Strasbourg, France before you go.
Heidelberg, Germany
Rich with history, Heidelberg is home to Germany’s oldest university, the ruins of a romantic Renaissance castle, and the world’s largest wine barrel. Learn about these sites and more things to do in Heidelberg, Germany today.
Rudesheim am Rhein, Germany
Rudesheim am Rhein is the picture of a quaint German town, filled with charming wine garden restaurants and plenty of souvenir shops peddling adorable Christmas treasures. Learn more about Rudesheim am Rhein, Germany before your cruise.
Marksburg Castle in Braubach, Germany
Marksburg Castle was the most fascinating castle I have ever visited, and I’ve visited quite a few. Our Viking River Rhine Cruise tour guide gave an intriguing glimpse into what life was like during the time of castles, kings, knights and princesses. Find out what made this castle so intriguing in this story, Marksburg Castle with Viking River Cruises.
Cologne, Germany
Cologne is known for its gothic cathedral and its unique Kölsch beer. It’s also the birthplace of the world’s first eau de cologne and home to some of the best shopping in the country. Check out the fun and tasty things to Do in Cologne, Germany.
Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
If you want to get your traditional Dutch windmill fix, then Kinderdijk is the place to be. Learn more about Dutch windmills at Kinderdijk now.
Keukenhof Gardens in Holland, the Netherlands
Our Rhine Getaway concluded in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Rather than purchasing the Viking Post-Cruise Extension, we opted to explore on our own. We were lucky to sail during spring when the tulips are in full bloom at the renowned Keukenhof Gardens outside Amsterdam in Holland. This sprawling botanic garden is filled with every varietal of tulips you could imagine among many other lovely flowers and things to do. Read more about Keukenhof Gardens near Amsterdam.
Save Money on Your Viking River Cruise
After looking back on the incredible memories made with Viking, I’m tempted to go book another river cruise right now! Would you like to book a Viking River Cruise? You can save money and get perks when you book with CruiseDirect.
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If you enjoyed this story, then I bet you’ll like reading our other grown-up getaway ideas!
Would you like to embark on a Viking River Cruise? Let us know your thoughts and questions in the comments below!
A Note from The Travel Mama: Our cruise was hosted by Viking River Cruises. I did not receive any monetary compensation related to this story. All opinions are mine, as always.
I love this itinerary. We sailed the Danube on Viking River Cruises last fall from Budapest to Nurenburg. I am jealous that you got to see the tulips in Amsterdam!
Ooh…I bet the Danube Viking cruise was amazing, too! I’d love to sail again with them someday!
I’ve never been on a cruise and to be honest, I’m not keen to go on one. Except… I would consider a river cruise. Weirdly, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Viking river cruises. I think it must be the preferred way to go for Canadians. I’d love to do a Rhine cruise as well – you hit so many highlights like the Black Forest! I’d also LOVE to do one that goes through all those Christmas market towns in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. One day….
I would absolutely love to go back to Europe for a Viking River Cruise tour of the Christmas markets. That would be so magical!
Wow this looks amazing! I think a river cruise would be a great way to explore Europe without shlepping between train stations 🙂
And you only need to unpack once! A river cruise is really more about the destinations than the ship and you are able to spend a lot of time out exploring.
I am
Not a big cruise fan but would love to try one of these smaller river cruises. This one in the Rhine looks ideal because it hits so many new destinations for me.
Tamara – Even people who don’t think of themselves as “cruise people” could enjoy a Viking River Cruise, I think! I hope you’ll give it a try someday!
A river cruise in Europe has been on my travel wish list forever! I thought that my first choice was a Danube cruise but a Rhine cruise sounds amazing too particularly if it could include a visit to Keukenhof. Seeing those tulips is also on my wish list but it wasn’t open yet when we visited Amsterdam for spring break a couple of years ago so I need to return in April sometime!
Lisa – We had the same problem when we wanted to visit Giverny during a spring break to France — it wasn’t open yet for the season. I hope you can get to Keukenhof someday — such a huge an impressive botanic garden!
We missed Giverny on a trip to France too – our spring break in March is just too early for some sites in Europe!
So true! Wouldn’t it be nice to have an April spring break instead?! I’m hoping we’ll get to Giverny someday…!
We are planning to take this trip Amsterdam to Basel October 26-Nov 2, 2018. With five extended days in Switzerland. We are concerned about weather. We are New Englanders and don’t mind cold. Hats and gloves are obvious but what about boots? Is there apt to be snow that early?
Hi Joyce – You can check the average monthly weather forecasts by location via Weather.com. It looks like Basel typically has lows in the 40s and highs in the 50s or 60s in October. For Basel, click here: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/SZXX0004:1:SZ and scroll through to October and November. You can search the other destinations along your route as well. Enjoy your cruise!
Hi Coleen, Enjoy reading your comments. Very helpful!
We are taking our first Viking cruise in July from Basel to Amsterdam. Currently, we are looking at excursions. Are there some that you would recommend?
Thank you!
Hi Dee – Almost all excursions are included in the price of your Viking Cruise. There are, however, a few additional “extension” excursions that you can add on. My husband and I had a blast at the Rudesheim am Rhein dinner excursion: https://travelmamas.com/rudesheim-am-rhein-germany-viking-river-cruises/. You can go on your own to the restaurant to save money but there may not be room at the restaurant for you and it really was fun to enjoy the meal and festivities with our fellow cruisers. Enjoy your Viking River Cruise!
Taking our first Viking River Cruise in just about 3 weeks to celebrate my 60th. Interested in knowing if most of the excursions include a short bus ride from where the ship docks to where ever the tour might be? Also, we are going from Basel to Amsterdam. Made our own flight arrangements, as the ones Viking was offering took longer to get to Basel than we wanted to. We arrive in Basel around 10AM. Do you know if we can board the ship at least to leave our bags before the usual 3PM. It would be great if we could get a short lie-down before we trek through Basel for our first jaunt.
Thanks.
Hi Ann- How exciting! I bet you’ll love Viking River Cruise! For most excursions, there is a bus ride before the walking tour. Often, information will be provided during the bus ride as well. I am not sure how early you can drop off luggage, but for sure before 3 pm. We arrived a couple of hours early and were warmly greeted. If memory serves, our room wasn’t ready yet, but they happily took our bags for us and they were waiting for us on the ship after we went out for a drink to pass the time. Enjoy!