Romantic Danube: Viking Longships

Romantic Danube: Overview
Romantic Danube: Flying United from Chicago to Brussels
Romantic Danube: Brussels and continuing to Prague
Romantic Danube: Marriott Courtyard Prague
Romantic Danube: Exploring Prague
Romantic Danube: Boscolo, Autograph Collection
Romantic Danube: Prague to Erlangen
Romantic Danube: Viking Longships

When you hear the term "cruise" it's likely that conjures and image of a large ship with hundreds of people, partying all night, eating all day and into the midnight buffet.  A Viking European river cruise is nothing like that. There are only three decks with cabins and a sun deck on the top.  At maximum capacity the ships can sleep about 120 passengers.  While there is a bar and a lounge, it's not jumping all night.  I'd estimate the average age of guests to be in the mid-to-late 60s.  For most of us, once dinner is finished, we're done for the night!  Viking guests are typically interested in learning about their ports of call and sometimes in the afternoons or evenings there are lectures about places we're going or local artisans demonstrating their wares.  During our first evening on board, local singers entertained us with regional music including selections from Don Giovanni (enlisting one of our group to sit in for the title character - a non-verbal role) and a sing-along to Edelweiss.  Another night we had a Name That Tune-style contest with intervals of dancing.  (Want to see something to make you shudder, picture a bunch of 50+ers doing the YMCA.)  All in all there's plenty to entertain if that's your choice.

When we booked our trip, we were to sail on the Viking Freya but a few weeks before our cruise began, that ship was involved in a terrible accident that killed two crew members.  We were given notice that we'd sail on the Viking Bestla instead.  In 2014 many of us had taken our first Viking cruise, a trip down the Rhine, and our ship was the Bestla, which was on its maiden voyage.  To have the chance to sail it again was terrific - we'd know exactly what to expect!

But about two weeks before our trip Viking contacted us once again.  Due to low water levels the Bestla was unable to sail all the way to Nuremberg.  So we'd start our journey on the Viking Njord and at some point in the middle of the trip we'd switch over to the Bestla.  While this wasn't ideal, what could we do?  It beat taking the whole trip by bus, that was for sure.

Our group had Standard (F) staterooms, which are the smallest ones on the ship.  Most of the cabin is below the waterline so we only have two high windows for natural light.  The rooms on the lowest deck are smaller because of the ship's hull, whereas the rooms above have a small terrace with a sliding glass door.  But we don't spend a lot of time in the room so we didn't mind.

The layouts of the cabins - and the two ships in general - were virtually identical.  We think the cabins on the Njord were just a tiny bit larger than the ones on the Bestla.  But the biggest difference was in the shower.

Upon entering the cabin, the bathroom was immediately on the left, same as you might find in a hotel room.  The sink and mirror were against the hall wall while the shower was opposite.  So the back wall of the shower is the partition between the bathroom and the beds.

Viking Njord sink with the shower reflected in the mirror

When the Njord was designed someone thought it would be great to make that wall - and the side wall as well - frosted glass.  It did make the cabin feel not as cramped but it meant that if one person got up in the middle of the night, there was no way to prevent the entire cabin from lighting up when the bathroom light was turned on.

The frosted glass wall just to the right of the shower head
could become clear at the flick of a switch

But it gets worse.  That frosted glass?  With the flick of a switch on the bathroom counter, the frosting disappeared, leaving just plain glass between the person in the shower and the person in the bed area!  I have no idea why anyone thought this was a good plan!  Fortunately by the time the Bestla was designed, someone had the good sense to use solid wood instead of glass.

Viking provides their own Freyja branded toiletries.  It was nice to see the tubes were large enough to last for an entire week.

Viking's signature toiletries

Opposite the entrance to the bathroom was the closet.  It had plenty of hangers for two people and enough room for our shoes.  There was also a section of shelving and this is where the room's safe was located.  The Njord's sliding closet doors were glass while those on the Bestla was solid wood.

The closet had shelves on the left side and room to hang
clothes on the right

Past the closet was a long shelf that ran all the way to the hull. Below it were several drawers as well as the mini-fridge.  Closer to the hull was a chair so the counter could be used as a desk or vanity.  Also on this counter were our Quiet Vox devices.  These are the items we use when we're on the group tours.  The guides each have their own channels and our devices have earpieces so that the guides don't have to shout and each person can set the volume to a comfortable setting.

Long desk/shelf that stretched all the way to the hull. Drawers and the
mini-fridge are underneath. Quiet Vox sets are in the corner by the phone.

On the left side, next to the bathroom were the beds. They're nothing special but they're reasonably comfortable and have enough clearance that we can easily slide our suitcases under them once we've unpacked.  C and I like to put both of the night stands in the center as it gives us a little larger area to maneuver.  On each side of the headboard is an outlet.  The right side has the 110v US-style outlet while the left side has the 220v Europe-style.  Great for guests from various places!

Bedding in most rooms can be configured as one bed or two.

Crew lodging is in the forward section of the first deck, with guest cabins aft.  On the second (main) deck, the reception area is in the center with the dining room forward and more guest cabins aft.  Guest cabins are also aft on the third deck while the forward section is the bar and lounge.  Extending even further forward is the Aquavit Terrace, a space where lighter lunches are served and guests can enjoy al fresco dining during mealtime or can just sit and watch the riverbank as we pass by at other times.  They have glass partitions such that even during inclement weather a small number of people can sit in an enclosed area yet stay warm and dry.

The very top is the Sun Deck.  This is where the wheelhouse is located as well as a large awning that covers perhaps one-third of the ship.  The entire deck is covered with lounge chairs yet the wheelhouse, awning and deck rails can all be lowered so that the ship can sail beneath bridges.  While there is an elevator between decks two and three, decks one and the Sun Deck are accessible only by stairs.  You can see more of the deck plan on the Viking website.

Our cruise director, Ulrike, and our concierge, Poulina, moved with us from the Njord to the Bestla but all other crew stayed aboard their ships.  In talking with Ulrike later we learned that she and Poulina had to pack up every single thing they had aboard the ship and transfer it to the other ship - because there were another cruise director/concierge pair who were doing the same thing.  They work six weeks on and then get two weeks off.  I can only imagine the cabins are quite small as it seemed like there were as many crew members as there were guests but their cabins only took up half of the lower deck.  It's a difficult life but so many crew members were just a delight to deal with that they make the experience truly enjoyable for us guests.