R&R on the Rhine - Viking Bestla

A tale of a cruise on the Rhine River:
R&R on the Rhine - Memphis to Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Viking Bestla
R&R on the Rhine - Amsterdam
R&R on the Rhine - Kinderdijk
R&R on the Rhine - Cologne
R&R on the Rhine - Marksburg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Upper Rhine Valley
R&R on the Rhine - Rudesheim
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg Castle
R&R on the Rhine - Heidelberg and Speyer
R&R on the Rhine - Strasbourg
R&R on the Rhine - Black Forest
R&R on the Rhine - Colmar
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 1
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich Day 2
R&R on the Rhine - Zurich to Memphis

Since I'd booked my own air transportation to Amsterdam, I was responsible for getting myself from the airport to the boat.  I'd checked with Viking to see how much they charged and it seemed a little expensive.  I thought I could do better on my own.

I've had several good experiences with Viator, a website that sells tour packages and in many cities offers ground transportation to and from the airport.  I booked them to take me to the boat.

After picking up my luggage I rolled it through the arrivals area until I came to the appointed meeting place.  There I found my driver and even though I'd booked a group transport, I was his only passenger.  I picked a good time to land as the sun was up but we'd missed rush hour.  The docks were probably 30-40 minutes away from the airport, though I didn't check my watch.

The driver was quite pleasant and we chatted a bit during the drive.  Eventually we arrived at a building near the river...but it sure didn't seem to be busy with embarking passengers.  Even the driver was a bit apprehensive and came in the building with me to be sure I was at the right place.  There was only one person inside and after conversation in Dutch with much gesticulating, we went back to the car and the luggage went back inside the trunk.

We then crossed the river and there we found several river cruise boats docked side by side.  The boat closest to the parking lot was a Viking ship so I felt for sure we must be at the right place.  We got my luggage back out and I let the driver go - which was a big mistake.

I spoke to the cruise director of the ship docked there and she informed me that my boat, the Bestla, was actually docked back on the other side of the river, much closer to where we had originally stopped!  She did offer to call a taxi, which was the only practical way of getting to my boat while lugging a suitcase.  I was soooo glad I'd gotten some cash from the ATM before leaving the airport!

The Viking website had stated quite plainly that even they did not know in advance where a ship would be docked as it was up to the harbormaster on any given day.  Since Viator offered a transport, I assumed they'd know that and would check with the cruise line ahead of time.  Next time I take a cruise like this I'm going to use the ship's ground transportation, even if it is a little more expensive since their drivers will know for sure where the boat is docked.  With the extra money I had to shell out for the taxi I would have come out ahead to have just paid Viking directly. 

But finally I'd arrived at the Viking Bestla.  I was welcomed aboard warmly with welcome beverages and escorted down to my cabin.  My friend C, who was my roommate, would be arriving a bit later but the rest of my friends had arrived long ago and were out touring Amsterdam.  I did not realize when we booked this cruise that this was the maiden voyage of the ship!  My friends arrived so early that they became the first-ever passengers on this boat.  Pretty cool!

The ship is so long it was tough to squeeze into one photo!

I unpacked my things in the cabin.  It was a tight fit but things were very well thought-out.  The shower was so much better than we'd experienced on any of our previous cruises.  The bathroom floor was raised a bit from  the rest of the room and could even be heated if needed.  This was a ship that obviously catered to Americans as we found several 110 volt US-style outlets in addition to the expected European-style outlet.  That allowed us to keep phones, tablets, computers and curling irons all plugged in at the same time when warranted.

Our room had twin beds but this one was available for photographing!

Tight squeeze from the foot of the bed

The really nice shower

Tight quarters, but efficient

The beds were raised high off the floor which allowed for plenty of room to store suitcases under them.  It was a bit of a tight squeeze maneuvering the suitcases under there since there was only a very small space between our two twin beds and not enough room at the foot of the bed to slide them under from that direction.  But eventually we got them tucked in safely.

There's Wi-Fi throughout the ship though we did notice a definite drag on the responsiveness in the evenings after dinner when many people were back in their cabins and, presumably, checking email and such.  The room also had a very nice flat screen TV, though we did not watch any shows except some in-house infomercials on Viking's other cruises.

We had a small refrigerator and a safe.  The closet floor was raised just a bit and there was room for our hanging clothes.

Meal time brought open seating in the dining room but by the second night we'd found two six-top tables side by side where our whole group could sit together, which was nice.  I don't know if other people mixed and mingled amongst themselves or if once they found "their spot" they tended to sit in the same place meal after meal or not.

If we weren't off on an excursion for lunch, we had the option of eating in the dining room or going to a small buffet on the Aquavit Terrace where we could sit outside or we could bring our food back into the lounge on the same deck.

Depending on what time we departed a port, we sometimes had local craftsmen or entertainers on board after dinner.  Unlike large ocean-going vessels, these cruises don't have 24x7 dining and entertainment options but there is quite a variety of things to do in the evenings.  Some nights we were in port until quite late and could actually experience the cities at night.

After getting a good feel for the ship I sat in the lobby area and waited for C to arrive.  The Wi-Fi was pretty good right there so it gave me plenty of time to catch up on what I'd missed while flying.  I deliberately stayed out of the room because I knew if I sat on that bed for too long I'd end up sleeping and I wanted to get my body clock on the new time schedule as soon as possible.  C arrived a bit before lunch time so we got her settled into the cabin and went up to the Aquavit Terrace for lunch.  It was quite cool that mid-April day so we were glad the terrace was enclosed to keep the wind off us.

Thus refreshed, we set out for a quick tour of Amsterdam.