Waltzing down the Danube on Viking

First River Cruise Experience

While Jan and Tracey had sailed several times on ocean cruises, we had not had the opportunity to sail on a river cruise until invited to join family for a Viking River Cruise sailing their Danube Waltz itinerary from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary on the Viking Rinda.

Our cruise took place April 2022 the week after Easter. We flew into Munich, Germany and had a few days’ pre-cruise at the world’s largest thermal spa in Erding which is outside of Munich. Then it was to our ship in Passua which is about an hour from Munich. On the ship, we were meet with wonderful service and beautiful views as we moved down the Danube.

What did we learn about river cruising? Well there are certainly difference that we discovered between river cruising and ocean cruising?

More to come—We are typing as fast as we can!

Pre-Cruise Experience at Erding Thermal Spa

Why did we decide to book at the Therme Erding? A couple of reasons come to mind. Tracey had visited the Therme Erding first in early 2011 when we were stationed in Germany and she returned a couple of times in 2012 and 2013 while on business trips. The Therme at Erding is billed as the “world’s largest spa” and it is a great place to relax and unwind after a long flight like we had. The spa is located approximately 10 miles (16 KM) from the Munich International Airport and our cab fare was about $35. If you are looking to save some money, you can also take a bus directly to the complex from the airport (about xx) or for an even cheaper way, take the metro (UBahn) from the airport but this will require some walking from the metro station to the complex.

Therme Erding has several hotels located on the complex, the Hotel Victory and the Victory Guest House which are convenient for a short stay but come with a premium price. There are other hotels within a very short drive (less than 10 minutes away) that are more affordable, but we were wanting to maximize our time at the thermal baths and our hotel rate at the Victory Hotel included access to certain areas of the thermal complex and a daily breakfast.

There are 30 saunas which are found in “textile” and “textile-free” zones. “Textile free” means exactly what it says…bare nekked! For Americans this can be very intimidating but once you get in the water and hang out for about 30 minutes, you almost forget you are only wearing a proximity wrist band to purchase beverages and your birthday suit. This area is limited to adults only and they were very strict about the prohibition of cell phones or any type of recording device allowed in the area.

The open air pools are housed under an expansive roof that can be retracted in warm weather. There were several lazy rivers throughout the complex and plenty of places to lounge inside and outside of the spa area. The water temperature was a pleasant 34 degrees Celsius in most pools and the ambient air temperature throughout the complex was about 80 degrees so we never felt cold inside or outside of the pool.

As mentioned previously, our hotel rate included general admission to the wave pool area and some of the slides but we paid an extra 9 euro per person/per day to enter into the “textile free” areas. As it was Easter Weekend in southern Germany, the complex was packed with families on their Easter holiday break. This made our decision to remain in the textile free area an easy one as it was relatively quiet compared to the more family friendly areas.

We chose the Seranissima room overlooking the the wave pool. The space was comfortable, the bed was wonderful and the amenities were fantastic.

After two days of spas, saunas and a wonderful sleep after our long flight, we hired a cab and linked up with our family in downtown Munich to head to our next stop, the Viking cruise terminal at Passau, Germany.

For more details about the Therme Erding complex, please be sure to watch our video below!

Viking Rinda and her Staterooms

This was our first river cruise and in terms of room selection, we originally booked into the most affordable cabin, categories “E&F”, the standard stateroom, also affectionately referred to by savvy river cruises as the “swan view” cabins. Once on board, however, our steward stopped by and made us an offer we couldn’t pass up. For a nominal fee for the week (about $450), we were upgraded to a Veranda Stateroom.

The standard cabins are below the water level with only the windows above the surface. Often in ports, when in such cabins, you can see swans, ducks or other water birds swimming around the ship. The standard staterooms are about 150 square feet with a long thin window for natural light. We liked the room as it had everything we needed: plenty of closet space, a comfortable queen sized bed, a nice sized television and plenty of electrical outlets. The bathroom had fluffy towels. “Frejya” toiletries and nice robes. Had it not been for the opportunity to upgrade to a much larger suite at the price offered, we would have been fine in the standard room.

For those willing to pay a bit more for a view, upgrading to the French Balcony Stateroom (Categories C&D),gives you everything the standard stateroom includes in terms of amenities. One catch is that the French Balcony stateroom is smaller (135 square feet compared to the 150 square feet) than the standard room). These rooms have a floor to ceiling window that opens and it really makes the room seem bigger than it is.

The next category of rooms and the one we eventually ended up in was the Veranda Stateroom (Categories A, B). The rooms are much larger than the other staterooms mentioned (205 square feet) which includes the private veranda. Jan loves to sit on the balcony and uses one on every cruise if we have one. As with the other stateroom types, it includes all of the amenities already mentioned.

My sister and brother in law who went on the cruise with us had booked a veranda suite (category AA), which was alot more expensive that we were willing to pay but it was really nice. The room is very large (275 square feet and has a nice balcony/veranda and a French balcony window in the bedroom. It has a separate living room space where the veranda is located. While more space is always appreciated, a veranda suite, unless we found a really good deal, is not something we would choose for ourselves.

This leaves the last category of room on the Viking Rinda, the Explorer suite (category ES). It was twice as large as our own room (425 square feet) with a “quasi-wrap around” balcony. It has a separate living room which is spacious, a closed off glass partitioning for the bedroom, a wonderful bathroom/shower area and a nice balcony. Honestly though, even if we could afford an Explorer suite, I don’t think we would ever take the plunge and book one. The suite seemed to us, too close to the back engines of the ship and although has a wrap around balcony, the side of the balcony was too narrow to place a chair.

For more information on the Viking room categories, please be sure to watch our video below.

Yes, the episode order is out of order here. This place was so amazing and so special that we had to put this video out before any of the others. Watch and you’ll see why.

Transferring from Munich to Passau and Viking’s embarkation was easy!

We arrived to the embarkation port of Passau via a private van my sister booked from the Munich Hilton city center hotel. There were 8 of us in the private van and it was an affordable and convenient way to get to Passau as Munch to the port in Passau is about a 2.5 hour drive.
Viking included airport transfers as part of our fare but we deviated our flight arrival to a couple of days prior to sailing. As such this negated our airport transfers. GRRR! We weren’t really thrilled about this but it is in the terms and conditions stated in our cruise contract. In retrospect, any other European city river port wouldn’t have been such an issue but Munich is quite far from Passau. However, we have made the decision that when we cruise, whether river or ocean, we prefer to arrive at least a day prior to the sailing date to make sure our luggage can catch up with us if it gets lost on a connection overseas. That is a different post for a different time.

We arrived at Passau around 3 in the afternoon and our check in was very quick. Our ship, it turns out was less than 50% occupied. From the time we departed the van to entering our stateroom was under 15 minutes. We met on the Aquavit terrace for a late lunch and had the rest of the day to either stay on the ship or wander around Passau. The first night of the cruise we stayed in Passau and left the following afternoon, around 3 PM. We found out later on that Viking offered a walking tour on the day of embarkation as well as the day we set sail. Since we missed the opportunity to see the city on Sunday, we joined a Viking sponsored walking tour on Monday in the morning prior to our sailing.

Days 1-2 :Passau-City of Three Rivers

Passau is located in southern Germany in the state of Bavaria. This region of lower Bavaria is called Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.

Prior to starting our tour, we made sure we had our Viking provided headphones and when we got off the ship. We were divided into several groups of no more than 15-20 people and were assigned to a guide.

We passed by several wonderful old buildings including the town hall (Rathaus), the Altstadt (Old Town) and many old churches built in the Baroque and gothic styles. One of the neat stops along this excursion the New Bishop's Residence and an impressive baroque cathedral, St. Stephen's Cathedral. St Stephen’s cathedral is notable not only for its ornate interior but the cathedral is also home to Europe's largest church organ and second largest organ in the world with 17,774 pipes and 233 registers. Most tourists flock to Passau for its location on the three rivers and the cathedral.

The walking tour was a pretty easy pace and lasted about 2.5 hours. When the tour ended, we boarded the Rinda, had some lunch and got ready for our sail away celebration down the Danube.

For more information on the Passau, feel free to watch our Passau walking tour below.

Day 3: Linz- Mozart and Pöstlingberg

We woke up well rested in Linz following a wonderful evening of dinner and entertainment in the lounge. The beds are very comfortable and the shower (with heated floors in the bathroom) got our day off to a great beginning.

After breakfast we joined the complimentary walking tour with the local guide in Linz. Linz is located in the upper portion of Austria and dates back to Roman times but it became most famous during the Hapsburg Empire. It is about half-way between Salzburg and Vienna, situated along the Danube River.

Our first stop on the tour was the walk past the enormous Brucknerhaus concert hall which was situated along the Danube. We wandered around the modern portion of the town and then stopped by the Linz Castle.

Like most European cities there is an older portion of the city. In Linz, the “Old Quarter”, has a Market Hall, temporary home of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who composed the Linz Symphony during his time there and the Hauptplatz, the city’s main square in the Old Quarter.

After wandering around the lower town for about 3 hours, we returned to the ship for a quick lunch. Our departure from Linz was scheduled for after dinner so we took the afternoon to explore the city a little more on our own.

We purchased a tram ticket (7.20 Euros per person round trip) and rode the number 50 tram the Pöstlingbergbahn, 500 meters from sea level and home to the Pöstlingberg pilgrimage church. The tram ride was alot of fun, winding up the mountain side and the ride was about 20-25 minutes each way.

After our day of walking around Linz, we came back to the ship, got dressed for dinner and awaited the departure to our next destination, Krems, Austria.

For more information on Linz, please be sure to watch our video below!

Day 4: A Stop in Krems: Abbeys, the Wachau Valley and Wine

Our time in Krems started with a wonderful breakfast followed by a short drive to a working Benedictine Abbey, the Göttweig Abbey which is nestled on a hilltop overlooking the Danube River in Austria’s scenic Wachau Valley.

Göttweig Abbey was founded as a monastery between 1015–1091 and is part of the Wachau UNESCO World Heritage site. The abbey is famous for its wine varieties produced from grapes as well as apricots. Our tour started with a glass of sparkling apricot wine which was pretty good. From there we watched a short video about the abbey and we had the privilege of meeting the people who oversee the daily administration of the abbey.

The abbey complex also has a a wonderful museum that has an amazing ceiling fresco and an Imperial Staircase. The fresco decorating the imperial staircase is considered a masterpiece and was completed in 1739. The main character in the fresco depicts the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI as Apollo.

We returned from our tour, had some lunch and then set off to a local winery tour. This tour we paid extra for and included a wine tasting in the cellar and a tour of the vineyards. While it provided us some new knowledge on wine from the Wachau Valley, we felt a bit let down by the tour overall and would probably not do it again. We returned to the ship for dinner and once again met with our family and friends for trivia and drinks in the lounge.

For more details about Krems and our winery tour, please be sure to watch our video below!

Day 5: The City of Dreams: Vienna, Austria

We arrived very early in the morning into Vienna and being an early riser, I took full advantage of the peace and stillness that you get on a ship before the rest of the passengers wake up. While we were not allowed to walk on the walking track before 7 AM, Jan and I got dressed and bundled up for a chilly morning and enjoyed a steaming hot cup of coffee while we anxiously awaited the sunrise.

After breakfast we divided into our groups and started out on a half day bus and walking tour, aka a “panoramic city tour. ” The tour starts on the beautiful wide boulevard “the Ringstrasse”,the former boundaries of the old city walls dating back to before the mid-19th century. One of the highlights on this trip was a walk through the Hofburg Palace, winter residence of the Hapsburgs and home of the Spanish Riding School with its Lipizzaner horses. While we were there we saw several horses getting groomed (they look to be very spoiled horses) and one was heading out of the stable past us as we ooooohed and awwwwwwed when it trotted by us. A good close up of the horses is in the video below!
The walking tour ended near the gothic style St. Stephen’s Cathedral, which is a must see if you are in Vienna! From there, Jan and I split off from the group and headed to the Natural History Museum. This was an additional charge but well worth the price of admission. The museum is immense and has a great dinosaur room (Jan loves dinosaurs) and my favorite exhibits in the musuem, the Venus of Villendorf and Fanny. Both are well preserved artifacts from And view the beautiful Vienna State Opera concert hall, its facade adorned with elaborate frescoes depicting Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute.