Phil's Viking River Cruise Blog Roaving Reporting with Travel TV and TTG from the Danube

Now before you read this blog, I would have taken more pictures but due to main reason I was on the Danube, to report on the benefits of a river cruise with Travel TV, there was very little time to take photographs. However, I look forward to bringing you the clean edited film version very soon..(without the out-takes! Beep Beep!)

The main purpose, as I said earlier is to highlight how easy it is to take a river cruise and the benefits of a river cruise as the number one choice for a multi-city-break holiday.

I flew out of Manchester airport with Lufthansa on a flight to Budapest via Frankfurt. Each flight was approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. The service on both flights was excellent - some of the best I have experienced.

On arrival into Budapest I was met by Amy who works for Viking River Cruises and she escorted me on the short 20 minute journey to where my ship, the Viking Primadonna was berthed - on the Pest side of the river Danube.

Checking in was very easy and straight forward, a simple stroll from the taxi, along the gangway and on board the ship. I was greeted by Claudia who gave me my key and showed me to my room.

I was fortunate to have one of Vikings A grade rooms with a verandah, and the view of the city was spectacular. A note regarding the cabins - they are all well equipped and the bathrooms are equal to those on the modern cruise ships. I would prefer the cabins on the top two decks as they have the verandahs / large windows. I was also very impressed with the interior design of the ship, you really do not expect this from the exterior of the ship.

Just enough time to throw our bags in the cabin before rushing off on a short sightseeing trip. Budapest, whilst being steeped in history, with Europes largest parliament, the largest functioning synagogue and the continents first underground railway - it is also a very modern vibrant city in many ways.

Hero's square is quite stunning and I also managed to take a walk around the main market and along the beautiful Chain Bridge which spans the Danube from Bud to Pest, in between filming shots for Travel TV.

Time for dinner, I am absolutely starving and looking forward the evening meal before we set sail for Bratislava in Slovakia.

I had a superb meal of tuna salad followed by a beetroot soup (which was lovely) and a main course of catfish, veal or a vegetarian option. I chose the poached catfish and it was very good.

One of the highlights of sailing from or into Budapest is the city lights. Once dark,the buildings and bridges are illuminated in the most stunning fashion and this is a sight you will never forget.

After dinner I headed for the lounge where there was a light hearted quiz and a pianist playing tunes. The entertainment on a river cruise is made between friends and people you meet. This is where stories are told and probably exagerated over a beer or a glass of wine, but it all makes for a great evening.

After the pianist had gone to bed, the laughter got louder and I was encouraged to take the helm on the grand piano and string out a few tunes. I am not sure if the hand clapping was because those in the lounge enjoyed my playing or if they were glad I had finished! Either way, I had some fun with new made friends.

Up early today for a breakfast shoot with Travel Tv - 6.45am..!!

After the shoot and a hearty breakfast, I joined the passengers on deck as we approached one of the largest locks on the Danube. It was incredible how the captain navigated our ship into position as the Viking Primadonna entered the lock.

These are seriously large locks and this was no more evident than when another river cruise ship joined us. It took approximately 45 minutes from entering the lock to exiting the other side, on our journey to Bratislavia, the capital of Slovakia.

This was a very relaxing cruise in beautiful sunshine, which really does make a difference and there were some magical sights along the banks of the river Danube.

This peace was only broken for a short period, when a passenger decided to use an exercise bike which desperately needed oiling!

Whilst cruising down the Danube, the staff dressed in typical Slovakian clothes / hats and served brunch in the lounge, whilst we took a breather from filming and had a quick beer.

Time for lunch before setting off on one of Vikings excursions, which is of course included in the price and is a huge benefit.

On some occasions it is necessary to berth alongside another river cruise ship, and because they are all very similar and built to almost identical deck heights, you literally walk through the other ship to the quayside.

Another point to note here, is that our ship does cater for people who have difficulty walking any distance and this also applies to the tours I have witnessed. At Bratislava there are some steps to navigate on leaving the quayside, but the two sets of steps each have a wheelchair accessible chair lift.

I joined the Viking Tour guides on one of their included excursions around the city of Bratislava.

After the tour I had free time to explore Bratislava on foot. This is a beautiful and charming city and just for the record, inexpensive, unlike some European cities! I sat down at a cafe with the guys from Travel TV and Viking River Cruises and ordered, 3 coffees, 2 bottles of water and a beer - total cost 10 euros..!!

From my experience the Viking Tour Guides were excellent and they did have a good sense of humour which does help break up the overload of local information.

Talking about humour...I couldn't resist this shot with a statue friend of mine.

Dinner. A point to note here: Because you are out in the fresh air most afternoons - you are always ready for your evening meal and unlike modern cruise ships where food is on hand 24hours a day at several locations - you really do appreciate what is put in front of you. I believe sometimes, on the cruise ships, we tend to forget how fortunate we are and take the food for granted. I have taken some pictures (below) of the food.

After dinner the passengers were treated to a traditional Slovakian themed show, performed by a local dance troupe and local musicians.

Just time for a couple of drinks in the bar before taking to my bed in readiness for a busy day in Vienna. Having never been there before, I am quite excited and I really hope Vienna lives up to my expectations. We'll soon find out...

Another early start - up at 6.15am for another breakfast shoot as I wanted to capture the wide choice of foods available at a Viking River cruise breakfast bar. To be honest, it was equal to anything on a modern cruise ship. From cereal boxses, dried cereal, fresh fruit, yoghurt, pastry, cold meats, hot food (bacon, eggs, potatoes etc), porridge, omlettes and more...

Time to disembark and climb aboard our coach for the short journey into Vienna. Our guide gave a running commentary as we completed approximately a 1 hour city tour on the coach, before we got off for approx 2hours free time in the city. Note: If you wanted to stay in Vienna you could do, and then take either a cab or the underground back to the ship. This would be my choice because Vienna is the most beautiful city I have visited for a long time. It is cleam, immaculate and stunning. The attractions are quite spread out, so make sure you have your walking shoes on.

Ideally you need 2 or 3 nights in Vienna, but the ship is alonside all day until very late at night, this offers the opportunity to see an opera, a ballet or a music evening. Viking do offer excursions in the evening, or you can do your own thing.

One of the best ways to see the inner city strees and sights, is on a horse drawn carriage. I took this opportunity to explain this and film the experience with Travel TV, along with several other key cultural sites in the city, including of course (being a musician) Mozarts statue.

I did however forget that I am allergic to animal hair (doh!) and had a massive reaction to my eye which meant the next shoot would be behind sunglasses..!!!

I must reiterate, the fact that excursions are included in your cruise fare (some extra excursions do however carry a supplement such as shows and performances etc) and because the ship is located so close to the major towns/cities, there is normally free time after the excursion to explore before walking back to the ship.

Once back onboard, there is a tea & coffee station just outside the lounge with 24 hour access. This is of course free.

Unfortunately it was now late afternoon and time for us to catch a cab to Vienna airport for our flight to Manchester with Lufthansa via Frankfurt. And once again the Lufthansa cabin crew were superb, a credit to the airline and a benchmark for other airlines (from my recent experiences).

So you see, taking a river cruise is the best way to visit several cities in a week or 12 days and the location of the ports of call and their close proximity to the piers is another great benefit which saves time and money and gives you the maximum time in each location.

I will post the film shoot online once it has been edited and hopefully this will give you an even bigger insight into the onboard experience of a Viking River cruise.

I am currently working on improvements to our river cruise website, and in June you will find new features and the new Viking 2010 river cruise itineraries and their huge early booking savings. But, please visit www.rivercruising.co.uk where you will find details of a wide rangeof 2009 river cruise holidays.

This is a cruise blog entry by Phil.