River cruising: It's about destination immersion

River cruising is about the destination probably more so than the ship. While enjoying the creature comforts of Viking Prestige, make sure to take advantage of opportunities to connect with local culture, history and highlights of the places that you visit. Don't be surprised to see local dishes on the menu or local entertainers sharing music, dancing and stories.

Viking Prestige includes daily tours with the cruise fare, which makes the hassle of figuring out logistics less challenging. Most tours are done around lunch and then you are free to do what you choose until the ship leaves port. You'll be given a nightly briefing in the evening before dinner to get updates on the next day’s call to discuss the upcoming day’s activities, tours and logistics. Plan to attend the session to discover highlights of the upcoming town's history, art, food, music and architecture.

Rolf Heinrich, Köln / Creative Commons BY-SAViking Prestige sails in Cologne, Germany.

Dining

Viking Prestige has one restaurant. The atmosphere is casual yet elegant. When Prestige is not scheduled to leave port until later in the evening, treat yourself to a night on the town and sample cuisine at a nearby restaurant (at your own expense, but a nice way to experience the local culture.)

For breakfast, there is an ample buffet with a lot of variety. You can choose from a selection of pastries, cereals, breakfast meats, egg dishes, fresh fruit and selected cheeses. At lunch, select from the soup and sandwich bar, or from a choice of entrées and dessert. And for dinner, expect a five-course menu with regional specialties.   

Staterooms

Rooms specs per Viking River Cruises:

• All staterooms are outside with river view
• Suites are 340 square feet, have separate sleeping & sitting quarters, two flat-panel TVs, a walk-in closet, bathtub/shower and two French balconies
• All double occupancy staterooms and suites have hotel-style beds with optional twin-bed configuration
• All Upper & Middle deck staterooms have a French balcony
• Private bathroom with shower and premium bath products; bathrobe and slippers are available upon request
• Sony 26-inch, flat-panel TV with CNBC, CNN, ESPN, FOX, National Geographic and more
• Telephone, safe, refrigerator, hair dryer and individual climate control
• Bottled water replenished daily

In general top deck cabins will fetch higher prices (be on the lookout for upgrade offers and booking incentives, by the way to make them more attainable). The higher the deck, the better the views and the less likely noise will be from the engine.

Entertainment & activities

River cruising is very mellow. There are not any large production shows or comedy clubs. What you will enjoy is some light piano music played by the house musician and local entertainers who are brought onto the ship to sing, dance or tell stories from the local perspective. After dinner, people hang out in the lounge and have an after-dinner drink, or they can walk back into town if the ship is not leaving port until later in the evening.

To complement your onshore excursions, take part in immersive learning and enhancement activities both on board and ashore. Programming can include cooking classes, lectures about significant historical events, or traditional performances of folk music and dance. Don't miss the onboard opportunities to discover local tastes such as sampling local cheeses, coffees, liqueurs, beers and other delicacies (Christmas cookies and Gluwein, for example, during a Christmas Markets cruise).

Your take

Have you cruised on Viking Prestige? What was it like? We'd love to hear about your own experience.