{"id":24839,"date":"2016-07-14T08:30:35","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T14:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=24839"},"modified":"2022-05-23T15:02:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T19:02:33","slug":"vikings-passage-to-eastern-europe-kalocsa-hungary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2016\/07\/vikings-passage-to-eastern-europe-kalocsa-hungary\/","title":{"rendered":"Viking’s Passage to Eastern Europe – Kalocsa, Hungary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Aaron Saunders, River Cruise Advisor<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wednesday, July 13, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Four motorcoaches pulled up on a dusty road outside of the ship this afternoon. I looked at them, then at the Hungarian family taking a picnic in the shade under the trees. It looked hot. I stepped outside the ship. It was <\/em>hot. I looked back at the air conditioned splendour of my ship. And I decided to stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, I\u2019m electing to skip our last port of call \u2013 Kalocsa, Hungary \u2013 <\/strong>in favor of relaxing aboard Viking River Cruises<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 Viking Embla<\/em><\/strong>. With the mercury rising again to 37\u00b0C by this afternoon, and the humidity piling up on top of that, I decided to stay onboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were other reasons for my decision: today is our last day aboard Viking Embla<\/em>. It\u2019s my last chance to fully enjoy this beautiful ship, which is half of the reason I come here in the first place \u2013 to experience the joy of river cruising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s another reason: though this is my last day aboard Viking Embla<\/em>, it\u2019s not the last day of our Passage to Eastern Europe<\/em><\/strong> adventure. On this itinerary, Viking includes a one-night pre-cruise stay in Bucharest, Romania and a two-night post-cruise stay in Budapest, Hungary<\/strong> at the Budapest Hilton<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tomorrow, Viking is giving us a complimentary six-hour city tour of Budapest, transferring us from the ship to the hotel in the process. Our luggage will be waiting for us in our hotel rooms, and Viking has already provided us with a full list of optional excursions available for Friday, along with our flight times, transfer times, and relevant information for our departures back to North America on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, though, began with customs formalities: at 6:30 a.m., we came alongside in Mohacs, Hungary<\/strong> for a face-to-face passport check. This is not because we\u2019re entering Hungary, but moreso because we\u2019re entering the Schengen Zone<\/strong> that a number of EU countries are members of. And with the issues facing refugees and migrants in the EU as of late, customs officials aren\u2019t taking any chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Crew were called first, followed by guests in the 100 Corridor, 200 Corridor, and 300 Corridor. The entire process took maybe an hour, and we were underway again by 7:30 a.m. Being up at 6:00 anyway, I wasn\u2019t inconvenienced at all, and we were warned it would be early at last night\u2019s briefing. Still, it\u2019s a pain, but an unavoidable one that is imposed on Viking and every other river cruise line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s one of the primary differences with this Eastern Danube voyage compared with its Western counterpart: lots of passport and immigration checks. This is our first face-to-face check, but our passports have been stamped in and out of each country we\u2019ve visited over the past week. If you\u2019re short on available passport pages, you might want to get yours renewed before making the journey; I reckon I\u2019ll have close to 10 new stamps by the time I leave the EU on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what\u2019s happening onboard today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this relaxing day onboard Viking Embla<\/em> is also a great time to answer some reader questions that have filtered in over the past week:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which direction is better \u2013 Romania to Hungary, or reverse?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m glad I did this journey from Romania to Hungary. While Romania is positively modernized compared to worse-off Bulgaria, the progression of ports of call has meant that things have gotten more dramatic and developed as the week has gone on. I think this is particularly true for our guests that are staying on until Amsterdam; I think it might be a let-down to sail the reverse itinerary (ending in Bucharest) if people haven\u2019t aligned their expectations properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can you use Euros in these ports? What about U.S. Dollars?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It depends. Euros are sometimes accepted by shops, but most usually by street vendors selling their wares. U.S. Dollars are pretty much not accepted at all, unless you get a very willing street vendor to go along with the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have to admit this isn\u2019t a huge shopping itinerary; when I sail the western stretches of the Danube, I end up coming back with clothing, new shoes, and the odd souvenir as I wind my way through Germany and Austria. On this stretch of the Danube, I\u2019ve bought nothing so far except the odd beverage ashore or a local newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you feel compelled to buy something, I\u2019d use a credit card or pull out a small amount of local currency. Using money changing services can be a real pain, plus you\u2019re going to lose a lot in the conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What about water levels?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Water levels aren\u2019t typically an issue on this stretch of the Danube; the real problems tend to occur just west of Budapest, and in the areas around the German cities of Passau and Regensburg. On my sailing, water levels have been very good, with no issues whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more I sail aboard Viking\u2019s elegant Longships, the more convinced I remain that they\u2019re some of the best river cruise ships afloat. With each successive sailing, I\u2019m also convinced that Viking really gets it: the idea of what good service is, what great design is, and of what makes the ideal cruise vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the average stateroom aboard Viking\u2019s Longships: you\u2019ve got multiple U.S. and European-style power outlets; something that many competing river cruise lines lack. You\u2019ve got heated bathroom floors, with variable temperature-control. Again, most competing lines don\u2019t even attempt to offer that. Mirrors are anti-fogging by default, closets light up when you open them, and the interactive television system pumps its audio through high-quality speakers hidden in the ceiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Viking Longships help offset their reliance on the ship\u2019s diesel engines and generators (which are whisper quiet, by the way) thanks to the installation of solar panels mounted to the top of the ship\u2019s dual Explorer Suites. Herbs are grown onboard on the Sun Deck, and a Living Garden graces the foot of the atrium staircase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the course of my sailings on numerous Viking Longships, I\u2019ve seen Viking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s just the stateroom changes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why am I rattling off a laundry list of small, rather minute changes made between successive Viking Longships? Because the company truly cares what its guests think, and guest feedback has been responsible for all of the above changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make no mistake about it: these changes cost Viking money. It would have been cheaper for the line to just keep the ships as they were. After all, the first four Viking Longships were truly spectacular. But that\u2019s not the Viking way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I see the same dedication in the way Viking continually tweaks its itineraries, menus, and on-shore programs. It\u2019s encouraging, and exactly why I enjoy sailing with the line – no matter where we dock, or what I do during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our Voyage Report<\/em><\/strong> from onboard <\/em>Viking River Cruises\u2019 Viking Embla in Eastern Europe<\/em><\/strong><\/a> will continue tomorrow from Budapest, Hungary!<\/strong> Be sure to follow along on twitter <\/em>@deckchairblog<\/em><\/a> or using the hashtag #LiveVoyageReport.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\nThe Viking Longships<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Viking's Passage to Eastern Europe<\/h2>\n\n