Viking River Cruise Passengers can save $900

Jason · June 20, 2006

Company Announces New 2007 Europe, Russia & China Itineraries

LOS ANGELES, June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking River Cruises, the world's leading river cruise line, today announced their Early Booking Discount offering travelers the best savings of the year -- $900 off per cabin -- on any newly-released 2007 sailings. Travelers can choose among 17 itineraries from the new 2007 Europe, Russia and China schedules, and sail the famous rivers of the world with included tours of landmarks like Beijing's Forbidden City, Moscow's Kremlin or Paris's Eiffel Tower.

Travelers can save $900 on 2007 Vacations Through Early Booking Discounts Viking River Cruises offers a 3-tiered Early Booking Discount, available by asking for "EBD Offer." When passengers book and pay for a cruise in full by:

* July 31, 2006: They save $450 per person ($900 savings per cabin maximum) * October 18, 2006: Save $350 per person ($700 per cabin maximum) * December 18, 2006: Save $250 per person ($500 per cabin maximum) 2007 European Offerings and New Escorted Extensions Viking River Cruises offers 14 different itineraries in 2007 ranging from 7 to 14 nights along the Rhine, Main, Danube, Seine, Saone, Rhone, and Elbe Rivers, plus Russia's Waterways of the Czars and Ukraine's Dnieper River. Various itineraries highlight Amsterdam, Vienna, Paris, Budapest, Berlin, Prague and much more plus quaint smaller European towns and villages along the rivers, and all feature included tours with English-speaking guides, non- smoking shipboard environments, gourmet food, and an English-speaking crew. In addition, passengers can take advantage of NEW escorted extensions in Amsterdam, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Krakow, Paris, and Helsinki accompanied by English-speaking guides.

China Cruisetours Introduce Travelers to Beijing, Shanghai, and the Yangtze's Famed Gorges

Viking Century Sun and Viking Century Sky, 5-star sister ships each carrying 306 passengers, are the newest and most deluxe ships on the Yangtze. Viking River Cruises offers 3 different China cruisetour itineraries, each including a Yangtze River cruise plus overnight 5-star hotel stays in Beijing, Xian (home of the Terra Cotta Warriors) and cosmopolitan Shanghai.

China cruisetour offerings for 2007 are: * Imperial Jewels of China (9 or 10 nights): 5-star hotel stays for 3 nights in Beijing (including tours of the Forbidden City, Great Wall, Summer Palace, and Tiananmen Square); 1 night in Xian plus Terra Cotta Warriors visit; 2 nights in Shanghai, plus a 3- or 4-night luxury Yangtze River cruise featuring the Three Gorges, Lesser Three Gorges, and Yangtze Dam. * China's Cultural Delights (15 nights): Features all the above plus a 9- night luxury Yangtze River cruise from Chongqing to Nanjing highlighting the above Gorges and Yangtze Dam plus tours to sacred Buddhist mountain temple Mt. Jiu Hua; the gardens of Suzhou; Jingdezhen, birthplace of Chinese porcelain; and China's ancient capital, Nanjing. * Roof of the World (13 nights): Features all the tours and highlights of Imperial Jewels plus 3 nights in Lhasa, Tibet, including visits with English-speaking guides to Portola Palace, Sera Monastery, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Market. Travelers can add to China cruisetours a 4-night Shopper's Paradise extension with 5-star accommodations for 3 nights in Hong Kong and 1 night along the Li River in Guilin plus all tours.

2007 Brochures for Europe and China Available Now

Additional details about China itineraries are featured in the new 2007 China Expeditions brochure, and Europe and Russia itineraries are detailed in the new 2007 European & Russian River Cruise Journeys brochure; both available now from your Travel Agent.

Joanandjoe · June 21, 2006

Great. We've looked into this every year for the past 3 years, haven't yet pulled the trigger. China and France have looked particularly attractive. When I get time, I'll look it up. Maybe 2007 is the year for a river cruise with Viking.

TheSkipper · June 21, 2006

Sounds like a good promotion. We did the River Cruise thing last year and found it very enjoyable.

The interesting thing is that in many towns the River Cruise boats tie up side by side sometimes three deep, so the outside passingers get to walk through the other boats to get ashore. Gives you a great chance to see what the other boats look like.

Having done that at several stops, I think K still prefer the Uniworld boats to any on the European rivers. Viking has more boats, but no nearly an nice as the Uniworld boats.

Viking shore excursions are interesting. It appears the who boat goes as one group and everyone is issued a set of earphones so they can hear the guide who may be a block ahead of them. Very impersonal. Uniworld divided us into groups of f5 6o 20 and had a guide for each group. Passingers with similar physical capabilities were matched up so the group pace would be approptiate for them.

On our last morning we watched a Viking boat rear-end and sink and oil barge that was tied up at a pier. Wonder where that Skipper is working these days. Probably with the Captain of the Mercury who was fired for being drunk on duty.