Owing to a stretch of too-shallow Rhine, I’m on two Viking Longships (Skirnir and Modi), but the coach transfer is made with remarkable efficiency and without much disruption to the itinerary.
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transfer → owe → itinerary
Because all of Viking’s Longships (there are currently 69) are virtually identical, the onboard experience is uncannily the same.
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experience → be → Longships
Those in suites get priority noon access to their “sleeping quarters”, as Viking sedately puts it; everyone else must wait until 3pm.
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everyone → get → pm
Many guests have airport transfers, but I’m arriving by train, and a short tram ride takes me to within sight of Viking Skirnir.
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ride → have → Skirnir
Check-in is fuss-free, which is exactly how I – and presumably the other jet-lagged passengers – like it.
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I → check → it
A welcome bottle of champagne and a gargantuan fruit platter await.
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bottle → await → champagne
THE DESIGN
Viking’s Longship layout works so well that many other cruise lines have imitated it.
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lines → work → it
Viking has continued to imitate itself, too.
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Viking → continue → itself
Once you’ve been on one Longship you know what to expect, which is reassuring, though sometimes I wish for a breakaway from cookie-cutter design.
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I → know → design
Expect sleek Nordic minimalism and lots of glass, even on interior fittings such as balustrades, which provide ample sunlight and a feeling of space.
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which → expect → space
Subdued colours are enlivened by occasional eruptions of artwork.
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colours → enliven → artwork
The decor is unassuming but, when I look closely, I find interesting touches, such as Viking-style axes above the computer terminals, and black-and-white photos of company founder Torstein Hagen’s family.
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I → look → family
The lounge is expansive and bartenders at its U-shaped bar are always busy.
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bartenders → shape → bar
Grouped seating means guests can socialise in whatever sized gathering the mood takes them.
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mood → mean → them
At its front end the lounge dissolves into Aquavit Terrace, a delightful spot at the ship’s prow for informal dining with forward-facing views.
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lounge → dissolve → views
The top Sun Deck has shuffleboard, a walking track and putting green, seating and strips of herbs that get regular haircuts to supply the galley.
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that → have → galley
However, low bridges on the Main River, the longest tributary of the Rhine, mean it can’t be used throughout much of this particular cruise.
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it → mean → cruise
The library is understandably, given the limited space on river ships, simply a lobby space with a wall of books, two desktop computers and four armchairs around a coffee table often taken up by jigsaw-puzzle solvers.
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library → give → solvers
THE STATEROOM
Among cabin categories are Standard Staterooms which have but a porthole, French Balcony Staterooms, and Veranda Staterooms.
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which → have → porthole
Outlook and size vary but decor and amenities are very similar.
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decor → vary → ?
I’m in stateroom 316, one of seven Veranda Suites (there are also two larger Explorer Suites).
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I → ’m → Suites
It’s a generous 25.5 square metres and divided into a lounge with enough room for a sofa and armchair, as well as a modest desk that doubles as a dressing table.
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that → ’ → table
The bedroom has a queen-sized bed good enough for Goldilocks.
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bedroom → have → Goldilocks
Praise be for sensible pillows uncommon in Europe, one thin and one fat, to suit your favourite neck position.
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Praise → suit → position
The suite’s beige, brown and blue decor is relaxing, and a cool comfort to return to in the full blast of Europe’s heatwave.
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decor → relax → heatwave
Nice touches include a pair of binoculars, reading lights in the bedhead, heated bathroom floors, and an anti-fog bathroom mirror.
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touches → include → bedhead
Suites benefit from complimentary laundry.
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Suites → benefit → laundry
The food is very satisfying, and can’t be faulted for quality and freshness.
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food → fault → quality
Regional dishes are among the choices every evening, among which are standouts such as braised beef with onion sauce, sausages and sauerkraut, and bienenstich or bee-sting cake, an almond layered biscuit cake with vanilla cream.
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standouts → braise → cream
At lunch, chefs are present to prepare salads and cook pasta, and guests help themselves to salads, bread, cheese and dessert.
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guests → prepare → salads
Three-course dinners are more formally served.
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dinners → serve → ?
All the tables in the main restaurant are shared.
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tables → share → restaurant
Menus run the gamut of international favourites from French onion soup to steamed cod, rib-eye steak to involtini, rounding off with classic desserts or cheese and fruit plates.
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Menus → run → desserts
I become a little obsessed with the lunchtime Nicoise salad.
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I → become → salad
Although excellent, the dining is mainstream rather than adventurous and, on a cruise that spends far more time in Germany than France, I’d have preferred a German buffet evening.
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I → spend → evening
Instead, it’s French and rather unexciting, with cheese plates peculiarly promoted as an appetiser.
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it → ’ → appetiser
WELLNESS
I’ve often wondered why cruise ships, and especially river ships, devote space to gyms that only a minority of guests use.
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minority → wonder → guests
You don’t need a gym on a European river cruise: every port has kilometres of promenades and cycle paths.
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port → need → promenades
The Main River has amiable cycleways that contour the river for almost its full length.
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that → have → length
Wellness consists of enjoying the top deck in the fresh air as lovely scenery drifts past, instead of huddling in a perfumed room.
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scenery → consist → room
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
