Here’s a by-the-numbers European vacation plan made easy: 1 set of transatlantic flights; 2 Viking River Cruises done back-to-back; 2 rivers sailed; 2 times to unpack and pack in Europe; 4(+) countries and more than 15 destinations visited; immeasurable number of wonderful memories made. Let this Editor’s Pick article, written by traveling couple Courtney Drake-McDonough (Publisher & Managing Editor of RealFoodTraveler.com) and Jimmy McDonough (Editor), explain what to expect from back-to-back European river cruises on Viking.

Save this article to Pinterest to help you plan your own back-to-back Viking River Cruises. Graphic by RealFoodTraveler.com.

We love cruising, both river and ocean. With two+ weeks of vacation time available to us, we began looking at the best ways to make the most of our time, interests, funds, and energy. Doing back-to-back river cruises with Viking was our answer, where almost everything is included in the fare and where we would only have to make that big flight over the ocean once (going and coming) to visit multiple countries for many different experiences.

We booked the Rhine Getaway itinerary* (from Basel, Switzerland, through Germany and France to Amsterdam, The Netherlands) on Viking’s Idun ship and the Lyon & Provence itinerary (on the Rhone River through southern France) on the Viking Delling. In the course of it all, we learned a lot about how to make the most of your time.

*Note: These itineraries are also available in the reverse order.

Hungry for more? Read an ocean cruise-lovers’ guide to river cruising.

WHY DO BACK-TO-BACK VIKING RIVER CRUISES?

First, you only have to experience that long trans-Atlantic flight to and from Europe one time for what is basically two vacations, thanks to the different itineraries. That saves a lot of money, time, and fatigue.

Second, you get to see so many different destinations without having to take multiple modes of transportation that you hope are running according to schedule. With Viking, all of the transportation is provided, including from the airport to the ship and back again if you’ve booked your flights through them. More on that to come.

Third, because so many things are included in your onboard experience (see below), you’re likely saving money over paying for those things individually.

Fourth, on a river cruise, you unpack and pack only once per cruise despite moving to a new destination every day. If you aren’t on a cruise, you are unpacking, re-packing and changing lodging every time you go to a new destination!

Put all of these things together and it adds up to much less stress, much less hassle, likely less money, and much more fun.

Scenes from our Viking longships: Aquavit Lounge at the front of the ship; top deck herb garden used by the chef; our Captain and his Officers on the Delling.

Hungry for more? Listen to Part 1 of our Real Food Traveler Podcast about Viking’s Rhine Getaway.

THE PRACTICAL STUFF: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOING BACK-TO-BACK VIKING RIVER CRUISES

What does it cost?
That varies widely and depends on what kind of deal you get through Viking. We suggest going on their website to see where their cruises go so you have an idea of destinations that interest you. Then sign up for their emails (which you’ll get a lot of) and watch for deals that work for you. Sometimes it’s free airfare, shipboard credits or reductions in ship fares (or a combination). After keeping an eye on our emails for a while, we found a great deal that worked for where and when we wanted to travel and jumped on it.

Keep in mind, when you’re pricing vacation options, that the following things are typically included in your booking:

• Three meals a day
• House wines (choice of 1 white, 1 red), beer, and soft drinks at lunch and dinner plus glasses of bubbly a couple of times during cruise celebrations. (A “Spirits” package can be added on for other kinds of alcoholic drinks and top shelf products. But keep in mind it takes about 3-4 drinks or more per day for the package to pay for itself, in addition to what you get for free with meals. So, you be the judge of whether you want to take advantage of that deal and access.)
• WiFi for two devices per stateroom
• Transportation for excursions (plus to/between/from the ships when you’ve booked airfare through Viking and those going directly to/from the ship or to/from one of their optional pre- or post-extensions)
• Onboard entertainment including chef demos, lectures, live music, and dance

When you do back-to-back cruises, do you literally go from one ship to the other?
While it would be super-convenient if one ship pulled up behind the next one, it doesn’t happen that way. Some itineraries are suggested as back-to-back journeys because of the logistics of where one ends and the next one begins. But you could pair any two (or more!), as long as you can get yourself between them within the right time frame.

On the Viking website, click on Search Cruises and put in a longer duration to see common back-to-back itineraries. Note that, although it doesn’t say it in the general itinerary, if you’re going to be on two different rivers, you’re going to be transported from one ship to the next on a coach bus. Your Viking representative or your personal travel agent will explain the details.

What are the ships, the staterooms, and the food like?
The ships. Viking’s vessels, known as longboats, carry about 190 guests with the feel of a boutique hotel. The décor is subdued and elegant. Compared to many ocean cruise lines, where each room you pass through is a completely different and bold theme, Viking’s philosophy is to let the scenery of the river and destinations be the focus.

One of the nice things about that is that the ships look virtually the same which means you know exactly where the library, the Aquavit Terrace and dining room are located after having gone on one cruise. On big ocean cruises, we usually take the first hour or so to figure out where everything is (and we still get lost!). But there’s no need to do that with Viking on repeat cruises because it immediately feels familiar!

Glimpses of the food and decor aboard Viking’s longships.

The staterooms. Your budget will likely determine what level of stateroom you choose. We’ve sailed with Viking three times and the first two times, we booked the lowest priced Water-Level staterooms that have a long window at eye level, just above the water. Because we spend the majority of our time on the upper levels and on shore, we were fine with that (and even got to see a family of swans swim by our window!).

On the second of our back-to-back cruises, we had a Veranda stateroom with sliding glass doors and a balcony. We spent more time in our stateroom because we had that to enjoy. While the balcony was great, we really appreciated the sliding glass doors which are also in French Balcony staterooms. You could literally sit in bed and watch the scenery go by.

There are also a couple of Explorer Suites on every ship which are the top-of-the-line in luxury. Choosing what kind of stateroom you want is where you have the most control over the cost of your trip. Just consider how much time you’ll want to spend in your stateroom, as well as your budget, and go from there.

There are some real niceties in the stateroom including a carafe of water provided each day; top-notch shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and body lotion; a hand-held shower nozzle with excellent water pressure; anti-fog mirror; and twice-daily servicing and cleaning of your room. During the evening service is when your tickets are delivered for the next day’s excursion and the Viking Daily newsletter.

On the first cruise, we stayed in a water level stateroom. On the second, we were in a Veranda one. Both have their benefits, and both suited us just fine.

The food. There is plentiful food provided for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all of which are served during specific and ample windows of time that take into account when the excursions start and end. Dinner is always served starting at 7pm, a little late for some people but there are nuts, pretzels and other munchies available in the lounge beforehand to tide you over. Grab an apple or other fruit at breakfast or lunch to tide you over. We also pack energy bars on our trips as an “emergency” back-up to avoid the hangries.

The cuisine on Viking is excellent. While there were a couple of dishes that we found lacking (out of 16+ days of three meals a day), we enjoyed the food variety and flavors on both ships. We’ll talk more about the culinary experience in an upcoming article. For now, just know that there are so many things to choose from, that Viking will take into considerations any dietary restrictions you may have (like gluten-free bread), that there is an “Always Available” menu of standard items, and that the rest of the menu changes daily to offer items specific to the region in which you are cruising. That includes partnering with local vendors for certain ingredients.

You can eat as lightly or as heartily as you want with Viking. Eat very healthfully or indulge completely. We strove for balance, enjoying plenty of veggies and also going for dessert when it looked especially tantalizing.

Take advantage of the once-per-cruise themed buffet specific to the region you’re sailing through. The variety of items is incredible and the décor and even server uniforms are themed. It’s fun and a great opportunity to immerse yourself in culinary travel, which is what Real Food Traveler is all about!

The food on Viking River Cruises is impressive. While there are certain menu items always available like chicken, salmon and a hamburger, the rest of the offerings change daily. Several of those offerings are related to the region you are sailing in, giving a taste of local cuisine on board the ship. 

Is there much to do on board?
The primary entertainment on board is the view outside which you can enjoy from the open-air top deck, from the big-windowed public areas, and from your stateroom if it has sliding glass doors.

There are TVs in every room, showing a few movies that harken to Viking’s destinations, a few major news channels, a wide variety of music to listen to, and Viking enrichment shows.

You can check out books and games from the library (people often played card games and Mahjong in the Lounge), visit with fellow passengers or tuck away on a couch to read. Sometimes, a guest lecturer is brought on board and there is cabaret-style live entertainment periodically through the journey.

Basically, you can be as busy as you want or as mellow as you want to be on a Viking River Cruise. Above all, make an effort to be in-the-moment and watch the scenery go by. That’s the biggest benefit of river cruising – there’s always something to see!

Will back-to-back cruises be just too much to handle?
That depends on how much you enjoy travel and also on your physical condition and stamina levels.

Every excursion involves walking and, sometimes, climbing stairs. On our cruises, guests ranged from being very fit and active to those with mobility challenges; most were in between. Several of the excursions offered various levels of difficulty and Viking does a good job of identifying difficulty-levels on their website. The cruise Program Director is also an excellent source of information.

For sure, doing back-to-back river cruises with Viking is more doable, more relaxing and less stressful than if you were to visit numerous cities and countries on your own; changing hotels frequently, looking for places to eat, and figuring out ways to get around can be exhausting, especially in a foreign language. Think of Viking River Cruises as streamlined travel that facilitates more time and energy to actually enjoy the destinations.

Will it be too much “together time” with my traveling companion and with the other passengers?
Maybe. But probably not. In terms of your fellow passengers, it’s always interesting to see the arc of connection. On the first day, most everyone are strangers and a little shy. Because the dining room only has big tables, you sit with others and start asking the usual questions: “Where are you from?” “Have you sailed with Viking before?” etc. But then conversation starts to flow as freely as the wine, beer, and soft drinks included with each meal.

Whether at a meal, in the lounge or on an excursion, you meet a variety of people and, very soon, have connections on this shared journey. As you pass in the hallway, you say “Hi, how was your day in town?” Or you laugh over an inside joke that has developed. And by dinner the last night of the cruise, the din is quite loud, the room filled with laughter. I asked one of our servers about this and she said it happens every time – quiet the first night, boisterous the last.

Many friendships come out of these cruises. You get to know each other’s names and stories being in this little world you create together with this shared experience. It’s really lovely. Of course, as with any gathering of people, you may meet people who aren’t your cup of tea but it’s easy enough to avoid them.

As for the person you are sailing with (there are plenty of solo travelers too!), it can be a lot of togetherness which can be good and bad. On a giant ocean cruise, you can go to separate parts of your “floating city” and get plenty of space from each other when you need it – less so on a river cruise ship. The two of us dined together at every meal, did most excursions together, and spent plenty of time in each other’s company. But there were also times when one of us went off-ship to further explore a village after the excursion returned while the other stayed on board to read or do some work (yes, you can get some work done while on the ship if you need, thanks to their included wifi).

Overall, you can have as much time together and apart as you want. And you can be as solitary or as social as you want with your fellow passengers.

Jimmy and Courtney taking in the view from the top deck of one of their back-to-back Viking River Cruises. Windmills of Kinderdijk, The Netherlands.

One important note: When travel goes wrong, it’s really stressful and can put a strain on the relationship of the person you’re traveling with, be that a partner, family-member or friend. But having so much of the trip taken care of for you by Viking decreases that stress, thereby increasing the good times.

How do I handle laundry over the course of back-to-back cruises?
Viking offers laundry service, priced by the item of clothing, ranging from about $4-$10. It is delivered to you folded up, presented in a leather box. Very nice. But, it can add up. A couple we were traveling with had their laundry done by Viking on the last day of their first cruise and were all set for the next one without lifting a finger.

To save money, we, on the other hand, did our own laundry which worked out quite well. We had packed very light, with just one carry-on suitcase and one backpack each. Every top and bottom we chose went with each other so that we could make many combinations out of them.

To do laundry, we bought the Scrubba, recommended by a well-traveled relative. It’s basically a rubber bag that you wash and rinse your clothes in before squeezing them out and hanging them up to dry wherever you can. Thankfully, Viking provides a pull-out chord in the shower on which we draped things to dry.

Another option is to venture into whatever port town you are in to find a laundromat. We did this at the midway point, with mixed results. Jimmy woke early on our last morning in Lyon and took a backpack of dirty clothes across the river to a laundromat that opened early. The wash cycle took longer than expected, so he had to haul the wet laundry back across the river to our ship before it departed. We had to hang our clothes to air-dry them in our room. Yes, this saved us some money, but it did take some precious time away from our cruise enjoyment. And although it was interesting to walk the quiet, early morning streets of Lyon and “do laundry like the locals,” it was inconvenient. Pick your poison!

If you don’t want to pay the ship to do your laundry, or do your own in your stateroom, another option is to take your dirty clothes to a local laundromat like we did in Lyon. But it might not be the best solution.

Hungry for more? Get our Luggage Packing Tips for a long vacation.

BIG LESSONS WE LEARNED ABOUT DOING BACK-TO-BACK RIVER CRUISES

Let Viking take care of it!
We made plans to arrive at the first embarkation port a day early to allow for potential flight delays and to explore. We also planned a daytrip between cruises. Many things went wrong, from hotels not being the way they were represented when we booked them, to our phones’ maps being very incorrect, and transit problems including a cancelled train ride. We were so stressed out during those times! It also cost us a lot of money to come up with alternative plans – money we had not included in our budgeting.

In contrast, the post-cruise extension we booked through Viking to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France included a scenic bus trip from the ship, two nights at a great hotel (with breakfast included), a Viking concierge on-site, an excursion, transportation to the airport, and Viking liaisons at the airports to direct us.

It was so nice to have every detail planned for us! While it may cost more to do the add-on pre-and/or post-excursions through Viking than going it on your own, having low-stress travel is priceless.

EDITORS’ TIP: Don’t rely on AI to help you plan time on your own. We had AI create an itinerary for us and much of the information ended up being flat out incorrect. Use a variety of sources, including actual humans.

Pack light and right.
You don’t need a completely new outfit for each day, nor one for day and one for night. Going with some basics, it’s easier than you think to pack for 2+ weeks and still feel like you have varied wardrobe options. We managed to get by with one carryon and one personal item each for the entire time we were traveling. We talk more about that and provide easy-to-follow guidelines in this article.

Keep in mind that European airlines have different luggage measurement and weight restrictions which means that you should look at the rules for each airline you may be flying and adhere to the one with the most restrictive rules. I ended up buying a slightly smaller carryon bag because mine was going to be an inch and a half too large for Air Dolomiti, with whom we had a connecting flight.

Packing only what you really need and packing wisely = a lighter load. Photo courtesy of Canva.

Attend everything onboard the ship.
Before dinner each night, Viking holds “Port Talks” in the Lounge (or listen from your stateroom but you won’t see the graphics). This is when they tell you logistical particulars you need to know, details about the destination, helpful tips, and recommendations. Skip these meetings and you will absolutely miss out on important information.

For that matter, be sure to read the Viking Daily newsletter delivered to your stateroom each evening. Not only does it have details about the next day’s port, it also has fun information about the area, little-known facts and “Nautical Term of the Day” (common phrases that have roots in sailing.) TIP: Take a picture of the ship’s port address and phone number provided on the Viking Daily before heading out on your excursion. Should you need to get back to the ship on your own, you’ll have the information you need.

Take advantage of any entertainment offered.
Whether it’s an in-house pianist sailing with you, entertainers brought on board from various ports, or just Program Director-lead trivia night, check out these opportunities. Over the three Viking cruises we’ve been on (the first was last summer), experiences have included opera, flamenco dancing, an Edith Piaf tribute, and a pop trio that had us dancing the night away. No, it’s not the big productions we love so much on big cruise ships but it’s very high-quality and fun. Don’t miss any of it.

Hungry for more? How to do an overnight in Vienna.

Explore beyond the excursions.
One excursion in each port is included with Viking and there are also optional excursions for a fee. It’s best to sign up for both the included and optional excursions online while you’re still in the planning stages at home because the optional ones fill up fast.

Take advantage of the excursions versus trying to book something on your own because Viking has already vetted them. They identify local tour guides, train them, and make sure they are providing a great tour. In addition, the ship’s Program Director is physically present, going between groups, making sure everything’s going well, both for the passengers and the guides and that everyone has what they need.

That said, when time in port allows, we recommend continuing your explorations on your own, now that you’ve got the lay of the land. Grab a drink in a café and do some shopping to contribute to these port destinations that rely on tourist dollars.

Here’s just a sampling of the things we saw in the destinations along the Rhine and Rhone journeys we did on our back-to-back Viking River Cruises.

Hungry for more? Learn how to make the cold drink the locals love in Arles.

Plan for the next cruise while on the current cruise:
Viking offers a deal that we took advantage of on our first cruise with them last summer after having had such a great experience. For $100 buy a certificate worth $200 off a future cruise. We each bought one and then applied those to our back-to-back cruise plans. In addition, you can fully book your next cruise while still onboard, utilizing those credits + a returning guest discount + additional discounts they offer for booking a new cruise while still on the current one. Although we advocate watching for email deals, combining the deals they offer onboard can add up to a great package. It’s certainly worth asking about.

We’re fresh off our back-to-back Viking River Cruises as we write this and we’re still basking in the glow of the great time we had. We saw so much, learned a lot, had the time to really immerse ourselves in the experience and, overall, feel that it was a wonderful way to spend two(+) weeks exploring Europe.

-Story and photos (except where noted) by Courtney Drake-McDonough, Real Food Traveler’s Publisher & Managing Editor and Jimmy McDonough, Eco-Friendly Food, Travel & Adventure Editor

Please note, as is common practice in this industry, portions of our experiences were hosted, however, all opinions are honest and based on the author’s opinion for the purpose of informing our readers. Also, this article contains a link to Amazon.com. RealFoodTraveler.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn a small amount of advertising fees by linking to Amazon.com while providing convenience for the reader. This in no way affects the prices of any products you may purchase in conjunction with this link.