What Is Included on a Viking River Cruise

This is the question I hear most after the price, and it is a fair one. Is Viking all inclusive? The short answer is: close to all inclusive, not fully. Meals, beer, wine, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner, one excursion in every port, WiFi, and port taxes are included. Tips, premium drinks, optional tours, and usually air and transfers cost extra. When I check a sailing for you, I go through this list line by line, so nothing surprises you later.

Included

• All onboard meals
• Beer, wine, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner
• Specialty coffee, tea, and water, 24 hours a day
• One excursion in every port
• WiFi
• Port taxes and fees
• Enrichment, lectures, and local performances
• No corkage if you bring wine onboard

Costs extra

• Tips for crew, guides, and drivers
• Premium drinks outside meals, including the Silver Spirits package, quoted at $27 per person per day by one source
• Optional excursions
• Spa and laundry
• Transfers, unless Viking air is booked
• Airfare, unless a promotion includes it

Transfers

Transfers are the part travelers most often forget to budget for, so I flag it early. Transfers are included only with Viking air. If you book Viking air, a representative meets arrivals. Otherwise, budget for airport to ship transfers and pre and post hotels, and I will help you plan those too.

WiFi

WiFi is included on Viking in Europe, Egypt, Mississippi, and the Mekong, and I know that matters if you want to stay in touch with family back home. Speed varies, especially on rural stretches and the Mekong, so I would not plan on streaming movies.

Dining

Here is how dining works on Viking, in plain words. Regional menus, multi course dinner, buffet plus a la carte breakfast and lunch, and the Aquavit Terrace as a casual alternative on Viking. There are no supplements on Viking dishes. If you have dietary needs, tell me at booking, not onboard, so I can make sure the ship knows before you arrive.

My bottom line, and the advice I give every traveler: compare the total trip, not the headline fare. A line that looks expensive can be cheaper once you add tips, drinks, and tours to a cheaper fare. I will do that comparison with you.