Welcome aboard the Viking Jarl.
We arrived dockside around 4:00 PM in the afternoon of Sat. June 21st, paraded up the gangplank, and were promptly directed to our cabin.
We found our luggage waiting to be unpacked and quickly got used to the small but efficient space that included the extra benefit of a narrow private patio accessed by a sliding window door.
Looking back from the windows you can see the cabin entrance door and to the left the door to the private WC and shower.
It should be evident from the pictures above that these so called "longboats" that ply the Danube under many flags are basically floating hotels and truly miraculous in their engineering. I will explore this more after we get underway. For now suffice it to say that they have been built to just fit into the many locks they have to traverse along the way and also with retractable pilot houses and upper deck awning shades so that they can fit under bridges that range from Roman to ultra modern. There is no engine noise and the ride is so smooth that unless you look at the shoreline you are not aware of any movement. Leave your motion sickness remedies at home; this is not an open ocean cruise.
We had just enough time to get settled in our cabin before the P.A. system announced a call for all passengers to meet in the main lounge for orientation and an opening tipple.
This gathering summarized some of the basic shipboard operating procedures and most importantly gave us a chance to meet the four people that we would be most dependent on for the next week of our lives.
Our Captain.
Our General Manager, Joerg, our Program Director, Cornelia, and most important of all
Our Chef, Robert
With that it's dinner time. Welcome to our Viking Danube Cruise!
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