Found anchorages inconvenient

I went on the 15-day “Romantic Rhine” cruise aboard the Viking Sun, Nov. 7-21, 2009, with Viking River Cruises. With a discount offered by Pennsylvania Travel Service, my cost was $3,520, land only.

In 2001 I enjoyed a similar itinerary with another company. I booked this 2009 cruise-tour because the splendid variety of 20th-century art museums in Basel, Strasbourg, Cologne, Amsterdam and Bruges demanded repeat visits.

The Viking Sun’s anchorage for Basel was a 15-euro cab ride from the city.

In Heidelberg, a 45-minute bus ride took us to a parking area from which there was a 30-minute walk to the city center, with, of course, a similar walk and bus ride to return to the ship.

In Cochem there was a half-hour walk to or from the town.

In Cologne it was only a 15-minute walk to the city center… in cold, wet weather.

In Arnhem we berthed only 10 minutes’ walk from town.

Amsterdam required another over-long bus connection.

Our position for Bruges required an hour-long bus ride to a parking area plus a half-hour hike to reach town.

In general, the anchorages required over-long bus connections and tiring hikes, unlike on my previous cruise where we anchored right in each town, with no bus rides required.

The museums, however, were and are SPLENDID!

DAN LEVINE

Tampa, FL

ITN mailed a copy of the above letter to Viking River Cruises (5700 Canoga Ave., Ste. 200, Woodland Hills, CA 91367), also sending an e-mail, and received no reply.