Sailing along the River Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest, we have covered a lot of ground, seen some amazing places and talked with some interesting people.  As I write this we are in Vienna, Austria where our Viking longship stayed docked overnight; something we would do several times on this 8-night Romantic Danube sailing.  On the way to Vienna, we cruised through the Wachau Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site and had some time to reflect on where we had been and what we had done.  Looking back on our pre-cruise research efforts, I began analysis of what Viking promises vs. what the popular river cruise line actually delivers.

We have talked about the rich library of video available on the Viking website, noting the appropriately wide variety of topics covered; everything from recipes to language lessons,  itineraries and more.  What we are actually experiencing is a vibrant, relevant cruise travel option with no disparity between the expectation set and what is actually happening.  None.

Accuracy Check: In Passau, we were drawn to a bakery by the aroma of Gingerbread baking, the same bakery as in this video. Compare what the images I captured this week to the video shown here, from the Viking River Cruises video library.

-Follow along a number of ways on our Christmas Markets Romantic Danube river cruise, hosted by Viking River Cruises:  

• Right here at ChrisCruises.com- Live Events/In Progress– a new post every day at Noon (EST)
• Twitter- Follow all of the above on Twitter (+ @OrlandoChris and @LisaROwen) as well as the #VikingSocial tag and @VikingRiver
• Instagram– Follow @Viking_Cruises and ChrisCruises on Instagram
• Tumblr– Follow ChrisCruises for our live feed  and TheWorldAsLisaSeesIt for one post during each event.
• Facebook- Look for photos and reports along the way as well as a number of Facebook Photo Albums
• Pinterest– This year our Christmas Markets Pinterest boards will focus entirely on the Food and Wine of Germany, Austria and Hungary.
• Our Flickr Photo Feed– all the images, unprocessed, free to use with attribution.
• @Exposure photo story books curated along the way.  Speaking of which; check last year’s photo account of Viking Christmas Markets for an idea of what we might see along the way.

NEW- The social focus of this sailing is bringing you some interesting, different and engaging elements to our normal event coverage.

• Via Instagram (http://instagram.com/chriscruises), look for at least one photo post every half hour during the 8-day Viking River Cruise.
• Your Questions Answered,  Right Now- Ask us anything on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram or in a comment to a post here at ChrisCruises.com.  We’re holding no questions to answer when it’s all over.  Get your answer now.

-Previously Published During This Event-

Pre-Cruise Information

• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: What To Wear
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Travelers We Will See On The Ship 
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: River vs. Ocean Experience
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: The Viking Longships
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: When Winter Travel Is Worth It
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Remember Where You Are
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Looking Forward To Vienna
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Ocean Cruise Skills I Will Not Need On My Viking River Cruise
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Going Through Locks, Will They Be Frozen?
• The 12 Days Of Viking Christmas: Overnight In Budapest: What To Do
• Nuremberg’s Meridien Grand Hotel A Great Pre Cruise Option

Facebook photo albums-

• Nuremberg’s Meridien Grand Hotel
• Nuremberg Christmas Market

@Exposure Photo Story Books

• Regensburg, Germany- A Christmas Markets Visit With Viking River Cruises
• The Grand Cathedrals Of Europe

• Viking Social Begins With A Bit Of Familiarity
• The Most Popular River Cruise Line In The World
• 10 Reasons To Buy A Christmas Markets Cruise Today
• 5 Secret Reasons Why The Viking Empire Is Expanding
• Viking Christmas Markets: Video Vs. Reality (this post)