47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I’m shooting from the hip here (a little). Here’s what I remember and enjoyed them all. Some may be paid, some not. We definitely did all the Viking included ones. I did the Cosmonaut Museum while the wife went somewhere else. I think I got the better tour. We did Moscow by Night. The optional Hermitage (worth for the no wait in line alone!), Splendor of the Tsars, Cossack dancing. I don’t remember if Peter the Great’s house was optional or not except that we did it.

JayRay Loc: Missouri

We did the Amsterdam to Budapest River Cruise with AmaWaterways. Best 2 week vacation we have ever taken. Took my Fuji X-T2 (crop frame) camera. The 18-135mm lens was on the camera 80% of the time. For castles, vineyards, and shoreline photos from the ship (for more reach) I used a 55-200 mm lens (it stayed on the ship and I kept it in our in cabin safe when not in use) for 10% of the shots. Also took a 10-24mm lens for the narrow streets and cathedral interiors for 10% of the shots .
Be sure to take a rubber lens hood for shooting thru bus windows. Take a polarizing filter and a cheap plastic rain sleeve. I took a small travel tripod and a flash and never used either one. I did use a table top (Joby Gorilla) tripod several times. Take plenty of batteries and memory cards! To be safe I also took two battery chargers (one was a backup that was not used) because at least twice a day the ship will be switching from ship's generators to shore power (which could produce a transient voltage spike that could fry your battery charger, if it is plugged in during the transition). Take a lens pen, lens cleaning solution, and small microfiber cloth. Also take a large micro fiber cloth for wiping down camera and lens if it rains. I put everything in a carry on back pack for the airline flight and brought a much smaller back pack for the top deck of the ship, the walk about land excursions, and tour bus rides. Europe is such a rich photo environment, I took over 5,000 photos in 12 days. Traveling in a group on the land excursions you have to compose and shoot very quickly as there is little time to be fumbling with camera gear and changing lenses. Travel light and have fun!

mikee

Keith,

One cruise adage is a 7 day cruise is good for about 1-2 pounds of weight gain...per day. Be careful. You won't go hungry. I've done several. Definately want minimal gear. The cruise is half the fun, the shore excursions are the other half. Be sure to carry some small bills for tips for the guides and maybe the bus drivers. Wear comfortable non-slip shoes.

I took a lightweight backpack and used it to carry a light jacket (and my wife's), water bottle, and my second lens. You may want a cheap travel poncho as well. I only carried 2 lenses, a 18-200 and a 12-24. When inside some of the cathedrals and castles I wanted to go as wide as possible to capture the scale.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

On the subject of tips, the going recommendation for guides is usually 1 - 2 euros per person and a euro for the driver. More importantly, restrooms almost always require a purchase if in a restaurant or a euro if public. Collection is usually a turnstile or an attendant.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Don't let gear spoil the trip, enjoy.

shackcf

I have a Nikon Coolpix S630 for travel. I use a Z6 with FTZ and Nikkor 18-105 for everything else. Orginal Was D3100 which is my backup now with 80K releases. My friend bought a Coolpix A1000 for our last cruise. Night shots were not so great but it was a new camera. Her other is a D5500 with Tamron 18-200. She did not want to deal with the overall size & weight. We also had our Samsung phones. Hers took great night shots and RAW as well. Have a great trip.

Nicholas J DeSciose

Don’t fall overboard

Nicholas J DeSciose

Don’t fall off the ship while trying to take a good picture

Erkibler

My wife just returned from a Viking River Cruise on the Danube. She took some very nice photos with her iPhone(the only camera she had). On the cruise she was on, most of the cruising was done at night. During the day, they were docked in different cities and did a lot of touring of castles, museums, churches, etc. If your 35mm is the DX F1.8, I’d take it for speed. BTW - a tripod is probably useless due to vibration on the boat and they may not even be allowed indoors during tours.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

18-140 on the D5600 is one I used and does almost all you'll encounter. I carried an f1.8 for low light but hardly used it. When on a tour, changing lenses is sometimes a pain.

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

If this is your 1st river cruise, be aware that on board accommodations are tight, so don't bring too much gear.

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

And taking pictures off the top deck while the ship is underway will give you some motor vibrations