Viking Odin Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My wife has been on an ocean cruise before and been after me to try cruising. I was never very interested in spending time at sea in a floating hotel; I'd much rather be exploring the ports. So when I came across some info on river cruises which indicated more of a focus on the destination rather than the trip, I decided to try it out. I wasn't disappointed.
I had Viking arrange transportation between New York and Budapest (and return from Munich) and all was handled well. Travel info arrived well in advance and I was able to upgrade seating with no problem. Airport transfers were handled very efficiently by Viking. We arrived in Budapest Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was too late to visit the Central Market Hall (closes early on Saturday). In fact, this was one of my few disappointments with the cruise, since the market is not open on Sunday, so we weren't able to visit. Had I realized this when booking, I might have done the cruise in the reverse order. Embarking was straightforward and efficient, and we were quickly settled into a very good cabin. Space was quite adequate, with plenty of room to store all we needed and more. Bathroom was nice with a good shower (plenty of pressure and hot water). Heated floors are a nice touch, and my wife loved the provided toiletries (in fact, we bought some on board form the ship store and she is looking online for others). Safe and small refrigerator provided in the cabin were nice. A large bottle of water was provided as well, and replenished whenever used.
The provided TV content is limited. 9 channels, of which 2 are bow and lounge cameras (both very useful), 3 were cable news channels. Of the remaining, two channels (a US sports and and a NatGeo channel) never had any programing the time we were on board. In addition, the ships active map feature never worked right (stuck in one location), and the itinerary weather function stopped working after the second or third day. The WiFi on board was spotty (had to stand near the door in the stateroom to receive, better in the lounge), but was very slow when it did work, even in port. Other than these minor technical issues, the ship was in excellent shape and very nice.
Cabin Review
Very serviceable room and bathroom. Quiet room, good storage options; we had no issue storing everything we brought. Veranda was nice. Two chairs and a small table. nice touch that the room steward removed the seat cushions from the veranda when rain was threatening (to prevent them from getting wet)and replaced them after the rain passed. Bed pretty comfortable (mattress a little firm for me, but OK). Needed some extra pillows, which were readily supplied. Heated floor in bathroom was nice. Shower had good pressure and plenty of hot water. Provided toiletries were good. No clock provided in the room (or anywhere on the ship, except for the front desk, that I could tell. Room safe, TV and small refrigerator provided and worked well. Temperature control worked well. Room steward services the room twice a day: during breakfast/morning tour and during dinner. Very nice job in all respects.