We had never cruised before- all we knew about a European river cruise is what we read on the Viking website and heard from the Viking rep. It sounded great- the perfect way to see Europe, sipping wine on a relaxing voyage down the most beautiful rivers in Europe. We were very excited about this trip, celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary.

Things began to go wrong before we even left. Our scheduled boat, the Kvasir, was unable to meet us in Budapest due to high water levels. Instead we would sail aboard the Idi. Fair enough, both ships are brand new.

We arrived in Budapest and boarded the Idi with no problems. Our briefing was held by a cruise director on her way out the door for a vacation. Our assigned cruise director was held up in Amsterdam and would join us later. No problem. We enjoyed our day in Budapest, a beautiful and historic city. And that was the last day anything went according to plan. Read more