Viking Embla Review

4.0 / 5.0
167 reviews

Passage to Eastern Europe

Review for Europe River Cruise on Viking Embla
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seelos
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: May 2015

The cruise from Bucharest (port was 1 hour drive away) to Budapest in May 2015 was excellent. We have been on 16 cruises (2 with Viking) and the food on this ship was the best that we have ever had. Our original ship, the Lif, was not able to get to our port near Bucharest due to high water levels on the other side of Budapest on the Danube so the Embla was substituted. The ships are identical so this was no big deal. In fact Viking is getting rid of their older river boats and changing them to the Longships so if river levels are a problem, they can bus people from one ship to another if they cannot get under a bridge. So you pack up on one ship and they transfer everything to the other ship and you are on your way again. This is a great move by Viking to keep the water complaints down over which they have no control. The boat's crew were always helpful and the excursions and the guides were excellent. We did the 3 day extension in Bucharest which included a overnight stay at a Ramada on the way to Dracula's castle. The Hilton Athenee Hotel in Bucharest where we stayed a total of 3 nights is a beautiful hotel which was changed from the Radisson Blu that is right across the street and is not as nice a hotel. The Budapest hotel where we stayed for 2 nights was the Marriott where all rooms look out on the river and look toward the Buda side. This was also a very nice hotel and right in the middle of everything in Budapest. The only complaint I have with Viking is that you have to pay for the cruise a year in advance. Also I originally booked the 3 day extension to Prague with Viking but they changed the hotel from the Hilton to the Corinthia Hotel which is not located near the city center (although Viking did provide a shuttle). Since I wanted to stay near the city center, I cancelled the extension and this apparently made me ineligible for the bus transfer from Budapest to Prague according to the Los Angeles office. So I booked RailEurope train tickets for 2 for $330.00. When I was at the hotel in Budapest, I spoke to the Viking reps at the hospitality desk and asked if I could get on the bus with the other extension people to go to Prague instead of taking the train. They said OK and I just filled out a credit card authorization form for $240.00. So next I had to take a taxi to the train station in Budapest to get my train tickets stamped NOT USED and then had to mail them back to RailEurope when I got home. Might get about 60% of the cost of the train tickets back eventually after they deduct from their handling charges and shipping charges. there were 20 empty seats on the 8 hour bus trip to Prague so capacity was not an issue. Viking should change their policy on this and allow anyone to take their transfers whether or not you are staying in their hotel. The Four Seasons hotel that we stayed in in Prague was the same price as the hotel that Viking booked people into. Looking online you could book the Corinthia hotel for about 110 Euros and Viking was charging about $1600 for the 3 day stay in Prague and the only extra was a city tour that they provided.

Cabin Review

Cabin Upper level with Balcony

At first the cabin appeared small but there is plenty of storage place and we really had plenty of room. The balcony wasn't used much since it rained or was cloudy most days. The bathroom floor was heated which is nice and the shower with the glass doors was great. Laundry service was excellent with things coming back the next day. A 3 hour service is also available for 50% more and we used that too.

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