We have done many Caribbean cruises, but this was our first (hopefully more to come) river cruise. We had a bit of trouble finding the ship in Basel, but once there the care was awesome (even in the pouring rain). The team was waiting with umbrellas in hand, to get you on the ship and make sure your luggage stayed as dry as possible. It set the tone for how the crew (and Viking) treated their guests.

The ship was well appointed, the rooms very clean to start and very well maintained throughout our stay. There are nice touches - cookies, coffee and tea throughout the day - like we really needed them. We managed to stay connected to the internet throughout the trip which allowed us to talk with our family via Skype every day.

The staff was incredibly nice, very accommodating and personable. Not always an easy combination. We ran into the Restaurant Manager while walking through Koblenz and he was so quick to ask if we needed directions or help, even though he was clearly on his own time. The second time was our room steward who we ran into in Cologne and she too wanted to make sure we were OK and didn't need any help. When we were disembarking in Amsterdam we had time for sightseeing, so they held our bags and arranged transportation at the end of the day. There is something to be said for 190 passengers versus 5,000. Read more