I took the Viking Prestige Danube river trip from Budapest to Passau. I'm solo traveler who has 18 ocean cruises under my belt, but this was my first over-night river cruise. I opted not to utilize the hotel package, but Viking took good care of my air travel. Embarkation, debarkation, and airport transfers were first class treatment all the way. The Prestige has only about 200 passengers so they certainly had both advantages and disadvantages. This small number meant that the crew could offer a level of personalized service not found on a ship of 3000. The crew were not my servants... they were my friends ! Needless to say with only 200 or so fellow passengers, meeting new friends everyday was very easy. The one disadvantage to such a small ship was that entertainment and activities were limited. We had one guy who sang Tom Jones songs and had guest singers & dancers in the evening. Who needs karaoke and a grand theater ? We were in Europe !

As for my room, it was small with a fold-out sofa bed. Do I care ? Nope ! I was in Europe .

To call the ports awesome would be an understatement. Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Melk, Salzburg excursion, Durnstein, Passau. In Budapest I opted for a walking tour, a bus tour and the Synagogue. This is a fabulous city perched on each side of the Danube. Read more