I have watched the Viking River Cruise -proud sponsor of Downton Abby on the television... which is the reason I looked into the river cruise. I found a local agent that could book it for us... and we had a wonderful time. Getting picked up by at the Amsterdam airport just as we walked out of security made us feel so welcomed. The driver gave us a ride to the ship early the first morning. The past week's guest were having breakfast and we were welcomed by the wait staff to join them. Talking with the guest that were leaving we learned of the excursions we should take and what they liked best. Our cabin was ready immediately so we settled in and took our own walking tour of Amsterdam. All of the crew were friendly and so accommodating. Each time we came aboard we were greeted and we really liked the check in/check out system made simple by the smaller amount of people on the ship. We were on the Kvasir and the ship was clean - food delicious. It was nice when all of the travelers could sit down and have dinner together and we made some great friends. We enjoyed the happy hours and entertainment - we even decorated a Christmas tree and sang carols. The complimentary wine and beer at our meals was so nice. We took advantage of the optional tours and did go on the pub crawl what a blast. It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to take another one so we have booked a second river cruise down the Danube.