We took the Grand European Tour and stayed in the Explorer Suite (a special occasion at great expense). This is a senior cruise, with the majority of guests over 65. Disabuse yourself of the idea that a river cruise is charming small ships sailing right into town. With the exception of Krems and Bamberg, all ships dock very far from the towns and a Viking shuttle bus takes you to the town center, often miles away; the docks are sometimes just cement landings in an industrial port area. This is an all English-speaking cruise, with 95% being Americans, with a few Canadians, Brits, and Australians. Also be prepared for the huge crowds of tours--river cruising has boomed tremendously. There were sometimes four Viking vessels docked, each with 200 people, along with a dozen other cruise boats from other companies. The tours groups are about 50 people each, so imagine how crowded that gets with all the tours going in the same places simultaneously.

If you are thinking of getting the Explorer Suite, think again: these rooms (only two on each ship) are located directly over the ships' engines, and the balconies are basically unusable unless the ship is docked (and who wants to sit out there and look at cement?). The vibration from the engines is so loud and so severe that at one point I watched a glass vibrate its way across the glass table and fall off. This is especially true of an up-river cruise (Amsterdam to Budapest) as the engines are always working full-blast. Save your money and get a regular suite up toward the front of the ship where it's quiet. I think Mr. Hagen, Viking's founder, ought to spend two weeks in one of his Explorer Suites to see what it's like.

The food is good, not great, but good. I have food allergies and the Maitre d' met with me each morning to go over the entire menu to make sure I wouldn't get sick, and I didn't. The service overall is beyond anything we've ever experienced--kind, helpful, friendly beyond belief, and the Viking crew seems to absolutely love their jobs. Very well done. Read more