On the third day of our trip we had to move by bus to a different ship because of high river levels. We arrived at our dock after a five hour drive which we were originally told was to take only two hours. It was raining very hard when we arrived and our program manager did not bother to organize a staggered departure from the buses. Therefore, there we were more than 100 elderly people standing drenched in the rain waiting to get onto the ship. For the next two days, we were docked in an industrial canal alongside another Viking ship and had an unpleasant view of the adjacent ship, industrial buildings, and cranes.

The Program Director was horrible because he was not honest with the passengers, gave us limited information, and was always trying to put a ridicules positive spin on the problems. Basically, we felt he was treating us like ignorant unaware preschoolers. He reminded us of a QVC sales announcer on steroids. Our cabin had trash under the bed the first day we boarded and there was no top sheet on the bed, just the comforter. When we changed ships the new steward never introduced himself which is something that we have always experienced on all of our many cruises. However, the food and most of the service providers with the exception of the Program Director and the Concierge were very good.

Our tour of Cologne’s Dom lasted about 30 minutes and was without a tour guide inside the cathedral. The group was very large and by the time everyone completed toilet needs it left only 15 minutes in the cathedral. We opted for the Romano-Germanic tour which continued for only another 30 minutes because of delays associated with mandatory baggage check-in and again bathroom requirements. It took us another two hours bus ride to get to Marksburg Castle and the tour of the Black Forrest was nothing more than a buying experience for Coo Coo clocks and expensive glass trinkets. Read more