I need to say, first, that this cruise was the best vacation EVER!! I picked this cruise 6 weeks before it sailed. I'm not usually that impulsive, but Viking had just introduced a rate for single vacationers. Before my wife passed, we had hoped to go on a river cruise, and after I couldn't convince myself to pay for 2 people when I was going to be by myself.

I booked everything through Viking, in advance, including some extra excursions, I was personally interested in. That was the only thing I will change, on the next cruise (oh yes, I will go again). If you wait to add extra excursions until you are on the ship, you have more flexibility, in case you want to move things around. I have soooo many good things to say, I'm having trouble deciding where to start.

My flight to Europe was exhausting. It was not Viking's fault, it was the airline's. The flight was booked with plenty of layover time, but the airline was so far behind schedule (afternoon flight) that I ended up spending 10 hours in the Paris airport. I made a call to the ship(the number is supplied in the FANTASTIC itinerary book, I received) and a very nice representative was waiting for us. Several other couples had the same airline delays, all around the US, but we became friends, in the Paris airport. That was the only real glitch in the whole trip. Read more