Our first ever river cruise was made on the Viking Pride for the Tulips and Windmills tour. The ship was clean and the majority of the crew was friendly. Two servers in the dining room left a lot to be desired as they could not remember from day to day our likes and dislikes. The included tours were okay but rather hectic and the guides were great. Little receivers and ear buds were supplied by the ship so you never had to worry about not hearing what the tour guide was saying.We took one optional tour to Delft and it was a waste of money. Also, the “optional” battlefield tour became a regular tour account the castle for the regularly scheduled tour was closed. I am glad it was free because I had planned on taking it and would have been upset as it definitely wasn’t worth $50.00 pp.
We could have easily stayed in a lower category room as we mostly cruised at night and when we were docked our view was normally blocked by the pier or another river boat so the large window was a waste. During the day one can sit in the lounge although the chairs are not very comfortable. The night before disembarkation they supplied a sign up sheet for anyone wishing to order a cab which was a nice touch. We had made our own air arrangements so this made it easier on us then trying to schlep our bags 4 blocks to the train station at 6:00 am.
All in all I would take another river cruise and even give Viking another try as they have interesting Russia and China itineraries.
