Balcony

Outside

Viking River Cruises

River Cruises

Family Cruises

Gay & Lesbian Cruises

Romantic Cruises

Singles Cruises

Cruises for the Disabled

Senior Cruises

Fitness Cruises

Gourmet Food Cruises

Passau

Budapest

Amsterdam

Prague

Paris

Europe - All

Europe - British Isles & Western

Europe - River Cruise

Excellent

Average

Very Good

Viking Aegir

Viking Alruna

Viking Alsvin

Viking Astrild

Viking Atla

Viking Baldur

Viking Bragi

Viking Delling

Viking Egdir

Viking Egil

Viking Einar

Viking Eir

Viking Embla

Viking Gefjon

Viking Gersemi

Viking Gullveig

Viking Gymir

Viking Herja

Viking Hermod

Viking Hervor

Viking Hild

Viking Hlin

Viking Idi

Viking Idun

Viking Ingvar

Viking Ingvi

Viking Jarl

Viking Kara

Viking Kvasir

Viking Legend

Viking Lif

Viking Lofn

Viking Magni

Viking Mani

Viking Mimir

Viking Modi

Viking Njord

Viking Odin

Viking Prestige

Viking Rinda

Viking Sigrun

Viking Sigyn

Viking Skadi

Viking Skirnir

Viking Tialfi

Viking Tir

Viking Tor

Viking Ullur

Viking Vali

Viking Var

Viking Ve

Viking Vidar

Viking Vilhjalm

Viking Vili

Jost Van Dyke

We chose this itinerary because our previous Viking  Danube River cruise was fantastic. This one a bit of a disappointment. The service and food were excellent. We really enjoyed our veranda cabin, too. Our biggest disappointment were the included excursions. It seemed like Viking would take us on a short tour and then drop us off for hours of shopping. The excursions we paid for were much better. Our biggest negative was the post cruise trip to Lucerne. I could go into many details on how expensive and awful this was, but sum it up by saying Lucerne was beautiful but don’t take the 11 hour tour of the area. We were also concerned about the laxness of the boats security in several ports. Several times when we were in port there didn’t appear to be anyone monitoring the exit and entrance to the boat. Overall, we’re currently “turned off” on a river cruise.

Rhine River

We returned a few weeks ago from our first River Cruise.  I was a bit apprehensive as Viking seemed to be taking a bit of a beating on the boards. I don't know what cruise line the complainers cruised on but it certainly wasn't the one we were on. We have cruised many times on a number of Ocean cruise lines. This was different but equally enjoyable.
The beds were extremely comfortable and the cabins were lovely and spotless. We arrived with a bouquet of flowers in my arms which were whisked away and appeared later in a vase in our room. Bathroom was compact but very handy and the shower was a good size. The hair dyer, unlike on ocean cruises, was terrific.
 We enjoyed the food a great deal. It takes a few days to realize you can order from the kitchen  for breakfast. the buffet was very good and the omelets were terrific. dinners were always good with a variety of choices. The only thing that could be improved was the desserts but it wasn't a big concern. Wine and beer was good and plentiful and they were happy to serve the wine you brought on board.
The tours were very good and the cruise director added one in Budapest for those of us who didn't want to ride a bus(we walked and took public transportation--great!) We did the optional Mozart Concert in Vienna which was a really good choice.
I can't way enough about the staff. They were fantastic. There aren't enough of them and they work extremely hard but they are truly wonderful.

A Wonderful Way to See Europe

Viking went totally beyond in meeting our expectations.  We were met at the Amsterdam airport and taken immediately to the ship.  We dropped off our luggage and toured the Amsterdam Canal (on our own) before boarding the ship.  It did not even take five minutes for us to get checked in and taken to our stateroom.  Our luggage was in our room waiting for us.

The ship, Viking Prestige, was clean and so comfortable considering we were on the river for 15 days .  We felt our cabin was very comfortable.  The bathroom was perfect for the two of us. The beds were very comfy and helped provide us with good sleep every night.

  We cannot say enough about how much the staff on the ship tried to make our time with them THE BEST.  To our knowledge, nothing escaped their attention, from remembering that one of us loved our coffee refilled often, to the turn down in the evening for a good night's rest.  The food was delicious, varied,and plentiful.  

Our program director, Maryann, was exceptional in providing and planning the best experiences in shore excursions as she and her staff could.  The water levels made her job extremely stressful for three days, but she pulled it off without a hitch.  The hotels, food, excursions, and even the bus rides were great.  We did get to return to the ship for the final two nights, which was a real treat.

We did not feel the daily tip per person suggested by Viking was not out of line at all.  We feel the staff worked very hard to provide a wonderful vacation for us. 

Leaving the ship to go to the Budapest airport for our return trip home was as easy as it was at the beginning of our trip.  We would not hesitate to travel with Viking again.

15 Day Grand European Amsterdam to Budapest

From being met at the airport in Amsterdam, to being delivered to the airport in Budapest, the Viking experience was first class.  We loved our cabin, the small community feeling of the ship, the coffee/capuccino machine!  The tours were well coordinated and well timed, with enough but not too much time to see the key sites and have some leisure time in most places.  The service was very good.  Nice to have free internet service and laptop loaners available.  Food was 3-4 star, with good options each evening, not too much, just enough.  Very nice to have beer and wine at lunch and dinner.  The sites along the Main, Rhine and Danube were amazing, just beautiful scenery, castles, towns, vineyards at every turn.  We are already scheduled for the next Viking trip!

Note that only one of the ports we stopped at are listed in this review template, and there is a limit of 8 ports, when we were in at least one port every day and on one day two ports!  Each town we stopped at was lovelier than the last, Vienna was a real treat, and the biggest surprise was Budapest.  We went two days earlier to Amsterdam and had a lovely time there, even with rain.  The hotel was very nice and in a convenient location to walk or take the canal boat or bus anywhere we wanted to go.

One of the best cruises ever!

A very nice tour of mostly quaint German towns.  We took a similar journey last year from St. Petersburg to Moscow.  What made this different was it was simply one stop per day for a half day or less to 15 towns.  What made it different, and not quite so pleasant, was Viking had a sister ship shadow us the entire route and other Viking vessels joined us in may different ports along the way.  This means there were nearly 600 people, all from Viking, hitting the excursions at the same times.  It felt like "Viking Hordes" at most locations.  Crowds were big and you ran in to Viking groups by the hundreds no matter where you were.  We would suggest checking Viking's schedules and avoiding multiple craft trips whenever possible.

The staff of the Prestige was wonderful and the food as good or better than the Russian trip!  We provided our own exercise because Viking does very little in the way of exercise space.  Our room was on the lowest level (booked last minute). The river water level was at about chest high through a 3-by-4 foot window that did not open.  All the other rooms were the same size but offered sliding doors opening to a "French" balcony. We had no problems with the room and our steward did a wonderful job.

We learned that on Viking you need to manage your time.  We would sometimes take the planned excursion, always on a nice motor coach, but often we grabbed a cab and struck out on our own with guide books and maps in hand.We purchased the one-price beverage package since we enjoy a glass of wine or two following dinner.  We were able to choose from a nice wine list during dinner.  The "house" wine was not bad at all, but would definitely get old on a two-week trip.
One thing we would love to have changed on this trip was the one-day, one-stop nature of the cruise.  Dornstein we could have enjoyed from the ship without a stop, and we would have loved two to three days and nights in Vienna.
We are big believers in Viking!  We would definitely travel with them again.  To check the sights for this cruise on a city by city basis, check out my website at http://www.mikerophoto.com, and select a city gallery.
Happy cruising!

AMSTERDAM TO BUDAPEST 14-DAYS ON VIKING PRESTIGE

My husband and I just returned from our first cruise. We are casual people that enjoy history, art, and site seeing - the river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest was perfect for us. We will definitely go on another river cruise again with Viking. 

The Viking Prestige ship and entire crew were fantastic. Everyone was extremely friendly and ship was very comfortable - it included a library, comfortable lounge (not over-the-top decor), elegant dining room, and all staterooms are the same size unless you chose a suite. We decided for our first cruise to stay with the lower deck - standard room. We were not disappointed and will save our money (by not upgrading) in order to take another trip.

Each day there were planned activities that provided historic information about the city/towns we were visiting with local guides. Most days we also had free time to do our own roaming through the city/town. We loved the architecture of the cathedrals, buildings and town squares. I think my husband said he took over 1900 pictures - and he ended up being sick by the time we arrived in Prague and didn't even get to take many pictures in this magnificent city!

The entire river cruise experience on the Viking Prestige far exceeded our expectations.

The Grand European Tour on the Viking Prestige

I loved river cruising.  The best times were spent in the front of the boat watching the world sail by.  The stateroom was well appointed and the bathroom sufficient-the shower was large by European standards.  The bed in single staterooms is quite hard, but my room attendant did her best to make it more comfortable.  
I would recommend the itinerary,saw so much and enjoyed most of the shore excursions.  However, I think the wait staff in the dining rooms tend to provide better service to couples than to singles-we were usually the last served and our orders were often mixed up.  I thought the stateroom service was excessive-why does anyone need their room cleaned and towels changed twice a day?  I actually was lectured by the head housekeeper for telling my room attendant I only needed her to check my room once a day and not to change my towels more than every 3-4 days.  I felt the customer should have the option of how much service they required. 
The worse part was the 'gray' water sewer system had problems and created a stench in my room (and in other parts of the boat) for a couple days.  It was alleviated by running water down the shower drain and covering drain with a bathmat, but was very unpleasant.  I was surprised that a ship only a year old would have this type of problem.  The target population for Viking is obviously very mature couples (late 70's to late 80's).  I am an active 60ish and didn't really feel like I fit in.  I would definitely do another river cruise, but I think I need a cruise line that fits my lifestyle better.

Viking Prestige Grand European Cruise AMS to Budapest

We started off our adventures by spending 2 days in Amsterdam prior to the cruise.  I found a wonderful hotel, Hotel Larende, in the museum district and it was the perfect headquarters for all our fun in Amsterdam!  The hotel was very clean, quiet, had an elevator, great food and a well-stocked bar!  The manager was fantastic - because we arrived there at 10:00 am, he stored our luggage for us and guided us on our sightseeing trip! The tram stopped right out front and he sold discount tickets...  it was a good choice!

We have cruised before with our traveling companions but this was the first river cruise for them also.  We did a little more sightseeing on Sunday before heading to the ship - Amsterdam is a fascinating city, we had such a good time!  The hotel manager arranged our transportation to the dock for us. The cruise documents said that we could board at 3 pm but actually we could have gone aboard earlier.... lots of folks did.  Embarkation consisted of going to the desk and checking in - no lines or waiting!  Easy, peasy!  We had a nice lunch in the Aqua Vit lounge and then joined our luggage in our rooms!  The rooms were surprisingly spacious.. we had a place for everything!  The bed was very comfy, the bathroom nicely appointed and the French balcony was great.  We met up for a drink before dinner and did some exploring - and knew we would love being up on the Sun Deck as much as possible.  Dinner was very nice.... all the wine you cared to drink was poured, beer also. It was this way for all lunches and dinners. No need to purchase the drink packages unless you want top shelf liquor all the time....  the ship sailed at 11:30 that evening with us cheering from the Sun Deck! 

The next morning found us in Kinderdijk.... it was a real treat!  This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - one of the many we visited on this trip.  I won't list all the ports-of-call as there were about 16 of them...  you can check out the Grand European Tour itinerary at vikingrivercruises.com to see the complete list.  I will say that on a few occasions we skipped the included tour and went off on our own.  We like to stop and try the local fare and poke about on less-likely traveled side streets...  the only optional tour we took was to the Schonbrunn Palace tour in Vienna - and it was awesome!  The tours that we did take had great guides and were very informative.  Our Program Director, Andrew, was very knowledgeable also.  I could have had more narrative from him regarding the points-of-interest along our river travels... he did talk about the 'big name' castles tho' but there was a lot more that we tried to figure out on our own!  Viking provides a couple of river guides that you can follow along in by matching the kilo markers on the shore....  they help a lot!!
Our room steward was wonderful.... very hardworking!  Everything was always tidied up when we returned to our room and it smelled fresh and clean!  We quickly found our favorite waiters in the Dining Room...  it's so nice when you sit down to have one remember your drink preference and serve it immediately!  They are a hardworking bunch also... and very interesting to chat with.

We enjoyed the food although I heard others grumbling.  Guess you can't please everyone but the 4 of us were just fine with it!  Breakfast was a huge buffet with regional specialty meats and cheeses, fruit, an egg station, lots of cereals, veggies (yes! veggies!) awesome yogurt, and of course pastries galore!  You could also have Mimosas for breakfast - and we did!  There were potatoes, mushrooms and bacon everyday also...  and probably more that I've forgotten! 

Lunch was served in the Dining Room with a huge salad bar, great soups, usually a hot sandwich or items available from your server or in the Aqua Vit lounge as an abbreviated version - but not by much!  It was always enjoyable also.

Dinner was 1 seating, 7 pm, in the Dining Room. We thought they could have improved on that - with an earlier seating perhaps and then one at 7:30.  It was kind of crazy with those jockeying for seating.  It wasn't the best but we maintained.  There were always a steak, chicken, fish and a vegetarian dish on the menu in case you didn't want the entree.  We really liked the entrees... and you could get 'doubles' if you wanted, as the portions weren't big.  Desserts were good... ice cream was always available. Regional fare was featured.  All in all I would have to say that the dining experiences were favorable.

Of course the main draw for us was the actual 'river cruising!!'  I have never been so transported by the breath-taking beauty of the rivers and the scenery!  The castles were fabulous...  the little river towns so inviting... the whole trip was more than we had anticipated!  Well of course it rained... doesn't it always!  But - it was mostly at night, or while we were having dinner - or when we ducked into a little pub in Durnstein while it hailed!!  It surely wasn't enough to keep us off the streets or from the Sun Deck... although... the Sun Deck was closed for 4 days due to low bridges.  It was a minor inconvenience - we sat in the Aqua Vit lounge or spent more time in town!  The weather was much nicer than we had anticipated anyway...  a pleasant surprise!

Overall this was one of the best trips we have done.  To be able everyday to have the scenery and ports... we realized that that 'Day at Sea' can be a little boring!  I would certainly recommend a River Cruise to our friends and family... Viking did a fine job and I thank them for making our first-ever river cruise a great one!

Grand European Tour - Amsterdam to Budapest

My wife and I are both retired and have taken up cruising again after several years of raising a family. We booked the Viking Prestige in order to be on its maiden voyage in June, 2011. We did a two day pre cruise stay in Amsterdam at the Radisson which was fun. The embarkation went smoothly. Unfortunately, Viking has problems that need to be corrected. First, the bathrooms flood due to hair traps being located at floor level. The beds are extremely hard. The satellite was iffy at best. Don't try to watch TV...and don't try to use a computer. Our view was blocked 10 of the 15 days due to other ships tied up next to ours. Conversations from adjoining suites are recognizable due to no insulation in the ceilings. The lounge is not big enough for all of the passengers to view a presentation. The touted Sun Deck was closed 8 days due to height restrictions. On the plus side, the food was excellent as was the free wine every night, but soft drinks were an added expense...The many excursions are well run and informative, with Viking using local guides who are informative, especially in Wurzburg and Melk. The disembarkation went smoothly with passengers going to the airport in Budapest on buses at a scheduled time. Don't expect to see any negative comments on Vikings Facebook page as they will censor it. Trust me, I know...They did offer me $500 per passenger for a future cruise, but why would I want to get burned twice?

Prestige?  Not So Much

Filters

1-9 of 9 Amsterdam to Europe Viking Prestige Cruise Reviews

Find a cruise