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Viking Emerald

Viking Mani

Viking Forseti

Viking Rinda

Viking Kvasir

Viking Var

Viking Alruna

Viking Kara

Viking Hlin

Viking Eir

Viking Atla

Viking Idi

Viking Kadlin

Viking Ingvi

Viking Tialfi

Viking Aegir

Viking Jarl

Viking Tor

Viking Alsvin

Viking Rolf

Viking Embla

Viking Buri

Viking Delling

Viking Gullveig

Viking Lofn

Viking Idun

Viking Hermod

Viking Bragi

Viking Gefjon

Viking Baldur

Viking Vidar

Viking Magni

Viking Legend

Viking Lif

Viking Njord

Viking Skadi

Viking Skirnir

Viking Egil

Viking Heimdal

Viking Vilhjalm

Viking Modi

Viking Astrild

Viking Odin

Viking Ve

Viking Vili

Viking Mimir

Viking Beyla

Viking Ingvar

Viking Hild

Viking Truvor

Viking Hemming

Viking Torgil

Viking Akun

Viking Helgi

Viking Herja

Viking Einar

Viking Osfrid

Viking Sigyn

Viking Gersemi

Viking Sigrun

Viking Hervor

Viking Ra

Viking Fjorgyn

Viking Tir

Viking Radgrid

Viking Ullur

Viking Kari

Viking Mekong

Viking Vali

Viking Skaga

Viking Mississippi

Viking Gymir

Viking Helgrim

Viking Rurik

Viking Osiris

Viking Egdir

Viking Saigon

Viking Mandalay

Viking MS Antares

Viking Aton

Viking Freya

Excellent cruise and wonderful shore excursions

Corfu

The ports were great and we wanted to try a river cruise .  The food was not good and if we didn’t like lunch which we did not, there was nothing other than cookies until dinner.  Breakfast was good.  Only 2 dinners were good. We actually lost weight on the cruise.   Also not enough staff in the dining room.  Cruise director and excursions were great. Great tour guides!  Staff was excellent at hotel before the cruise .  I knew there was little entertainment but maybe there should’ve been something on the nights we were not in port.  But honestly that is not a reason not to go on Viking.   The food is a reason not to go on another Viking cruise.  We literally dreaded going to the dining room.  We met a lot of nice people on the cruise.  

River Cruise

We did the Rhine Cruise a couple of years ago .  Loved this cruise just as much.  Were treated onboard by two incredible members of the ship’s waitstaff;   Archie and Evan.

This pair smoothed out the rough spots on our trip like it was natural for them to dive in and give special treatment to guests when there was the least amount of an issue. (AC down in dining room)

     Also met and befriended young mister Michael Chumbley and his wife, Desi.  Most enlightening and thoughtful informing us of future cruises that we may enjoy.  Also on one occasion when I (Elton) was unable to take the shore excursion, Michael joined me on the top of the ship and gave me a private tour of the area with his drone.  He salvaged a down in the mouth day with his thoughtful treatment. I will continue to refer any and all of our traveling friends to choose Viking.

Amazing adventures and fantastic culinary delights.

Fanning Island

We were excited to travel the Danube River with our lifelong friends. From the moment we arrived we felt like royalty! The crew on our ship was top notch! We loved all the different stops and all the beautiful cities. Budapest was one of my favorites along with Vienna. In each port we tried the local beers and food which was so delicious. Each port we did at least one excursion, I especially liked the included ones, which showed you the town so then we would go back and do a little more exploring on our own. 

The crew on this ship were so friendly and helpful. You never needed anything. We especially loved Galena, Didit, and Laszlo. All three made us feel like we were special guests! All of the meals were fantastic, we never had a bad one. I highly recommend eating lunch on the veranda near the bar, it is a smaller area but the views were amazing. 

The whole trip was memorable and it is mostly because of the crew and the beautiful country side!

Amazing trip!

Our first viking cruise. We previously cruised with Avalon in 2022 in France, plus many ocean cruises. We are younger seniors that enjoy walking and biking.

Positives:

1. Clean, well maintained boat, with ample and comfortable seating at all levels. 

2. The staff in every level were polite, helpful and responsive. All exceeded expectations. 

3. The food in my opinion was terrific. The local dishes and main dishes on right side of menu were generally authentic, prepared well and flavorful. The classic items on the left side of the menu were American style that I didn’t try.

4. We enjoyed joining other couples for dinner at group tables. The outdoor lounge became our favorite spot for lunch.

5. The port city sites of interest were mostly quite easily accessible to by foot from dock. The maps provided (and smartphone maps) were perfect for us to get around on our own. 

6. The basic tours that were included provided a great way to introduce city history and sites of interest, and to help us plan our own touring later in the day.

7. Viking seems to often promote free airfare deals. Can be a great deal to some locations, and includes transfers to boat. 

Negatives:

1. No pool or hot tub.

2. Most tours are optional and pricey. (Avalon they were almost all included.)

3. The Viking basic, included tours did not really give choices of faster or slower groupings. The walks were sometimes very slow paced.

4. Optional active tours were a scam. The hiking tour up to Buda Castle, about 80 euros, when the included tour bus took you there and back. (we did included bus tour with free time 2 mile walk in castle village). Why pay for the hike? Get off the boat and start walking. 

5. The Viking  bike tours in Vienna and Budapest were something like 150 euros each. We rented bikes from shops in Passau, Vienna and Budapest for about 15 euros each. (Avalon includes bikes on board, and a full time Active Director creating ride or hike tours each morning and afternoon.)

6. Our only booked optional tour was a scam too. Mozart/Strauss concert in Vienna for 149 euros each. We were not in a concert hall, and there was no full orchestra. We were in a practice auditorium and there was a 10-12 piece orchestral band, with couple of singers and dancers. Professional and entertaining. But thinly padded bench seats were tightly set with no legroom and extremely uncomfortable (my butt was on a bike for 25 miles in the afternoon). 

7. The last included tour in Budapest was an hour+ on a bus zigzagging streets before dropping us for walking tour at Buda Castle village. The tour and guide were quite good. The issue was the passengers! There were so many people coughing and sniffling continually. It’s not Viking’s fault that people were so inconsiderate to join a tour, as well as without masks, when so sick. Away from guests, I discussed with the director, and he said Viking has no policy. I think that Viking could offer suggestions for folks that are sick. Anyway I caught a minor cold the next day. Wore a mask on the flight. Turns out it was COVID!

8. The bathroom had some sewage smell, I figured out at end of 2nd day that it was coming from shower drain. It seemed to be a known issue, the front desk said they would send someone to clean the drain. The issue was fixed. Anyway, if we cruise again it will not be on the lower level. 

9. The dock at start port Passau was moved to 3km out of town. They did provide a shuttle to/from town after check in. It would have been nice if the shuttle service was provided before boarding as an option instead of taxi.

10. The Viking smartphone app did not seem to get updated with daily schedules and was not very useful for me. It did not have dock location for Passau change. It did not list all of my included tours. I had to use the paper schedules for tour times and dinner/lunch times.

11. Entertainment was limited. Piano on boarding day. Live music another evening when in port. Game night on several other evening was not of interest to me. Avalon had live music most evenings.

Suggestions:

1. If your flights are provided by Viking, there are options to change flight dates/locations for arrival and departure (transfer waived), as well as choosing specific flights instead of default. Each option has a $100 fee per person. We found those fees were very worthwhile, with better flight times, and allowing us to tour on our own before and after the cruise. Some folks arrived a day late due to flight delays, and some folks had 4am disembark to catch early default flights. 

2. The Danube is a destination for cycling. There is a cycle path on both shores on most of the river Passau to Vienna, and you will see the cyclists with their saddle bags while cruising. The cities have bike paths on most streets and in all large parks. There are electronic payment city bikes in many places, but the apps and procedures can be difficult. I was able to find rental bike shops in Passau, Linz, Vienna and Budapest.

3. Consider staying in Passau an extra day or 2 and rent a bicycle. There’s a shop at the train station with daily cruiser rentals for about 15euros per day. Our hotel (MK Hotel) provided secure bike parking. Ride around town and on the Danube trails. The Inn River tributary has the more scenic trails, such as a ride to Wernstein pedestrian bridge and return the other side. Bike shop: https://www.rent-a-bike.store/informationen/english/

4. In Vienna a bike rental shop was about a 30 min walk. There’s huge parks in town and miles of park riding on the islands in the river. Budapest has a rental shop close to docks and Central Market. Ride trails and streets both sides of Danube and the large park on Margaret Island. Under 20 euros for afternoon rentals in both cities.

5. We extended our stay before and after cruise on our own. An Extra few nights in Budapest and touring by train, Prague to Nuremberg to Passau 1 week early. It's much more work with logistics for the train connections/ hotel bookings. But the cost savings was big compared to Viking pre-cruise options.

6. There are online self-guided walking tours for bigger cities in Europe. For example we used this one in Prague: https://www.bigboytravel.com/czechrepublic/prague/

7. Consider doing a multiday self-guided bike tour before or after the cruise. Bikes, hotels and luggage transport provided tour operator. (I regret not doing this.) Example from web search: https://www.tripsite.com/bike/tours/danube-bike-path-regensburg-to-passau/

First Viking River Cruise

My late father had introduced us to Viking. He was a early believer in and investor of the originally European branch. We have been on Viking several times and never disappointed with the big picture. Food always delicious and healthy (options), what I missed this time were the salad bars!

The educational talks are one of the main reasons we keep returning to Viking and most fellow Viking travelers are great to be around.

Everything is reliably of high quality and standards and we have never been disappointed.

The to and from travel arrangements are very well organized and one can reach out for help, unless no working phone sim card!

They keep somebody from Viking at the airports incase of delays or problems with connections to assist with language problems. The whole vacation process is well thought out and as the traveler one feels well taken care of.

We specifically enjoyed the monastery that Viking is supporting financially. We applaud all the environmental support strides!

We were impressed with the captain, who took us into Budapest right on time before all the lit up buildings and bridges would go dark!

We experienced some of this genuine interest of the company to make their guest feel special and that it is not just a business to make money!

The same already applied throughout the booking process!

Overall, we highly recommend Viking and share our great experiences with friends and family!

not all personnel very experienced, but overall a great experience

We chose this cruise because  of the countries we would be visiting, good timing for us, recommended by friends who took this cruise.  This was a really great experience.  The excursions, the food, but especially the staff!  Never have I seen such a hard working group of workers.  They were passionate about their job and catered to our every need.  If I was buying a beer at the bar a waiter would come over and tell me to sit down and she would bring it to me.   The daily "newspaper" highlighting each day and the excursions was an extremely valuable informative resource.  The guides were first rate and the "lollypop" signs on a stick made sure we were with the right group.   Viking handled the airplane planning without any issues.   The dining room and all the sitting areas were comfortable and allowed for good interaction with the other cruisers.  The ship was extremely clean with the staff constantly keeping ahead of any potential issues.   All in all I would rate the cruise a 10+.

Danube Waltz

To relax and have some time to ourselves. The river cruise on the Danube fit the bill perfectly. We needed to get away and see some of the world that was totally new and different. Living in Texas, if something is  a couple of centuries old it’s considered history. It was a new experience to walk through true history so well preserved. The included tours were a good introduction to each area we visited. The onboard staff exceeded our expectations. They were attentive and mindful of our needs and wants. The maid service was excellent.

 A river cruise proved to be a great way to see the countryside. Going asleep at night to wake up in a new location with a new adventure was exactly the break we were looking for. We enjoyed the cruise so much, we have already booked another river cruise for next year. We even invited our daughter and son-in-law to come with.

Break from the world.

We had never been on an organized tour and cruise, although we had traveled extensively, we had never done a cruise or used tour guides.  We were pleased with Viking's attention to detail.  Everything was taken care of with people ensuring we made all the tours and transfers.  We didn't want to go on an ocean cruise with thousands of people stuffed in a big floating hotel.  With only about 200 people on the boat and tour groups of about 15 with radios and ear pieces it was all very manageable from a crowd standpoint.  We never had to use a tender to get to shore.  At worst we had to go through a boat to get to shore. We always docked near the central town so it was close to everything. The cruise was very smooth, you didn't even realize you were moving. We tried to go in early summer so that it wasn't too warm but would probably try to go earlier next time.  We wanted to try to avoid low water and have to change ships.  Our last port, Passau, Germany the last of the ports going up the Danube that had enough water to cruise.  So we just lucked out.

The food on the boat was amazing always served to order, not reliant on buffets. They always had a special meal from the region that we were visiting as well standard fare. Dining was informal and you could sit wherever you wished. Additionally, they brought in great regional song and dance entertainment 3 of the nights.

We had a Veranda suite which gave us the option of either sitting in a separate room with a couch and chair or on our balcony.  This way we were not forced to be on the top deck to get out of the room.

I would have loved to spend more than one day in Vienna but that was all the time we had on the tour.  We hope to be able to go back to Vienna.  Schonbrunn Palace was amazing, possibly bigger than Versailles.

Our Viking extensions in Budapest and Prague were great.  We were able tour and explore to our satisfaction.  I would not recommend the Prague Hilton rooms.  The bathroom tub had a dangerous slant that could lead to a slip and fall.   We got another room with just a shower.  The doors to the bathroom entrances were so narrow that it was had to avoid knocking into the door hardware that had sharp edges.

The tours focused on public buildings, churches, castles and palaces.  Our next tours may focus more on food and p versailleseople.

Outstanding from a first time cruiser

We were able to visit the cities that we had a very strong interest in seeing. The tours were great and the Viking staff and Tour Guides were fantastic! We started out in Budapest, Hungry and had a walking tour of the city folllowed by our own sightseeing in the afternoon. The next day we went to Bratislavia, Slovakia with yet another walking tour of the city foloowed by an excellent lunch. Next to Vienna, Austria for a walking tour followed by a tour of a monestary turned into winery, which was fantastic. Off to the smaller cities of Kremz and Linz which we then boarded a bus for Prague and our 3 day extension. Prague is a wonderful city and 2-3 days is simply not enough to enjoy all the sites. We did the walking tour of the city at night and then again in the morning. Both were different so they were very informative and seeing the city at night was fantastic. We also visiited the castle in Prague which was alos worth doing. Net, we had a great time with a good mix of tours and down time on the ship. Highly recommend this tour.

Viking Danube Waltz

We chose this cruise because of Viking's reputation and our prior Viking experience on the Rhine. The pre-cruise extension allowed us to spend extra time in Muniche and Salzburg, the home of Mozart. We were able to see where the "Sound of Music" was filmed and could imagine ourselves as part of the movie. We took our picture in front of famous "gazebo" at the Hellbrunn Palace, where song "I am 16 going on 17" was filmed. We enjoyed the Bohemian history and wonderful castles on hilltops, including the Neuschwanstein castle. We could walk through the Nonnberg Abbey, and St. Michael's Basilica where Maria and Baron von Trapp were married. Once on board the ship in Passau, we began our 8 day journey down the Danube River stopping in Linz, where Mozart wrote most of his symphonies. Then on to Krems, where we toured a Benedictine Abby over 900 years old.  We were treated to an Apricot Dumpling demonstration and tasted Marileen Likor (apricot necture). Then we spent two glorious days in Vienna and attended a live concert by the world renown Vienna Residence Orchestra. In Bratislava, Slovak Republic, we saw the gothic St. Martin's Cathedral, home of Hungarian coronations for more than 250 years.  But by far the highlight of our trip was rounding the Danube river's bend and getting our first peek at Budapest at night, often referred to as the "Paris of the East" with the illuminated bridges, Parliament, St. Stephen's Basilica, and the luxurious State Opera House. What a trip to remember.

Cruise of a Lifetime: Salzburg, Muniche and Danube River

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