Balcony

Suite

Outside

Viking River Cruises

River Cruises

Gourmet Food Cruises

Budapest

Amsterdam

Paris

Prague

Passau

Europe - All

Europe - River Cruise

Europe River

Danube River

Europe - British Isles & Western

Germany River

Austria

Germany

Netherlands

Rhine River

Czech Republic

Excellent

Very Good

Average

Terrible

Poor

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

Passage to Eastern Europe! …

Fanning Island

We had heard from several friends about how good this cruse is. So, we went in with high expectations. We have to say that Viking exceeded even those expectations. They covered the entire trip details from start to finish. Our flight from Washington D.C. arrived in Frankfurt at 5:20 am local time. To our pleasant surprise, there were three Viking personnel waiting for us (about a dozen of us total on that flight) at the arrival gate who then walked us to our connecting flight. The Frankfurt airport can be quite challenging to negotiate. What a relief to have these three there to lead the way.

We found the ship to be in great form. Clean, welcoming, and more spacious that we had thought. What made the trip so outstanding, though, was the staff. From the servers in the dining room, to the housekeepers, to the Program Director (Igor M.), everyone made us feel special. There was always a quick smile from everyone. We actually felt they were glad to have us on board. Plus, there was a cake for my wife’s birthday and another one for our 50th wedding anniversary! So perfect with the details!

The excursions were terrific with excellent tour guides. We also greatly appreciated the special lectures (the Vienna coffee culture, the Austrian empire, and on the Rhine River) and demonstrations (three very talented musicians and a glass blower). Even the musical game night was fun. 

The food was excellent in terms of presentation, taste, and variety. Having wines and meals from that particular region of Europe as we journeyed along added to our treat. We loved the relaxed easy pace.

We are already talking about booking another Viking cruise next year!

Exceeded our expectations!

The 23 day river voyage covered the three main rivers of eastern and western Europe: the Danube, Reine and Main and visited 15 countries allowing passengers to learn about the past and how it affected the present. The entire voyage traversed several thousand mile of waterways containing about 50 lock and some 500 bridges. Passengers were able to pick out excursions matching desired difficulty and interest, and included home visits, ruin visits, church concerts, an entertaining Vienna opera house concert, hiking, walks through many cities and locally served meals, to name a few. Local expert guides were both entertaining and extremely informative about the cities and places they took people. There was time for people to walk on their own as well as shopping time for presents to bring home. There were also many "on ship" entertainments of local singing/playing/dancing artists, students, and experts on  European history and culture. This was truly a learning voyage for both interesting and interested people at least 18 years and older.

Voyage through the past while viewing the present

Jost Van Dyke

Fun trip overall! Biggest issue was needing to switch ship due to low water.  We went on a cruise rather than land tour specifically to be able to stay in one room for the duration.   Mantra of Viking is “unpack once,” but literally every friend and relative who has cruised Viking River has to switch ships once. It happens REGULARLY & It is VERY disruptive. While they moved us, they provided lunch in a German restaurant. One menu choice…greasy meat with German potato salad and sauerkraut. The restaurant was unprepared and it was chaos. Food onboard is odd. They try to go overboard on gourmet entrees for lunch and dinner and it becomes too heavy and over the top two meals a day, day after day. They offer a few “always available” options that are more simple, but very little variety on the simple dishes. They rotate the same dinner menus to an extent on long cruises. Burgers are only “always available” at lunch. Anyone should be able to find something they can tolerate, but there were only a few entrees that we really enjoyed.  We actually dreaded dinner when we saw the menu some nights.  Super nice staff, but we will not miss the food.  Our whole group was looking forward to better food and some “cleaner, more simple” food following our cruise.

With regard to the excursions, they were quite good. Some guides were excellent and we only had one guide who was very poor, got facts wrong, did not prepare. We had two Sunday excursions that included free time, but much of Europe is closed on Sunday, so the “free shopping time” was really just time waiting to return to the ship. Knowing the limitations, they should have planned more. Lastly, we were always given water on departure, but it was mineral water and we never had an option for spring water. We thus had to buy our own bottled water at ridiculous European prices.

Lastly, the top deck was closed for days.  This is one of the best places on the ship and the only place to walk (a they have a track).  Be prepared for limited availability.

We spent a bit over $25,000 for 2 people for a 14 day trip + 2 day pre-extension, which included only breakfast and one 2 hour tour. Overall, it was close to worth it, but they did skimp on some food and amenity expenses. At that price, we should have had more dining options and flexibility, sealed yogurt cups (and fat free and flavored options), more comfortable beds, and some compensation for repacking and moving to another ship (minimally a better lunch, a piece of Viking bling, ship credits….something). We didn’t expect it and the packing and unpacking impacted 2 days. Then we had to get reacquainted with different staff. It was a huge imposition. We started on Vidal and had a great steward.  We ended on Lif and had a quite poor steward.   This frequent occurrence ship changing is not something Viking mentions on booking and it was grossly minimized.  Anyone who goes on a Viking River cruise should be prepared for a move.

Viking needs to be more transparent about moving passengers between ships!

Long time cruiser 

This is my 2nd Viking Cruise - it’s easy to see why they are the number 1 rated Cruise ship in the world - luxurious finely appointed pointed, keen attention to every detail, one the best crews at every level, gourmet food at its finest, with impeccable service, small intimate experiences (150 or so people)— no children, no casinos , relaxation and daily off boats excursions with the best local tour guides - everything coordinated to near perfect. Eastern Europe is worth exploring - Bucharest An up and coming city - all the way to Budapest - a magical city with a foothold in both eastern and Western Europe (the mineral baths are a a must do here)- this 11 day trip had 3 nights in top rated hotels 

Can’t recommend Viking enough 

Average age 60-70 years old - wait for sale with free or reduced airfare

The Very Best of Eastern Europe by the Very Best Viking

I lived in west Germany in the early 70’s and wasn’t able to visit Eastern Europe then so this was a great opportunity. It was so interesting to see these countries and learn so much from the local guides hired by Viking. Love the friendliness of the Viking staff and the included excursions were outstanding. Optional excursions were also available while docked at ports. The excursions are rated accordingly to physical difficulty. The food is always great and beer and wine are included with lunch and dinner. If you like cocktails you can get the drink package for extra money. However the drinks are reasonably priced and bartenders do a great job. If you have special food requirements the chef is very accommodating to get you what you request. I’ve been on 4 river cruises and one ocean cruise with Viking and am afraid to try another cruise line since I’ve been so pleased with them.

Eastern Europe on the Danube

We chose Viking at the recommendation of many friends and family who have been using Viking for their cruising company . We booked almost 2 years prior to our journey so most of the ships room inventory was available. We did not receive guidance with respect to best choice of rooms to meet our needs. My husband gets sea sick so we decided that the center of the boat in the lower deck would be the most stable. The rooms were beautiful and met our needs except the noise level. Being in the center and low exposed us to the loud noise of ropes and banging at everyone of the locks and docking points. It was horrible. We were unable to sleep for more than half the journey and when we complained the staff was very aware of the noise levels in these rooms but only offered words of sympathy and an offer of a blanket and pillow to try and rest on a couch in the lounge. How aweful to realize that this is a known issue for these rooms and not to be warned!!! The cruise otherwise was wonderful. The food, care excursions and service was all wonderful. But trust me… not sleeping for almost 2 weeks on such an expensive excursion is a big issue. I was credited some refund to each of us for the inconvenience but I thought beyond that the company needs to be aware. This should not happen to anyone els and quite truthfully we deserved better!

The boat was changed to the Lyf 

This was our first river cruise. Everything went well. We were happy with the shore excursions except for the one in Budapest wherein we wasted so much time on waiting for toilet break for some and have to wait in the toilet premises. Room was always clean. Enough time should be allotted to shopping rather than rushing everyone. 

Emil and Allesandro from the Dining were great. Gabriel was fantastic! Chef from the kitchen were great! Joaow and Lorenzo from the bar were also great. I would say they needed more staff for the kitchen so food can be served faster. But overall it was great! Transfers via coach as well as getting our luggages to out room was excellent m. The hotel in Budapest was very hot bcoz AC was bot working and we complained about it but was told everything was centralized and they cant do much about it! The Corinthia hotel AC was horrible

We were interested in an area of the world where we had limited experience.  Well organized, extremely competent staff and smooth operation.  We enjoyed the excursions, the food and the professional, genial staff.  Rooms were clean, well designed and comfortable.  Public spaces inside and out were spotless and appealing.  The cruise director was outstanding, personable and, remarkably, knew our name.  We enjoyed getting to know many of the other passengers at meal and on the excursions.  They standard excursions were well organized, interesting, and enjoyable.  Of particular note was the home visits in Croatia where we got a very personal history of Croatian War.  The tour of Budapest and Bucharest were informative and gave a real sense of the cities.  The visit to the horse farm in Hungary was one of the highlights, with great horsemanship on display.  The trip has us looking forward to a second Viking tour.  The only negative for us was a lack of a gym.

Relaxing cruise and new territory 

We were aware of Vikings reputation for quite some time.(we're not typically cruise people). To say that they far surpassed our expectations is an understatement. The accomodations, service and itinerary were exceptional. (We did book a Veranda Suite, since I am 2 meters tall.) We whole heartedly recommend this cruise. The staff is super attentive to your every need and anticipates these, often before you realize that you need something. The regional menu offerings are excellent. We can't recommend this in a more positive way. We had to change ships due to low water in the middle of the cruise. The crew made this painless by simply booking a restaurant for lunch and then transporting us to the new ship. This almost made the move transparent to the guests. It seems that only Viking can do this so smoothly due to their having ships sailing the same itinerary, in opposite directions at all times.

Our first cruise ever... we've already booked another 

A teacher-friend and I chose this cruise because of the itinerary and the added perks Viking offered at the time we booked. My friend had been on an ocean cruise previously; I had traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, but had not been on a cruise. It was such a fun trip!! We met so many fun and interesting people, both fellow travelers and staff! A river cruise involves a smaller boat, thus fewer passengers. Seeing the same people at meals and in tour groups for two weeks allowed us to get to know each other. People often sat at the same several tables with new friends.

We left the boat for guided tours (as a prior tour guide, I enjoyed the depth of information and the professionalism of the guides Viking uses.) Returning to the boast for lunch or dinner, we were served excellent meals, often the menu coincided with the region through which we were traveling. Wine and beer were also from the geographic area. However, the service was perhaps what impressed me the most. Never was there any hint of frustration or irritability in any of the waiters, stewards, housekeeping staff, program/ tour staff, etc. I don't see service like this anywhere else! 

As with individuals, the true character of a company becomes obvious under strains and pressures. We ran into problems twice because the Rhine and Main Rivers were so low. Once we stayed overnight in a Hilton Hotel, traveled the next day by very nice coach, toured the anticipated locations, and met our boat at the end of the day. The other time, we packed our bags on the first boat, toured by coach, were treated to lunch at a traditional German pub, and met the next boat further downriver that evening for dinner. Our luggage had been delivered to our new rooms. These were unexpected interruptions, however, Viking cannot control the water levels. Viking handles even inconveniences with grace and professionalism. 

A last note, our program director, Max, was delightful. He was professional and gracious even when some of the guests were demanding. It's true that Viking guests always come first.

Great Service, Great Food, Great Experience

Filters

1-10 of 137