For our first river cruise we chose the Romantic Danube from Nuremberg to Budapest. Our vessel was the Egil and it was the first cruise of the season for the crew. You would not have know in as the ship was so well run. The crew from top to bottom was excellent and took care of all our needs. The were so warm and friendly. The evening presentations were full of humor. Dining was very good with choices for everyone. We enjoyed meeting new people while we dined. There was a small issue we were warned about just prior to the cruise. The lock in Nuremberg was closed for repairs so our ship was docked in Regensburg and we were bused back and forth to Nuremberg the first and second day of our cruise. It was not a huge inconvenience. The included excursions were very good as were the optional ones. The prices for cocktails were very reasonable. We have a veranda cabin with a balcony. It was set up very well. All spaces were used to maximize storage. The shower had great water pressure. Daily we had a large glass bottle of water which was refilled daily to drink. The bed was comfortable and the a/c and heat worked well. There were outlets for charging phones. The cost for laundering clothes was not too expensive. We will do another river cruise again. Read Less

Family Christmas cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest....what a wonderful way to experience the best Christmas Markets in all of Europe. A must for any family wanting to share and create Holiday memories. The Christmas markets are an absolute must, with handmade goods including Christmas ornaments and souvenirs, local foods, mulled wine and great beers. Add in the local history and culture of each destination and it creates unbelievable memories. River locks along the Danube are also a fun and interesting experience as you travel along the river watching the scenery. Viking does it better than anyone! Great cabin accommodations, shore excursions that are included, enjoyable and fun, fabulous service and staff, nice dining and drink options and a great way to see and experience Europe. The ships are comfortable, modern and beautiful. Very relaxed cruising, with no pretentious atmosphere. This was our second Christmas cruise with Viking and we look forward to traveling more with Viking in the future! Read Less

Sailing with Viking is living in a 5 star hotel with a 5 star restaurant every single day. The rooms have been cleverly arranged to make the best use of space. The meals are local to the area, and there is something for everyone. I love several things about Viking that cannot be gotten elsewhere without paying an exorbitant price. They are: free WIFI, free excursions in every port, and free wine, beer, or soda with lunch and dinner. I felt so relaxed to not have to count my money with my drinks, I also have family that I need to be in touch with due to health concerns. Daily contact through WIFI was such a relief. When I travel, I prefer to take advantage of the local area. The fact that this is already coordinated and included gives me a very satisfied feeling for my trip. I love all of the excursions I have been on! Laundry service is also excellent. Another guest spilled a full glass of red wine all over my very light colored pants. Our housekeeper was able to remove it all!! Some things I did not like as well as the last time I sailed with Viking from Paris to Normandy. They are: the chef was not as talented on this trip compared to the French trip. The food quality was not as good Also, our waiter was not as attentive as others on this trip and my French trip, disappearing during our meals and not filling our wine and water glasses when needed. We did not even see him in the room. Both of those situations were unfortunate. We were with a large group and had lots of fun. We joined with many others on board and had fun after hours in the lounge. Overall, Viking is my favorite sailing line. It is head and shoulders above all the rest. Read Less

This was our first ever River Cruise after nine ocean cruises. We embarked in Budapest the same day we completed an 11-day Baltic cruise on a large Princess ship. The contrast was significant in terms of size, number of passengers and amenities. Overall, our experience was mixed. Lots of things to like and some things were really disappointing. First, the ship was difficult to find due to lots of construction in the pier area. We took a cab from the airport and, despite being given the location in writing from the friendly Viking greeter at the airport, our driver could not find the correct location (Viking has three piers separated by 3/4 mile). I didn't see it either. A 3/4 mile walk dragging luggage wasn't a good start. In retrospect,the Viking transfer, though expensive, would have been worth it. The ship was new (less than a year old), very clean and well-appointed. The public rooms looked great. Pleasantly greeted by the Reception staff. Our cabin was almost uncomfortably small. See the Cabin review below. The food was excellent. Fewer dinner entree choices than on the ocean ships but we never had a problem. Service at dinner was mixed. At times, it was outstanding; at other times it was difficult to get the staff's attention. Breakfast buffet was excellent with a large number of choices. For lunch, we normally ate from the buffet on the Aquavit Terrace and not the dining room. Seating there was more limited but it was open air. The smaller size allowed much better interaction with other passengers and crew. Most dinner seating arrangements were "locked-in" the first night so while seating was "open" most guests ate with the same group once established on night 1. Evening entertainment consisted mostly of a keyboard player and the bar.....There was trivia one night and outside singers another night who were very good. The traditional Captain's welcome and description of the the next day's excursion were well done, Cruise Director, Oliver, was exceptional. Always approachable and helpful with a smile all the time. The itinerary was modified slightly in order to avoid low river levels. The flexibility demonstrated by the officers and Oliver in rescheduling tours is much appreciated. Excursions were well done. Take advantage of them. Guides were knowledgable and pleasant. English skills all very good. Only real complaint was that all the included tours were large, 40-45 on a tour. We took three optional tours, Schonbrunn Palace, Salzburg Highlights and Nuremburg and WWII which were also large. All were outstanding and worth the extra $. Limited free time (~1 hr) in Salzburg and at Schonbrunn. Lunch in Salzburg included a performance of Sound of Music songs. Be sure to sit up front for the best views. We arrived in Nuremburg early so took advantage of free time in the city in the morning. Time well spent. Remember that this is a river ship and has limited amenities. The sun deck was not available after the first few days due to river levels. This reduced the available public space by almost half. We opted one afternoon to stay on board and found it almost impossible to find a quiet area in the lounges or outside to curl up and read a book. Disembarkation went very smooth. Taxis were ordered the night before and arrived right on time. Luggage handling was excellent. Our one real regret is not spending a few extra days in Budapest prior to the start of the cruise. It looks like a fantastic city to explore and we will be back. Overall, I rated the cruise Very Good due to the strength of the itinerary, excursions and onboard service. Most of the short comings (cabin size, lack of amenities and entertainment and price) were well-known in advance. If we do another river cruise, it will most likely be with a small group of people we know. Read Less

This was our second river cruise with Viking. There is no better way to cruise. We wished we had taken the pre-cruise, didn't feel we had enough time to explore Budapest. We won't make that mistake again. The entire staff cares about you and your every need. I had to have lactose free meals, everyday the head waiter came to my table at breakfast with the days menu. He had crossed out items I could not have. I sincerely appreciated his every effort. I did not get sick once. We celebrated our 25th anniversary on board. Dinner was excellent every night, but this night we were sung to, with a delicious passion fruit cheesecake. Made it memorable. The entertainment was great, especially the arranged "Octoberfest". We went to an excursion to an Octoberfest location, which was not "Viking Quality." We expressed our disappointment to "Oliver", and that night we had an Octoberfest that was great, food, drinks, and great entertainment . That brings me to Oliver, our Program Director. This man did everything possible to make it a fantastic cruise. He listened when we spoke and took action. He never missed a beat. I have never met someone with so much energy. The excursions were well thought out and mostly done by locals who knew their stuff. We are planning to go again in Dec. of 1918 and bring two of our friends. Read Less

We wanted to do a river crise as we had heard so much about them . We have done a lot of ocean cruises but never a river one. Flew from Heathrow with BA one and a half hours had to collect luggage and take to bus. The transfer seemed a bit long winded, as we seemed to get to the Danube from the wrong end. We had to drive in very heavy traffic a long way past the ship and back so we were on the correct side of the road to get off.Check in very quick with not airport security as with ocean cruises. cabin as expected same as other ships, we chose the cheapest at the waterline. We only sleep and get changed there. We went with another cou[ple explored the ship. tea and coffee making machines on entrance tot he laounge always working except once when it was being worked on. The ship apart from our deck with only cabins next one up was reception and the main dining room. One deck above was the main lounge with a bar and lots of seating. The back park had a small self service at meal times and on nice days you can sit outside to eat. Above this was the top deck fine views and plenty of seating two mini golf courses and a deck quits. We only used it a couple of days due to the weather. Trips some trips included some you paid for. As far as we could see they all involved walking a bit. Viking coaches at each port to take you to the destinations. First night deal with food later after dinner we went for a walk over the chain bridge fantastic Budapest is a lovely city at night, large buildings a palaces all lit up. Next ay trip round Budapest time on our own when we got back on the ship we were greeted with a soft drink and canapes. Almost all trips get you back for lunch. Sometimes lunch is to make sure you get some. Estergom strudel making very good had as much to eat as we liked. Vienna nice walk around town and time to ourselves to browes the shops that evening we went to a musical recital the best i have ever been to fantastic would recomend. Vienna naxt day We went on our own to Schonbrunn Palace underground there, our director showed us how it worked went round the palace with translators tube back to the town. tube abck to ship cost 42 Euiros for the two of us. The ship wanted 59 each result. Krems went to monastry not bad back for lunch Afternoon cruised the Wachau valley it poured with rain and visibility was poor. Passau trip round not bacd Regensburg Easy walking tour walked back to ship for lunch Nuremberg. Went on the WW2 trip to nazi rally point and courtroom. Very good trip thoroughly enjoyed it Overnight and left for the airport at 7.45 the next morning a bit early. STAFF The best and most helpful of any staff I have come across on any ship or hotel. Absolutely faultless always spoke and could not do enough for you. FOOD very good breakfast in full in dining room or at the front of the ship for continental. Lunch three courses or buffet at the front of the ship. Dinner Three courses or buffet at the front. Not a large choice three items every night and three different ones for main. All the food was very good and plenty of it DRINKS free during lunch or dinner weather you had the meals or not no limit to the amount you can have during the set times, the rest you pay for. CABIN got what we paid for our steward mucked us out in the mornings and turned the beds down at night. SHIP almost new could not find a fault with it. ENTERTAINMENT in main lounge pianist every night music we all knew. There is a small dance floor buit most of the time he did not play music you could dance to. Pity. We had a humorous german lesson, german/Austrian music, and a presentation about Viking cruises. The choice of music was nice to listen to but a few of us wanted to dance. Was it good value? Yes Did we enjoy it? Yes Would we go again? Yes Read Less

The ship was sparkling clean and recently launched. Our cabin was small but certainly adequate with the balcony. The food varied from good to fair, mostly better than worse. There is a limited choice of entrees but most of the time one could find something appealing. The entertainment and activities were the high point of the cruise. The tours, both daily and optiona,l were mostly outstanding. Tour guides were almost without exception wonderful. I would say that avoiding the optional tours which require long bus rides, particularly the first day, is a good idea. It would be difficult to pick out the best of the optional tours as most of them were outstanding. The service was outstanding. The service givers were mostly Eastern European and extremely pleasant, friendly and efficient. We enjoyed getting to know several of the meal servers. I will say I wasn't happy with the first day. We arrived in Nueremberg to find an airport full of people waiting with Viking representatives. We waited probably another 45 minutes and were led to the buses. The rumor was that we were going to briefly stay at a hotel before we went to the ship. It turns out we stopped at a hotel to pickup other passengers and drove more than 2 hours to where the ship was tied up, due to high water. We were led onto the ship but our baggage was piled up probably 80-90 yards from the ship and it stayed there while we checked in. Then very, very slowly with 2-3 employees and one cart, the bags were brought to the ship. We waited and waited. By the time mine arrived it was somewhat part the start of dinner time. No time to change after nearly 24 hours on the plane. Most of this was really no one's fault,given the high water, although I think the communication was very poor at the beginning and why not pile the luggage right by the ship initially where it would be easily and quickly accessible. As I mentioned above there was some variation in the quality of the food. I would also say unless you intend on doing some substantial drinking the wine and beer served with the meal was fine without the premium alcohol package. The quality of the wine and beer was OK but not great, for someone who enjoys fine wine or premium beer it might be an issue. We bought a drinks, here and there, which ended up costing us way, way less than the cost of the package which was fine for us as we aren't energetic drinkers. Read Less

We are not experienced cruisers, early 60's. This was our first river cruise and had been on one Caribbean cruise. We knew people who had cruised Viking, some multiple times. We heard only good so we booked Basel to Amsterdam with extensions in both cities. Viking takes very good care of you in all manners of transportation, connections and when on extensions. The Egil is a new ship. We were the second cruise. The rooms are typical. Small but nice. Efficient bathroom. The staff did a superb job of freshening the room unobtrusively. We opted for a balcony/veranda. Nice, but we got little use of it. Either too cold or we were docked against another ship. Save a few bucks and pass. I'm not a foodie. Meat and potatoes. I found the food good but not a reason to take the cruise. Others raved about the food. You won't go hungry. But if that's your thing, keep looking, IMHO. At lunch and dinner wine or beer is include. All you can drink. The Lounge became a second home. Nice, all windows. Casual. They don't try to screw you too bad on drink prices (wine- 6 euros or so, mixed drinks (manhattans)- 9). Nobody is searching your bags if you want to bring something on board. Daily (almost) tours are included. Always in the morning then time to explore on your own. All ranged from very good to excellent. Guides were generally entertaining and knowledgeable. Our guide in Cologne was a hands down expert on the cathedral. Knew everything and more. Optional tours are available ($50-75/person?). Most not interesting to us but we did go to some 1300's village that was great. We had a total of 177 passengers. I'd say we were about average age (early 60's). Almost no "young" (under 50) people, Zero kids.The other passengers were great. We pal-ed up with several different wonderful groups/couples that added greatly to the experience. All walks of life, all terrific. The small ship experience is terrific. You bump into the same people over and over. I don't think I'll ever do a big ship again. The management and staff were all great. After the first day they delivered my manhattan and wifes white wine as soon as they saw us in the lounge. I would not classify this as "luxury". Just good, solid, well done mid class experience. We will cruise Viking again. Read Less