We were scared trip was going to be a bus tour not a river tour, ALMOST cancelled, but figured we would make the best of it, all the reviews were terrible but we had been on two other trips with Viking and figured what the heck!! Boy, are we ever glad to have gone, we were first ship in 6 months to make it all the way down the Danube, the Christmas markets made the trip a whole new experience and we were kinda expecting things to be sub-par, but Viking has been great on our two Grand European tours, and they did not disappoint!! Trip was fabulous!! I was not impressed with the concert in Vienna, we had gone the other two trips and it keeps getting smaller and not worth it, and that’s a shame because the first trip was a great experience, and really last year was also, but this was a joke!!! But really that’s the only thing we can find fault in our trip!! Don’t buy into to the people that can never be made happy, Viking is great!! Read Less

This is our 2nd Viking cruise this year. In April my family did the Paris to Normandy and it was wonderful and the crew top notch. We are on the Budapest to Nuremberg cruise right now and it’s proving to be quite the let down. Upon arrival we waited almost 2 hours at the airport to be transferred to the ship and no one came by to explain the delay. Had no time in Budapest save an hour to walk around the castle district. Never saw the parliament building like Viking advertises. But mostly the crew is a disappointment. The cruise director is gruff and not friendly or helpful. He talks a lot at briefings and goes on so long you forget what you need to know for the next day. There is a second supposed cruise director and he’s not any better. Unapproachable and not helpful. It’s common at a meal to have to go fetch your own water and yesterday no waiter ever came to ask about our lunch order. Going to be selecting a different company next time. Read Less

This was a family cruise, celebrating my mother-in-law's 80th birthday. There were 15 of us. A cruise was a great way to be together but not TOO together if folks needed their own space. We arrived in Budapest almost a week early and enjoyed exploring independently. We were pleasantly surprised by our cabin which was not super-spacious, but had enough space for us to fully unpack. The bed was quite comfortable and we appreciated the well designed bathroom. Service on the cruise was top-notch and everything was extremely clean. We enjoyed spending time in the public spaces of the ship, such as the library and lounge. Food was very good. Certainly it was plentiful. Staff were extremely good at accommodating dietary restrictions. Special requests were accommodated with alacrity. We did not take advantage of the tours that were offered because we prefer exploring on our own, but family members were very pleased with both the included tours and optional excursions. The ports visited were all excellent. From Budapest, we sailed to Vienna. The only problem was that one day in Vienna is laughably insufficient. Obviously, though, it is a wonderful destination. And it is the one port where you could leave anytime after breakfast and come back after dinner (the ship would still be there). There were shorter stays in most other ports, or we needed to take a coach from the town to the place the ship had traveled to. I gather that because of all the locks on the Danube, the ship really needs to make time to hit all the destinations, so it can't just sit in port all day. We were very happy with our first Viking experience. Read Less

I had read an article by Wendy Perrin about this cruise. She took her family to the Christmas markets and i thought I'd love to take my wife on this trip. As everyone has heard by now, there was a pretty severe drought in Europe this year. We knew there was a possibility that our cruise was not going to go as initially planned. Our cruise went from Budapest, Hungary to Nuremberg, Germany. The first leg of the cruise was canceled due to low water levels. Of course this was through no fault of Viking Cruise Lines, all cruise lines had the same issue. We were provided with accommodations and transportation to the next port. We enjoyed our bus trip and the scenery. Our stateroom was very clean and our steward was fantastic (we miss him). The day we got in our room, I called the front desk and asked to have my dress shirts pressed. They picked them up and had them back within 3 hours, outstanding service! The staff on board was fantastic, from the waiters to the people on the front desk. Our program director was energetic, funny and made sure we were all well entertained. We are going to try Viking again. The cruise wasn't perfect, but we understand that the weather was not their fault. Read Less

Our Viking Christmas market cruise began in Budapest at a hotel because of the low waters. Oliver was our Tour Director and he went above and beyond to keep us informed and to make sure we were all happy with our accommodations. We ended up being bussed to Vienna, Austria where it was day by day whether we would have to do a ship swap. Our cruise was the very first cruise in 6 months that made it down the Danube without having to change ships. Every day we were kept informed and knew what was happening in advance. Even if we ended up with some early mornings, everything was done to keep us on schedule and to make sure we got to do the tours. The entire crew worked hard to make it a pleasurable experience. All of the guides on the tours that Viking chose for us was Top Notch. Loved every minute of it and I cannot say enough good things about our Tour Director, Oliver. Plan your next river cruise with Viking and you will not be disappointed. Read Less

We just returned from the Danube river cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest. The cruise was very disappointing for several reasons. Besides the water level issue which I will explain later, our room on the first ship was dirty upon arrival and needed to be re-cleaned. There was brown marks like chocolate on the floor and the bed headboard, side tables, and chairs all had all had brown sticky marks all over them like someone had spilled hot chocolate. When I showed the crew on board the mess they brought someone in to re-clean the room. The person cleaning the room said “I guess some of you expect everything to be perfect”. I offered to clean the room myself. The water level issue is very upsetting. Every port we went the guides as well as the crew on board told us the water levels have been several feet low for over a year. This is something that Viking should have brought up when offering this river cruise, or Viking should not be selling the tickets at all knowing that there would be several issues. A week before our trip I received an email stating that if water levels do not improve we will need to take a bus from Vienna to Budapest, that is all. I called Viking to ask them what the current situation was and the person said they could not give me any info because the water could change an inch and we might be fine. This was clearly not true that the water levels only needed to change an inch. We were told by Viking crew one of the Viking cruise ships, Oden, has been stuck in Budapest for over a year due to water levels being several feet too low. This was not the only location that was affected by low water levels which we were not informed of prior to the trip. Due to water levels we needed to take a 2 hr bus ride in and out of Passau, loosing out on 4 hours we should have had in Passau. We needed to take a 3 hour bus ride to another location outside of Krems to board a different ship. There was a tour in Krems that we did not go on because the crew onboard encouraged everyone to not go on the tour but rather stay on the boat while we sail to the Vienna. They told us the we would much rather see this part of the river and there would be commentary about the area. None of this happened because by the time we got on the new boat and started sailing it was too dark to see anything. We spent one night onboard the new ship and then took a 3 hour bus ride to Budapest. Due to the time all tours were cancelled except the included tour. We missed half of a day in Budapest and got to spend 45 minuted in Buda before going to a hotel where we were to spent the night. We were told at the hotel that we would receive dinner and drinks. Several other travelers stayed and had drinks, we all had the Silver package, which we were told was included. The waiter asked for one of the rooms, we offered ours not thinking anything if it. When we checked out at 3am we got a bill for 76,328 HUF. A Viking representative told me that if we pay the bill Viking would reimburse me. Which never happened. We requested a full refund for the trip. Viking as offered us 25% then 35% off on future cruises. They offered 50% if they do not have to reimburse us for the dinner and drinks we paid for that they were supposed to. We talked to a fellow traveler from the UK and he was called by Viking and offered a full refund for the trip prior leaving due to the water levels. When we asked the crew onboard why we were not called and offered the same deal we were told that the UK and US has different laws and therefor Viking was not required to call US passengers with this offer. Deailing with Viking has been an absolute nightmare. Several guests on the cruise are in contact with one another to determine what is being offered. Viking customer service told me that they could care less that they we are having a difficult time with their customer suervice and the fact that they are making various offers. Viking is also offering some couples who posted negitive adds a 40% off if they sign an NDA. I would like to reiterate that it is very disappointing that Viking knew exactly what the water conditions were and choose to sell tickets to this cruise regardless. They knew that people would come back dissapointed and their only option is to take a voucher to buy more products form Viking. This is FRAUD. Read Less

It was marketed as the best river cruise. I expected fine dining and wonderful cruising on the Danube River. The day before departure, we received an email that the river water is low and that we may have to be moved. We were not given an option to cancel or re-schedule. We started on Viking Egil, docked for two days, After short travels through locks, we had to pack and travelled by bus for four hours to our next destination where we met up with the Viking Gullveig. We missed the entire UNESCO Wachau Valley cruising sights. After two days, we had to pack again for another four hour bus tour to Viking Bragi docked in Budapest. It was truly sad to ride into beautiful Budapest by bus when we could have entered by ship. The Viking Bragi felt like a floating hotel that does not travel. The whole experience did not feel like a cruise because we were constantly unpacking and packing on an eight day cruise. We missed an excursion to the Gottweig Abbey because it was offered in the dark and there were safety issues. We did hear that someone fell and was hurt at the excursion. We did not feel that Viking was honest with the travelers. We heard that there have been issues since June/July and yet, we were not informed until the last minute when we can no longer cancel or re-schedule. The whole experience caused considerable stress and anxiety. We will no longer consider Viking for future travels and we will let our travel friends know of our terrible experience. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS OR ANY VIKING CRUISE! Read Less

On November 10, 2018 we concluded what we consider to be the worse cruise we have ever taken This cruise did not conform to what was sold to us in the Viking advertising and agreement. This was a bus trip with overnight stays at floating hotels, minimal river views, missed excursions due to significant time wasted in bus travel, and blocked views once on board due to Viking’s standard practice of double docking. Only a few days before departure did Viking disclose that our cruise could be impacted by low Danube water levels. However, evidence obtained once on board the Egil, Gullveig, and the Bragi from Viking employees and leaders clearly indicated that Viking leadership knew of adverse river conditions going back at least to July 2018 and never shared this information with us or others. A cruise line that is ethical and committed to business integrity values would have shared such impactful information with booked travelers and offered either to reschedule, or cancel with a full refund of monies paid. Clearly based upon our experience, Viking is NOT an ethical cruise line committed to business integrity values. We do not recommend Viking for ANY cruise, anywhere based upon this experience. Cruise details… 1. Our Danube River cruise was not a cruise experience; rather it was a bus/road trip where substantial vacation time was lost getting from point to point to arrive at the next floating hotel (i.e., VIKING ship Gullveig and then Bragi). Accordingly, many of the planned and promised cruise encounters were missed, including (but not limited) failure to see the Wachau Valley Austria, failure to dock in Pasau Germany proper (although many other similar sized ships were docked there as part of their on-going journey), and failure to cruise into glorious Budapest. In lieu thereof, we were forced into bus travel to move on to meet the next ship. This was not a river cruise by any shape of the imagination. 2. As a result of a late arrival, we could not participate in the rescheduled 4 pm excursion to the Gottweig Abbey as it would now be conducted after dark; we were concerned about safety. As it turned out one of our travelers had a serious fall and was injured due to the dark/unsafe conditions surrounding the exterior of the Abbey. 3. Instead of spending seven nights on the Gullveig as booked and unpacking once, we were on three ships for seven nights with multiple unpackings, repacking’s, and two four-hour bus trips each to meet the next floating hotel. Also, instead of docking in Passau, we docked in the remote village of Staubing and had to travel to Passau by bus for more than 90 minutes with a similar return trip (again more lost vacation time – more stress). Also, more time was wasted waiting on the bus as the Gullveig was late arriving into Vienna. 4. Even with the limited time on board the ships, our French Balcony view was fully obstructed frequently due to VIKING ship double docking where all we could see was another ship flush against our balcony within 12 inches. This created a dismal feeling of being imprisoned and clearly precluded river and shore views. 5. We had clearly communicated to VIKING and again aboard ship that I had dietary restrictions, not withstanding this prior communication staff continued to provide me with normal/undesirable meals. 6. Interviews with staff and employees of all three ships clearly revealed that the river conditions that VIKING sighted as the basis for non-performance were known by VIKING senior leadership at least as far back as July 2018. 7. VIKING knew that they could not provide the cruise experience they promised yet continued to operate in gross disregard to known conditions. VIKING leadership knew that it did not have or was unlikely to secure local governmental authority to pass through needed river locks to continue the journey it had offered to its’ customers. Yet it continued in gross disregard to this prior knowledge. Also, VIKING on board ship senior leadership boasted to passengers in an open meeting that there was no need to worry about “ship swaps” as it had perfected the “famous ship swap process” over many months. Another example demonstrating significant advance prior knowledge of the operational problem, and failure to inform booked passengers early on to afford a cancellation opportunity. 8. Instead of this vacation being a pleasant stress relieving experience, it caused significant stress and was a source of constant anxiety. As noted above, there was a significant gap between what was offered/promised by VIKING and what was provided. Overall this was a bus excursion road trip at best, certainly not a river cruise. It was totally stressful, and fully lacked the relaxing experience one would expect from being on a river cruise. We do NOT recommend Viking to anyone for any cruise based upon this experience and their lack of ethics and business integrity. Read Less

Numerous friends recommended Viking River Cruises. We decided to treat ourselves to the Romanic Danube Cruise. The Viking brochure states, "It's pure pleasure to travel with such ease..to unpack just once and relax to an ever-changing canvas of breathtaking landscapes...to dock in the center of small towns and stroll right off to begin your exploration." This is what we were expecting, however, not what Viking produced. Ten days before our trip we called Viking because we were hearing there were problems with low water levels. We were told, "Your trip will be just fine." Two days before our flight is scheduled, we receive an email from Viking stating there will be a mid-cruise "ship swap" and we will be transferred by motor coach to an identical ship. Our next email from Viking arrived while we were flying to Munich/Brussels/Budapest. It informed us due to low water we will be spending the night in a hotel in Budapest instead of on Gullveig and will be transported to Vienna by motor coach(150 miles) the next day. Our dream vacation became a bus/river cruise that was exhausting. We were able to enjoy the upper deck one time sailing through the Wachau Valley. The only port that we were able to stroll right off the longship was in Regensburg. We were able to participate in most of the tours that were scheduled. However, once again motor coach rides up to 1 1/2 hours were necessary to get into the city. Most of our tour guides were extremely knowledgeable. During Manager Jurgen"s farewell speech he stated that our specific cruise was the 2nd worse Danube Cruise of the year. Even the Program Director, Debra Thomas, suggested we communicate with Viking so they would be aware of our disappointments. "Because we believe your overall cruise experience may have been affected by an unexpected situation" we were offered a 25% discount on our next cruise which expires in one year. A 25% voucher is not sufficient compensation for what we experienced. Viking knows our cruise experience was indeed affected. They also know it was not an unexpected situation. The water levels have been low since August. I wish Viking would have shared exactly what changes would occur in our cruise, and given us the choice to cancel, or reschedule our trip. We feel that Viking was dishonest and manipulative. Now that our cruise is over, Viking states in an email to me, "We regret to hear that your recent cruise was impacted by severely low water levels, and are sorry to hear of your disappointment in the necessitated changes. If you have a November, Danube cruise scheduled with Viking, and you have travel insurance cancel your trip! If you want to go on any river cruise do your research regarding the best time of year to go. Word of mouth is powerful advertisement! After all, that is why we chose Viking. I will be using my voice to let others know they should consider other cruise companies if their vacation dream is a river cruise. Read Less

We chose a river cruise because we wanted to travel by boat and expected to enjoy the views along the river and have the luxury of not unpacking daily. the reality of our vacation was that viking was not upfront with us about the water levels along the danube. we called the week before our departure and were told that there were no changes to our itinerary. we received an email thirty minutes before boarding our flight to europe stating that we were going on a different longship because of the low water levels. like other travelers that have posted reviews about low water levels, we feel that we were deceived by viking personnel. Each time that we were unable to make it to the next port, we were informed the night before with the comment “just a few inches makes all the difference!” well, here is my observation....those bushes that are growing in the middle of the danube did not just pop up over night! viking has been pulling the wool over traveler’s eyes for a long time! they string the customer along day by day and pretend as if this is something new. One day we spent three hours traveling on a bus to go from one ship to another. it also took us two and a half hours on the bus to go see passau from the remote location of the ship. in fact, in two days we rode for 6 hours on a bus! Another day passengers had to ride a bus for one and a half hours to budapest and then back to the boat that evening. Ten people from our group decided we could not take another bus ride. we decided not to take the 90 minute bus ride to budapest and opted instead to walk around the town where we were docked. (komarno, slovakia) our captain and activities director met with us the night before and said we would be docked until the next evening. the following day when the others were bussing to budapest, we took a tour in komarno and had lunch before walking back to the ship. we were shocked to discover that our ship had sailed without us, knowing that they had briefed the passengers that we would be at this location until the evening. they knew we were off the ship, but they sailed anyway with only 4 passengers. We had to take taxis to the new location and were quite upset. The point of this review is not the there were low water levels, it’s that viking is deceptive in their approach. viking tells people daily that there are no changes to the itinerary when they know they are never going to make the schedule as planned. yes, you will get to the cities, but you will be logging a lot of bus time and not very much sailing time. After returning home, i contacted viking customer service. i was not satisfied with our conversation. they seem to take the approach that they can’t control the water levels. what they can control is their approach and they should be less deceptive! it appears that they offer some of their dissatisfied customers different “deals.” based on their perception of your inconvenience, some customers get a higher percentage off of a future cruise and some are even offered a shipboard credit. Read Less