I wanted something special as a graduation gift for my son! The cruise was even nicer than I ever dreamed. The service was superb, as each crew member was so kind and responsive. The cruise director was amazing, always finding solutions to any challenges that presented themselves. The chef and his staff were very talented in creating delicious and beautiful meals. The scenery and towns visited were like a dream! The guides did a great job of introducing us to the cities we visited each day. The concierge was extremely organized, keeping track of the location of each guest, to ensure no one stayed behind. Local guides were authentic and knowledgeable, adding a local insight to what we were seeing, and giving us tips on where to buy the best souvenirs and the best prices. We would love to return someday, or take other cruises in the U.S. Thanks Viking! Read Less

We visited a wide variety of venues/countries. We were able to explore all cities/towns in which we docked and had a pleasant pre-trip extension in Munich and Salzburg. The ship was of a comfortable size (188 passengers). The service provided by the staff was excellent and the ship and cabin were very clean. (One example: After having some wine accidently spilled on me during dinner, the staff had my clothing cleaned gratis.) The meals were excellent and reflected the cuisine of each of the towns we visited. The shore excursions were interesting although we probably over-booked them; some additional relaxation time on the top deck was needed. Our relaxation time came when cruising the Danube with the French balcony door open. The guides for the shore excursions were well-informed and answered all questions put to them. The entertainment was great; I even got to sing with the piano player during one evening!! Both embarkation and disembarkation were well organized and went smoothly. We enjoyed the cruise so much that we booked another cruise (for 2020) onboard the ship. Read Less

Went on The Rhine with Viking last year and had such a fabulous time we couldn't wait to go on another Viking cruise! The Danube Waltz was one we had thought of before and it ended up being better than we thought it would be. The staff were incredible. Everyone could not do enough for us! The food was outstanding. The staff was attentive enough that if something wasn't to your liking they would be at your side asking you if something was not to your liking. You never ran out of beer and wine during lunch or dinners. We were in a standard cabin and had no problems with size or attentiveness from the staff handling our room. The excursions were very well thought out and planned. The buses very comfortable and were never too hot or cold. All the activities scheduled for our entertainment were awesome! Every night something different. If you wanted quiet there were more than enough places to go to find that and if you wanted more lively that was available. As a couple we loved walking the top deck and seeing the scenery flow by and also getting a little exercise to combat all the great food and wine! We are already thinking of which Viking cruise want to go on next! Read Less

We had the best time on our cruise. Even though the Danube River was at a 50 low due to drought conditions, the staff, crew and Program Director made our river cruise a delight. The dining staff quickly learned our names and preferences. The cleaning staff was an A++, but the Program Director simply out did herself to make our cruise the best it could be. We enjoyed all the excursions, the entertainment, the food, and the ship. The Program Director even helped us after we left the ship find a backpack one of our travel partners left on a taxi. She was simply the best. We especially enjoyed traveling during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. The dining staff prepared a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving meal for us. Breakfast was my favorite meal of the day. Walking through Budapest and seeing the fruit/vegetable markets and Christmas Markets was fun. Vienna was wonderful. I would have liked to spend several days in Vienna. The other ports were equally fun. Chesky Krumlov, Melk, and Passau were other favorites. Highly recommend Viking River Cruises. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it lined up with the time we wanted to be in Munich for Oktoberfest and because we Love Viking! This itinerary with its included tours was exceptional! We met lots of interesting and Fun people we still keep in touch with. We loved Cesky Krumlov and we had always wanted to see Melk Abbey. Simply Spectacular!!! Did I mention the fantastic meals? Wow! Every meal was wonderful! Great menus, delicious food and impeccable service!! Breakfasts are a feast to get you off to a great start every morning. What more could you ask for? Coming in from a morning of exploring, we were happy to sit down in the Aquavit Terrace for a wonderful lunch every day. Dinner menues were excellent and the “Oktoberfest Night” was sooo fun. Authentic meats, cheeses and breads! Wonderful! My boyfriend, who loves his coffee, was thrilled with your coffee stations! That and the yummy cookies!! As we cruised into Budapest at night, we were thrilled to see the beautiful bridges lit up so beautifully. What a spectacular way to end our trip! Thank you, Viking! We love you sooo much we’ve booked an Ocean Cruise for 2019 and another River Cruise in 2020! Can’t wait!!! Read Less

We wanted a river cruise and found a lot of great revues The cabin was clean, window below the view line. Food was great, service too. I asked for no pork on my menus. Was totally ignored Almost every soup or any meat was with pork. We had $300 credit on board Not only you can’t get the credit if you did not use it, but you can’t use it for gratuitous So you have no choice just to buy items you don’t need in a shop from a hand full of items with the name of Viking So now my husband is free advertise for Viking Entertainment had a piano player that was not always sober The excursion were great, the personal was excellent We will not take any more cruises with Viking River cruises are great but there is to price you want to pay for it Viking is too expensive for us Read Less

Went with three other couples based on one experience with Viking and several recommendations specifically for the "Danube Waltz" cruise from Passau to Budapest. Our experience was just as others have provided. Absolutely outstanding. Your every need was anticipated by the crew and attended to. Onboard activities were keyed to the cities the ship would visit. Food and service was excellent throughout. Relaxing and wonderful. Have read about other cruise lines, more expensive and "exclusive" but they'd have a heck of a time beating Viking. We arrived early for our trip, about 11:00AM but they were prepared for us since the ship knew each passenger's travel arrangements. Onboarding was painless and very professional, as was the disembarkation process at the end. Excursions were excellent with local guides providing unique insights into the areas we visited. Optional excursions were similarly conducted. Viking clearly targets the 50+ age group and knows what that age group is looking for as far as accommodations, amenities, and service are concerned. We were all treated like VIPs from the time we got into Viking's hands at the arrival airport until we left. There's nothing like a Viking river cruise. Expensive, but worth every nickle. This is the vacation you worked to be able to afford! Read Less

I chose this cruise based on the reviews by prior cruisers and the ads seen on TV for Viking. The ship was a nice size and the cabin (balcony) was adequate. There was plenty of storage so no problems there. Several times we were tied up next to other boats so the balcony could not be used that much in some of the ports as you were virtually inches from the balcony of the the other ship. There is only one chair in the cabin which presents a problem when both people are there as only one can sit in a chair and the other must sit on the bed. The bathroom is small but spacious enough for your shower, however if there are two women in the cabin one must do their makeup and hair out in the main cabin, especially if you have someone who seems to take a lot of time getting ready, like my sister. Dining--this is where my experience is much different from many of the others. I was not the least impressed with the food offered. Breakfast was fine, and at lunch you could go to the smaller cafe on deck three. There you could get sandwiches or burgers, etc. Dinner was not pleasant at all. The food choices were not great and I wound up eating steak three times in the one week. Not ideal for sure. The included excursions are all walking tours and a lot of your experience there depends on your tour guide. Some were good and others not so good. Be sure you are up for a lot of walking even on the easy ones as that is what they all are. We wound up leaving a couple of the tours and going off on our own because we were not impressed with the tour we were getting. My favorite part of the entire cruise was the two days we had in Budapest prior to boarding the ship. We have signed up for the Rhine cruise but my expectations are extremely lower than what I had for the first one. The crew did a good job of taking care of us and they are exceptional. Entertainment is almost non existent but I didn't expect much there to begin with. If you are not on the ship during the meal times (we missed lunch a couple of time due to excursions) then you are sorely pressed to find anything to eat on board. The cookies by the coffee machines were the same every day and there was no where to get anything to eat. I asked in the lounge if they had any appetizers but no luck. The bar tender finally took pity on us and went looking for something for us to eat . He came back with a sandwich which he said he found but didn't know who it belonged to. There is someone crew member on that ship still wondering where his sandwich went. My sister and I shared this one lonely sandwich to get us through to dinner time. Do I think these cruises are worth the amount of money you spend for them? Mostly no....I do it to see parts of the world that I have not seen and want to see Read Less

My husband and I really wanted to explore the cities on this itinerary, and a reputable cruise line was the only way we were willing to do it. I highly recommend the Munich and Salzburg extension at the start of the trip. Our Viking tour director Alec was knowledgeable, accessible, and, most importantly, extremely organized. We had a group of about 35 on the extension, and each tour and transition to another hotel and the ship went very smoothly. The ship never felt too small because it has so many different areas for activities, whether it's the bar/lounge gathering spot or the peaceful terrace. The crew was friendly and professional. Our room steward was very attentive without being intrusive. The excursions had a nice amount of time with guides and a good amount of time on our own. That had been one of our initial concerns because we aren't usually into formal tours. I can highly recommend the Cesky Krumlov tour. It was a highlight in spite of the travel time to and from. I can't imagine a better opportunity to visit that quaint, historic site. We were so happy with our overall experience that we are planning to do another Viking river cruise in 2020. Read Less

We've received many Vikings brochures but never booked one. When the brochure for the Danube Waltz Cruise arrived we were fascinated; we'd long wanted to try a Vikings Cruise and this itinerary seemed perfect for us - and it was! We booked both the pre-excursion stay in Prague and the post-excursion stay in Budapest. We saw/did everything we possibly could during the 3 day stay in each city, immersed ourselves in their cultures, and fell in love with both of them. Our hotel in Prague, Art Nouveau Palace Hotel, is absolutely beautiful, in a fabulous central location and thus walkable to almost everything in Prague. The Vikings staff were with us from the time we got off the plane in Prague to the time we went through the Security as we left Budapest; the Vikings desks in each hotel were valuable resources. When we left Prague for the drive to Passau, a bus (one of 2) picked us up at the hotel for a 4 hour drive through the Czech and then the German country-sides and delivered us to Passau where we embarked the ship. The Hermod is a lovely ship, our cabin (109) was perfect and our cabin steward terrific. Food at every meal was delicious and beautifully presented and the wine excellent. The wait staff were professional, pro-active in taking our orders, and conscientious in making sure everything met our expectations. The entire ship's staff was excellent - knowledgeable, thoughtful, caring, always responsive to any questions/requests, with the added plus of great senses of humor. Program Director Lee was truly outstanding; he did a great job with the programming, he interacted superbly with the guests, and always was interested in our feedback on shore excursions as well as our experiences on board. His descriptions of the views during our scenic cruise through the Wachau Valley were wonderful. The evening we sailed into Budapest at 10:00 pm, Monday, July 2, he made sure everyone knew to be on deck to see the magnificent lights of this beautiful city. Truly, is was an incredibly spectacular sight that took our breaths away! Not to be missed! We found every port to be wonderful to have a chance to explore - to at least give us a taste of it, and the Vikings excursions we selected were all very good. We'd like to highlight a few that we especially treasured. Even in the rain, the Passau walking tour was very pretty and the organ concert in St. Stephen's Cathedral magnificent--to hear our wedding processional (Purcel's Trumpet Voluntary) played on that instrument was very moving. The scenic cruise through the Wachau Valley was incredibly lovely - and Lee's narration perfect without being intrusive. We thought the tour of the Wachau Valley Winery - the Morwald family's winery, was the best winery tour and tasting we have ever experienced! Our group was small, which made it more personable, our Vikings guide fun, Erhard personally gave us the tour and was an absolute delight, and the 6 delicious wines we tasted were served in crystal glasses with generous pours, along with baskets of fresh bread. We bought 4 bottles! We thoroughly enjoyed our Danube Waltz cruise. To put our experience in perspective, we have traveled extensively around the world and also have been on many ocean cruises including 2 transatlantics, a Mediterranean cruise, Alaskan, and many different Caribbean islands, and we're doing a Panama Canal cruise in March 2019. We would absolutely do another Vikings River cruise. But first, we actually booked (on board the ship) the British Isles Ocean Cruise for the spring of 2020 -- along with our dear friends with whom we were traveling. We are very much looking forward to that. Read Less