Viking are very efficient, I cannot fault their communication and organisation. They organised the flights and transfers as well. However, they wanted an extortionate amount for 2 days in Amsterdam before the cruise, so we organised it ourselves and so had to make our own way to the hotel. The ship was lovely, very clean, smooth lines, no chintz! The other passengers were probably 50% Americans, 25% British, 25% other and quite a wide age range from people in their 30s to 70s. I would say most of the people were 50 - 75. The service was excellent, but I think over the top. After cleaning the room in the morning, is there really any need for the maid to clean it again in the evening? This is one reason it is so expensive. I have stayed in top notch hotels where they close the curtains and turn down the bed and I think that is all that is needed. Alcoholic and soft drinks are included at both lunch at dinner and not just one, they keep topping up your glasses, so people like me who don't drink are actually subsidising those that do and they certainly take advantage of it! Some people opted for the drinks package which included certain drinks all day. However, both passengers in the state room have to take it, so it wasn't worth it for us. the service throughout the ship was excellent, with a good choice of food for breakfast and a limited choice for lunch with a good salad buffet and burgers if you did not fancy what was on offer. However, I was disappointed with the evening meals. There was always a regional menu of 3 courses, plus 2 choices of international dishes for each course and if you didn't like them, there was steak, burgers or chicken. However, I found it difficult to find something I liked every night and resorted to the steak and chips on several occasions. There was a German buffet one night, but as I am not keen on lots of sausages, cooked meat and pork I was not impressed, neither was the Jewish gentleman on our table! One night Thai soup was on the menu and I ordered that as it contained co-conut milk and as I am lactose intolerant did not expect to be served a very creamy soup containing milk! Also, the greatest disappointment for me was the tiny servings for dessert. The excursions were well organised with a leisurely option for those who had limited mobility, which we took advantage of as my husband had a bad knee. Little treats awaited us on our return to the ship which was nice and we all had electronic gizmos with earpieces so we could hear the guide, which were very easy to use. The excursions are mainly walking tours in the cities, concentrating on the history, architecture and cathedrals etc. The guides were very good except the fortress at Koblenz. The guide was an actor and it was supposed to be amusing, but it was not. The evening entertainment was mainly a pianist, but one evening there was a classical concert, another glass blowing demonstration on the adjoining ship, two quizzes which were great fun as they were not the usual format and a disco night. Ivan was in charge of this and he was excellent.We had been on ocean cruises but this was our first river cruise. We loved the fact there was less than 200 people on the boat, so you got to know people very quickly and we made some good friends. It was lovely to watch the scenery as you floated by and you won't get sea sick! Not far to walk to the cabin or the restaurant. However, there is not much to do when sailing except talk, drink, read, sunbathe, sleep or walk around the walking track. If we did another cruise, I probably would not take one that included drinks as this inflates the price if you don't drink very much. Read Less

Just one optional tour off the ship did not meet my expectations. The other optional tours were good. Although the walking tour to see the windmills was a cold and blustery day we went anyway. Guide was very pleasant and kept us in a good mood with the rain and wind whirling around us. The day we went thru the canyon on the Rhine it was cold but we crowded on the top to get pictures and have a 360 degree view. They brought us blankets and coffee with Baileys and piping hot. Was so thoughtful. They really take good care of you. Loved it when we came back on ship after walking or shopping tour and staff had mimosas or other small shot sized drinks. They kept us informed all the way. Our cruise was the first one since September that could travel the length of the scheduled tour because they had rain and water level had risen. That was so nice for crew and passengers. This was a great crew. Only thing besides the beer tout that was not good ,they did our airfare and we left late out of Basel and had to run in Frankfort to catch our overseas flight. Please allow more time. Thank you Read Less

So I am on the Rhine Getaway as I type. Left 11/23 from Amsterdam. Mixed feelings here. Some relative to Viking, some to the cruise itinerary itself. First be aware that you WILL change ships, probably through year end, regardless of what Viking says. They have been doing it for months, and will likely do it through year end. It wasn't too disruptive, though and they arranged a Rhine day tour to see yhe castles we would have missed. More bus time than normal, however. The experience is not quite what you see in the promotional videos. Germany is heavily industrialized. They don't show scenes of industrial plants, container terminals. etc. that dominate the landscape. Docked in an industrial port last night, lined up w another ship. Not their fault, but it ain't Tuscanny! Food was pretty good, although tonight was the Taste of Germany! The only night there was no alternative menu (just when we needed one). Just not into bratwurst, sourkraut, etc. This was an exception. Salzburg was definitely the highlight. Skipped the bus tour to Heidleburg and did 2 days in Salzburg. Much prefer France. Clientele was interesting. Not sure how some guests were able to afford this cruise, but they did bring along thier finest biker t shirts.Overall a pleasant group though. We have cruised extensively and this is our first river cruise. I think next time we'll rent a villa in Tuscanny for a week. Without dining excessively as you do on a cruise it should be no more expensive. Bon voyage! Read Less

We purposely chose the explorer suite for the comfort it offered plus the use of our deck, watching scenery along the the Rhine river valley. Both ships were as nice as our previous cruise down the Danube and the crews on the two boats were pleasant and professional. I think we were disproportionately punished though, by all the time we spent bussing from Cologne to Strasbourg without having stopped in Koblenz or Speyer. I served in the U.S.Army, stationed in Nuremberg and Frankfurt in 1970-1972. I was particularly looking forward to revisiting Heidelberg on my cruise. I knew there was more to the city than the castle. I think had we not had to bus all the way to Heidelberg from Strasbourg we might have had more time to spend in this old university town. By the time we reached Breisach am Rhein we had spent so much time on busses we passed on the Black Forest bus trip and spent the day in Breisach and enjoyed a few hours in the village and our deck. I must say the service, the crews, the accommodations were all excellent. I am inclined to question the necessity of not cancelling our trip. I’m not sure the sacrifices of lost time in the cities, time spent on the busses, and loss of utility of our cabin amenities were worth the sacrifices made by the passengers. Read Less

Traveled with my sister and her husband, Oct 5 - 12, Basel - Amsterdam. The ship was clean, food was fair to good, wine selections poor and included internet virtually unusable due to extremely low speeds (10+ minutes to load a page!). The included tours, were, for the most part, a waste of time. The Black Forest tour was a 1.5 hour bus ride to reach a small shopping center, missing Freiburg and other interesting sites. The Cologne city walking tour was a brief tour of the Cathedra, interesting, but brief and far short of seeing the city. The optional wine tasting tours were also disappointing, Fairly long bus rides to visit a single winery, tasting 3 varieties, and then having ample time to buy their offered products. Once again, a tour that I paid for, only to be shepherded to another shopping venue. The only tours I can recommend is the village of Colmar, the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and the Bruhl Palace. The last full day of the cruise was spent at the "Kinderdijk windmills", while somewhat interesting, certainly not worth an entire day of the cruise. This day was wasted, as the cruise could have visited Rotterdam or the Hague, rather than sitting in the middle of nowhere for 12 hours. I've spent the same amount of money/day on Crystal and AMA with much better results. Don't waste your time on Viking River cruises. Read Less

Service and food was excellent. Staff was first rate, especially the cruise director. disappointed in how much time we spent on buses especially when we had to change boats.The set up in the dining room was conducive to meeting new people. Overall a very good experience; we are planning to do another Viking cruise next fall The excursions overall were very good but on the one excursion to the coo coo clock factory, we travelled for about 2 hours and were able so spend only about 30 minutes at the factory, hardly enough time. If that could change some how to allow us more time there it would be nice also, the amount of time on the buses during our change in boats was very long. I'm sure your contingency plans were in place, but overall we spent way too much time on the bus transferring to the new boat, and on other excursions (as above) had too little time to enjoy the scenery and sights. the food was delicious, and I liked that we could have anything on the menu, not restricted to one item. the beer and wine were very good; better than most "house" brands. Wait staff was among the best I've ever seen. Read Less

It was our first cruise and my third time to Europe, but first for my wife. The Rhine trip meant a lot to me because my ancestors came from the region centuries ago. Even with the challenge of low water on the Rhine, the Captain and crew made it all work. This ship was run by professionals and made it totally enjoyable. The Captain was always honest about the situation and how to deal with it - and very accessible. The Cruise Director was excellent and made every day fun and upbeat. The food was very good with multiple options at each meal. You felt like you and the other guests and crew were one big family and the interaction was really great. We did a pre-trip excursion to Lucerne and it was well worth it - particularly the side trip to the Stanserhorn. The ports of call were what we expected (quaint old towns) although being in Colmar and Strasbourg on the weekend made for large crowds. The local guides were very good and the personal microphones made communication easy in a crowd. Our day on the Rhine sailing by the castles was perfect weather and a real treat. Spending time in the Marksburg Castle was one of the trip highlights. Also enjoyed seeing the windmills in Kinderdijk - I took the bike ride and it was fun with the group and guide. It was probably the best vacation experience ever and we have already signed up for another cruise in 2020. Viking delivers on all their promises and made it a great experience. Read Less

This was my second River Cruise and my husband's first. We really enjoyed the whole experience. It is so nice to unpack one time and not have to worry again about it until time to disembark. The included tours are very informational and well planned. We love climbing the stairs to the tops of the cathedrals and overlooking the entire city! We met some wonderful people on the boat and they made our trip more enjoyable. We have maintained contact with some couples (husband and wife and a sister duo) with whom we would love to meet up with again! The service and food were both excellent. I love sampling foods from the region that we are visiting and the Chef made sure that we had plenty of varieties of regional dishes. The cabins are very clean and the beds very comfortable. We have already booked our next River Cruise for May 2019.. Can't wait! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the geographical location. We traveled from Basel to Strasbourg, France and throughout Germany, all along the Rhein. From Germany, we visited the Netherlands and ended our trip in Amsterdam. All of the local guides were friendly, helpful and informative. The scenery from the ship was beautiful. We were celebrating an anniversary and the staff made it very special with recognitions throughout the trip. The excursions were fun and did not deviate from what was promised in the description. We felt immersed in local culture during our tours, but were given ample free time to venture out on our own. The food was amazing! Service was very good. Drinks were plentiful and we rarely had to wait for service. The interior of the ship is beautiful and was immaculately clean, always. We made several new friends on board. It was excellent and everything exceeded our expectations! We are already planning our next Viking Cruise! Read Less

The staff on this ship was absolutely the BEST!! They were attentive and catered to my specific dietary needs with concern and pleasure. After only 2 days, the bartender, Mladen, knew what drink I enjoyed and had it ready for me as soon as I approached the bar. Valentino, our M’atre de, made sure that each evening I received the menu for the following day so that he could assist me in selecting my meals in regards to my specific needs. He even searched for me one afternoon to provide me with a specially prepared lunch. The dining staff also became aware of my needs and quickly corrected any inconsistencies that arose. Gigi provided wonderful entertainment every evening. His ability to honor requested songs was much appreciated. He was always ready to create a festive and enjoyable evening. The ship was beautiful and clean and comfortable. It was very easy to navigate. We are already planning our next river cruise. Read Less