We booked an 8 day cruise on Viking Europe (in late April 2013), departing from Paris overland to Dijon and thence to Chalon, where we boarded the ship. We were disappointed with our experience from the moment we boarded this ship.
The vessel was poorly maintained -- dirty conditions, frayed carpets and general sloppiness everywhere. Viking Europe's crew and hotel staff (with a few notable exceptions at the steward/waiter level) were poorly motivated, rude, surly and uniformly unhelpful. I think the problem had more to do with attitude than competence, but either way the passengers were poorly treated. "Service with a snarl" is the phrase that comes to mind when I reflect upon our experience on Viking Europe.
Very little attention seems to have been paid to important service concerns on board Viking Europe and fundamental issues relating to passenger comfort and convenience seem not to have been properly thought through. Tours and excursions were poorly organized and the staff seemed to suffer from a lack of focus. The cuisine was pedestrian at best and our dining experience was very disappointing in many respects: for example, the hot items on the breakfast buffet were always served cold and