Often your cruise experience depends on your cruise director and hotel manager and we had two of the best. Jochgum (Joey) Schuijt and Wilhelm Steinbrunner. The ship's staff was well trained to meet our needs whether it was meals or our room comfort . The tours were run efficiently as organized by Joey. The food was excellent with just enough local fare to make you feel you were away. There was always an optional safe choice for those who desired it. The tours most of the time required walking over cobblestoned streets and up and down hills. They offer a more leisurely tour for those who require it. Local tour guides were excellent as was their English. In towns with universities the guides were often college students and very knowledgeable. The city stops were well timed so you never felt exhausted. Disembarkation was smooth with staff at the airport to assist. On board entertainment was good and the piano player Sylvia was great. The entertainment was not the big shows as with the ocean cruises but still good.

One minor glitch that was handled extremely well by Joey was while on tour our ship was to meet us down river after going through several locks. While going through a lock it was bumped from behind by another ship. This created a several hour delay in meeting us. Instead of leaving us on a bus or at the dock waiting, we were told to go into a pub order a drink and keep the receipt which was taken off by bill at the end of the cruise. My only regret was that I did not upgrade to a balcony or French balcony but overall it did not deter from a great experience. Everyone we spoke to on this cruise held much the same opinion. Viking does a superb job. I would recommend them. I would also recommend you research the weather as we had great weather also with but two days of rain