We were on the 2nd Gefjon cruise from Basel to Paris; due to heavy rains river level of Rhine was high. We left Basil earlier than planned to clear a bridge, then were bussed back to Basel to keep our itinerary. We then sailed overnight to Strasbourg across from Kehl. We were then bussed to Strasbourg for a planned tour. This was the last move we made on Gefjon. While we don't blame Viking for the condition of the river, we do blame them for poor decision process and extremely muddled communication.

The ship staff, chefs, housekeeping, waiters, concierge were superb, trying to keep the passengers happy. However, management decisions,those on board as well as from HQ did not appear to be well coordinated and constantly in flux. The net effect was they bussed us to and from Gefjon to most of our destinations until they had to put us up in a hotel in Mainz. We did not know with certainty until that morning that we would have to disembark. We were then bussed to Trier for an abbreviated version of the itinerary, then bussed to Paris where we finally got to relax. We were on a bus tour of Italy last year which was why we chose a river cruise, to avoid busses, at least so we thought. This was our first Viking cruise and may be the last. By the way, the ship captain was 27 years old. While age is not the only indicator of competence, I have wondered if this situation would have benefitted from a more seasoned captain. Lastly nothing from Viking about any compensation for our abbreviated cruise.