Viking Atla Review
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We are recently home from a Viking River Cruise on the Danube. We had a thoroughly delightful experience and would have no hesitation in taking another trip with Viking or recommending it to friends. Reading other reviews of similar or identical cruises, it is clear that mother nature plays a large role in ones satisfaction with the cruise experience (no surprise there) and that ones previous travel experience, budget and expectations impact ones overall satisfaction as well (no surprise there, either). We are in our early 60’s, well travelled professionals and had no particular preconceived notions of what cruising in Europe would be like. We have taken one (very different) cruise to the Galapagos, which was delightful and educational but by no means luxury.
Prior to this trip, which I organized at the last minute, I told my husband that the only decision he was going to have to make every day was “red or white” (meaning red or white wine with dinner). As a couple accustomed to having to pack and unpack, make multiple hotel and dinner reservations, deal with huge crowds to procure tickets to museums and historic sites and, worst of all, deal with the issues of European driving habits and car rentals, river cruising was a delightful alternative and exceedingly relaxing, invigorating in fact, which I cannot say of any of our family trips to Europe.
One drawback of guided tours, obviously, is that one travels at the pace and following the schedule determined by a group leader, who has to cater to the demands of the slowest and least educated in the group. For instance, we would have enjoyed far more time in Vienna, a city we have visited before, but we understood this prior to the trip. The upside, of course, is that we bypassed lines wherever we went and saw a large selection of cities and towns in a relatively short period of time. We were given a thorough itinerary and detailed explanation of each planned stop, tour and optional tour prior to the trip, so we could read up on each if we wished. We were pleasantly surprised at the price of the package (2-for-1), which included airfare and all transfers. Soup to nuts, it was about $10,000 for two.
Cabin Review
We were very happy with our choice of stateroom. Registering for the cruise at the last minute, I had a choice of only a few cabins, one at the waterline and two with veranda balconies. In retrospect, I would have chosen what we chose if I had it to choose again. The veranda (starboard-side, top deck) was large enough for two chairs and a table and we spent time out there reading and watching the sites when we grew tired of the other passengers. It was also handy for drying laundry at night, although that was a no-no. We spent very little time in the stateroom.
Port Reviews
Regensburg
We had an elderly lady giving the tour. 4 passengers immediately found fault with her and began complaining, about how fast she walked, that she talked too loud, that she wasn't dealing enough with Jewish themes. It was very awkward and the passengers were totally out of place. I think a younger tour guide with less of a possible association with WWII, would have been better for this crowd. She was brusk, efficient and very Germanic, a trait we didn't find offensive at all.
Nuremberg
We took the WWII tour, first of the WWII Museum, then of the Nuremberg Court House. The tour guide was outstanding, a graduate student or post-graduate student in history who knew every detail of the trails. She said she had read the entire transcript of the trial and that it had taken her a year. Her knowledge of the trials was exceptional and the day was so educational.