This was our first river cruise. We have done numerous ocean cruises and enjoyed them but were always put off by the large crowds and the "nickel and dime" attitude of the cruise lines. We were greatly looking forward to this cruise as we expected it to be more secluded and relaxing. It met our expectations and exceeded them in almost every was.

The crew and staff of Viking are completely professional and excellent at what they do. They are obviously trained better than the average crew member on an ocean cruise. The cruise ship itself is small and compact with none of the features of ships designed to spend full days at sea. You will not find a big show room, a large gym and spa, rock climbing walls, swimming pools, hot tubs, etc. What you will find is a very comfortable lounge, an excellent dining room, and some simple outdoor deck space. Most of your daylight hours will be spent in the cities you visit and you will enjoy docking right in the midst of some of those cities.

The evenings are spent in the lounge, meeting some of you fellow passengers and preparing for delicious dinners, served in their only large dining room (there is some al fresco dining available for those who want it). I am not a hermit but I am not overtly sociable either. However, Since there are only 190 passengers total, I found it very easy to meet new people and make new friends. One factor contributing to this is the demographic of the passengers. Most passengers are over 50 years old and we saw no children. Instead we had an excellent mix of American and European passengers with a few from Asia/India. Read more