Three months prior to our cruise, Viking was most gracious and accommodating with taking care of all our travel arrangements from LA to Budapest. After taking two spectacular European ocean cruises in the last 18 months, both my husband and I were even more excited about this Viking River Cruise. We loved seeing the videos and hearing others who had experienced this cruise in the past, that is, until we heard in conversation from a complete stranger that the river was so low that they needed to switch ships and take rides on motor coaches to various destinations. I contacted our Viking agent to see where our cruise stood. She was "unaware" of the low level and put me on hold to check the conditions. She indicated though the river was slightly low the ships were still able to pass through the various stops. Of course there was nothing we could do at this point.

We packed our bags and headed to the airport. To make a long story short, scheduled flights were delayed and upon arriving to Budapest one of two pieces of luggage was missing and no one was at the airport to pick us up which was an indication that no one was checking. After going back and forth by phone with the ship, we ended up taking a $25 cab arriving at 1:00AM. Unfortunately we missed our only chance to see Budapest. The ship's desk staff was pleasant and took charge of finding our luggage (three days later after spending $130.00 for clothes).

We did enjoy the ship itself. It was clean and well taken care of. The working staff was extremely pleasant and accommodating. Our stateroom was comfortable. The meals were tasty and well presented. The tour guide at each stop was very good. They were well informed and had a good sense of humor. Read more