Sailed from Budapest to Passau, then continued with Viking's four-day trip extension to Prague. We chose this route because it was requested by friends who accompanied us; my wife and I had actually sailed the Budapest-to-Nuremburg "Christmas markets" route in December 2012. It was nice all the same to revisit the cities and towns along the route and do different things from our previous visit. And it was warmer ;-)

As usual, everything about the ship and its crew were excellent, as we experienced during the three previous trips on Viking River Cruises. The crew members we met were friendly, polite, courteous and helpful. The food was a perfect balance of healthful and naughty treats, and the entrees were not large--which we actually appreciated so we could return home and not break the bathroom scale ;-) Our room, on the 100 level, was perfectly comfortable and sufficiently roomy. Everything in the room worked fine.

The "included" tours were helpful as usual, although the guide for Passau spent too much time talking about the churches, and the "choo-choo traIn" in Linz--when it rained in the morning--fogged up and prevented us from seeing anything. You can't help the weather, but maybe that train isn't such a good idea when the weather is cold and rainy. Read more