Having taken a number of land individual and group tours in Europe, including Prague, Budapest and Vienna in 2001, I and my travel companion wanted to experience a more relaxing time, avoiding multiple overnight stays in different hotel rooms. Except for the initial add-on of 3 days in Prague, it truly was a wonderful, informative and relaxing experience river cruising. I consider every place visited in Germany, Austria and Hungary to have been special - the WWII sites in Nuremberg, a BMW assembly plant, the cathedral organ in Passau, the museums and cafes of Vienna, and superbly scenic and historic Budapest. The final highlight was the evening cruise on the Danube in Budapest.

Food service was top notch, the cabin comfortable and well designed and I rate the entertainment director very highly. He was professional, well informed and always helpful in answering questions and suggesting ideas for port explorations. Compared with other cruises (ocean) I have taken this Viking cruise was best by far.