We had been thinking of a river cruise for a couple of years and after 3 groups of friends raved about Viking we pulled the trigger on a downstream Rhine Getaway from Basel to Amsterdam. We booked the 2 extra days in Switzerland as I am convinced you need the extra time to get your body (and mind) over the time change. Those who flew in directly to the boat all had that hollow eyed and totally fried look. The trip over was fine and we were met by Viking at the baggage claim at the Euro Airport in Basel and taken right to the hotel. We stayed in the Swissotel hotel in Messeplatz right next to the convention center and took advantage of the free transit card (for all trams and buses) to go ALL over Basel. They also had a "Basel Card" promotion for the month of Jun that offered free to half price admissions to museums, etc. There are 25 museums in Basel as well as lots of good food and tour type things to do. We really liked the Roman ruins at Augusta Ruarica in Augst a short bus ride out of town. We'd like to go back to Basel and spent a week just there. The local Viking rep, Georg, was awesome for showing us how to get around and tips on where to go.
We had only been on one other cruise years ago, Carnival from Norfolk to Bermuda, and the small boat (185 passengers, 43 crew) was SO much nicer than that floating megahotel ! Open seating for meals let us make friends quickly and we were on a first name basis with the bartenders, wait staff, and stewards by the second day. We got the premium beverage package as a promotion and used it extensively for upgraded drinks. They didn't seem to mind if we ordered multiple bottles of the premium wines on our package for the entire dinner table. The Lofn is 2 years old and very modern and clean. We really liked the Aquavit Terrace which is an indoor/outdoor café at the bow and had breakfast there everyday watching the scenery go by. It was also nice to have that option for meals if you didn't want the full blown dinners every night. The only architecture issue is the "quarterdeck" reception area is kind of small when a large crowd of people is gathering to check out or return on a shore excursion. The boat is just the "bus" to get you from point to point as the excursions and tours are the point of the journey; but is it a very nice "bus". And as to buses, all the excursion buses are new comfortable motor coaches.
We took advantage of a mix of the included and optional excursions and almost all were exceptional (more on those that weren't later).
Very clean and modern. I highly recommend the Veranda with balcony versus the "french balcony" which is just a sliding glass door to the outside. We enjoyed sitting on the balcony with a drink or to eat food we picked up at the Aquavit Terrace when we didn't want to visit the restaurant or just to enjoy the countryside when transiting. The bathroom is well equipped but small as expected, only room for one at a time. Lots of power plugs (both US and European style). Our only complaint is the satellite TV could be a lot better, only a half dozen channels (int'l CNN, TNT, and BBC) that had periodic US programming, I like to have the weather channel and the ability to check US as well as world news, sports, and some "no-mind" entertainment to help come down mentally after a day of heavy history. Internet was spotty (but we were pre-warned) and interestingly if you use the onboard internet cafe, the keyboards are Norwegian and if your password includes a dollar sign - guess what ??? Steward service was outstanding (thanks Nikolay!) and done twice a day. The frig kept stuff nice and cold. There is barely enough room for both clothes and suitcases in the closet but we managed.