This trip was first time for many of the stops and we were well pleased with the accommodations and quality of the tours. The cruise director was exceptional in many ways with a masters degree in european history. We were pleasantly surprised that the food quality and other services matched the other river boats we have been on (4 of the long boats). We have used other river cruise lines and Viking is very competitive in price, quality of visits, and ship board amenities. This trip took us into Berlin and Prague for about 3 days each and these great cities were connected by the Elbe River which is smaller than many other rivers thus the smaller ship. We really liked the extended time in Berlin and Prague where we stayed in quality hotels and did day trips in and around the city. Viking was quite visible in the hotels and led many tours of these cities yet we had sufficient time for our personal agenda and the staff helped us with shuttle, taxi and public transportation.

We have enjoyed a family cruise offered by Tauck and it was excellent. Viking does not offer that option and the travelers on our ship (like other river cruises we have used) focused on English speakers and middle age and up. I did not notice if the Astrild had an elevator but is just two levels of rooms so there are less steps.

I gave this ship a low rating on fitness and recreation since there is no fitness room, no bicycles and no swimming pool/hot tub as are found on other non-Viking ships. There is still walking on the top deck and off boat walking/jogging as the traveler might want.