We chose this cruise as a way to see Germany, Austria and Budapest without having to unpack and change hotels.

Due to the water level, we had two ship swaps so we were on a total of three ships in 7 days. There was a great difference between the crew on the three ships. The crew of the Hermod (which we spent our last night) was outstanding. The crew on the Var, which we spent our first few nights was what I expected. The crew on the Tor however was surly and unhappy. We had a waiter who was actually argumentative.

I understand that the river level is not in the hands of Viking, however we had a bus driver that actually got lost while driving from Straubing to Krems causing us to be on the bus 45 minutes extra. (45 minutes may not seem like much time, but when your "cruise" is turned into a "bus tour" that extra 45 minutes is way too much) We had to choose between the scenic cruising in the Wachu Valley and the Abbey tour. Those that chose the scenic cruising were treated to a view of darkness as by the time the buses made it to the ship, it was dark as they sailed through the Valley. We chose the abbey tour. The abbey was beautiful and the sunset we were treated to was awesome. We would not have seen this if we were on our original schedule. When we returned to our ship after the abbey tour, it was very dark at the pier. Our tour guide instructed us to "just go around this building, down the steps to the path by the water and turn right at the path, and you will see your ship. This was NOT the case. She did NOT guide the group to the ship as she was too busy getting her tips. As we got to the steps, the path was chained off and no Viking Ship in sight. I had to run back and catch the tour guide so that she would find the ship for us. She was about to leave the group stranded on the pier. Read more