My husband and I chose Viking for our first European river cruise after having done about 10 Ocean Cruises on various lines (Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity & Oceania). We heard wonderful things and had high expectations. Overall it was a wonderful trip but we felt that there were some things travelers should know about.

Viking is spoken of very highly here in the U.S. where we live. We booked a category AA Veranda Suite so that we would have a sitting area separate from the bedroom. We were not assigned a cabin upfront and while travelling to Amsterdam received a call from our travel agent that we were upgraded to one of the Explorer suites. We were elated. When we arrived, there was NO ONE around the ship at our small docking area. We actually held the taxi in case the driver made a mistake! We boarded the ship and found the Grand reception area.

Again, there was NO ONE around. Finally, a crew member came out from behind a door, asked our names and confirmed our cabin and said welcome aboard. That was it! Read more