Viking Hlin Review
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I’m a seasoned traveler. I’ve been on several cruises with multiple cruise lines. Each have their pros and many have an abundance of cons. This was my first trip on a Viking ship and I will say I was skeptical upon boarding that they would exceed my expectations. I had read a lot about how great they were, but until I see it, I won’t believe it.
Our cruise started on May 15 from Basel to Amsterdam with an Amsterdam post trp. We stayed at the recommended Movenpick in Amsterdam for the post trip. This hotel is my one and only complaint for the trip. The room was filthy and the hotel is off the beaten path from the main part of Amsterdam. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.
Our ship was the Hlin. It was so fantastic. I love the smaller, long ships. We had a veranda room and it was as roomy as you can get on a cruise ship. It had a ton of place to unpack for two and had US outlets in addition to European types. The crew on the ship were outstanding. Their customer servicer was off the chart. From the captain to a cleaning lady we felt their concern was 100% on making sure we were comfortable and had what we needed.
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Amsterdam
I wasn't as impressed with this port as most folks were. I think the biggest problem is our tour guide was just ok and our hotel wasn't close to the city center (like 2 miles away).
Fantastic stop. We visited the Black forest and the medieval city of Colmar. This region is beautiful. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and was super friendly and entertaining.
Cologne
By far the top of the stops. So much history here. The cologne cathedral is amazing and worth a couple of hours to walk through and really see.
Love the windmills. The story behind them, and learning how the work was one of my favorite stops. We stopped there mid afternoon, evening and it was perfect.
Koblenz
Not my favorite stop at all. A little interesting, but not that interesting.
Speyer
The Speyer stop was fun. Again the tour guide we had was sensational. So much history to share in a short amount of time.
Strasbourg
In the top list of the stops on this cruise. This town is so beautiful and so interesting. I'd visit Strasbourge again if I had time.