This was our 3rd Viking 'Cruise.' As usual, once on the ship, everything - the crew, food, activities, etc., were 5 Star. The problem with this cruise was that it wasn't much of a cruise. It's listed as a 12 day cruise. However, the first two days were spent in a mid-range hotel in Zurich, and the last two days were spent in a upper-range hotel in Paris, which was very nice. In addition, we disembarked the ship in Trier and then spent 12 hours in a bus traveling to Paris, with a tour stop in-between in Reims to visit a Cathedral and the Luxembourg American Cemetery for the American soldiers who died during the WWII Battle of the Bulge. Ten hours of the trip were in a bus.

Unpacking in Zurich, re-packing to go to Basel to meet our ship, unpacking on the ship, repacking to head to Paris, unpacking in Paris, and packing again for our return to our homes was very annoying. The long, tiring bus ride to Paris was excruciating.

I believe this is the only tour Viking offers that is broken up like this. Everything else about the trip was fantastic, as was the entirety of the two previous Viking cruises we took before - the 'Grand European Tour' and 'Russia,' cruises. Read more