Although we had some (weather related) hiccups on the cruise, none were the fault of Viking. Viking did everything they could to make the cruise as enjoyable as possible for the guests. The six of us who traveled together were extremely pleased with Viking and our Grand European Tour from Budapest to Amsterdam. Each of us wholeheartedly give Viking 5 stars and an A+++++ rating.

Shortly before our trip we received an email from Viking that we would be sailing on the Viking Skadi to Neuremberg instead of the Bragi as the Bragi could not travel south of Nuremberg due to the low river levels. At Neuremberg we were to transfer from the Skadi to the Bragi. The two ships are identical except perhaps for some of the artwork. Both ships were christened on the same day in 2013 and have exactly the same design, layout, colors, carpet & flooring, staterooms, dining room, lounge, etc. There was no way to tell them apart other than the ship's name that was stencilled on the glass doors and on the life buoys.

We were pleased to learn that there were only 70 guests aboard instead of the usual 190 and that the ship would be staffed with its regular full crew. This meant that passengers would receive even more attention from the staff than normal, which was definitely the case for us. We got to know the staff and adored many of them. Many of them knew our names as well. Read more