While the cruise portion of the entire trip was only 5 days of the whole 11 or so day trip, my review will touch on the land portion in addition to the river portion. This is our 4th cruise on Viking, and we have also done 5 "ocean" cruises with other companies (Oceania being our favorite). The Viking Century Emerald is a new ship, and the largest and nicest of the ones we've been on with Viking. The cabin we had (standard, 2nd deck) was spacious, with plenty of room for our clothes, a very nice bathroom, and a small balcony. The public rooms are beautiful, and there is a small fitness center, a couple stores with various things to buy, and a computer room with 8 computers (hard-wired and wifi). Wifi is available around the computer area. I believe there was a small beauty shop, too, but I didn't check that out, and an infirmary. I really didn't use anything but the restaurant, computer room, and outside areas (for photography) so I can't really comment on all areas or services. However, my husband got a foot massage and was very happy with it, including the price. You can have clothes cleaned and/or pressed, and my husband had 2 golf shirts washed. The price was reasonable.

The food was reasonably good - sometimes great, sometimes only so-so, but overall good but not fantastic. If you don't like the choices offered for lunch (buffet and menu offerings) or dinner (menu offerings) you can order one of the "always available" items. My husband had the steak, which he found good but not fantastic, and I had the salmon, which was excellent. For breakfast, there is a variety of stuff - made to order omelets, French Toast, oatmeal, etc. The staff is wonderful, and they greet you by name, even if you've only sat at their station once before. You can sit wherever you want, with whomever you want. Dinner is served at an announced time - usually 7 or 7:30, and the same is true for lunch (usually noon); however, if you come a little late, they are very accommodating about that.

Staff members, from person who cleans your cabin, to program director, to ship's captain, are fantastic - very personable, eager to please, and yes, they speak English, except for the Captain, anyway! If you're a past Viking cruiser, you'll be invited to a special cocktail party to meet the bigwigs. The passengers were a nice mix of mostly Americans, with some Europeans and at least one New Zealander. The average age was probably 55 or 60, but there WAS a smattering of younger folks as well as a smattering of 70'ish folks. Read more