Ship was beautiful, cabins were huge very spacious the bathroom was a very generous size with a amazing shower. The dining on board is the best dinning experience i have ever had the waiting staff very polite and knowledgeable regarding wines and dishes being served. The port of call were fantastic great choice with very knowledgeable guides who were happy to answer any questions along the way. Seeing the Eiffel Tower illuminated and sparkling was a great start to our cruise. Service we received from every single staff,crew member was brilliant. The whole experience from start to finish was seamless Entertainment was very low key which was fine, nice music playing in the background each evening. I would 110% recommend a Scenic Cruise to friend and family i can guarantee you will be blown away. Looking forward to planning another one and i know Scenic will be my first choice every time. Read Less

We took advantage of a special offer via Imagine Cruising a company we use and trust for this river cruise.We arrived at Lyon and boarded quickly and were very pleased at our cabin which was spotless and very welcoming with nice decor etc.We enjoyed the pleasant public areas and especially the sun deck with good seating and a lovely shaded area with also small but well presented pool to cool off in everyday.All meals and most drinks are included and were of very good quality.We enjoy different cultures and the food offered and like to try different tastes and always found something tasty at meal times.Salads.meats,fish desserts.cheeses including the breads were good.Tea and coffee are available at all times. We visited the South of France area from Lyon through Avignon,Arles etc down to the Port st Louis area which was the only port to disappoint.We think this last stop should be excluded from the itinerary as it's too industrial in this part.We enjoyed two trips outside of the towns that we moored in the centres.the first was to the Camargue area ending up in the lovely little seaside town of St Marie de la mer which is beautiful.The second was to Marseille but was too rushed and a bit frustrating as we only had 25 minutes around the port area which was the most interesting part of the city. The clientele are largely German with a few other nationalities and about 25 percent British and there was little mixing ,probably due to the language barriers and it was difficult to communicate and people gathered in the evenings in their own language groups.I hoped for more mixing It was very pleasant to sit to enjoy sunsets and the passing countryside as we leisurely sailed the river.All the main cities including Lyon and Avignon are easily explored from the boat and we have lovely memories of these beautiful places. the evenings were simple with light music playing as we enjoyed the company of fellow cruisers with inclusive drinks and food at hand at all time. We will certainly river cruise again and we hope with Arosa in the future.104 Read Less

Recommendation of friends who were on their third SCenic cruise. This was my second SCenic river cruise so, obviously compared it with the Danube cruise I went on last year. It was a good experience (not quite as good as the DAnube cruise I did last year)? The entertainment was good but only for two nights, the rock group was excellent, a great night. the Pope's palace concert good as was the evening drinks visit to castle of Tournon. Although Pianist Richard did his best he was not quite 'in tune' with his audience. The shore excursions were very good except for the village of Oignt where we were promised crafts shops and coffee shops, none of which were open! We wondered why we were only give 45 minutes there, just enough to visit the disgusting toilets!!! Dining was very good but breakfast buffet could have been a bit more efficient, often scrambled egg, potatoes etc. All gone and not replenished very quickly. Wine with meals excellent and special requests fulfilled. Bar service during the day also very good, although not so go up on top deck in the afternoons, seemed to be only one attendant on duty and not to be seen regularly. Captains, senior staff etc.very 'visible' and approachable. All in all, despite minor criticisms I would recommend this cruise to my friends, I had a good time and appreciate everyone's efforts to make my time on board enjoyable. Read Less

On whole, the trip met our expectations and we will most likely take a future river cruise with Viking, but there were some quirks that folks should understand if they are not familiar with Bordeaux or if they are new to river cruises (or Viking river cruises in particular). From prior posters' reports, we knew in advance that there would not be much cruising on this trip. If that had been a surprise, we would have been very disappointed. We spent 3 of 7 nights docked in the city of Bordeaux, and the other 4 nights in tiny ports with virtually nothing to distinguish themselves by other than their proximity to shore excursions and the opportunity to witness the crew docking the vessel. Bordeaux is a beautiful city with accessible public transportation, and the vessel's dock was adjacent to a tram stop, making it very easy to get around independently while in port. In hindsight, I'd have preferred that we just stayed in port in Bordeaux each night, and integrated the cruising element by some day cruising up and down the rivers. This was my husband's second Viking River Cruise, and my first. He oversold me on the culinary experience based on his first cruise on the Rhine. We were both underwhelmed by most of the food on the Bordeaux cruise (although there were some notable exceptions) and I disliked the rigidity of the dinner service. On several days we had private all-day winery tours that included lovely three course meals in local restaurants. The last thing we could handle was a full-on heavy dinner on board ship at 7pm sharp. It would have been nice to have the option of having a light meal served later in the evening. We were also somewhat disappointed by the Chateau Kirwin meal on Thursday. The venue was nice, but Chef thought it would be fun for the Americans to serve them turkey on Thanksgiving, not realizing that you can't replicate a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal for 120 people and that many of us traveled over Thanksgiving to get away from tradition. The Chateau Kirwin wine they served was disappointing and the wait staff refused to open the superior wine that we'd brought with us. I realize in hindsight that it would have been in poor taste to drink someone else's wine at the Chateau Kirwin but I resent having been forced into that situation in the first place. If we'd been docked in Bordeaux instead of Pauillac that night, we could have just gone into town and had a nice dinner on our own instead, but that wasn't an option. If you prefer the group travel experience to independent travel (and frankly, that is the demographic that Viking is reaching out to), you would certainly have enjoyed this trip and would find my disappointments a bit puzzling. For the group traveler, the choice of shore excursions was varied and comprehensive. I think that is one of the things that Viking really does well. The program director on this cruise, Lorin, is a gem and Viking should be commended for its employment of his many talents. He was entertaining, thought-provoking, hard working and genuinely engaged in the mission of bringing local culture to the Viking guests. The ship was very clean, our stateroom had plenty of storage capacity and the staff was hard-working and friendly. We chose this Viking cruise as a marital compromise (I dislike group travel of any sort, and especially boats, but my husband does not share my feelings. More than anything, he hates to pack and unpack and the pressure of selecting a restaurant to dine in each night, and he enjoys the socialization that is available on-board). The trip met or exceeded my low expectations, and it also met or exceeded my husband's higher expectations. Read Less

We chose this cruise specifically because it was advertised at Jukebox Saturday Night with Ken Sparks. The disappointing part of the trip was that we did not get to spend time with him as he was not well and stayed within a small group for the first week, then he had a heart attack and consequently died. The cruise itself was magnificent, the food, great, the entertainment that was provided by an on board entertainer,great, the tours each day were magnificent, the tour director, magnificent, the staff were fantastic. The tours were a lttle tiring for the people in their seventies, as I am in my fifties and definitely was worn out by the end. The cabin was excellent as we had a balcony and all the trimmings. Overall the cruise was magnificent and I would recommend anyone to go on a cruise with Scenic and I am sure when we can afford the next one we will be going again. Read Less

Cruise was faultless with staff being exceptional. We had a fantastic Cruise Director who ensured the trip went without any hassles. He was very friendly and went out of his way to meet people's needs. The cruise stopped at some ports for a couple of days to enable us to take tours to some areas further away. We went to the Somme area, for example, and also the D-Day landing sites. It meant some longish bus trips bit you got to see the countryside. Guides on all of our excursions whether they were the longer trips of just town/city visits were very good. Our guide to the Somme was exceptional and he helped bring the whole story to life. We dodn't do a lot of sailing during daylight hours but just enough to see some of the lovely houses on France along the Seine. Staff, as mentioned, were brilliant. Very friendly and they didn't know the meaning of the word 'no'. Top, top class. Food was also brilliant with lots of choice. Very difficult to fault. We've sailed with Scenic before and will go again in a couple of years. Read Less

It was recommended by 2 family members who travelled in april 2016.The all inclusive nature appealed to us.The various excursions that were included as part of the program gave us value for money.We were very pleased with the crew and the support and assistance they gave at each stop on the trip. The historical sites were lovely and the various wineries were interesting and gave us a greater appreciation of the Rhone valley.Both Avignon and Arles were great stops and were well worth the trip in themselves.We were provided with complimentary room upgrades on day 1 of our voyage which was a very pleasant surprise. I cannot say enough about the staff on board.From captain to first officer on down.Each always seemed to have time to give to passengers.The food was excellent and the chef made a point of dropping by every evening to ask us how we had enjoyed our meal. Once we had a brief critic of a meal and were thanked for bringing it to their attention. As a person who worked in customer service for most of my career I was most impressed from beginning to end. we will return and enjoy AMA again. Read Less

This was the year of the great French roast, Paris at 35ºC and similar to that all the cruise long. The payback was clear blue skies, no rain and great photos.The ship was 100% full, hence the service levels in the public areas were stretched. This cruise is a mixture of great French wines and cheeses (approx 450 different cheeses to be tasted), as far as scenery goes the highlights are the cities. The visit to an old hospital and nearby wine tasting at Marche aux Vin was very interesting, as was our first tasting of French nougat which is based on egg white and honey, as was the truffle farm (with charming hosts & dog). The Sundowners excursion (a walk to a nearby fortress tower) for wine/beer/nibbles with live musicians in a cool afternoon breeze was very hard to take. The itinerary was exactly as published. Compliments have to be given to all the bus drivers - they were very professional, safe drivers who helped some of our fellow passengers with their walkers. Driving through the French countryside was most enjoyable. Read Less

This was our second Viking cruise and we've already scheduled a third. As always we were met by a Viking representative to guide us to our motor coach. Paris no longer allows River Cruise boats to dock in the city so we had to travel to Le Pecq by motor coach to board, which was almost an hour away. However, Viking made sure that we spent plenty of time in Paris. Our favorite stops were Monet's Gardens, the American Cemetery at Normandy and of course Paris. You will also stop at other small French cities such as where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and Richard the Lion Hearted's Castle. If you have any difficulty walking you may want to take a cane or walking stick as some of the streets are cobble stones or very uneven. The scenery is more sedate along the Seine River, mostly French homes currently occupied. The food was gourmet all the way and the service outstanding. At the end of the cruise Viking makes sure you get to the airport of time and problem free. There is a Viking rep waiting for your motor coach to arrive and guides you all the way. Read Less

Definitely a top-notch cruise ship and cruise line. The pros included friendliness of all staff, ports and scenery (the light presentation at Rouen cathedral at night is a must-see!). Aquavit Terrace for dining in the evening is apparently a well-kept secret. We actually dined there almost as many nights as in the formal dining room....a fabulous experience to enjoy gourmet food al fresco on the bow of the ship while cruising at dusk.....however less than a dozen fellow passengers partook in this option on the nights we dined outside. The cons included having a few tour guides that almost ruined our experience: one on Giverny excursion who liked to hear himself talk, dragged the group along and whose French-accented English was very difficult to understand (and I even speak French). We finally broke away from group and toured garden and house on our own. The second guide on the Normandy excursion was completely offensive as she opted to use the long bus ride to get on her soapbox and offer political opinions that were clearly inappropriate. It takes a lot to offend my husband and he was livid. As much as I would like to say that I would recommend a Viking Cruise to adults over 50 I really feel that if we ever have the opportunity to experience Viking again (and we hope to), it'll be at least ten years before we do so. We're both 56 and were often frustrated by older passengers for whom we had to wait, and slowed down our excursions. I love and enjoy senior travelers but we wanted to pack as much as we could in this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and felt we could have easily done more if we hadn't felt pulled back. Read Less