River Cruises - All Cruise Reviews

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4.9

Viking is the best! by TerriFelgate

Sail date: / Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Ship: Viking Lofn / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

This was our first viking cruise and it was wonderful. Really appreciated the little  touches, such as when returning to the boat from an excursion, they handed out hand towels soaked in lemon grass, or had chocolate covered strawberries. The crew were amazing. They were helpful and extremely friendly. The food was great and the variety amazing. The program director was knowledgeable, and funny. We loved this cruise and have already planned another viking cruise. I promise you, you will not be disappointed booking this cruise.Happy

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5.0

Educational, emotionally moving and fun by JenniferfromVT

Sail date: / Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Ship: Viking Rolf / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

The overall experience was impressive. This tour offered an educational and historical account of Joan d'Arc, the D-Day landing, Impressionist Artist Claude Monet, French architecture, Louis XIV, Napoleon and other rulers, and provided an easy and delightful tour of Paris and its cultural and famous landmarks. A great value for the money.

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5.0

Viking Emerald in China by NCVikingnewbie

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Emerald / Destination: River Cruises - China/Asia

While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience, and I've been telling everyone about how wonderful it was and how I'd recommend Viking cruises to anyone interested in this kind of experience, it's been really hard to single out the single best thing.  I loved visiting all the fabulous sites, of course, but I think what's been settling in with me is how much I learned about the people and the history to really give me a sense of place.  I think the single most significant part of that, honestly, was our guide Bob Kong, who just brought all the pieces together with his unbelievable knowledge along with a warmth and sense of humor.

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3.0

The Devil Is In The Detail by ODJ

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: American Empress / Destination: River Cruises - United States

What could have been an incredible experience turned out to be "only" OK. While the crew was exceptionally polite and well intentioned, they were not always well informed/trained or perhaps too few. This was particularly evident in the food/beverage service areas. It seemed that managers were too busy "working" and not managing their staff.

We had a balcony cabin on deck three forward which was surprisingly spacious even for its small size. It was nicely furnished and maintained. 

The food was good but not extraordinary. The meals were of comparable quality to those on Princess or Norwegian. We enjoyed the daily wine selection and the generous pours.

The square four person metal dining tables on deck four were terrible. The table legs were positioned so they wound up between your knees. You invariably bumped a leg and spilled something. This was exacerbated by the pitch in the deck which made the chairs and tables slant and often wobble. 

   

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1.0

Viking Dishonorable About Airline Tickets--Don't Buy Them From Viking Cruiselines by enilcruiseBC

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Forseti / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

My husband and I purchased 1st airline class tickets to/from France as part of a cruise package through the Bordeaux Region of France.  We were told that if we got the insurance, the complete trip would be refunded if events occurred which would not permit us to take/complete the trip.  We made payment in advance for the complete trip including airline tickets and travel insurance from TripMate.  We initiated the trip as scheduled;  unknowingly, I lost my passport in the Atlanta airport and was consequently unable to take connecting flight to France.  We notified Viking right away and were: told don't worry you have the insurance, you'll be fully reimbursed.  We submitted the paperwork and were told by TripMate, you are only covered for land and water transportation, not air so that is all we will reimburse.  We paid Viking 6K for the air portion of the trip and they refused to reimburse for that.  This was dishonorable because their agents told us when we purchased the package that the insurance would cover everything and subsequently, when we reported the loss of the passport that we would get a full refund.  I've attempted several times to get help from Viking's customer assistance staff but was told it was my fault, consequently they won't pay.  When attempting to speak to supervisors, I was told we are independent adjusters and don't have a supervisor.  This is poor customer relations and of course, results in our not ever using this cruise company again.  Everyone should beware of them.

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1.0

food was terrible....felt like i was in a senior home by JohnnyBiscotti

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Mimir / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

did not feel the cruise was as advertised.....most of the ports were not right in the center of old towns and we needed to take buses. There was not enough time to spend in ports. Felt very restricted and the was minimal activity to do on the boat as compared with an ocean trip. 

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5.0

Rhine River Cruise on Avalon by Cruiser956

Sail date: / Traveled as: Large Group
Ship: Avalon Imagery II / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

The small ship, the big room with the large window made it a very relaxing trip.  Everything was organized in an upbeat, peaceful way.  Nothing was stressful.  Several people in our group experienced a bit of respiratory illness and did not feel like going to dinner on some nights.  We notified the staff and they took a tray of food to these people in their rooms.  This was sooo helpful. We were really impressed by their willingness to accommodate.

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4.0

Nice and relaxing by Valeryand

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Kvasir / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

We sailed from Amsterdam to Basel in the end of May! It was a very nice and relaxing vacation. We stayed for 2 days in Amsterdam before cruise. And I recommend it highly. Not only because Amsterdam is such lovely and very different city. But it also helps you to get over your jet lag, that is, of course, lf you fly from US. The ship is great, very clean, contemporary interior design, done in pastel pleasing colors. State rooms are tiny, but very comfortable. Service is impeccable, the cru is wonderful, just terrific people, everyone of them. Soooo pleasant and extremely accomodating, it looks like they absolutely love what they do. FOOD! Food is fantastic! Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Coffee and little baked snacks are always available for you in a lobby. We enjoyed all inclusive excursion, and took 2 optional, Mercedes Benz factory (Phenomenal!!!) and Town of Colmar(Magic). The only thing I object is the timing of the excursions. Much much too early! And the ship most of the time does not live until very late. To me, that was the only detrimental point. At night, after dinner in a lounge, it is very nice to relax, have a drink, listen to the music and dance a little. You don't feel like going to bed early. Getting up in the morning at 7 am is not my ideal vacation. Of course we did and went to see every beautiful place, I think we have not gotten more then 5, 6 hours of sleep. This is the only thing I would change.  If it were up to me. In Basel we also stayed for 2 days, and it is good idea too. We were there before, but to come such a long way, it seemed not right to go home straight from the ship. Altogether it was very enjoyable trip. I am sure you,ll love it just like we did!

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5.0

Trip of a lifetime by nschuler

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Avalon Tranquility II / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

wonderful time with really nice people, great boat with perfect service and delicious food. Tours were interesting and well done. Cruise director was always available and took good care of every detail. Entertainment was  fun and perfect after a busy day. Many wonderful memories of an awesome river cruise.

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5.0

great experience by TheHeimanns

Sail date: / Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Ship: Viking Idun / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

This was our first time on a Viking Cruise and we were very impressed with it.  So much so, that we are planning on doing another cruise with Viking in the future.

The boat was very comfortable, pristine and well equipped.  The crew and staff were wonderful, attentive, polite and accommodating.  Cruising along the Rhine was captivating and we enjoyed all the wonderful castles and towns we passed along the way.  This was truly a memorable experience for us.

 

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5.0

Terrific Cruise on the Rhine by donnabrug

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Alruna / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

The views throughout the cruise were great. Smooth sailing.  Superb service and clean ship and staterooms. Staterooms very comfortable.  Enjoyed the view from the room.  Excursions were well planned and appropriately described as to how strenuous the activities would be.    Would have enjoyed additional time in some cities and post excursions.

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5.0

wonderful Experiance by lizklass10

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: River Royale / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

We arrived near the ship and immediatly 2 men took our bags. We were received at reception and in our room with in 10 minutes with luggage. Quite a different experiance from ocean liners.

The service, food and tours were all first rate. We enjoyend meeting some very nice people and had a great, memorable time.

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3.0

Tulips and windmills by oquinns

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Baldur / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

The boat, tour guides, and especially the staff are excellent...

The weather turned out horrible, sun, wind, hail, freezing rain even some light snow, and that was all in one day... The weather finally turned nice the last couple of days.  Keukenhof Gardens are well worth the trip, however some of the other stops are not that interesting, and required to much walking...

Unfortunately this was not my favorite Viking trip...Nervous

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5.0

on the Rhone by Cruiser343

Sail date: / Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Ship: AmaDagio / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

AMA is very thorough and provided excellent excursions, food, guides and entertainment. Crew exceptionally helpful and friendly. Cruise manager excellent as was the food

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5.0

Best trip ever! by Cruiser525

Sail date: / Traveled as: Family (young children)
Ship: AmaDagio / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

We booked the Wine Cruise, then book-ended the cruise with Barcelona and Paris. Two weeks of heaven. On-board I found the staff happy, friendly and always willing to help. They make you feel like family. The food was fabulous. (perhaps add more vegetarian options for dinner).

When the itinerary stated "Departing at 5:00pm" - they were on the dot. The precision timing of everything related to the cruise was amazing.

I loved that the ship only holds 150 passengers. Much more intimate than the big cruise ships. So much more civilized. I am definitely considering another trip on AmaWaterways. Very impressive.

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5.0

Rhine Rhapsody by lfinnewyork

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Vidar / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

3/27/2016 Rhine Rhapsody.  10 days from Basel Switzerland to Paris, France. A short wonderful breathtaking cruise from Basel, Switzerland to Germany towns, to Luxembourg and ending in Paris, France.  This cruise is available only a couple of times at the start of the year.  Ours is the first trip for 2016 for Viking Vidar.  Some passengers canceled their trip because of last week's Brussels terrorist bombing, Only 60 passengers pushed thru and we all have a fabulous trip with almost a ratio of one crew to one passenger.  We were pampered, spoiled and have a wonderful time.  For a New Yorker, I find Switzerland and Paris expensive, but what the heck, we were on vacation.  

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3.0

Romantic Danube - Nuremburg to Budapest by Kermit2015

Sail date: / Traveled as: Large Group
Ship: Viking Freya / Destination: River Cruises - Europe

We recently took the Viking Romantic Danube cruise – it was the maiden voyage from Nuremburg to Budapest. We were picked up at the airport and delivered to the ship hassle free.   I would like to start by warning there were several “issues” they blamed for being the maiden voyage, I would suggest not taking the 1st cruise of the season.  There were no issues with the water level this time of year; however, I would have liked to sit more on the sun deck to enjoy the scenery.  The temperatures got to the high 50’s – 60’s, but at 9am it was still only in the 30’s – which is too cold to enjoy the sundeck, also very cold for the included morning tours.   Most of the trees & foliage were not budded out yet – still seemed like winter.  We have taken quite a few ocean cruises so my comparison is based on a larger cruise ship.   As far as the Ship - the crew was excellent & the Program Director gave nightly “briefings” for the next day’s tours.  However, the WiFi did not work for 2 days; there is a bar, but for non-drinkers there was no place where our group could sit at a table to play card games - as the only entertainment after dinner was piano music. On a few occasions they brought aboard some locals, and had a “game night” that lasted about 45 minutes.  The Program Director gave a “narration” while we cruised thru the wine country -  this could only be heard on the sundeck, once again too cold to be up there, even in the afternoons.  As for the food – even though there are only 200 guests, dinner still took 2+ hours & didn’t start until 7pm.  I would like to suggest that they have 2 dinner seating’s.  The food is “European style” – meaning my meat was served “very rare”, not to my taste; there seemed to be an issue to get it cooked well done, also not like an ocean cruise ship where you could order several appetizers - this confused our waiter who brought only soup OR salad.  Breakfast had a good selection of items (eggs, cereal, fruits & breads); lunch was usually something characteristic to the area we were traveling.  My review of our stateroom is below.  Lastly the “included tours” – it was very nice to have tours at every port included – but because we did a few “paid” tours we could see the difference in the quality of tour guides. (the optional tour guides were much better).  There was never enough “free” time to shop or explore on our own & our biggest complaint was in Vienna, the ship docks 30+ minutes by bus from the old town & center for shopping.  Our morning tour took us to old town and back to the ship – there were no shuttles to go back into Vienna in the afternoon, we were on our own by either subway or taxi.  Their "suggested" gratuities seemed to be pressured to add when closing our account. The last day we had to get up at 2:45am to get to the airport for our return flight to the US - we had trouble at the airport finding our flight as we were dropped at the door and not informed as what airline we were using. (we booked our flights thru Viking).   All in all, it was a very unique cruise in comparison to the large ocean ships – we got to know a lot of the crew and the passengers.  I don’t know how to plan the right time for a river cruise as in the warmer months it seems to be an issue with the water levels, this is something we don’t have to be concerned with on an ocean cruise.   We also noticed that this type of cruise was adult oriented - definitely not for children.  Mostly the retired age.

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5.0

The right way to tour China by ExpTraveler

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Viking Emerald / Destination: River Cruises - China/Asia

Viking Tours does an excellent job with their 12 Night Jewels of China tour.  Our tour stated in Shangai with a stay at the Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel.  The Hotel is showing signs of its age and the service by their staff is not up to the standards that I have experienced at other Ritz Carlton hotels.  One particular recommendation is for Viking to incorporate an evening Bund experience instead of taking its guests to an over hyped variety show (the type of show that can be found in some of the off strip hotels in Las Vegas). Other than that criticism there are a lot of positives.  Our tour guide Eric was absolutely sensational throughout the 12 day tour and the food and service on the 5 day cruise portion of the tour was 5 star.  The ship the Century Emerald is okay and the suite stateroom is smaller than all of the suites I have ever experienced on other ships.  The bathroom in the suite was 2 star and the veranda deck was more for show than functional.    

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4.0

M/S Mayfair Luxor to Aswan Egypt by VacaTravel

Sail date: / Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Ship: MS Mayfair 795 / Destination: River Cruises - Egypt/Africa

The M/S Mayfair was part of the Viking Pathway of the Pharaohs tour.  It has excellent service.  It's a well run, clean, newer ship that serves good food.   Dining room staff and stateroom staff were terrific.   My only negative is the gift shop.  The operator - Nebil  is very personable but his prices are higher than what you can get in the markets and on other ships (e.g. the gift shop on the Omar El Khayam was much better).   In one case a shirt he showed me was twice the market price.

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5.0

HCM to Siam Reap by rmurray

Sail date: / Traveled as: Couple
Ship: Avalon Siem Reap / Destination: River Cruises - China/Asia

My wife and I have traveled on approx 3 dozen cruises. We can truly say this was the adventure of a lifetime.  The ship Siam Reap is fantastic and the Asian food served is the best we have ever had- and we have had alot! The crew was exceptional- every single member- but a special thanks to Rotana for her gentle love and kindness.

Our guides were exceptional but Sokum is truly one of the brightest men I have ever met. He thirsts for knowledge and if in America would be rewarded for his judgement, education and motivation.

We extended in Bangkok and will say that it was average. A city tour would have been nice and the restaurant for lunch was fair. 

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