River Cruises - Europe Cruise Reviews

The best part of the cruise was the staff, the food and the cleanliness of the ship.

The guides and both included and optional tours were fantastic.  Very knowledgeable and passionate guides.

I highly recommend this cruise for anyone interested in learning more about the Danube region and adjacent countries.

A very relaxing river cruise.  Viking staff is outstanding -- extremely helpful and courteous.  The Executive Chefs are to be commended on offering a variety of healthy options for our meals.

I could expound endlessly but the best summary of the trip was exceptional in every way. The accommodations, the staff, the chefs, and the information at every stop was all anyone could ask for. 

We enjoyed the cruise very much. There were some stops that could have been eliminated in turn getting a day or two in Amsterdam! Probably should change the name of the Cruise from Budapest to Kinderdijk. 

The crew was wonderful and very attentive. The rooms and the ship were spotless and the food was very good.

A few more nights of something to do would have been good. Trivia was fun. Perhaps, more game nights. 

All in all we enjoyed it, just was disappointed that we never got to Amsterdam.

I highly recommend the Viking cruise. The crew on board including the program director were very nice and helpful. The food was great. The ship was very clean.

I look forward to an another cruise.

We loved every minute of our Rhine River cruise. Viking does an excellent job of providing a quality experience with attention to detail and service. 

This is a wonderful trip on the Danube River. We visited three lovely capital cities along the way. The ship is one year old and in top shape - like new. The entire ships staff were very courteous, professional, friendly and they exceeded our expectations, This includes the Captain and his crew, Hospitality and housekeeping, chief and wait staff, tour directors, guides, drivers and ground personnel. We felt we were well cared for and often pampered.  

The Viking Var team made my vacation experience one that I'll never forget.  The longship was spotlessly clean and quite easy to move around on.  The public places were roomy, airy, and quite comfortable.  The staff was incredibly attentive and responsive to my particular needs.  The food was incredible and reflected the local culture of each stop we made. This was first trip with Viking and it certainly won't be my last.

This was our third cruise with Viking in as many years.  It was by far our worst.  The customer service and special touches have all but disappeared and even if you ask for help or voice a complaint, don't expect someone to step up and help you out with it.  Flights delayed or cancelled:  sorry, you are going to have to go to the airline and figure it out yourself.  Then what was the point of booking through and having insurance?  Especially when they tell you "don't worry, your cruise really doesn't leave till the next day so you won't miss it, you will only miss the first day of your vacation".  Yeah, but we signed up and paid for a 10 day trip and not a 9 day trip and we also signed up for insurance to help us with things like "cancelled or delayed flights".  It should not have been solely up to me to make sure that the four of us travelling on this trip got new seats on a flight that was delayed by four hours so that we would not have made our connections -- you are the travel agents that booked our travel -- you are the ones that gladly took our money for travel insurance -- you are the ones that "experts" in the travel industry.  We should not have had to fend for ourselves or have been told that missing a day of our vacation or spending the night in an airport wasn't a "big deal".  

The Viking Cruiseline has changed too.  What happened to the robes in the rooms, the moist towels/snacks/drinks upon return from an excursion, the blankets on the upper deck during cooler days, the binoculars that they used to hand out during day cruising, the towel animals on the beds, the occasional complementary drinks, the quality of the personal toiletries, even the number of hangers in your closet has gone down???  Here is a quick example of the customer service from the Food and Beverage Director, Mr Cruz:  party of 8 whom traveled together wanting to sit together on the last night.  normal table was taken -- no reservations which I get -- would not allow two more seats to be added to a 6 top table so we were told to move upstairs and that "things would be taken care of" -- we get upstairs and the only offering was seafood -- we had one in our party that was allergic to shrimp and didn't care for salmon -- was again told that "things would be taken care of" -- waitress comes back with 4 small pieces of lamb on a plate-nothing else-just 4 small pieces of lamb saying "this is all I could get from the kitchen".  what happened to all the other food that was being served directly below us about 10 stairs away?  Didn't they make enough of the main course and the other options to feed everyone?  We were literally the only ones upstairs.  What happened to Mr Cruz's word that "things will be taken care of"?  When Mr. Cruz did finally come back around I asked him why there was only seafood options on the upstairs menu.  He told me "there are other options".  I asked him to find me one on the menu.  He could not find anything that didn't have seafood as a part of it.  Instead of admitting fault Mr Cruz began to explain that food downstairs couldn't be served upstairs and that the downstairs was moving toward the desert course and that we could not be seated down there and the food could not be brought upstairs.  This was a totally different story than we were told by him when we were all looking for seats downstairs.  If you can bring up four small pieces of lamb, why couldn't you bring up more from the main dining room menu when the kitchen is directly below and we are the only ones there?  Rules vs customer service?  Especially when you suggested that you would work it out for us.  

There were lots of things missing from this cruise that we didn't have in the past.  Even the friendliness of the cruise directors.  A couple of saving graces from a staffing perspective were the room attendant, the bartender and Michael.  

Had several days where there were little or no localized food and beverage options.  We were in some of the greatest beer making areas of the world with only one thing to pick from and it was the same for almost all of the trip.  Some days didn't feature a single localized meal on the menu -- app, main or dessert.  Very depressing.  

On the cruise side, the newly offered e-bike was an amazing new adventure that we greatly appreciated.  

If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't.  I was incredibly disappointed by the insurance, the assistance, the staff and the amenities from the first cruise to this one and by a cruiseline that claims to be the best at customer service and the personal touches that make it #1.

Good to very good overall...would have preferred more actual sailing...some days sailed in AM and too much land tour/tours squeezed in, that stretched into late PM.  Result was rushed dinner to participate in PM tour.  Should try to expand scope of land tours--I have seen enough churches and castles to last 3 lifetimes! Times posted for meals were strictly adhered to.  Food was usually cleared by closing time--no latitude. However quality of food was good to very good.  All personnel always had a smile on their face and were quick w/ a cheerful greeting throughout the cruise...

Our early season cruise was accompanied by rain, and snow and wind!  However, through luck or intervention all of our shore tours went off successfully and well.

Being confined Indoors was even ok. The cheerful attention of the crew, well planned activities and the company of new friends made every day a good time.  

The excursions were first class.  The ship was cozy.  The history and culture of the areas travelled were highlighted perfectly.  The staff on the ship were delightful.

We enjoyed all aspects of the cruise.  Unfortunately, the weather was very cold and wet which made using the outdoor portions of the ship unusable. Toilet tissue was very rough. The food, although adequate, was disappointing and not equal to our experience on other cruises. 

I would definitely recommend this cruise to anyone looking to have an exciting vacation where you can unpack once and visit four countries hassle free. You also enjoy excellent food and outstanding service. The excursion met all my expectations. I'm looking forward to booking my next Viking cruise. 

The entire experience AFTER the air travel portion was great. Our cruise manager was just that. Nicola was not the typical "entertainer" that you get on an ocean cruise. He truly manages the whole experience and shows up during many of the excursions to verify all is going well.

The food was great and the staff was wonderful.

Ours was a wine cruise and thus was busy all the time between the normal excursions and the tastings added in.

The cabins on the third deck are subject to noise from the sun deck/walking-jogging path. Even though the cruise paper work said it should not be used between 10 pm and 8 am.

You will meet a few new friends as with only 170 passengers maximum you will have the chance to meet almost all your fellow travelers. 

Before booking any river cruise check the age of the ship. AMA Stella was new in 2016. We saw lots of other ships from other lines that were much older and a few that just looked warn out.

RE: "After the air travel" comment above. We were booked on British Air for most of the trip. Their "business" section is NOT the same as business on Delta, KLM or American. Much smaller seats, same higher cost. Get your travel agent to show you the seats BEFORE you pay extra for this when you will be on British Air. It was not worth the cost to me.

Excursions were good. The foods was too salty, not good for seniors. Remember most of the travelers are seniors.  The story about lost and found was good.  On the ship, it will be nice to have Bingo or other group games so that all the travelers can have chances to interact with each other.  

What's the difference between a Dyke and a Dam?  Now I know.  How does Holland relate to the Netherlands? Now I know.  Is Belgium part of Flanders or vice versa? Now I know.  Beautiful Tulips, Diamonds, Ancient Castles and centers with ridiculously small cobblestone streets. Living below sea level is not for me despite the Delta works, flood prevention system, but a great adventure.

The staff was outstanding with great people skills.  We were upgraded to a French balcony, which we loved.  We think we liked it better than either a full balcony, as we could lie on the bed and have the pocket glass wall door totally open, breeze blowing into the room, and watch the scenery.

The excursions were extremely well organized and without hassle.  There were more options that we wanted than we were able to take.  Generally, the cruise guides were outstanding.  It was amazing that there was no additional charges for the excursions.

I loved that we were not "nickel and dimed" to death on the cruise.  There was never a mention of money until the end of the cruise, concerning tips.  This has not been our experience on other cruise lines!  And we have cruised about 20 times.!

There could have been a little improvement with the special gluten free diet I had alluded to in my customer profile.  It was very confusing the first 2 days of the cruise, although the maître de was trying his hardest.  The kitchen just didn't seem prepared and, sorry to say, had the absolute worst gluten free bread that I have ever tasted.  Products such as Schwar dinner rolls (European), Pamela's Pastry Flour or Pancake Mix, Gluten Free Bisquick, Udi's French Bread and French Rolls and Breads, Glutino English Muffins are available and would have probably saved the bakers some grief.  As the trip progressed, the kitchen rose to the occasion, but I got the impression that it was not easy for them.

I have to say, that my massage fees were waived because of the gluten free problems the first two days, which was very thoughtful.  The Ama baseball hat in the room and scarf were also very thoughtful.

The entertainment was surprisingly good every night.  The cruise manager and maître de were fabulous and always available.

Entry and exit of the ship was smooth and flawless--I had to pinch myself that it was so easy, after waiting in long long boarding and exiting lines on other cruise ships.

Great cruise!  Would go on Ama again.

the trip over all was good but there were lots of good parts and not so good.  Starting out positive, the crew and route was great.  The people were very friendly and accommodating.  The trip down the Rhine river was as beautiful as advertised.  We ran in to an issue with the river being low and had to change ships as the ship could not pass.  The crew handled it exceptional.  

Now for the areas that could use "tweaking".  With the price of the cruise the food and what the served could use some work.  During the German day everything was Buffet and it took 20 minutes to get food through one line.  They should have opened another line or serve red it as to order.  Being that this was the last cruise of the season you could tell some of the people had already began thier vacation.  The options were not very good and the buffet that they server during dinner is nothing more than help your self to what was being serverd in the dinning room.  Snack and food was not available except during scheduled times so if you were not on thier time table you might go with out eating or have to leave the ship and fend for your self.  

In every category, AMA exceeded expectations.  The ship, AmaStella, was beautiful.  The food was world class, the crew, to a man, were happy, friendly and helpful.  Our waiter, Milen, was professional, friendly, funny, experienced and caring.  It was a dream trip!