We're glad we did one Viking river cruise. However, in the future we plan to stay with ocean cruises which cost less and offer more food choices in a much more pleasant atmosphere. With all the liquor served onboard the Aegir, lunch and dinner in the dining room were very, very loud. We could hardly converse with each other because of the extremely loud passengers all around us.
Because river cruises are "all inclusive" we paid for alcohol we did not drink, and had to endure the people who certainly got their money's worth.
At most of the ports our side of the ship had good views, but sometimes we were tied up side by side with other Viking ships at the same docking space & had no view, & had to keep our drapes closed, as did the cabin facing us. In Budapest the Viking Tor was between 2 other ships; neither side of their cabins had any view of that beautiful city; that was a shame, and a real disappointment for passengers that had no view.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
Man welcoming us at Munich airport had little to no English, we could not understand our own name when he called it, he did not know about airline code sharing, trying to divide us into Delta & KLM passengers when we got off the same plane. Said 2 minutes for buses; it was 45.
Our Viking representatives after him were a big improvement.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
After over 30 ocean cruises, mainly on Princess, we were disappointed with the food. Breakfast buffet was very nice, but lunch & dinner menus were limited & servings were very small. Filet mignon the last night was excellent.
They were horrified when we asked for hot chocolate at breakfast; we got it ourselves & brought it to breakfast the rest of the mornings.
At the Captain's Farewell Reception they offered us champagne. We asked for something without alcohol & the waiter was stunned. He said he'd ask the bartender. He did bring back orange juice with grenadine syrup, but we do not think that was an unreasonable request.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
None.
Entertainment
1 out of 5
Opera singers, violinist, & pianist were fabulous in Vienna. The onboard pianist & vocalist, Gabriela & Emil, were poor. Her voice was timid, off-key, & shrill; we avoided the lounge because of them. My sister had to go get ear plugs to endure the experience.
Singers from Salzburg were very enjoyable.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Our room steward Rebecca was fabulous; she kept everything very clean & tidy.
The wait staff seemed to be overworked. Server Ned was very friendly & upbeat.
The Program Director Mircea was very difficult to understand because of his thick accent. He was sort of a control freak, not letting our tour bus leave until he had personally counted passengers on each bus even though our tour guide had two masters' degrees & was highly capable. He told us we could not take ANY liquids in our carry-on when we went to the airport; untrue. Distances from our hotel in Budapest to the marketplace were also wrong information from him. We don't know why he is singled out to receive such a large obligatory gratuity from each passenger. His salary should be adequate for the service he provides.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Ship was clean, it was enjoyable to be on the top Sun Deck under the canopy for the beautiful views along the Danube River.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Very clean cabin, but the smallest cabin we've ever had on a cruise.
The French Balcony enabled us to slide the large door open to enjoy the water & breezes.
Ship tip
Great Captain Mario. We enjoyed the tour of the wheelhouse.
We did the included Cesky Krumlov Walking Tour & enjoyed it very much. Beautiful city, interesting excursion, a lot of walking but well planned so we did it all downhill from the castle at the top.
We did the included Panoramic Vienna Tour in the morning, and added the optional Schonbrunn Palace tour in the afternoon. Both were very interesting & worthwhile.
The view at night sailing into Budapest was fabulous. The Parliament Building, bridges, castles, & other government buildings were beautifully lit up. We did the included Panoramic Budapest tour, and did the 2 night extension at the Hilton Budapest City. We enjoyed 2 days of Hop-on-Hop-off bus & boat rides.
Especially enjoyable was the Great Market Hall shopping experience.
Disembarking the ship was very orderly. We got on a bus to go to our Budapest hotel for 2 nights.
With a 6:30 am flight time we had to leave the hotel at 3:30 am. They had a sack breakfast for us, & buses ready to go to the airport. At the airport there were 5 very nice Viking representatives who helped us know which line to stand in & helped print out our boarding passes.
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