Disappointing

Viking Atla Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Viking Atla

7 Night Romantic Danube - Eastbound (Regensburg To Budapest)

Sail date: October 15, 2023

Ship: Viking Atla

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 211

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

When I booked a “river cruise” I expected what is shown in their marketing campaigns. Most of the time my veranda was tethered to another ship close enough to touch. Other than meeting other nice travelers, I should have just spent the money on a nice hotel in Vienna and taken the train to Budapest for another few days at a 5 star hotel. Their marketing implies that tours are included, but in actuality what’s included is a two hour “walking tour” in each port. Supplemental tours were all minimum $129+. I have already booked & paid for a Nile cruise with them for next year. I certainly hope it’s a better experience. I realize that they cannot control the weather or the water levels, but I feel that we should have had an option or been better informed of what the low water levels meant as opposed to an email a week before departure.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Just okay. Biggest complaint was the burger for lunch which had been pre-cooked & heated up to order. It tasted like a convenience store microwave heat up.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
What activities other than eating & drinking? The piano player in the lounge was nice.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Noted above. Piano player in lounge nightly was nice

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Staff was great

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5
Tiny room for two people and the bed was lumpy. My “veranda” faced another ship for 5 out of 7 days.

Ship tip

Don’t expect a “river cruise”. There were only two days (actually 1 1/2) that we actually sailed & had a view.

Ports of call

Regensburg, Germany Did not visit port

We were to be bused to Regensburg, but it was too cold & rainy

Passau, Germany Did not visit port

Too cold & rainy for a walking tour

Krems, Austria Did not visit port

Too cold & rainy for a walking tour

Vienna, Austria

4 out of 5
Yet another bus ride for 1/2 hour. The “included” walking tour was informative.

Budapest, Hungary

5 out of 5
I wish I’d spent my whole holiday in Budapest. It is a lovely walkable city. The included tour was informative, but once again, lots of time on a bus from the ship and then around the city. I stayed on for two days and I’m so glad that I didn’t do the extension and made my own arrangements.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
No real help. Up a steep ramp and a short walk to the buses to transport us into Budapest, which was another long bus ride.
Was this review helpful? 22

7 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe     3 months ago

Thanks for sharing

carmenhachmann     9 months ago

Thank you for your review. I have been considering this cruise but I think will travel to Vienna and take a train to Budapest as you suggested. I’ve done the math and find the cruise very pricey. Would rather opt for a five star hotel and choose my own tours at my own leisure. The rooms on the cruise look very small

ddme    1 year ago

Sorry that you had a so so cruise. We were on the Alta in November 2017. It rained off and on during our cruise and it was cold at times. We didn't have the low water issue though. We did raft when we were in port. I can honestly say we loved our cruise and had a great time anyway. The winter months in Germany can be iffy. We are actually going on the Grand European cruise next November.

javawoody    1 year ago

I would expect late October to be cool and wet

cruising2004    1 year ago

Sorry you were disappointed with parts of your cruise. Thank you for sharing.

Gwbigdog    1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

bubbles60    1 year ago

We were not river cruise fans either. We found the pace too slow. I think it is a great option for those who easily want to see non seaport cities and like a slower pace.