Disappointing.
Viking Egdir Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 51
14 Night Grand European Tour Eastbound (Amsterdam To Budapest)
Sail date: April 01, 2023
Ship: Viking Egdir
Cabin number: 225
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Very disappointing. For $20,000, we definitely did NOT get our moneys worth. They put no thought into getting the best flights. Charged us for Premium Economy and 4 of the six legs of the trip were Economy. We understand about having to change ships in middle of trip, but it was a terrible inconvenience. Food was adequate. Bar would charge my husband $7 for Virgin Bloody Mary’s. Had to have several items removed from our bill that weren’t ours. Rooms were very well taken care of. Cruise Director, Dan, was the best part of the cruise. He worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen. He is well educated and knew a lot about where we were going. Very organized for having to do so many things by himself. The tours weren’t good overall. We were late for most of them. As much as an hour which left us going at a dead run and missing a lot. There was no way to book anything other than Viking tours because you never knew exactly where the ship would be. Overall…it was a LOT of money for a mediocre cruise. Unfortunately, we don’t plan on going with Viking again. We will stick with Oceania for our ocean cruises and look elsewhere for river cruises.Embarkation
This was a very easy embarkation.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Breakfast was always good. Lunch and dinner was mediocre. Absolutely nothing to write home about.
Onboard Activities
In 14 days, there were only a couple of things that were enjoyable. The cruise director gave some very interesting talks and there was a glass blower that was pretty good.
Entertainment
The first ship (since we had to change halfway through) had a good pianist. The second, was awful. He depended on the electric soundtracks on the piano and played with 2 fingers.
Service and Staff
The room stewards were excellent. Can’t say enough about how well they did their job. Our very favorite ship personnel was our cruise director, Dan. He was the saving grace when he went with us to the new ship, Gymir. I’ve never seen anyone more dedicated to their job and guests. We were blessed to have him. Also, the captain of Gymir was great with the guests. He would join guest for a meal now and then, was very personable and was very visible on the ship.
The waiters were fair. Service was scattered. They were definitely unorganized on both ships. Most of the front desk personnel were good. The exception was the younger man on Egdir. He was insincere and condescending.
Ship Quality
Yes.
Cabin / Stateroom
Extremely clean and VERY small. I realize that’s how it is on river cruises. A couple of issues. There’s a bathroom light that won’t go out! My husband was able to put a cover from the bed over it which helped. Sound wasn’t an issue on Egdir. Gymir was a completely different story. The insulation in our room was basically nonexistent! One night there was a constant squeaking in the ceiling. No way to sleep. They did address that issue, but the sound of ‘rocks dropping’ a couple of times every hour was almost unbearable. You would just about get to sleep and it would happen all over again. We learned it was probably the ice maker. And we were 4 doors down from it!
Ship tip
Check out what the chances are that you will have to pack it up and move to another ship. Then spend HOURS on buses.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Love Amsterdam. Thankfully we did it on our own. We were able to stay downtown near the museums and canals. Rijksmuseum was great as was the canal boat ride. None of this had anything to do with Viking. We booked it all on our own.
We skipped the windmills since we had seen them before. But we went to the artisanal cheese makers farm. Delicious.
Went on a tour of the fort above the city. The highlight was the 3 minute ride down to. They put us on the wrong bus to start with and it went downhill from there. An ‘actor’ presented some information. Mostly it was nonsense. Very little history given. I must say that the boat ride down the Rhine was beautiful. One of the real highlights of the trip.
Walking tour. And there was a LOT of walking. Then we were ‘treated’ to a buffet lunch. Mediocre at best.
Charged us over 100 euros each. Made 3 stops then dropped us it town for the worst meal of the trip. Pancake soup, 6 very small sausages, sauerkraut and ice cream.
We liked Regensburg a lot. Beautiful cathedrals. Great walking tour with time for ourselves. It’s one of Europes most well preserved medieval cities.
Very nice tour. Probably our favorite. Loved the ‘over the top’ of the city. Had best tour of the trip. Beer barge (old salt barge) then on to Shärding. Sweet little town. Guide was fantastic.
Went to Melk Abbey. They ran us through a few rooms that might have had 10 to 12 items in them. NO PICTURES allowed! Highlight was the library.
Got in late. Got a few pictures in at a church across from where we docked. Took a bus to old town, did a little shopping then back on the ship. Couldn’t tell you anything about the town.
HATED IT! It’s just another big city. The buildings tend to all look the same. Second day they took us to palace. Literally RAN through rooms. Worst tour of the trip. And again, NO PICTURES!
We love Budapest. Great old city. So much character and charm. Felt very safe walking around. The City Market was fun as was the Museum of Fine Arts. The only reason I didn’t give it an excellent rating was because of the Viking tour. TERRIBLE!
Disembarkation
It was fine. They did not book regular cab for us. Instead used an independent. It cost us more than twice as much as a BOLT cab. Scam!