Viking Gullveig Reviews

The included excursions were pretty good for the most part.  The guides were kind of hit or miss and having a good one made all the difference.  Do a lot of research on your own on each destination before you go and have a game plan.  Use the underground in the big cities.  Cheap, clean and safe.  If the included excursion sounds like a clunker... take off on your own.

The services by the Crew were outstanding.  The Ship is very well laid out, easy to get around and the stateroom is compact but comfortable. The food was good and plentiful.

The docking facility at Amsterdam was awful. It is located in an industrial area with cargo ships with no view of the City. Also in more than one instance no view was possible because other ships were joined together along side at the dock. The river(s) we traveled were along industrial corrirdors and because of the flat topographic nature of the land and lack of a narrative we never knew where we were or what if any landmarks we should have been made aware of. One of our optional tours was entitled 'Tulips and Windmills' and a promotional photo showed the historical Windmill and Tulips. It turned out to be a tour of a tulip bulb producing farm with no flowers and the windmill was a modern wind turbine.  This itinerary was not up to the 2 previous scenic Viking cruises on the Danube or Rhine.  

Our first Viking river cruise was disappointing.  Because of low water levels it became more of a bus tour than a river cruise.  We were able to stop at 3 of the 6 designated stops.  Further, stacking up ships next to each other totally negated our investment in a balcony room.  When we were docked we looked at the balcony of the ship next to us instead of the shore of the Danube. The personnel on board were excellent from the cabin stewart, waiter, piano player to the cruise director. No complaints there.