Wonderful Trip- A few caveats

Item: Viking Hermod
Rating: 4.8
Author: sgermanmd

Viking Hermod Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe

sgermanmd

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 75

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Danube Waltz Westbound (Budapest To Passau)

Sail date: July 16, 2019

Ship: Viking Hermod

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 229

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

A great trip. River cruising is different from ocean cruising. The facilities are fewer (no shows, no movies, no 17 bars, no gyms, etc. The service and surroundings are much more intimate--200 guests vs 4000 guests. We have been on >15 ocean cruises, and this was our first river cruise. We enjoy both. Viking did a great job to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. We did a lot, saw a lot, ate a LOT, and had a wonderful time.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Quick, easy. The luggage was brought to the room within 5 minutes. Airport pickup was seamless.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Food was uniformly excellent. The Maitre-D was engaging and helpful. Always will to alter the food based on request. There was a variability in the quality of the waitstaff- we quickly discovered who was better, and tried to sit at their tables. Open seating was great, we got to meet many new friends.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

No pool, no rock-climbing, tiny library. Periodic internet. No gym or work-out facilties other than a walking track. But............there was very little time to use any activities. The lounge and bar area was very nice--I would recommend more activities in the evenings like the music trivia night. This was very well received and a lot of fun.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Musician and Austrian performers were awesome. Lots of fun, and lots of talent

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Excellent service. Fifty crew for 190 passengers. All were accessible. The cruise director Sonja is a superstar.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Easy to navigate around, very pretty. Internet needs more nodes for better experience. Very clean and well-kept.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Very good for a cruise cabin. Steward was great. No issues.

Ship tip

When in port, the ships frequently double or triple-park. You need to walk throug (or over) other ships to get to the dock. In almost all of the ports, the verandas were not usable, because we were moored right next to another ship. We had a great view of the side of these ships, often right up against the windows of the other ship. No availabilty to sit out on the veranda and look at the towns while inport. I would have liked to have been warned about this-I might not have paid extra for a veranda cabin.

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