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First River Cruise

Viking Lif Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe
Experience: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 26

Overall Rating:

4.5 out of 5
Viking Lif

10 Night Passage To Eastern Europe Westbound (Bucharest To Budapest)

Sail Date: October 25, 2017

Ship: Viking Lif

Cabin Type: Balcony

Cabin Number: 336

Traveled As: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review Summary

Viking gives you a more personalized experience both on and off the ship that just cannot be matched by the ocean cruises. The experience on "Passage to Eastern Europe" was a real eye opener for us.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Viking sent luggage tags, then picked us at the airport - great. The hotel was nice and the next morning Viking got the luggage from the room, gave us a tour of Bucharest, dropped us off at the port and we walked on the ship to luggage in the room. Best embarkation ever.

Ship Experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Ate at both the main dining room and the Aquavit Cafe and both had great food, good service, and plenty of seating.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Small ship had limited onboard activities -- only putting and shuffle board. After all of the off-ship activities, we were OK with that. Plenty of on-deck seating of reading while cruising.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
We had daily information and entertainment before and after dinner. Nice to get local information and entertainment.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Guest services and room steward were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Dining room service was OK.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
River cruise ships are smaller than ocean ships and everything is smaller. Ship was easy to navigate and everything was easy to find and super clean!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
River cruise ships are smaller than ocean ships and everything is smaller. Initial reaction was how small everything was, but as we unpacked we found the design was very smart and had room for everything.

Ports Of Call

Bucharest, Romania

4 out of 5
Nice clean town and easy to get around. Did not get to see as much of the town as we wanted.
Thumbs Up

Giurgiu, Romania Did not visit port

Not on the itinerary.
Thumbs Up

Ruse (Russe, Rousse), Bulgaria

3 out of 5
A little worn down and tour was very slow.
Thumbs Up

Vidin, Bulgaria

5 out of 5
We liked the Belogradchik fortress and loved the optional home-hosted cooking demonstration. We also had time and enjoyed walking the park along the shore.
Thumbs Up

Belgrade, Serbia

4 out of 5
We liked seeing the fortress and the new church and walking and shopping the town.
Thumbs Up

Vukovar (Osijek), Croatia

5 out of 5
Enjoyed seeing the countryside and the wine tasting. The church concert and local family visit was very nice.
Thumbs Up

Kalocsa, Hungary

5 out of 5
We enjoyed the church concert and equestrian show.
Thumbs Up

Budapest, Hungary

4 out of 5
The first day in Budapest was hurt by a poor guide with rapid-fire driver-by of many city cites.
Thumbs Up

End Of Vacation

5 out of 5
The second day in Budapest had a great guide and small group tour of Parliament, local markets, and various city parks was excellent.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Set the luggage out at 8 AM, have breakfast, turn in the key, pick up the bus assignment, and off at 9 AM. It could not be easier.
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