Viking River Cruises
Nordic Beauty. Great Value. Affordable Luxury.
My Take On Viking
Viking’s Longships are some of the most beautiful ships afloat. You’d be hard-pressed, in fact, to find river cruise vessels more appealing to the senses than those in Viking’s expansive fleet. The beauty is by and large a product of Viking’s Scandinavian heritage and the design aesthetic of the Nordics. But Viking is not all about beauty. Typically, you will get a great value on Viking. The company nearly always has special offers, including 2-for-1 fares, included or reduced airfare, or often, a combination of both. The value proposition also extends to what the company refers to as “affordable luxury.” To give you just one example of what Viking means by “affordable luxury,” the bathroom floors in your stateroom are heated. I’ve not seen this on any other ship, ocean or river. There are little touches like the heated bathroom floors all throughout Viking’s Longships. My video shows you some of the fine touches that make for “affordable luxury” on Viking’s Longships.
Nordic Beauty
Named for Norse gods and goddesses, Viking River Cruises’ Longships are among the most beautiful ships on the European rivers. Thanks to Viking’s Norwegian heritage, the company’s Longships evoke the natural beauty of the Nordics.
In the airy lobby, you’ll see plenty of natural woods and stones, with a gorgeous staircase complemented by handrailings bound in leather and flanked by forest flowers and moss-covered rocks.
The Longships embody the beauty of Scandinavia throughout, nowhere less so than in the main restaurant where windows frame the gorgeous landscapes of the rivers and where linen covered tables serve as blank canvasses for Viking’s chefs to present their beautiful culinary creations.
Because Viking’s design focus was on public spaces and accommodations, the Longships boast features that few, if any, other river cruisers can claim, notably, two-room suites and my favorite front-of-ship-space, the Aquavit Terrace.
Viking’s Longships are truly beauty on water.
While you may know Aquavit as the flavored Scandinavian spirit, on Viking’s Longships, the Aquavit Terrace is the perfect place to relax. No other river cruiser can boast such a space. The Aquavit Terrace also serves as a second restaurant for light meals as well as for special treats during the day. © 2017 Ralph Grizzle
Great Value
In addition to 2-for-1 offers, and included or reduced airfare, Viking provides great value on its Longships.
Some examples: At €300 per cabin, double occupancy, the cost of Viking’s all-inclusive beverage package may seem steep at first glance, but it can be quite a value when you consider the beverages offered.
Are you a Scotch drinker? Then you may know of Highland Park Ragnvald, which goes for more than $500 a bottle on internet sites I looked at. Yet on Viking, you can enjoy as many glasses as you like of the single malt Scotch whiskey as part of your Silver Spirit Beverage Package. Without the package, a 4 cl shot of Ragnvald goes for €22.
Viking strives for quality throughout. In the main lounge, for example, service is gracious and inviting while one deck up, bartenders have the luxury of a sundeck garden to harvest herbs for their creative concoctions. A clip of mint, a sprig of basil and a little magic with a rigorous shake conspires to conjure up the perfect cocktail. The optional Silver Spirits Beverage Package, mentioned above, includes cocktails as well as spirits, wine and beer.
Another example: Viking River Cruises’ Norwegian-born chairman, Torstein Hagen, demands that his ships serve salmon from his homeland. I certainly enjoyed the Norwegian salmon served at the Aquavit Terrace one evening – as well as in the dining room during breakfast. Other items that I appreciated on the breakfast buffet: fresh berries – raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. If you’ve shopped around, you know that berries don’t come cheap. Not all river cruisers offer berries on their breakfast buffets.
Krista, one our wonderful bartenders on Viking Hlin, poured us a glass of single malt Scotch whiskey – on more than one night. Without the Silver Spirit Beverage Package, we would have paid €22 a glass. © 2017 Ralph Grizzle
Norwegian Salmon, from the Viking homelands, a staple on the Longships. © 2017 Ralph Grizzle
‘Affordable Luxury’
Viking takes the position of offering “affordable luxury.” What does that mean? Well, first let’s take a look at what “luxury” river cruisers are all about. The few companies operating at the very top tier offer included booze 24/7, generous crew-to-guest ratios, and literally everything that you can think of included. Experienced cruisers, however, might argue that they are paying for goods and services not important to them on ships at the “luxury” end of the spectrum. If you’re not a big drinker, for example, rest assured you’re paying for the guy who is big on imbibing.
Moreover, two people can cruise on Viking for up to $400 less per day than on those all-inclusive players, and that is factoring in optional excursions, gratuities and the Silver Spirit Beverage Package on Viking, which makes Viking’s an all-inclusive package. The difference is that you pay for 24/7 booze only if you want to on Viking.
Other luxury contenders: Viking is among the only river cruise companies to offer two-room suites, featuring a bedroom with a balcony that opens up on to the rivers and a living room with its own balcony. Bathrooms in all staterooms feature heated floors, representative of the style of affordable luxury river cruising that Viking provides.
Viking offers an engaging river cruise experience on ships that rival, and perhaps surpass, those of many top-tier operators – and Viking does that at prices that appeal to the discerning traveler.
Staircase, with leather handrailings, on Vking Hlin. © 2017 Ralph Grizzle
Check Out My Viking River Cruises’ Posts
AmaMagna: River Cruising’s Answer To Small Luxury Ocean ShipsRiver cruise ships in Europe are limited, physically, by the constraints of the waterways they sail. Low bridges, shallow water[…]Read More Crystal Bach Will Sail the Moselle RiverTaking to the river less traveled, Crystal is introducing brand new 10-day “Enchanting Moselle” itineraries aboard Crystal Bach, round-trip from[…]Read More Emerald Waterways Announces Discount on 2019 CruisesEmerald Waterways is now accepting bookings for their 2019 river cruise season. Guests booking any 2019 sailing before April 30[…]Read More Six Tips For Booking Your 2018-19 River CruiseFive years ago, we came up with a list of Six Tips for Booking Your 2013 River Cruise. Half a[…]Read More See The World Differently: Scenic’s National Geographic River CruisesLate last year, luxury river cruise operator Scenic quietly partnered up with National Geographic to offer enrichment-filled river cruises throughout[…]Read More Why Go To…ParisIt’s called the “City of Love.” For many, Paris, France is exactly that: a love affair with a city that[…]Read More
Get my free weekly newsletter where I share my best advice about river cruising.
Join My 15,000 Subscribers!
By subscribing you agree to our terms & privacy.
There is more useful information on your site than in any of the three books that I purchased on river cruise ships. Fill Wood, Corona del Mar, California
Have You Heard About Viking’s Ocean Ships?
I am a big fan of the Viking Oceans product. The ships carry just under 1,000 guests and have lots of included extras: WiFi, one included excursion in each port of call, beer and wine with lunch and dinner, a good selection of restaurants. Check out the video above and the articles below. Did you know that you can even combine Viking’s ocean cruises and river cruises?
Scandinavia Cruises: No One Does It Better Than Viking
Viking Sea spotted near the bridge in Tromsø. © 2016 Ralph Grizzle
With its Norwegian roots and Norwegian-flagged ships, Viking says no other company does Scandinavia cruises better. True? You be the judge.
During a recent sailing along Norway’s rugged and beautiful coast, Viking’s ever-quotable Torstein Hagen quipped, “Space is Virgin Galactic’s territory. Scandinavia is Viking’s territory.”
Viking’s Norwegian-born chairman wants to convince you that his company owns cruising in Scandinavia. While it may be arguable that no other cruise line does Scandinavia better than Viking, there can be little argument that Viking’s two vessels seem ideally suited for showing you Norway and the broader region of Scandinavia in true Nordic style.
7 Reasons Why Viking Sea May Just Be The Best Ship Sailing
With inviting furniture, pillows and throws, The Living Room on Viking Sea. © 2016 Ralph Grizzle
In Manfredi’s, one of four restaurants open for dinner on the new Viking Sea, I take a bite of the Bistecca Fiorentina. I’ve had the steak before, on Viking Star last year, and my reaction tonight is the same as it was back then. Pure bliss. The tender beef melts in my mouth. Unequivocally, the Florentine Steak is the best I have had on land or at sea, and that includes at a particularly good restaurant in Florence.
Viking’s new ocean ship does things right, from the delicious steak in Manfredi’s to the thoughtfully designed pull-out mini-bars in staterooms, “so that you don’t have to bend over to look in the refrigerator,” says Erling Frydenberg, whose business card reads “Owner’s Representative, Cruise Operations Development.”
From the Rivers to the Oceans: Viking’s New Combination Itineraries
Viking River Cruises is offering new combination river and ocean journeys that pair a Rhine river cruise with one of Viking’s ocean itineraries. Photo © 2017 Aaron Saunders
Ever so quietly, Viking River Cruises introduced what many river cruisers have not-so-secretly been hoping for since the line announced back in 2013 that it would construct a fleet of oceangoing cruise ships: combination river and ocean voyages.This year, Viking is testing the first two river and ocean cruise combination itineraries out, and although they are still months away from departing, it looks like the experiment has worked.
Let’s get the bad news out of the way right now: these two itineraries sold out months ago. You might be able to waitlist for them if you contact the line, but don’t hold your breath. Despite the fact that they were buried on the line’s website and rarely mentioned in print materials, Viking’s loyal guests found them – and snapped them right up.
Read more on River Cruise Advisor >
Check out River Cruise Advisor’s page about all things @VikingRiver #VikingRiverCruises
Copyright 2018 Avid Travel Media | publisher of The Avid Cruiser® | River Cruise Advisor ® | About | Terms & Full Disclosure | Privacy | Contact | Subscribe
Were you aware that Viking won’t honor their free airfare promotion if you book two cruises back to back even though both cruises had the free airfare promotion? They also neglected to tell me this when I booked. Their solution, after a month of trying to resolve this? Cancel the second cruise.
BACKGROUND: We have traveled on Viking River Cruises three times in total. The first trip was in 2014 (Romantic Danube, Veranda). The second was the Elegant Elbe in 2017 (Veranda Suite). This cruise we chose the Explorer Suite with both pre-and-both excursions.
Notes on cruise of the Viking Ullur, 1-8 Sept 2021. Arrived 28 Aug 2021. Paperwork sent by Viking, regarding COVID vague and inaccurate. Implied threat that if we didn’t do what they said we would be delayed or denied the trip. Viking “Strongly Recommended” a COVID Test prior to departure. This was not “Mandatory” and if we had decided against it, we would have been denied boarding in Denver by Lufthansa. Romanian Entry Card supplied by Viking Medical Officer was not the correct form. Nor, was there any mention of COVID Screening at Bucharest Airport. The actual Romanian form was provided to us by Lufthansa. The pre-excursion to Transylvania was not even close to the standards we had come to expect from Viking. The Viking Rep at the Marriott Bucharest was more interested in collecting test tubes, then facilitating guests. The first night we didn’t even receive our Welcome Letter with a plan for the coming days. The trip to Transylvania began with a stop near Ploesti, where we could visit a Romanian Mall (Carrefour), and actually change some money. The visit to the Peles Castle was abbreviated and they charged extra if you wished to film inside. The Brasov Visit was also abbreviated and further delayed by travelers who managed to get on the wrong bus and were thus unaccounted for. The following day at Bran Castle was supposed to last two hours. Instead, we were on site for 42 minutes, as travelers on our bus ran up a mini-bar bill and tried to run out on it. The whole bus paid for the delay while these people paid. Throughout this, our tour guide regaled us with stories of life under communism and how we should think about it when tipping. After Bran Castle came a lovely six-hour crawl by bus back to Bucharest. There we found that the Viking Rep. had told the Marriott to lock our Mini Bars. Very professional. The following day we opted out of a Monastery Tour (still haven’t received a refund) and spent a quiet day in the city. Following a city tour on the 1st of Sept, we bussed from Bucharest to the embarkation point for the boat. Somehow, we managed to arrive two hours late. We were met by the Hotel Manager, Eddy, and he apologized for issues we had in the pre-excursion. We also were introduced to Milana, our cabin steward. She was also the Head of Housekeeping. She was clearly not happy with her task and made it well known to us in a myriad of ways, including leaving cleaning materials in our suite and ensuring that her “cleaning” made the most of interrupting our mornings. My wife made short work of that. On the 2nd we moved from Russe, Bulgaria to our first stop, Veliko Tarnova. After breakfast we began a 2.5-hour trek to the town. This was interspersed with more tip begging by the tour guide. When the subject of currency transfer came up, the bus became animated as none of this had been facilitated. The Program Director, Sonya, assured the guests that we would be able to change currency and all the Bulgarian shops accepted Dollars, Euros and Cards. That was the last we heard of changing currency in Bulgaria. The stop in Veliko Tarnova was nice, but it was clear that we were being steered where to shop, by the tour guide. The stop for lunch in Arbanasi proved this. I tried to purchased something at a shop “Not on the approved list” and was chased out by the owner for not using Bulgarian Currency. When I reported this to the tour guide, she actually chastised me for not visiting “her” stores. I later reported this to Program Director Sonya. She did nothing, and never did anything regarding currency issues on the ship. What Sonya did do was attach herself all day on the 2nd to a passenger who was feigning disability. She would go on to attach herself to that person for two more days (Belogradchick Rocks and Street Tour of Budapest). This was all at the expense of the other travelers on the ship. September 3rd was the tour to the Belogradchick Rocks, where the same thing with currency happened. Sonya was right there with the “Excuse of the Day”, but she did say that all of the garbage we saw along the road during the drive to the rocks she was going to address with the Bulgarian authorities. Later in the day the passengers were called together in Vidin, where Sonya and Eddy (Hotel Manager) decided to tell us we had two positive COVID Cases. That day the two cases and four other passengers were evacuated from the ship. That evening we sailed and passed into Serbian Territory. On 4 Sept we were notified in the morning that Serbia had denied us entry into the country. Sonya decided to soften the blow by stating publicly “The trip takes you. You don’t take the trip”. At 1845 that night we were notified that Croatia had also denied us entry. Sonya and Eddy’s excuse for things was that they didn’t have any “pull” in either of these countries, but that things would be much better in Hungary, where Viking had lots of “pull”. And on we sailed, with no word whatsoever regarding what Viking was going to do to make things “right”. Throughout all of this debacle, I would have assumed some leadership from the captain. That was not to be. He was clearly a member of the NBC Club (Nothing But Crickets). And we sailed on. We reached the Hungarian Border on 5 Sept at 1845, where Eddy went forward to exercise his “pull”. We were told that the process at the border would take a couple of hours, followed perhaps by an Identity Parade (Passport Photo to Face). At 2308 we were finally called from our stateroom to attend the “Parade”. Shortly thereafter, we were underway to Kalocsa, or so we thought. Apparently, a decision was made without our notification, that we would pass by Kalocsa (scheduled stop) and head straight for Budapest. We pulled in at Gate 7 in Budapest at around 1400 on the 6th. We were then subjected to a brief by Sonya of an impromptu walking tour of Budapest. Following this, we formed up into our groups and off we went. This was not before we had a great display of Viking’s Professionalism. The security afforded by the company in Budapest was pathetic, and this included both day and night shifts either sleeping or texting while on duty. Sonya was with one group on the walk, personally attending to the needs of the gentleman previously mentioned. This was the third day on the trip where he was the sole focus of her attentions, to the detriment of any other passenger. As a result of all the fawning attentions of Sonya, the gentleman later in the day had a “miraculous recovery” and was walking around without his cane or wheelchair, a true miracle. The following day, 7 Sept, was spent on tours where Viking obligingly provided lunch. As my wife and I have been to Budapest before, we had been on all the tours and struck out alone. Viking couldn’t even get this right. They gave out cards that we could use with taxis, to facilitate getting back to the ship. They were wrong and directed taxis to a dock 800m from where we were parked! At this point I was pleased that we hadn’t had a collision with another vessel, which Viking did in Budapest in 2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hable%C3%A1ny_disaster. That evening was the Captain’s Cocktail Party. Sonya pulled me aside and told me that she had made arrangements that we would have an early check in at the Intercontinental Hotel for our post-cruise excursion. When the time came, in true Viking Fashion, the taxi was late and we sat cooling out heals in the hotel lobby for two hours waiting for our room. One interesting fact was that during our time in the lobby, we observed the gentleman who was the focus of Sonya’s attention throughout the cruise. He was back in his wheelchair, obvious relapse, and was immediately escorted to his room. When I inquired of the Viking Rep in the hotel, she said that he and his wife needed to be immediately quarantined, as his wife had popped positive for COVID (4th case on the Ullur). The irony of this was infectious and makes one wonder how Sonya is fairing with her daily COVID Tests. Viking River Cruises has obvious gone through a paradigm change since our last cruise in 2017. It can be attributed to Torstein Hagen’s contentious divorce, or the selling of 23% of his holdings to a hedge fund, or the hiring of a retired USN Vice Admiral to his staff to handle Health Issues. Regardless, Viking’s Customer Service and operations have taken a fall. I personally don’t invest 20k + for an Explorer Suite and pre/post cruise options to receive this kind of treatment. Clearly, Mr. Hagen’s statement of his work ethic being based on Kindness, Honesty and Hard Work is not being practiced by his employees. We won’t be sailing with this company ever again!
jayhawker1973 wrote: “Poor communications and confusing instructions from program staff were the norm.” That was true of our Viking cruise, too. And, our Program Director chastised guests who asked for clarification. We traveled with three other couples. All of us had thin pillows and lumpy beds. You are also right about the balconies. Not worth the $$$. Very limited use. Our AC worked and the boat was clean. The shampoo, soap, and conditioner were nice. The food was OK, but not nearly as good as the Tours and Paris restaurants in which we ate before we boarded the Viking Forsetti in Bordeaux.
If you book a Viking cruise, book your air separately and request a refund of the “free air” amount. (It isn’t as much as you think it is) Also, the included tours involve walks around towns and stops OUTSIDE places of interest. Included tours do not include entry unless entry is free. Even the Cruise Documents say things like, “Too bad you won’t go there.” Buses stop for five-minute “photo ops” or “stretch your legs” tours to the entries of interesting places. Then, back on the bus. Seriously disappointed in excursions.
We travel on the Mani in two days out of Amsterdam going to Basel and have not been able to find any information on this ship. Can anyone tell me where to get info? Thanks
Viking Mani is one of Viking’s newest Viking Longships. You won’t find too many differences between her and her other Longship sisters. Our Viking Odin tour is a decent place to start: https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/cruise-companies/viking-river-cruises/viking-odin/
Alternately, Viking has its own page for Viking Mani, which you can find here:
http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ships/viking-mani/index.html
I just got my plane info from Viking and am ready to cancel my trip. They have me scheduled for 3 different connections with one hour between flights (how realistic is that?). As a result, I am already missing Day 1 in Prague out of the 2 days I was supposed to have there. I am being treated this way when I spent $10,000 on the trip? This convoluted airline schedule is just to save them a few bucks and I’ll be spending two days at airports instead of one. Beware of Viking and don’t book with them.
trying to find reviews of pre or post hotel add on to Viking rhine Amsterdam to basel
quality and service of hotels
Viking Grand European
River Cruise June 2013
This trip was one of the most expensive cruise vacations we
have ever taken and was very disappointing.
Before I begin this review, let me say that we contacted Viking many
times prior to leaving on our trip due to reports of severe flooding on the
rivers we were to cruise. We constantly
went to the Viking website for updates on river flooding conditions and impact
on cruises. Many cruises just prior to
ours were being changed or cancelled.
We were willing to reschedule our trip if we were to have any problems
in completing the trip as planned.
Viking repeatedly reassured us that we might have to bypass Passau due
to severe flooding and start on the Embla before switching to the Skadi, but
otherwise our trip would proceed as scheduled from June 16 to June 30, 2013.
When we arrived in Budapest, we were informed we would
cruise as planned with just the Passau change to an alternate city. We were not told there would be any delay or
change of type of transportation. We
talked daily the days before boarding the ship in Budapest to the cruise
representative in the pre-cruise hotel and were not give anything in the way of
different information.
The actual trip turned out to be quite different. We were supposed to cruise from Budapest to
Amsterdam on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers. Due to flooding damage to locks, the better
part of 5 days of our 14 day cruise were interrupted and we were instead put on
a bus trip through Austria and Germany.
We missed some of the most
beautiful parts of the Danube which had led us to want to do this trip in the
first place and missed the Main River entirely.
Upon arriving in Vienna (3rd full day on ship and
where we stayed docked 3 nights), we were informed we would have to leave the
Embla, and would be housed for two nights in Bavaria at a resort and 2 nights
in Nuremberg….with assurances that both would be 5 star, air conditioned hotels
(the weather had been in the high 90’s and even over 100 for days). The
first resort in Bavaria was attractive but had no air conditioning of any kind
in rooms or dining rooms, making a miserable stay in 100 degree
temperatures. The second in Nuremberg was
not 5 stars but supposed to be air conditioned but it hardly worked. Luckily the temperatures broke on our second
night there and we could open the room windows.
Sites we were to see were abbreviated to short tours in
favor of long bus rides (some days we spent four to six hours on buses). During this five day/four night land odyssey,
we were only told each night before what we would be doing the next day. Relaxing days on shipboard were exchanged
for packing, unpacking, long bus rides and “forced” marches through sites on
days when we checked out of one place and didn’t check in to the next till
evening. No alternatives were available
to tours for those who couldn’t walk all day or didn’t want to do an excursion.
We at one point were told to purchase our own lunches while
on the bus trip and told we could get up to 25 euro per person reimbursed for
this purchase since we had already paid for lunches on the ship and were unable
to access those. When the cruise ended
the last day, the 25 euro “reimbursement” turned out to be credit toward
shipboard purchases and many on the cruise had to use their 25 euro to purchase
Viking trinkets/shirts in their onboard “gift shop”.
I believe we were not given a truthful picture by Viking
prior to our cruise nor were we given any choice in whether we wished to be
hauled around on buses. I feel Viking
should have informed us of what we were facing and allowed us to choose to
continue the land “cruise”, fly or train to the city where we could next board
the ship, or leave at the point the cruise as scheduled was no longer possible
and have a refund of the price of the remaining days. We were only given enough information to
plan from day to day while off the ship and to me, the goal of saying they took
us to scheduled sites and completed the cruise contract of delivering us to
Amsterdam was their plan…..which according to their contract is what they agree
to do in any way they see fit. Poor
communications and confusing instructions from program staff were the norm.
There were many other disappointments with this cruise. The food was mediocre; we felt their dining
rooms were understaffed and meal service was extremely slow. We often waited 30 minutes between the salad
and main courses. ”Wines of the
regions” advertised turned out to be one choice of white wine and one choice of
red which was served nightly on every night we were on the cruise unless you
cared to pay for more choices.
A persistent and very unsatisfactory experience was the lack
of air conditioning in our cabin on the 3rd floor. Within 2 hours of check-in to our cabin on
the Embla, we reported the air conditioning to not be working. The cabin temperature hovered around 80
degrees. Our traveling companions in
the cabin next to ours reported the same problem. We repeatedly asked for the air conditioning
to be fixed as the outdoor temperatures were in the 90s and over 100 two
days. We had 3 sleepless, hot nights
before they were able to “fix” our air conditioning…….they finally got the
temperature down to 72 at night and around 75 during the day. Finally the 4th night on the
ship the temp went down to about 68….then the last night on the Embla the
entire ship’s air conditioning went out and we again had a hot, uncomfortable
night.
The beds and pillows were quite uncomfortable on both the Embla
and the Skadi. Both my husband and I as
well as our traveling companions experienced back pains and difficulty sleeping
on the mattresses. The pillows were so
thin that we asked for 2 additional pillows each to make what seemed like one
adequate headrest pillow. With poor air
conditioning, we also had to ask for single sheets to use as the down
comforters were extremely heavy and hot in summer weather.
I will also say that a balcony cabin seemed to be of little
use. 50% of the time or more, when the
ship was docked we were side by side facing at touching distance another river
ship. Evenings after day time sightseeing
was generally when you’d want to be on a balcony…….we would be looking directly
into the ship windows next to us and at arm’s length in closeness on many
nights, so we did not use it most of the time. It was necessary to keep our curtains drawn
at most times to have any privacy. I
wouldn’t have bothered paying for a balcony cabin had I known this.
We were also unable to use the sun deck of the ship a good
deal of the trips on both the Embla and Skadi. Since river levels were high, the decks
were dismantled in order to fit under bridges.
Also, the weather was not good…..either blazing hot or cold and rainy,
so we spent almost no time on the outside upper deck. For a “scenic” cruise, not being able to
use the sun deck or balcony much gave a feeling of being enclosed in small ship
and not much scenery was viewed unless you went to the enclosed lounge and got
a window seat.
So far, our shipmates have received notice (we have not) of
a 50% reduction in a future cruise if booked in the next year. This is not a refund and not a bargain, as
50% off Viking Cruises are routine and we receive tons of brochures with these
advertised regularly to the public. Also,
it in no way compensates for the travel expenses of airlines, beginning and
ending hotel stays, missed sites, discomfort, etc. I talked to several people who had saved and
not taken other vacations in previous years to be able to afford this expensive
trip. A credit to make up for what
happened on this trip will do them no favors as the other costs of taking
another Viking Cruise will not be possible for them.
I have friends who in the past had great Viking
experiences. I can only surmise that
things have changed drastically in this company’s commitment to providing a
great product and treating its passengers with respect. The weather is not Viking’s fault, but how
they handle their passengers and whether they are truthful about conditions and
changes which might be possible demonstrates their company’s values. Passengers should have been told the truth
and allowed to decide whether to reschedule their trip or not. I for
one will not be traveling on Viking River Cruises again and would not recommend
it to friends.
Do all of the new VRC Longships have frosted glass bathroom doors? I’ve read that this is a problem as the bathroom light can waken a sleeping roommate at night. Also that the doors are not private enough and a person can be seen through the doors. True? We’ve taken twelve river cruises, four of which were with VRC.This might make us change companies. I’ve also read that the newer NCL Epic has the same problem and the NCL Breakaway changed the bathroom doors because of similar complaints. Can anyone verify or comment? Thanks.
It’s only Viking Freya and Viking Njord that have the frosted/transparent glass walls on bathrooms, according to our sources. The rest all have solid walls. However, the doors to the bathrooms on Viking Odin, Idun, Njord and Freya are all made of transparent frosted glass, so flipping the bathroom light on will still illuminate the door. Viking Aegir (summer 2012) and later all have the woodgrain doors on bathrooms.
That’s a great review! I cannot say much about other companies but so far I’m happy to go with Viking River Cruises. I’ve been on a Rhine river cruise through Germany and I am planning to go on a Russian river cruise or maybe even a Mekong river cruise (I love South East Asia!). I haven’t been on one of their long ships so I’m quite excited about that. VRC ships are quite luxurious but definitely worth the money.
Seem that the new long-ships sailing over their draft marks in the Main-Danube canal in order to reach clearance under the bridges. If true, this means a serious safety issiue and realy wordering how classification and german inspectors would react on this.
Thank you. I hope you will keep us informed.
Long ship heigth above keel approx. 7.90 meter, maximum draft 1.58 meter, with other words 6.32 meter above water. Bridges is the Main-Danube chanel have a free heigth of approx. 6.00 meter. To pass the bridges the ship has to be ballasted approx. 1 feet over its maximum allowable draft marks.
This makes me worry that the rivers, including all other companies will be far from the idyllic scenes picture in brochures. Enough already..consider the environment, please and the view for your passengers. Thanks