Viking Grand European River Cruise

This review will focus on the Viking experience for those curious about a European River Cruise on this fabulous cruise line. The photo expose we included CLICK HERE will demonstrate the picturesque history and vibrancy of the Christmas season cruising on the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers.

We will start this review from the moment of our first contact to book cruise, directly with Viking. The friendly and professional nature of Esteban, our booking agent set the stage making this journey stress free in a time where the world is dominated by concerns of COVID and international travel. We had a ton of questions and concerns which he patiently walked us through. The journey is a 15 day tour down the rivers connecting the North Sea to the Black Sea from Amsterdam to Budapest. We arrived into Amsterdam after a long day of flight delays and lost luggage (had to change planes due to a bird strike to start the day). We made it to the port and boarded the long ship "Viking TIR" where we were warmly greeted by Eva and Postez. We had nice conversations throughout our time. They immediately contacted Delta and worked to find our luggage, set us up with important toiletries and guided us to our stateroom. We enjoyed a cocktail in the lounge and made or way to our first dinner then a brief visit into Amsterdam. Before we left port, our luggage arrived via FedEx courier - what a relief.

The daily meal schedule includes fresh cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner with regional 'specials' offered. There is also a fixed menu (salads, steak, fish, chicken) for the less adventurous. Each meal includes beer or wine if desired and nice assortment of desserts. Each day Chef Adrian presents his specials at the port briefing along with the wines of the region presented by the Maître d, Martha. The Fresh bakery items prepared every morning to compliment the hot breakfast menu with assorted juices, fruits, breads, cheeses. Fresh regional soups and salads were offered along with cheeses and breads. Carla and Cruz were our waiters daily. The service levels were excellent and always helped with making our selections easy and our glasses full. There is a nice bar in the lounge area that is well stocked with premium brands of liquor and wine. They offer an optional beverage package for a modest price $299 PP for the 15 days that includes open bar all day and premium wines with dinner. If you like premium drinks and fabulous wines, this package is for you.

Wi-Fi is included on ship and while on board some of the premium coaches. Every port includes free guided tours daily. They provide transportation and professional and knowledgeable guides specific to each port with listening devices. Some excursions also included lunch at awesome restaurants with great food, beer and wine if desired. There were many optional tours for additional fees as well. During the voyage we visited several UNESCO World Heritage sites. UNESCO is something of cultural or historical importance - and river cruise lines are understandably proud of how many such sites they're able to work into a given itinerary. The history along the way dates back to over 1000 year old castles, churches and cobble stone streets to more modern (20th century) locations like the Nuremberg trials courtroom and Nazi Rally Grounds and a ton in between. On board the days were full of activities, including glass blowing demonstration, piano player in the lounge, shuffle board and mini golf on the sun deck to name a few. Our room steward made up our room multiple times a day. By the time we came back from breakfast, it was like new, stocked with bottled water, fresh linens and towels The room also included floor to ceiling and wall to wall sliding glass insulated windows, a mini fridge, heated bathroom floors, ample closet space and a nice flat screen TV.

The weather in December was well, mostly cloudy and ranged from 30-45`F, typical for the time of year, It was lovely when the sun did pop out the few times. The Christmas Markets we visited were in Cologne, Vienna and Budapest. We enjoyed the larger of the 3 in Cologne. In fairness, Vienna opened up from complete shut-down for the 1st time in 4 weeks, the day we arrived. Budapest's were smaller but the food looked amazing. All 3 offered the obvious trinkles, trinkets and what-nots to go with the beer and Gluhwein, all reasonably priced. David the Program Director and ships' host was informative, friendly and attentive to everyone, he was everywhere, making sure every tour was on time and everyone accounted for. I can honestly say the Viking is lucky to have such an outstanding person on their team. Viking does daily COVID testing with overnight results and masks in all public places on board, unless eating or drinking. Viking had invested $300MM in COVID testing, thermal cameras and some on board PCR testing equipment across its fleet. The goal is safety of the its passengers and crew. They seem to be very transparent with this and other shipboard instances. Along the way, a freight barge crashed into one lock causing damage. The damage had to be repaired before we could proceed. This caused a 2 day delay of our course up river. However, Viking to the rescue - bringing in additional coaches to keep tours on schedule. The ship did catch up to normal schedule and we never missed a tour or excursion. At one point they considered brining in a different ship on the other side of the lock and transfer the entire passengers and crew to continue. Luckily this was not needed as I can only imagine the logistical nightmare this would cause.

There are some 80+ locks that Captain Jasper navigated through along the route to adjust from sea level (Amsterdam) to crossing the continental divide (approximately 1300 feet in elevation). The locks are interesting to see how the ship was designed to fit in each one, with inches to spare on either side while in the lock. The ship glides smooth and usually difficult to tell if you are even moving. The favorite parts of the journey for us included (in no particular order), the staffs personality and professionalism, the delicious food and drinks, the informative tours and the spotless ship.

Click here for our photos. Along the way, we crossed over 1000 miles, 4 countries (Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungry) and visited 15 towns/cities/ports (Amsterdam, Kinderdijk, Cologne, Koblenz, Miltenberg, Wertheim, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Passau, Munich, Melk, Vienna and Budapest). Viking long ships hold approximately 190 in 99 staterooms ranging from enormous suites to below deck cabins. All have outside views. This is all managed by a crew of 44 members. Our ship was very comfortable with 98 passengers, no one under 18 is allowed to be on the tour. Would we do Viking again, absolutely…