Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as that's extremely important to us (and it also encourages TH-cam to suggest it with other viewers who might be interested), and also we’d LOVE to hear from you. R&H x
I was considering Viking for a Nile cruise, but the ship is very homogenous with their European fleet. After watching your SS Sphinx journey, it just has so much more personality. If I could get on SS Sudan (Death on the Nile), I'd die a happy man. On a separate note, your videography is stunning, I love how there is movement in every shot. It makes it so much more compelling than people who just talk in to a camera constantly. The best cruise channel on TH-cam by a mile. How you haven't got more subscribers is a complete mystery.
Loved your accent--perfect for narrating a European cruise. Our first river cruise is coming up and your professional video gave us a perfect preview of everything we can expect. The flow of your video and all amenities was perfect. We're very excited!
One tip. We had business cards printed before our Viking Cruise. One side my wife, the other me. Small picture, email, cell and city. Even at our young age, we can’t match names and faces ten minutes after meeting. Great idea as we live in a Florida resort area and have heard from many cruise mates.
did the Elbe trip a few years back...absolutely fell in love with river cruising and Viking in particular. My bucket list is to take every single river cruise offered by Viking one after the other...all I need to do is win the lottery!
@@visitwithusunless of course the river gets low…that’s what scares me about a river cruise. No refunds if it turns into a bus tour. Are there any rivers that are immune from low water disruptions? Or any seasons that are better (or worse) than others?
Having sailed on at least 4 Viking River Cruises people watching should know that your presentation of the ships was spot on. They really are that beautiful and the food was wonderful. The Silver Spirits packages are worth the money especially if you enjoy finer wines.
Oh my goodness. My husband today put the idea of a river cruise in our minds to start to get a taste of France for our very first trip there Lord, willing, in May 2024… It will be our 32nd wedding anniversary and his 60th birthday! Your video is extremely helpful. And I think the pluses and minuses you pointed out were fair… I’m only halfway through so far, but this is looking like a very good option!
Thank you for watching Lisa! We hope you make the right choice for your first ever river cruise. We've also got The AmaKristina in Provence, France and Uniworld SS Bon Voyage in Bordeaux on our channel if you want to see other French river options in a bit more detail! Please let us know if you have any questions at all! Rich :D
I spend almost a hundred hours a week on TH-cam (Business & Pleasure) and I see a LOT of material here, including countless reviews. THIS was by far the best experience that I have ever had watching a review! I couldn't find one thing to criticize! (That is my job) If you had presented this to my company we would have had to refuse the contract simply because we couldn't improve your video!
Wow! What an absolutely LOVELY comment! We try our absolute best with every single video and it's so affirming when we get comments like yours. Thank you SO MUCH! ❤️
I'm a former travel agent, and... wow. This video covered everything you would want to know about a Viking River Cruise. Absolutely fantastic production. I loved how you filmed most areas of the ship in a tasteful way, and not too rushed. I think featuring the menus and sample meals was an excellent idea --- I myself can't stomach enormous meal portions after a long port day so I am thrilled to see the smaller meal samplings. I also appreciated the overall positivity while still being objective (i.e. the toilet paper holder, the lack of 2-person dining in the main dining room). I'm excited to check out your other videos --- you just earned yourself another subscriber!
@@anastassiosperakis2869 This comment is a good example of unnecessary nastiness for which the the internet is infamous. We all have different likes and opinions. How did you think insulting content creators who spent hours making this for us to enjoy gratis would be helpful?
We did the Grand European Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam in September 2023. It was excellent. We have nothing negative to say. The fact that they have so many identical ships is a huge advantage. There was not enough water between Passau and Nuremberg so we had to be bussed between. We then boarded an identical ship and had an identical state room. Another company’s ship in Passau did not have a second ship for her passengers to board, so their cruise ended prematurely. Our cruise director came with us. The food was fabulous.
Think you might have meant September 2022 😂 This is always a risk with river cruising but good to hear it was managed so well. Thanks for watching and commenting 😊
We did the Amsterdam to Budapest in Sept 2023 and loved every minute. Have booked another Viking river cruise. Won’t have a balcony next time as didn’t spend any time on it at all! Going for a French window that opens on 2nd floor next time. Great video, true representation. Very helpful.
We are going on Viking this November, Danube to Budapest. Your video presentation was truly excellent and has raised our anticipation to new heights. We normally do ocean cruises and this will be our first river cruise. We review a lot of cruise videos and I can honestly say yours was the best I have seen. Professional, high quality, informative and inviting. Thank you.
Ocean cruises have never been my dream vacation. Being stuck on a ship for 2 or 3 weeks with 4000 passengers, or even more, like the Wonder of the Seas (with around 7000 passengers and more than 2000 crew members) would be an absolute nightmare for me. No way! My son convinced me to try a river cruise. So I booked a trip on a long boat on the Rhine River with Viking River Cruise (Basel-Amsterdam). A memorable trip of tranquillity, excellent service, excellent food, good organisation, a delightful crew, and very interesting excursions. We had sunny weather all the way to Amsterdam and I spent much time on the upper deck admiring the superb scenery on either side of the Rhine. A surprising experience, the daunting and impressive passage in the middle of the night of a huge lock. The abnormal noise of the boat's engines woke me around 3 pm. I got up to see what was happening, opened the door to the veranda and found myself facing a huge wall, while the boat was at the bottom of the lock. WOW! All I can say is thank you Viking River Cruise.
Ocean cruises are delightful. You just have to know which cruise line to cruise. NCL Haven Suites only have about 200 guest max and lots of private areas away from the crowds. Private restaurant an your own butler and steward. River cruises are too restrictive. Not much Entertainment on river cruise and it is like a never ending tour bus. And you eat with the same people everyday at the same time. Much more choice on ocean cruise.
Just home from a Viking ocean 15 night med cruise - 930 people capacity boat but never felt even a little crowded even on the one day at sea. On that day went to the spa / steam room area mid morning and only four other people there! So much refined, elegant space on board.
This is the ABSOLUTE best Viking River tour video I’ve ever seen! Thank you a ton, for what must have taken days to shoot and edit! I’m saving this link, so I can send F&F here as enticement to join us in our next sailing.
We did the “Danube Waltz” cruise and loved it. I was impressed with how well Viking dealt with the random thing that can be problematic in travel - weather, delayed flights, last minute changes, etc. They were very responsive and helpful. I also thought the excursions were very well managed. The guides were great and seemed ready for anything. At each step Viking seemed to really have their act together and their employees really went out of their way to make everything comfortable and fun.
I have been on 2 Viking river cruises and found them both lovely, enjoyable, interesting and informative. The food was incredibly delicious. The captain talks, entertainment and chef discussions were wonderful. I have nothing at all negative to say about them. One we stayed in a room with a veranda and the second time we stayed in one of the two exe ytive suites.
What about the price? I expected river cruises to be a better deal but holy cow! The ones I priced were 5 times as much as an ocean cruise. I suppose it's because the ships are smaller and carry less passengers but Holy Cow, $10,000 for a 7 day cruise seems kind of crazy.
@@lennybuttz2162 We never put specific prices on our videos because they are so subject to change and deals and the power of your travel agent to negotiate. There’s so many variables. 🙂
@@lennybuttz2162 think that is why we had such high expectations. A Veranda Suite, including trip insurance, cost us $12K a piece. We have had far better experiences for a third of that on Princess Cruise lines. Will not do Viking again.
My husband and our friends just got off the Skadi in May and we miss the staff/crew so much. Our room steward Jeffery spoiled us. A full ice bucket every afternoon and making our rooms up perfectly. I laughed about the toilet paper holder…. Our only complaint. A shout out to the dining room staff who worked so hard to make everything perfect from early morning till nite. Milo, May, Bello, Sorin, and all the others who were mostly Filipino or Serbs. When I especially miss the ship, I’ll watch this video. Truly, of all the TH-cam vids about Viking cruises, your does the best job of making me feel like I’m back aboard.
We've done two Viking River cruises: The Danube and the Rhine. They were wonderful. Your video was very accurate. Because of the dinner seating, we met many interesting and wonderful people, so their lunch and dinner seating is, in my opinion, brilliant.
About the onboard swimming pools - I have never missed one on a Viking European River cruise but then again, I have always done those in the fall or winter months. I recently sailed the Mekong on the Viking Saigon and let me tell you, the pool was much appreciated in that hot climate. I used it frequently as did many other guests. BTW - that is a fabulous ship. Much smaller than a traditional long ship but oh so elegant. There is a gym (very small) and a spa (2 treatment rooms and so divine) as well as a Sky Bar where we ate breakfast and lunch every day. It is a very special ship.
My family and I had recently took a trip with Viking across the Rhine River on the Viking Einar and it was a great experience. I definitely recommend Viking and those longships to anyone who's interested in traveling onboard a river cruise.
There are so many great itineraries on the European rivers with Viking. I haven't done Tulips and Windmills, but I have done Holland and Belgium (which has some ports in common with Tulips and Windmills but runs all year round). I'd also recommend Paris to the Swiss Alps (especially with the extension to Zermatt and Geneva, which I recommend doing at the end of the cruise) and Elegant Elbe.
Just complete a Viking cruise and Yes the Boat and crew and selected tours were great. Food and drink onboard was perfect. Had some bad weather a couple of days but that was handled perfectly by the guides and crew. Excellent !
I have to say, this is the most professional and well filmed review I have seen about any cruise ship (and I have seen hundreds)! It is very well detailed around all the ship and you have done a great job with the narrative. I have subscribed because I believe you will give an honest, educated account of a ship, and it saves me having to trawl through other presenters on You Tube, explaining about any future cruises I am thinking of taking. Thank you.
Our southern France Rhone River cruise took us on the Rhone Canal! Lovely views of power plants, sewage treatments plants, garbage dumps, recycling factories and other beautiful sights. Making a reservation, make sure you force the reservation person to give you all the details.
We too have sailed the Rhone and like you say, the river itself isn’t the prettiest, but we did think the places we stopped at were very pretty and worth visiting. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I went on that cruise and loved pretty much everything. In fact, one of my favorite events was going through the locks. There are not many wild, pristine rivers in the world that also have cruise ships.
We just returned from spending two weeks on Viking's Longship "Vidar" (June 2023). This video presentation is accurate in every detail. Everything about our cruise was WONDERFUL. This Viking vacation was well worth the money spent. We were on the ship for fourteen days on a cruise that started in Budapest and ended in Amsterdam. On that specific cruise we lost the ability to use the wonderful sundeck for a significant part of the cruise due to the fact that the crew had to strip it down to it's lowest height (by design) for the ship to fit under the low bridges along the journey. I would be hard pressed to offer Viking any suggestions for them to implement in an effort to improve the experience. It seemed to me that Viking has already figured it out and offers a exceptional guest experience in every category. This Viking cruise was the best vacation I have ever enjoyed. I suspect I will return again as a Viking customer. As well designed and maintained as the ship was and as beautiful as the surrounding river and geography was all of that was outdone by the excellent crew and the effort they all extended to make our journey memorable. Magical-Really!
@@arnodobler1096 If I remember correctly, there are some lower bridges between Regensburg and Mainz. However, water levels would have been to blame if the sun deck was out of use on the Danube between Budapest and Regensburg, the Rhine between Mainz and the Netherlands, or the various Dutch waterways used to reach Amsterdam.
7:25 The tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available 24/7. The cookies are not 24/7 on any of the Viking river cruises I've been on (eight and counting). Breakfast pastries are put out an hour before the restaurant opens for breakfast. The pastries are replaced with cookies once breakfast is over - but in the evening, any cookies remaining are removed. If you want a late-night cookie, take one earlier in the day and leave it in your cabin.
Thanks for the clarification David. We were never up late enough to see the cookies removed and when I got up early (5:30am most mornings) the pastries were already in situ. Hence my assumption there was always something available. 🙂
Taking cookie to reserve for later is wise decision. Should you decide do ocean cruise you may want to use this same practice for a night time snack for after late night show you will find buffet line is shut down except for pizza, which I find this to be 2 heavy to sleep on .
you should not eat those god damned cookies anyway, at all, if you have A CLUE about healthy eating. Much better to eat a nice red APPLE, WITH its skin.
@@weekendwet1 I have a perfectly good one, thank you. I was only making a suggestion that others have welcomed (both in person and online). Perhaps it says more about you than me that you chose to publish your judgment of me, rather than dismiss my comments without posting a response if you found them unhelpful. Best wishes.
Beautifully produced video. I'm taking my first VRC soon. Since I do not have an adventurous palate at all, I'm glad to see the "always available classics" dining option. If that's not available on the "themed dinner" nights, I'll be sure to have a large lunch. Now I'm off to binge watch more of your videos.
It can be worth trying some of the regional dishes, as they tend to be not too extreme. If you really don't get on with a dish, you can order again. The themed meal (which is usually dinner, but can be lunch on some itineraries) has two options: buffet style, where you take what you want, or a tasting platter brought to your table (if you don't want to join the queue). The card you saw at 21:49 shows the two tasting platter options for "Taste of Austria" (Danube Waltz and Romantic Danube). The Rhine itineraries typically have "Taste of Germany" which is fairly similar only there's more sausage. I'd be surprised if you don't find something you enjoy from amongst the spread, but if you think you will struggle with it, have a word with the Maitre d' earlier in the day to see if anything can be sorted out for you.
Thanks for watching and your kind comment Debbie. Like David said in his reply the themed evening always has a buffet alongside the regional menu which we’re sure you would find something to suit you. We loved that there were always regional wines and meals and were often pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed them (especially the desserts ❤️)
Vastly improved from 2005. Smaller ship with 130 passengers. Enjoyed it very much and our trip from Budapest to Amsterdam was well worth the time and money. Bratislava, Slovakia became a memorial place to visit because of a dental emergency my wife had. A dentist was found who saved my wife's tooth and made the journey well done, thanks to the hotel manager who was very competent. Sorry, I do not remember his name. Time and money well spent. Bob Hoyt
Thank you for this look at Viking’s current state of affairs on the rivers. We took a one-week cruise from Budapest to Passau/Munich in August 2019, and there have been some changes - some, of course, from the pandemic. As ever, your visuals and narration are completely delightful!
I’ve never been on a cruise ship of any kind. But ever since I saw the first Viking cruise commercial over 30 years ago, I knew one day I was going to take one of these. I plan to make that happen soon.
I was fortunate enough to book a viking longship on the Nile in 2010 to this date will stand out as one of the most incredible experiences of my life could not fault viking customer services and facilities finances willing I would be back in a heartbeat highly recommend
14:30 I've never had in-cabin fruit on my Viking river cruises - and I'm usually in the next-door cabin to the one shown: 305, which is the same category. There is plenty of fruit to pick up at breakfast, though.
Very fine video. My wife and I have only done river cruises on Viking so I appreciate your insights and comparisons.(And we have done a lot of them) The lack of tables for two in the dining area is a feature. We have found that we always like almost every passenger, unlike our experience on another line's Ocean Cruise. We make a lot of new friends at dinner and many of those friendships extend long after the voyage. Meeting other passenger and sharing tables is significant part of the trip. I think Viking's best asset is its customer set. On several voyages we have encountered someone deeply interested in some thing at a port of call. We latch in if they'll let us and they always have so far we get a very deep insight into that fellow passenger's interest when we visit that site. Also, the sundeck is very good for exercise. I do yoga before breakfast and jump rope on days we are not ashore. I bring a yoga mat and a jump rope for river cruises. Also we find the included wine and/or beer is more than enough for us. I frequently had to cover my wine glass at dinner.
We did the Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam cruise on Viking about 6 years ago. Food and service was excellent. We even made new friends we are still in contact with. We are doing the Viking Barcelona to Rome cruise next September...
Thanks so much Rich. We've actually been waiting to see this since your "chat with us" where you mentioned you were going on a Viking cruise. Viking should hire you to do all of their commercials. You and Helen are the best travel ambassadors. Love visiting with you.🤗
Professionally documented with top-class videography and editing. Soft serene background music with nicely worded commentary. The Mrs and I have done Amsterdam to Budapest with Evergreen, but Viking is definitely on our bucket list.
Well done! I’ve taken 4 Viking Ocean Cruises & am looking forward to my first VRC this autumn on the Douro. While I know I’ll miss the Mamsen’s waffles & Afternoon Tea, I’m sure I’ll enjoy what the river cruises have to offer. Thanks for all of the details!
We went on the European Sojourn last May/June. I was concerned due to neck and back problems, food allergies, and altered taste from long CoVID. I was overwhelmed with how every single person went out of their way to help me out. The Maitre Dei checked on me every single meal. I was shocked. There was a huge variety of all very lovely things. I am not a vegetarian but the energy bowl and veggie burger were outstanding for lunch. I wish I could get those at home. I don’t care for mushrooms, but otherwise every single soup was just delicious. My husband said the mushroom was great. Some days I wasn’t all that hungry and asked for thing not exactly on the menu, like just some potato fries. No one blinked an eye and just gave me what ever I asked for except they thought I was a little nutty and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t eating another lovely big meal. We did the included excursions and they were great for a first time to an area. You got the quick version of the local history, walked past or through major points to see, and there was often some castle or museum or something. I really enjoyed. We were booked for France next year but decided to repeat the European sojourn and instead of the included tours go off to see all the things we missed because we ran out of time after the included tour. It is so great to unpack once. We were lucky that we didn’t have to change ships. The water levels were fine. No one has control over that so just roll with the punches. I am not a big drinker, but we got the silver spirits. I like a brewed coffee or soda in the afternoon, i like a little bit of seven up or coke before bed to settle my stomach I like a couple cocktails in the evening when I am on vacation and it gives you wider variety of wines. A few times I had a nightcap type drink like sambuca, Tia Maria et cetera. It was just easier. Enjoy your cruising. Viking is a great line that takes care of its staff and guests.
Glad to see plenty of positive comments. However river cruises are definitely not for everyone. The pricing is shocking to us. We prefer traveling by train throughout Europe, we travel at our pace at a fraction of the cost. Enjoy your choice of traveling.
This was excellent...I've been on 3 Viking cruises now, including the one you featured and feel they were all exceptional....hopefully there will be another in my future.
Viking should be proud and pay you for this amazing Ad. I did three Viking cruises, couldn’t be more pleased (Danube, Rhine and Antarctica). October I am taking their South Pacific cruise; Hawaii islands, bora bora and Tahiti - I know it’s going to be amazing.
Excellent video! Just returned from a Viking Ocean cruise and having done both the Viking river and ocean cruises I enjoyed the river cruise better for the atmosphere of a smaller ship.
Very nicely produced video - than you for that. We've done I think nearly 40 cruises to date, although we have been contemplating doing a river cruise. What I liked about this one, was the normal-ish sized balconies, it's not too small a passenger capacity, and the food presentation looks beautiful, akin to a luxury cruise ship. Very interesting.
Just returned home from our first and last Viking River cruise on the Rhine. We shouldn’t have booked this cruise so late in November. The weather was cold and rainy which forced us to stay on the ship most days. First the good things including the amazing staff on the Kara. We felt the food was mediocre and pretty redundant. For the cost of this cruise the state rooms were tiny as well as the bathrooms. If you enjoy ocean cruises as we do understand there are no shows and basically everyone is in bed by 10pm. This is just my experience which I wanted to share.
Thank you for watching and sharing your experience. Yes, the river cruises are quite a different experience to the ocean cruises. Such a pity about the lack weather, it can make all the difference when your cruise is all about the destinations - as is generally the case in river cruising, more so than ocean cruising anyway. We like river cruising but it’s not for everyone.
We just finished a 14 night Viking River cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam just over a week ago. Overall we enjoyed the cruise and all the ports - the dining and housekeeping staff were excellent and the food was very good (we did not get fresh fruit provided in our cabin as shown in the video!) I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of time we spent in some ports (maybe due to the length of the voyage and timing of the locks?). We did manage to see a number of Christmas markets which we loved. However, we did not find that the ships docked conveniently in towns and often we had to be bused in (last year we travelled with a different company and literally stepped off the ship into the centre of everything, which was great for visiting the markets several times.). We didn’t find Viking lived up to their slogan of “less time getting there and more time being there”! We had a French balcony cabin which was soooo tiny compared to the same category we had on a different line last year. For a 2-week voyage, in the colder weather, there was next to no storage! I was with my daughter, and one bed was literally smack against the sliding glass doors and the other against the bathroom wall with maybe approx 1 ft. between the beds. There was no table and chairs (as we had last year) - only a stool for the small counter/desk area. The bathroom was also much tinier, especially the shower! We did like the heated floors! We picked this cruise for the itinerary and we knew what to expect weather-wise! All being said, the cruise was good, with the exceptions noted. I figured due to time of year, there was no point in getting a balcony cabin, but I would recommend that category just for the bit of extra cabin space and drawers!
I love your detailed videos! I did have an idea about what that sliding part of the bedside tables could be for: CPAP Machines. Many people are now traveling with them and they take up space that is needed for other items.
My wife and I are doing the Viking Basil to Amsterdam June 15th of this year. Your review was excellent and now we can’t get to go! Thanks again for such an informative review.
@@Drew-dg1qr Our cruise was wonderful! We loved it! We were on the Kara. She is the sister ship of the Hlin. We are planning on another Viking cruise next year. Most likely the Paris to Normandy trip. We 100% recommend Viking. Most personal crew we have ever experienced.
@rogerkiser5890 I recall that we were berthed next to it. Did you take a pre or post excursion? We did ours in Amsterdam. Took a foodie tour off of Tripadvisor of Amsterdam. It was great. Planning to live a day earlier for Prague. It looks like the Tripadvisor or Withlocals is a better and cheaper option.
@@Drew-dg1qr This was our first river cruise so we didn’t do anything extra or really know what to expect. It was kind of a spontaneous decision and booking only a couple of months before departure. We will most likely add a couple of pre-cruise days in Paris on our next one.
Your vids are very clearly a cut above and most enjoyable and informative. This is making me consider a river cruise after about 50 big ship cruises. Looks wonderful!
Loved our Viking River trip from Budapest to Amsterdam. Reflecting back we should have taken the Bucharest to Amsterdam cruise which was 21 days. Met several interesting fellow cruisers from Australia. The staff were professional as well as engaging if you chose to chat with them. Viking river cruise is one vacation I will remember as being a total pleasure.
Thank you so much for posting a video of your holiday on Viking Longships. We found it extremely informative and unbiased which is very refreshing to see.
I have taken Viking ocean cruises but am now taking my first Viking river cruise next month, and have found this video really helpful. Thank you. Barbara C
We will be going on our second Viking river cruise this summer. This time on the Danube. Your vlog was spot on. The service you receive is impeccable. Looking forward to new adventures. Thanks for sharing your experience.
The trip was outstanding. We did the extensions as well. My favorite was Praha/Prague. The only thing that we wished for was more time in Vienna. We did not go to the evening concert. The people who we met on board said it was incredible. We did tours of the synagogues in both Praha and Budapest arranged through private guides. They were haunting, educational, and very memorable. Hope this helps.
@@bobcatjordan Prague is on my wife's bucket list, so we are spending 4 full days there. We have signed for the concert. Looking at Tripadvisor versus Viking Tours. How was the hotel in Prague?
@@Drew-dg1qr We were very happy with the hotels that we stayed in Praha and Budapest. The included breakfast were very nice. Good food choices. Glad to hear you are going to the concert.
Thank you ☺️ Maybe not, but do watch this space, we will be releasing our voyage vlog in the next week or two which will give you a more in-depth idea of the activities and excursions we experienced 👍
We had a wonderful trip from Basil Switzerland to Amsterdam on Viking. Thank you so much for helping us to enjoy a beautiful part of Europe as well as to make lasting memories for my husband and me.
Excellent video. Rich really worked his magic on this one. Loved the graphics too, they made understanding the layout of the ship so easy to understand. The ship certainly looked lovely too
Very well done. We hate ocean cruising. We did the Rhine River last year on Avalon Waterways and before completion, my wife told me to book the Danube for 2023. We leave next week for Budapest to board the Avalon Envision for a westbound cruise on the Danube. Regardless of the cruise line, all river ships are about the same dimensions and only carry 160-190 passengers depending on the configuration. The experience is relaxed compared to ocean cruises. No formal nights, over-the-top entertainment or casinos. River cruises by nature are for adults so you won't find very many children on board. The shore excursions complete the experience of exploring local traditions, culture and history.
Well, I just watched four of your Viking videos and I am SO impressed!! We are true Viking fans - have done three 3 three week European river cruises and one 3 week ocean cruise to the Baltic States, which was truly amazing! We are just about to go on the Viking Australia/NZ cruise…we leave on New Year’s Eve. I think your videos are gorgeous. SO well done, from the narration to the actual camera work, which presents everything exquisitely. I am so very much loved the music! So perfect. I am sending the links to my family so they can get to know Viking (and you) as well! Thank you for a lovely viewing experience.
Thank you SO MUCH for your kind comments. It’s worth more to us when true appreciators of the cruise lines like yourself enjoy the content because you are the ones who appreciate the love and thought that goes into these ships. This is one of my favourite comments this week and brightened up my Friday. We hope you’ve subscribed as we will be doing many more Viking videos in 2024. Have a lovely weekend. 😊
Great vid, thanks for the reminder of our first Viking river cruise on Viking Idi. Amsterdam to Budapest was fantastic, the ship, staff, food, tours etc. are the benchmark now.
Excellent presentation - we took the Grand European and stayed in room 303! The only downside- we are strict vegetarians and frequently had difficulty finding suitable selections. “German food night” was a disaster - we ate pretzels and steamed cabbage with cookies for dessert. And they knew from day-one that we had food preferences. Other than this, a delightful trip.
Oh dear, pity you didn’t get better vegetarian options - hopefully this will Improve as more people ask for it. Glad you enjoyed it otherwise and didn’t let it ruin your trip 👍
What a beautifully done video! My husband and I will be taking the Viking Rhine river cruise in September. Thank you for the wonderfully presented information!
Just booked the Rhine 8-day cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. We got a Veranda cabin with an included flight from Atlanta for $7700 in July (I saved over $200 for paying with a bank transfer up front). I have been holding off for years because they were $10-12k with air. I'm very excited except for the 10-12 hours of flying. I might add something for Amsterdam since we're scheduled to go from the dock to the airport. This presentation was excellent.
Really enjoyable video, I love Viking and have done 2 river and 2 ocean and our next ocean is in 10 days in the Baltic on Mars. I just really like how Viking does everything right.
@@visitwithus Should be great, 2 days in Oslo to start, then the scenic train from Oslo to Bergen and then on the ship in Bergen for 16 days. Booked this 3 years ago and it got cancelled twice due to covid and then I had to move to 2023 due to scheduling issies.
Thanks so much for doing the video. You are very talented in videography as it looked as if a professional had done the video. It answered a lot of questions we had as this is our first Viking cruise. It was very thoughtful of you to think of other travelers and we found it very informative as well as beautiful.
We were somewhat disappointed in our Viking River Cruise on the Danube. On the positive side, we enjoyed cruising along the shore and seeing the countryside. The night cruise in Budapest was amazing and unexpected. We were also given a concert in Vienna that was unscheduled. The food was adequate and the entertainment interesting. However, we often docked miles from our destinations such as Vienna. Only 2 shuttles a day were provided, 8 AM and noon, and you were not able to return to the ship when we wanted, needed to. We could not go on the top deck as the bridges were too low. Our cruise director was sick when we boarded and we all caught it. Most of us came down with some congestion and laryngitis but a few, including hubby, got quite ill.
In Vienna, you can always walk from the dock to the U-Bahn station. It is impossible to dock any closer to the city centre - all the river cruise ships dock in the port of Vienna. As @arnodobler1096 says, the unavailability of the sun deck would be down to high water reducing the air draught under the bridges; the bridges will not have been lower than usual.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your cruise as much as you expected. As others have said the water levels are aways a risk with river cruising 😞 We too used the underground in Vienna to get in and out of the city and found it very good - sorry you weren’t told about it. We had a good cruise director who always gave us lots of info and personal recommendations which we used a lot. Hopefully you’ll try another river cruise - there’s some beautiful rivers and ships to try. We would recommend the Douro 👍
Hello, wonderful video. I think we're leaning toward the Rhine River. We've never been on a river cruise, but the idea of getting off and being able to do walking escursions sounds great. Thank you!
Lovely presentation. Your voice is like a soothing and highly informative friend, and guide. Ship staging and decor also inviting, clean, welcoming. Never will be able to partake of this exquisite experience myself, but for those who will be so fortunate, relax and enjoy the wonderful ambience. So sorry I missed it, thanks for the glimpse of such a pleasant journey.
A super video that encapsulates all that is good about Viking river cruises. We did a “duck view” room late March and was pleasantly surprised when our welcome pack didn’t include a pair of flippers and snorkel! OTBC! 🙏
Thanks very much for your really helpful video. We have had several Viking ocean cruises and were wondering about the river aspects. Your video has whetted our appetites. Take care. Peter
Went on my first Viking cruise in November/December of 2022. We were in a “duck room” and it was perfectly lovely. Impeccable service, great included excursions. Here’s a tip on the toilet paper holder - put it in as a mullet instead of a beard and you don’t lose the end. Planning a trip on one of the expedition ships for 2025.
One thing that is left out on most long ship reviews is that your balcony or window will be a few feet from the neighboring ship parked beside you. Privacy is a big negative when the ship is anchored.
It happens frequently as the river is so busy. Especially at night in the dock going through a lock. I opened the curtain at 2am to see a load of people looking down at me fromanother ship!
@@anitastanley8986 : The other thing that is not mentioned in longship reviews is that ships can be docked side by side with up to four ships. What that means is that people from the other ships will need to use your ship as a stepping stone to get from their ship to the dock.
This is a good point and why feel that balconies can be an unneccesary expense on river ships. However it very much depends which river you are on as to how often this happens and to what extent. We also don’t spend much time in our room, preferring to be out and about on the ship, so it doesn’t really ever bother us - you just have to remember to always close your curtains at night, just in case you wake up docked next to someone. Thanks for watching 👍
We were on the Viking Grand European for 15 days. I can only remember 2 times when we were docked next to another ship and those were during the day when we were off ship on excursions. Viking service and customer care was outstanding!
Good video thanks. Only missing - excursions. Was hoping to understand how those work. Normal ships give a "docking time" but Vikings only include port names
Second VRC for us: Bucharest-Amsterdam, May 2023. True, no two top tables in the main restaurant. However, the long tables can act as two tops if couples occupy alternating seats. Dinner start time is rigidly adhered. If you’re late, you may encounter “server-chef scowl”. Supposedly being late messes up kitchen operations. This may vary boat-to-boat or chef-to-chef. Observed some passenger rumblings regarding other passengers claiming Aquavit tables early in the afternoon…like every day…thus preventing others from enjoying the space for dinner. Perhaps a table reservation system can be developed? River levels vary (not our cruise) preventing boat to pass under bridges or transit locks. Be prepared for bus portage around these. I’ve heard Viking is excellent handling all this but one does have to repack/unpack. Everything presented in the video is accurate. This is the perfect way to see Europe, at least from a river perspective. Viking has thought of everything and really pampers its customers. Daily shore excursions are included in the cabin fare; they are excellent. Optional excursions (extra cost) are available. Of course one can explore independently.
Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as that's extremely important to us (and it also encourages TH-cam to suggest it with other viewers who might be interested), and also we’d LOVE to hear from you. R&H x
I loved my Viking cruise. 2022…Basel to Lucerne. Do it!,
I was considering Viking for a Nile cruise, but the ship is very homogenous with their European fleet. After watching your SS Sphinx journey, it just has so much more personality. If I could get on SS Sudan (Death on the Nile), I'd die a happy man.
On a separate note, your videography is stunning, I love how there is movement in every shot. It makes it so much more compelling than people who just talk in to a camera constantly. The best cruise channel on TH-cam by a mile. How you haven't got more subscribers is a complete mystery.
Loved your accent--perfect for narrating a European cruise. Our first river cruise is coming up and your professional video gave us a perfect preview of everything we can expect. The flow of your video and all amenities was perfect. We're very excited!
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One tip. We had business cards printed before our Viking Cruise. One side my wife, the other me. Small picture, email, cell and city. Even at our young age, we can’t match names and faces ten minutes after meeting. Great idea as we live in a Florida resort area and have heard from many cruise mates.
Great tip 👍
Thanks for watching 😊
My wife and I went on 5 Viking cruises. China, Russia, Central Europe, France x2. We loved every one of them.
Thank you for watching 😊
As I age, I have found that simple done great is much more luxurious than luxury done average.
So true. Thank you for watching and commenting 👍
@@michaelmills645 wow! This is such a good quote. I’m saving this!
My favorite Viking River Cruise we took pre Covid from Budapest to Nuremberg in early December visiting Christmas markets. We loved it.
Thanks for watching 😊
did the Elbe trip a few years back...absolutely fell in love with river cruising and Viking in particular. My bucket list is to take every single river cruise offered by Viking one after the other...all I need to do is win the lottery!
🤞for you 😂
Thanks for watching 👍
I find this so appealing. It's like the bed and breakfast of cruising.
Wake up every day to somewhere new. You can’t beat it. 👍😀
@@visitwithusunless of course the river gets low…that’s what scares me about a river cruise. No refunds if it turns into a bus tour. Are there any rivers that are immune from low water disruptions? Or any seasons that are better (or worse) than others?
This was perfect timing for having this video as my wife and I are on a Viking River Cruise June 2nd 2024. It was GREAT!
Thank you ☺️
Hope you have a great cruise.
Which cruise? Us too!
Having sailed on at least 4 Viking River Cruises people watching should know that your presentation of the ships was spot on. They really are that beautiful and the food was wonderful. The Silver Spirits packages are worth the money especially if you enjoy finer wines.
Thank you Rebecca, very kind of you to say 😊
Oh my goodness. My husband today put the idea of a river cruise in our minds to start to get a taste of France for our very first trip there Lord, willing, in May 2024… It will be our 32nd wedding anniversary and his 60th birthday! Your video is extremely helpful. And I think the pluses and minuses you pointed out were fair… I’m only halfway through so far, but this is looking like a very good option!
Thank you for watching Lisa! We hope you make the right choice for your first ever river cruise. We've also got The AmaKristina in Provence, France and Uniworld SS Bon Voyage in Bordeaux on our channel if you want to see other French river options in a bit more detail! Please let us know if you have any questions at all! Rich :D
We are planning a river cruise on the Seine in April of 2024. This video is helpful to prepare.
I spend almost a hundred hours a week on TH-cam (Business & Pleasure) and I see a LOT of material here, including countless reviews. THIS was by far the best experience that I have ever had watching a review! I couldn't find one thing to criticize! (That is my job) If you had presented this to my company we would have had to refuse the contract simply because we couldn't improve your video!
Wow! What an absolutely LOVELY comment! We try our absolute best with every single video and it's so affirming when we get comments like yours. Thank you SO MUCH! ❤️
I'm a former travel agent, and... wow. This video covered everything you would want to know about a Viking River Cruise. Absolutely fantastic production. I loved how you filmed most areas of the ship in a tasteful way, and not too rushed. I think featuring the menus and sample meals was an excellent idea --- I myself can't stomach enormous meal portions after a long port day so I am thrilled to see the smaller meal samplings. I also appreciated the overall positivity while still being objective (i.e. the toilet paper holder, the lack of 2-person dining in the main dining room). I'm excited to check out your other videos --- you just earned yourself another subscriber!
Thank you so much 😊
Gosh, these ships are just absolutely stunning - you’ve done this ship an absolute treat by producing this video!
Thanks Fraser 👍
you are being truly ridiculous by calling these boring barges "stunning" Where are you from, Peoria?
@@anastassiosperakis2869 Have you been on one? How do you justify that they’re ‘boring’? 🙂
@@anastassiosperakis2869 This comment is a good example of unnecessary nastiness for which the the internet is infamous. We all have different likes and opinions. How did you think insulting content creators who spent hours making this for us to enjoy gratis would be helpful?
We did the Grand European Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam in September 2023. It was excellent. We have nothing negative to say. The fact that they have so many identical ships is a huge advantage. There was not enough water between Passau and Nuremberg so we had to be bussed between. We then boarded an identical ship and had an identical state room. Another company’s ship in Passau did not have a second ship for her passengers to board, so their cruise ended prematurely. Our cruise director came with us. The food was fabulous.
It's only August now😀
Think you might have meant September 2022 😂
This is always a risk with river cruising but good to hear it was managed so well.
Thanks for watching and commenting 😊
We did the Amsterdam to Budapest in Sept 2023 and loved every minute. Have booked another Viking river cruise. Won’t have a balcony next time as didn’t spend any time on it at all! Going for a French window that opens on 2nd floor next time. Great video, true representation. Very helpful.
I hated being woken up going through the locks. Not for me being crowded in the lounge room in the evening. I would not recommend it as a holiday.
@@anitastanley8986which cruise line were you on?
We went on a Christmas Cruise last December. It was absolutely marvelous. They definitely will meet any food allergies. I highly recommend them.
Thank you, we agree 👍
We are going on Viking this November, Danube to Budapest. Your video presentation was truly excellent and has raised our anticipation to new heights. We normally do ocean cruises and this will be our first river cruise. We review a lot of cruise videos and I can honestly say yours was the best I have seen. Professional, high quality, informative and inviting. Thank you.
You will love it! We did the same cruise in November of 2022!
Thank you for watching and your kind comments Tom 😊
We hope your enjoy Viking, the Danube and Budapest as much as we did 👍
Ocean cruises have never been my dream vacation. Being stuck on a ship for 2 or 3 weeks with 4000 passengers, or even more, like the Wonder of the Seas (with around 7000 passengers and more than 2000 crew members) would be an absolute nightmare for me. No way! My son convinced me to try a river cruise. So I booked a trip on a long boat on the Rhine River with Viking River Cruise (Basel-Amsterdam). A memorable trip of tranquillity, excellent service, excellent food, good organisation, a delightful crew, and very interesting excursions. We had sunny weather all the way to Amsterdam and I spent much time on the upper deck admiring the superb scenery on either side of the Rhine. A surprising experience, the daunting and impressive passage in the middle of the night of a huge lock. The abnormal noise of the boat's engines woke me around 3 pm. I got up to see what was happening, opened the door to the veranda and found myself facing a huge wall, while the boat was at the bottom of the lock. WOW! All I can say is thank you Viking River Cruise.
So glad you enjoyed your time on board and maybe had some of your preconceptions changed 👍
@@visitwithus On river cruise certainly 😂
Ocean cruises are delightful. You just have to know which cruise line to cruise. NCL Haven Suites only have about 200 guest max and lots of private areas away from the crowds. Private restaurant an your own butler and steward. River cruises are too restrictive. Not much Entertainment on river cruise and it is like a never ending tour bus. And you eat with the same people everyday at the same time. Much more choice on ocean cruise.
Most ocean cruises are only 6 or 7 nights and usually only have one or two days at sea. The rest are port days where you get off the ship
Just home from a Viking ocean 15 night med cruise - 930 people capacity boat but never felt even a little crowded even on the one day at sea. On that day went to the spa / steam room area mid morning and only four other people there! So much refined, elegant space on board.
No pool needed for me! Love Viking River Cruises and plans for couple more.
Thanks for watching 👍
This is the ABSOLUTE best Viking River tour video I’ve ever seen! Thank you a ton, for what must have taken days to shoot and edit! I’m saving this link, so I can send F&F here as enticement to join us in our next sailing.
Thank you 😊
We did the “Danube Waltz” cruise and loved it. I was impressed with how well Viking dealt with the random thing that can be problematic in travel - weather, delayed flights, last minute changes, etc. They were very responsive and helpful. I also thought the excursions were very well managed. The guides were great and seemed ready for anything. At each step Viking seemed to really have their act together and their employees really went out of their way to make everything comfortable and fun.
Thanks for watching. Sounds like you had a fabulous Viking cruise 😍
I have been on 2 Viking river cruises and found them both lovely, enjoyable, interesting and informative. The food was incredibly delicious. The captain talks, entertainment and chef discussions were wonderful. I have nothing at all negative to say about them. One we stayed in a room with a veranda and the second time we stayed in one of the two exe ytive suites.
Thanks for watching and commenting Carol, we couldn’t agree more (but we didn’t get to stay in an executive suite, they did look lovely though 😁) 👍
What about the price? I expected river cruises to be a better deal but holy cow! The ones I priced were 5 times as much as an ocean cruise. I suppose it's because the ships are smaller and carry less passengers but Holy Cow, $10,000 for a 7 day cruise seems kind of crazy.
@@lennybuttz2162 We never put specific prices on our videos because they are so subject to change and deals and the power of your travel agent to negotiate. There’s so many variables. 🙂
@@lennybuttz2162 think that is why we had such high expectations. A Veranda Suite, including trip insurance, cost us $12K a piece. We have had far better experiences for a third of that on Princess Cruise lines. Will not do Viking again.
My husband and our friends just got off the Skadi in May and we miss the staff/crew so much. Our room steward Jeffery spoiled us. A full ice bucket every afternoon and making our rooms up perfectly. I laughed about the toilet paper holder…. Our only complaint. A shout out to the dining room staff who worked so hard to make everything perfect from early morning till nite. Milo, May, Bello, Sorin, and all the others who were mostly Filipino or Serbs. When I especially miss the ship, I’ll watch this video. Truly, of all the TH-cam vids about Viking cruises, your does the best job of making me feel like I’m back aboard.
Thank you Mona, so glad you enjoyed it 😊
And damn that toilet roll holder, which we swore at at least once a day 😂
We've done two Viking River cruises: The Danube and the Rhine. They were wonderful. Your video was very accurate. Because of the dinner seating, we met many interesting and wonderful people, so their lunch and dinner seating is, in my opinion, brilliant.
About the onboard swimming pools - I have never missed one on a Viking European River cruise but then again, I have always done those in the fall or winter months. I recently sailed the Mekong on the Viking Saigon and let me tell you, the pool was much appreciated in that hot climate. I used it frequently as did many other guests. BTW - that is a fabulous ship. Much smaller than a traditional long ship but oh so elegant. There is a gym (very small) and a spa (2 treatment rooms and so divine) as well as a Sky Bar where we ate breakfast and lunch every day. It is a very special ship.
Thanks for watching and commenting Christine 👍
We would love to do the Mekong, it sounds amazing 🤩
My family and I had recently took a trip with Viking across the Rhine River on the Viking Einar and it was a great experience. I definitely recommend Viking and those longships to anyone who's interested in traveling onboard a river cruise.
Thanks for watching Kyle. So glad you enjoyed your Rhine cruise, we’ve yet to sail in the Rhine. Happy cruising 💙
There is only one word I can use to describe this video... excellent!
Thank you Jim 😊
And thanks for watching 👍
Pull out feature is for your cup while sitting in bed. It's easier to reach your cup resting on the pullout rather than on the bedside table
Thanks for watching and for your insight to the bedside table 👍
I highly recommend Tulips and Windmills. The only problem: not enough time to see and visit all the beautiful places we docked.
That’s always the dilemma - to visit more places for less time or less places for more time 🤔 Nice problem to have though 😊
Thanks for watching 👍
There are so many great itineraries on the European rivers with Viking. I haven't done Tulips and Windmills, but I have done Holland and Belgium (which has some ports in common with Tulips and Windmills but runs all year round). I'd also recommend Paris to the Swiss Alps (especially with the extension to Zermatt and Geneva, which I recommend doing at the end of the cruise) and Elegant Elbe.
@@DavidWood2 Thanks for the suggestion.
Just complete a Viking cruise and Yes the Boat and crew and selected tours were great. Food and drink onboard was perfect. Had some bad weather a couple of days but that was handled perfectly by the guides and crew. Excellent !
Great to hear!
Thanks for watching 😊
This is a first class video from start to finish. Well done 👏
Thank you so much for your kind words. ☺️
I have to say, this is the most professional and well filmed review I have seen about any cruise ship (and I have seen hundreds)! It is very well detailed around all the ship and you have done a great job with the narrative. I have subscribed because I believe you will give an honest, educated account of a ship, and it saves me having to trawl through other presenters on You Tube, explaining about any future cruises I am thinking of taking. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your kind words and for subscribing Sally, we really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy some of our other videos too. ☺☺
Our southern France Rhone River cruise took us on the Rhone Canal! Lovely views of power plants, sewage treatments plants, garbage dumps, recycling factories and other beautiful sights. Making a reservation, make sure you force the reservation person to give you all the details.
We too have sailed the Rhone and like you say, the river itself isn’t the prettiest, but we did think the places we stopped at were very pretty and worth visiting.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
I went on that cruise and loved pretty much everything. In fact, one of my favorite events was going through the locks. There are not many wild, pristine rivers in the world that also have cruise ships.
We just returned from spending two weeks on Viking's Longship "Vidar" (June 2023). This video presentation is accurate in every detail. Everything about our cruise was WONDERFUL. This Viking vacation was well worth the money spent. We were on the ship for fourteen days on a cruise that started in Budapest and ended in Amsterdam. On that specific cruise we lost the ability to use the wonderful sundeck for a significant part of the cruise due to the fact that the crew had to strip it down to it's lowest height (by design) for the ship to fit under the low bridges along the journey. I would be hard pressed to offer Viking any suggestions for them to implement in an effort to improve the experience. It seemed to me that Viking has already figured it out and offers a exceptional guest experience in every category. This Viking cruise was the best vacation I have ever enjoyed. I suspect I will return again as a Viking customer. As well designed and maintained as the ship was and as beautiful as the surrounding river and geography was all of that was outdone by the excellent crew and the effort they all extended to make our journey memorable. Magical-Really!
Thanks for watching and commenting 😊
Sounds like you had an amazing couple of weeks 😍
Probably the rivers had high water level!?
@@arnodobler1096 If I remember correctly, there are some lower bridges between Regensburg and Mainz. However, water levels would have been to blame if the sun deck was out of use on the Danube between Budapest and Regensburg, the Rhine between Mainz and the Netherlands, or the various Dutch waterways used to reach Amsterdam.
7:25 The tea, coffee and hot chocolate are available 24/7. The cookies are not 24/7 on any of the Viking river cruises I've been on (eight and counting). Breakfast pastries are put out an hour before the restaurant opens for breakfast. The pastries are replaced with cookies once breakfast is over - but in the evening, any cookies remaining are removed. If you want a late-night cookie, take one earlier in the day and leave it in your cabin.
Thanks for the clarification David. We were never up late enough to see the cookies removed and when I got up early (5:30am most mornings) the pastries were already in situ. Hence my assumption there was always something available. 🙂
Taking cookie to reserve for later is wise decision. Should you decide do ocean cruise you may want to use this same practice for a night time snack for after late night show you will find buffet line is shut down except for pizza, which I find this to be 2 heavy to sleep on .
you should not eat those god damned cookies anyway, at all, if you have A CLUE about healthy eating. Much better to eat a nice red APPLE, WITH its skin.
Get a life!
@@weekendwet1 I have a perfectly good one, thank you. I was only making a suggestion that others have welcomed (both in person and online).
Perhaps it says more about you than me that you chose to publish your judgment of me, rather than dismiss my comments without posting a response if you found them unhelpful. Best wishes.
Lovely. I wish I could go that trip. Greetings from Canada.
Thank you very much ☺️
Beautifully produced video. I'm taking my first VRC soon. Since I do not have an adventurous palate at all, I'm glad to see the "always available classics" dining option. If that's not available on the "themed dinner" nights, I'll be sure to have a large lunch. Now I'm off to binge watch more of your videos.
It can be worth trying some of the regional dishes, as they tend to be not too extreme. If you really don't get on with a dish, you can order again.
The themed meal (which is usually dinner, but can be lunch on some itineraries) has two options: buffet style, where you take what you want, or a tasting platter brought to your table (if you don't want to join the queue). The card you saw at 21:49 shows the two tasting platter options for "Taste of Austria" (Danube Waltz and Romantic Danube). The Rhine itineraries typically have "Taste of Germany" which is fairly similar only there's more sausage. I'd be surprised if you don't find something you enjoy from amongst the spread, but if you think you will struggle with it, have a word with the Maitre d' earlier in the day to see if anything can be sorted out for you.
Thanks for watching and your kind comment Debbie. Like David said in his reply the themed evening always has a buffet alongside the regional menu which we’re sure you would find something to suit you. We loved that there were always regional wines and meals and were often pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed them (especially the desserts ❤️)
Vastly improved from 2005. Smaller ship with 130 passengers. Enjoyed it very much and our trip from Budapest to Amsterdam was well worth the time and money. Bratislava, Slovakia became a memorial place to visit because of a dental emergency my wife had. A dentist was found who saved my wife's tooth and made the journey well done, thanks to the hotel manager who was very competent. Sorry, I do not remember his name. Time and money well spent. Bob Hoyt
That sounds like a memorable trip 😁
Thanks for watching 😊
Beautiful videography, high quality images, comprehensive narration, sublime musical selection. Always a wonderful viewing experience.
Thank you so much François. We really appreciate your kind comments.❤️
Enjoyed it very much,. My wife and I are thinking about taking one of Viking cruises and this really helped. Thank you
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment. We’re so glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful 👍
Thank you for this look at Viking’s current state of affairs on the rivers. We took a one-week cruise from Budapest to Passau/Munich in August 2019, and there have been some changes - some, of course, from the pandemic. As ever, your visuals and narration are completely delightful!
Thanks for watching and your comments Deb 👍😊
I’ve never been on a cruise ship of any kind. But ever since I saw the first Viking cruise commercial over 30 years ago, I knew one day I was going to take one of these. I plan to make that happen soon.
We hope you get to try one soon 👍
Thanks for watching 😊
Have to tell you, watching this video is like ASMR. I absolutely love how calm cool and collected every explanation and footage was.
Thank you! 😊 Glad you enjoyed it.
I was fortunate enough to book a viking longship on the Nile in 2010 to this date will stand out as one of the most incredible experiences of my life could not fault viking customer services and facilities finances willing I would be back in a heartbeat highly recommend
So glad you had such an incredible experience.
Thanks for watching 😊
14:30 I've never had in-cabin fruit on my Viking river cruises - and I'm usually in the next-door cabin to the one shown: 305, which is the same category. There is plenty of fruit to pick up at breakfast, though.
It’s been 10 years since my last Viking cruise and you have inspired me to book another! Cheers 🥂
Thanks for watching 👍
Happy cruising 💙
Looking forward to my first river cruise (Rhône) on a Viking longship in June of 2024. Your video left absolutely drooling with anticipation!
Thank you, so glad you found it helpful 👍
Thanks for watching and hope you have a great cruise.
Very fine video. My wife and I have only done river cruises on Viking so I appreciate your insights and comparisons.(And we have done a lot of them)
The lack of tables for two in the dining area is a feature.
We have found that we always like almost every passenger, unlike our experience on another line's Ocean Cruise. We make a lot of new friends at dinner and many of those friendships extend long after the voyage. Meeting other passenger and sharing tables is significant part of the trip.
I think Viking's best asset is its customer set. On several voyages we have encountered someone deeply interested in some thing at a port of call. We latch in if they'll let us and they always have so far we get a very deep insight into that fellow passenger's interest when we visit that site.
Also, the sundeck is very good for exercise. I do yoga before breakfast and jump rope on days we are not ashore. I bring a yoga mat and a jump rope for river cruises.
Also we find the included wine and/or beer is more than enough for us. I frequently had to cover my wine glass at dinner.
Thanks for watching and for your comprehensive comments 👍
We did the Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam cruise on Viking about 6 years ago. Food and service was excellent. We even made new friends we are still in contact with. We are doing the Viking Barcelona to Rome cruise next September...
Thanks for watching Mark and have fun on your upcoming cruise! :D
We are going for a 3rd Viking River Cruise. Simply awesome.
Hope you have a great cruise and thanks for watching 👍
Thanks so much Rich. We've actually been waiting to see this since your "chat with us" where you mentioned you were going on a Viking cruise. Viking should hire you to do all of their commercials. You and Helen are the best travel ambassadors. Love visiting with you.🤗
Thank you Deborah, and thanks for following us on our travels 😊
Professionally documented with top-class videography and editing. Soft serene background music with nicely worded commentary. The Mrs and I have done Amsterdam to Budapest with Evergreen, but Viking is definitely on our bucket list.
Thanks for watching and your kind comment Behram 😊 Happy cruising 🚢💙
Well done! I’ve taken 4 Viking Ocean Cruises & am looking forward to my first VRC this autumn on the Douro. While I know I’ll miss the Mamsen’s waffles & Afternoon Tea, I’m sure I’ll enjoy what the river cruises have to offer. Thanks for all of the details!
Thanks Robin. We hope you like the river cruise as much as the ocean, the scenery on the Douro river is stunning 🤩
We went on the European Sojourn last May/June. I was concerned due to neck and back problems, food allergies, and altered taste from long CoVID. I was overwhelmed with how every single person went out of their way to help me out. The Maitre Dei checked on me every single meal. I was shocked. There was a huge variety of all very lovely things. I am not a vegetarian but the energy bowl and veggie burger were outstanding for lunch. I wish I could get those at home. I don’t care for mushrooms, but otherwise every single soup was just delicious. My husband said the mushroom was great. Some days I wasn’t all that hungry and asked for thing not exactly on the menu, like just some potato fries. No one blinked an eye and just gave me what ever I asked for except they thought I was a little nutty and couldn’t understand why I wasn’t eating another lovely big meal. We did the included excursions and they were great for a first time to an area. You got the quick version of the local history, walked past or through major points to see, and there was often some castle or museum or something. I really enjoyed. We were booked for France next year but decided to repeat the European sojourn and instead of the included tours go off to see all the things we missed because we ran out of time after the included tour. It is so great to unpack once. We were lucky that we didn’t have to change ships. The water levels were fine. No one has control over that so just roll with the punches. I am not a big drinker, but we got the silver spirits. I like a brewed coffee or soda in the afternoon, i like a little bit of seven up or coke before bed to settle my stomach I like a couple cocktails in the evening when I am on vacation and it gives you wider variety of wines. A few times I had a nightcap type drink like sambuca, Tia Maria et cetera. It was just easier. Enjoy your cruising. Viking is a great line that takes care of its staff and guests.
Wow, thank you for watching and for your comprehensive comment. So glad you enjoyed your cruise 💙
Glad to see plenty of positive comments. However river cruises are definitely not for everyone. The pricing is shocking to us. We prefer traveling by train throughout Europe, we travel at our pace at a fraction of the cost. Enjoy your choice of traveling.
Indeed, each to their own.
But hopefully this video helps people to make an informed choice 👍
Thanks for watching 😊
This was excellent...I've been on 3 Viking cruises now, including the one you featured and feel they were all exceptional....hopefully there will be another in my future.
Thank you ☺️
Let’s hope so 🤞
Viking should be proud and pay you for this amazing Ad. I did three Viking cruises, couldn’t be more pleased (Danube, Rhine and Antarctica). October I am taking their South Pacific cruise; Hawaii islands, bora bora and Tahiti - I know it’s going to be amazing.
Thank you so much for watching and your kind comment. That sounds like a pretty awesome cruise, hope you have a great time 🚢❤️
Excellent video! Just returned from a Viking Ocean cruise and having done both the Viking river and ocean cruises I enjoyed the river cruise better for the atmosphere of a smaller ship.
Thanks for watching 👍
Yes, they are actually quite different experiences. We like them both for different reasons.
Very nicely produced video - than you for that. We've done I think nearly 40 cruises to date, although we have been contemplating doing a river cruise. What I liked about this one, was the normal-ish sized balconies, it's not too small a passenger capacity, and the food presentation looks beautiful, akin to a luxury cruise ship. Very interesting.
Thank you 😊
Just returned home from our first and last Viking River cruise on the Rhine. We shouldn’t have booked this cruise so late in November. The weather was cold and rainy which forced us to stay on the ship most days. First the good things including the amazing staff on the Kara. We felt the food was mediocre and pretty redundant. For the cost of this cruise the state rooms were tiny as well as the bathrooms. If you enjoy ocean cruises as we do understand there are no shows and basically everyone is in bed by 10pm. This is just my experience which I wanted to share.
Thank you for watching and sharing your experience. Yes, the river cruises are quite a different experience to the ocean cruises. Such a pity about the lack weather, it can make all the difference when your cruise is all about the destinations - as is generally the case in river cruising, more so than ocean cruising anyway.
We like river cruising but it’s not for everyone.
We just finished a 14 night Viking River cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam just over a week ago. Overall we enjoyed the cruise and all the ports - the dining and housekeeping staff were excellent and the food was very good (we did not get fresh fruit provided in our cabin as shown in the video!) I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of time we spent in some ports (maybe due to the length of the voyage and timing of the locks?). We did manage to see a number of Christmas markets which we loved. However, we did not find that the ships docked conveniently in towns and often we had to be bused in (last year we travelled with a different company and literally stepped off the ship into the centre of everything, which was great for visiting the markets several times.). We didn’t find Viking lived up to their slogan of “less time getting there and more time being there”! We had a French balcony cabin which was soooo tiny compared to the same category we had on a different line last year. For a 2-week voyage, in the colder weather, there was next to no storage! I was with my daughter, and one bed was literally smack against the sliding glass doors and the other against the bathroom wall with maybe approx 1 ft. between the beds. There was no table and chairs (as we had last year) - only a stool for the small counter/desk area. The bathroom was also much tinier, especially the shower! We did like the heated floors! We picked this cruise for the itinerary and we knew what to expect weather-wise! All being said, the cruise was good, with the exceptions noted. I figured due to time of year, there was no point in getting a balcony cabin, but I would recommend that category just for the bit of extra cabin space and drawers!
I love your detailed videos! I did have an idea about what that sliding part of the bedside tables could be for: CPAP Machines. Many people are now traveling with them and they take up space that is needed for other items.
Thank you Kathleen. CPAP Machines is a very good shout! Didn't think of that. :)
I think it might be for adult beverages or water.
I’m wondering if those awkward little pullout tables are meant to be a handy place to put one’s laptop, phone, ipad while in bed.
My wife and I are doing the Viking Basil to Amsterdam June 15th of this year. Your review was excellent and now we can’t get to go! Thanks again for such an informative review.
Glad it was helpful. Thank you for watching and commenting 👍
@@rogerkiser5890 How was your cruise. We took ours in July 2022 on the HLIN. We enjoyed it and are taking another in May 2025 on the Danube
@@Drew-dg1qr Our cruise was wonderful! We loved it! We were on the Kara. She is the sister ship of the Hlin. We are planning on another Viking cruise next year. Most likely the Paris to Normandy trip. We 100% recommend Viking. Most personal crew we have ever experienced.
@rogerkiser5890 I recall that we were berthed next to it. Did you take a pre or post excursion? We did ours in Amsterdam. Took a foodie tour off of Tripadvisor of Amsterdam. It was great. Planning to live a day earlier for Prague. It looks like the Tripadvisor or Withlocals is a better and cheaper option.
@@Drew-dg1qr This was our first river cruise so we didn’t do anything extra or really know what to expect. It was kind of a spontaneous decision and booking only a couple of months before departure. We will most likely add a couple of pre-cruise days in Paris on our next one.
Your videos are comprehensive and classy. Please keep cruising and add other cruise lines, like Tauck, and I promise to keep watching!
Thank you very much. 😊 Uniworld next. Please subscribe to our Insta for daily updates beginning tomorrow.
Your vids are very clearly a cut above and most enjoyable and informative. This is making me consider a river cruise after about 50 big ship cruises. Looks wonderful!
Thank you so much ☺️
Loved our Viking River trip from Budapest to Amsterdam. Reflecting back we should have taken the Bucharest to Amsterdam cruise which was 21 days. Met several interesting fellow cruisers from Australia. The staff were professional as well as engaging if you chose to chat with them. Viking river cruise is one vacation I will remember as being a total pleasure.
We agree that seven days is definitely not long enough 😁 21 days from Amsterdam to Bucharest sounds amazing 🤩
Thank you so much for posting a video of your holiday on Viking Longships. We found it extremely informative and unbiased which is very refreshing to see.
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment 😊
I have taken Viking ocean cruises but am now taking my first Viking river cruise next month, and have found this video really helpful. Thank you. Barbara C
Thank you Barbara 😊
Hope you enjoy your river cruise as much as we did 👍
We will be going on our second Viking river cruise this summer. This time on the Danube. Your vlog was spot on. The service you receive is impeccable. Looking forward to new adventures. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment. Hope you have a great cruise 😊
@bobcatjordan Have you completed the cruise? We are planning for our Danube trip in May 2025. Any recommendations or missed opportunities?
The trip was outstanding. We did the extensions as well. My favorite was Praha/Prague. The only thing that we wished for was more time in Vienna. We did not go to the evening concert. The people who we met on board said it was incredible. We did tours of the synagogues in both Praha and Budapest arranged through private guides. They were haunting, educational, and very memorable. Hope this helps.
@@bobcatjordan Prague is on my wife's bucket list, so we are spending 4 full days there. We have signed for the concert. Looking at Tripadvisor versus Viking Tours. How was the hotel in Prague?
@@Drew-dg1qr We were very happy with the hotels that we stayed in Praha and Budapest. The included breakfast were very nice. Good food choices. Glad to hear you are going to the concert.
Outstanding video. Wife and I have a Grand European Tour on Viking Skadi next year, now I know precisely what to expect.
Thank you ☺️
This guy has the perfect narrator voice. On another note, I don't think my 18yr old son would be too excited on this river cruise🤔
Thank you ☺️
Maybe not, but do watch this space, we will be releasing our voyage vlog in the next week or two which will give you a more in-depth idea of the activities and excursions we experienced 👍
Indeed. He has a perfect narrator's voice.
Delightfully detailed presentation with just the right touch of humor!
Thank you 🤩
We had a wonderful trip from Basil Switzerland to Amsterdam on Viking. Thank you so much for helping us to enjoy a beautiful part of Europe as well as to make lasting memories for my husband and me.
Our pleasure! Thank you so much for watching. We hope you’ve subscribed as we will be releasing more from this trip. ❤️
Excellent video. Rich really worked his magic on this one. Loved the graphics too, they made understanding the layout of the ship so easy to understand. The ship certainly looked lovely too
Thank you Robin.❤️
Very well done. We hate ocean cruising. We did the Rhine River last year on Avalon Waterways and before completion, my wife told me to book the Danube for 2023. We leave next week for Budapest to board the Avalon Envision for a westbound cruise on the Danube. Regardless of the cruise line, all river ships are about the same dimensions and only carry 160-190 passengers depending on the configuration. The experience is relaxed compared to ocean cruises. No formal nights, over-the-top entertainment or casinos. River cruises by nature are for adults so you won't find very many children on board. The shore excursions complete the experience of exploring local traditions, culture and history.
Thanks for watching and commenting. We hope you enjoy the Danube and Budapest as much as we did 👍
I agree with your characterisation of river cruising. Viking does not allow under-18s on board.
My travel buddy and I are going on our first Viking Cruise come October…on the Danube. This video helps us immensily!Very nicely done.
Glad it was helpful. Thanks for watching 👍
Well, I just watched four of your Viking videos and I am SO impressed!! We are true Viking fans - have done three 3 three week European river cruises and one 3 week ocean cruise to the Baltic States, which was truly amazing! We are just about to go on the Viking Australia/NZ cruise…we leave on New Year’s Eve. I think your videos are gorgeous. SO well done, from the narration to the actual camera work, which presents everything exquisitely. I am so very much loved the music! So perfect. I am sending the links to my family so they can get to know Viking (and you) as well! Thank you for a lovely viewing experience.
Thank you SO MUCH for your kind comments. It’s worth more to us when true appreciators of the cruise lines like yourself enjoy the content because you are the ones who appreciate the love and thought that goes into these ships. This is one of my favourite comments this week and brightened up my Friday. We hope you’ve subscribed as we will be doing many more Viking videos in 2024. Have a lovely weekend. 😊
Also, have a brilliant time on your New Year cruise. What a gorgeous itinerary. ❤️
Great vid, thanks for the reminder of our first Viking river cruise on Viking Idi. Amsterdam to Budapest was fantastic, the ship, staff, food, tours etc. are the benchmark now.
Thanks for watching 👍
A must on my bucket list
We hope you get to do it one day 🤞
Thanks for watching.
Excellent presentation - we took the Grand European and stayed in room 303! The only downside- we are strict vegetarians and frequently had difficulty finding suitable selections. “German food night” was a disaster - we ate pretzels and steamed cabbage with cookies for dessert. And they knew from day-one that we had food preferences. Other than this, a delightful trip.
Oh dear, pity you didn’t get better vegetarian options - hopefully this will
Improve as more people ask for it. Glad you enjoyed it otherwise and didn’t let it ruin your trip 👍
If you just ask, they will make you anything if they have the ingredients
@@karensilady5729 Yes, but not all the time. Some servers were very accommodating while others, not so much. We learned which ones would assist.
What a beautifully done video! My husband and I will be taking the Viking Rhine river cruise in September. Thank you for the wonderfully presented information!
Thank you so much for watching and your kind comments Lori. Hope you have as much fun as we did. :)
Skol ya'll. Greetings from Texas. This is first Rich and Helen video I watched and I now subscribe.
Thanks for watching, joining our live and for subscribing Michele 😊
Just booked the Rhine 8-day cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. We got a Veranda cabin with an included flight from Atlanta for $7700 in July (I saved over $200 for paying with a bank transfer up front). I have been holding off for years because they were $10-12k with air. I'm very excited except for the 10-12 hours of flying. I might add something for Amsterdam since we're scheduled to go from the dock to the airport. This presentation was excellent.
Thank you ☺️
We hope you have a wonderful cruise 💙
Really enjoyable video, I love Viking and have done 2 river and 2 ocean and our next ocean is in 10 days in the Baltic on Mars. I just really like how Viking does everything right.
Thanks Lou. Wow, that Baltic cruise sounds incredible! :D
@@visitwithus Should be great, 2 days in Oslo to start, then the scenic train from Oslo to Bergen and then on the ship in Bergen for 16 days. Booked this 3 years ago and it got cancelled twice due to covid and then I had to move to 2023 due to scheduling issies.
@@loumello8813 It’ll be well worth the wait, I’m sure. 😍
Thanks so much for doing the video. You are very talented in videography as it looked as if a professional had done the video. It answered a lot of questions we had as this is our first Viking cruise. It was very thoughtful of you to think of other travelers and we found it very informative as well as beautiful.
Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re so pleased you found it helpful. 👍
We were somewhat disappointed in our Viking River Cruise on the Danube. On the positive side, we enjoyed cruising along the shore and seeing the countryside. The night cruise in Budapest was amazing and unexpected. We were also given a concert in Vienna that was unscheduled. The food was adequate and the entertainment interesting. However, we often docked miles from our destinations such as Vienna. Only 2 shuttles a day were provided, 8 AM and noon, and you were not able to return to the ship when we wanted, needed to. We could not go on the top deck as the bridges were too low. Our cruise director was sick when we boarded and we all caught it. Most of us came down with some congestion and laryngitis but a few, including hubby, got quite ill.
The water level of the Danube was probably too high, not the bridges too low.😂
In Vienna, you can always walk from the dock to the U-Bahn station. It is impossible to dock any closer to the city centre - all the river cruise ships dock in the port of Vienna.
As @arnodobler1096 says, the unavailability of the sun deck would be down to high water reducing the air draught under the bridges; the bridges will not have been lower than usual.
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy your cruise as much as you expected. As others have said the water levels are aways a risk with river cruising 😞
We too used the underground in Vienna to get in and out of the city and found it very good - sorry you weren’t told about it. We had a good cruise director who always gave us lots of info and personal recommendations which we used a lot.
Hopefully you’ll try another river cruise - there’s some beautiful rivers and ships to try. We would recommend the Douro 👍
Great video!! You have a wonderful voice to do the narration. The music was spot on for the various scenes. Cheers from Florida.
Thank you kindly Brian. ☺️
Hello, wonderful video. I think we're leaning toward the Rhine River. We've never been on a river cruise, but the idea of getting off and being able to do walking escursions sounds great. Thank you!
Thank you ☺️
We will be cruising the Rhine later this summer for the first time.
Lovely presentation. Your voice is like a soothing and highly informative friend, and guide. Ship staging and decor also inviting, clean, welcoming. Never will be able to partake of this exquisite experience myself, but for those who will be so fortunate, relax and enjoy the wonderful ambience. So sorry I missed it, thanks for the glimpse of such a pleasant journey.
Thank you for watching and commenting 👍
Your voice is soothing. Thank you
Thank you 😊
And thanks for watching 👍
A super video that encapsulates all that is good about Viking river cruises. We did a “duck view” room late March and was pleasantly surprised when our welcome pack didn’t include a pair of flippers and snorkel! OTBC! 🙏
Haha! At least the rooms aren't as low as where NCFC finished this season! You need a full aqualung for that!😂
Thanks very much for your really helpful video. We have had several Viking ocean cruises and were wondering about the river aspects. Your video has whetted our appetites. Take care. Peter
Thank you Peter 😊
Thank you Peter 😊
Well done Rich. See you on the next live😊
Thanks Warren. Sadly not this week (sadly the connectivity in the middle of Alaska isn’t up to it) but will try again in two weeks time 👍
@@visitwithus I will be on another Regent cruise to Norwegian fjords 😀
Went on my first Viking cruise in November/December of 2022. We were in a “duck room” and it was perfectly lovely. Impeccable service, great included excursions. Here’s a tip on the toilet paper holder - put it in as a mullet instead of a beard and you don’t lose the end. Planning a trip on one of the expedition ships for 2025.
Haha! Great idea about the 'mullet'. Never thought that! 😂 Oh and if you pay extra, you get upgraded from ducks to swans. Well, allegedly. ;)
I’m waiting for the negatives. Not many leaving in 2 weeks Prague to Paris. Can’t wait. Happy travels to all. Thx.
Hope you have a great time. Thanks for watching.
One thing that is left out on most long ship reviews is that your balcony or window will be a few feet from the neighboring ship parked beside you. Privacy is a big negative when the ship is anchored.
It happens frequently as the river is so busy. Especially at night in the dock going through a lock. I opened the curtain at 2am to see a load of people looking down at me fromanother ship!
@@anitastanley8986 : The other thing that is not mentioned in longship reviews is that ships can be docked side by side with up to four ships. What that means is that people from the other ships will need to use your ship as a stepping stone to get from their ship to the dock.
This is a good point and why feel that balconies can be an unneccesary expense on river ships. However it very much depends which river you are on as to how often this happens and to what extent. We also don’t spend much time in our room, preferring to be out and about on the ship, so it doesn’t really ever bother us - you just have to remember to always close your curtains at night, just in case you wake up docked next to someone.
Thanks for watching 👍
We were on the Viking Grand European for 15 days. I can only remember 2 times when we were docked next to another ship and those were during the day when we were off ship on excursions. Viking service and customer care was outstanding!
This is such a great video. Well made! Thanks so much :)
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching 😊
Good video thanks. Only missing - excursions. Was hoping to understand how those work. Normal ships give a "docking time" but Vikings only include port names
Thank you. Maybe this video will help 😁 ⬇️
th-cam.com/video/zksI7THedus/w-d-xo.htmlsi=gC6SGbvrrd38xsQ5
This is a wonderful video. You've pretty much convinced me and I cannot wait to book.
Thank you for watching 😊
We just booked our first Viking river cruise! We are so excited
You’re going to have a lovely time! Thanks for watching. ☺️
Second VRC for us: Bucharest-Amsterdam, May 2023.
True, no two top tables in the main restaurant. However, the long tables can act as two tops if couples occupy alternating seats.
Dinner start time is rigidly adhered. If you’re late, you may encounter “server-chef scowl”. Supposedly being late messes up kitchen operations. This may vary boat-to-boat or chef-to-chef.
Observed some passenger rumblings regarding other passengers claiming Aquavit tables early in the afternoon…like every day…thus preventing others from enjoying the space for dinner. Perhaps a table reservation system can be developed?
River levels vary (not our cruise) preventing boat to pass under bridges or transit locks. Be prepared for bus portage around these. I’ve heard Viking is excellent handling all this but one does have to repack/unpack.
Everything presented in the video is accurate. This is the perfect way to see Europe, at least from a river perspective. Viking has thought of everything and really pampers its customers. Daily shore excursions are included in the cabin fare; they are excellent. Optional excursions (extra cost) are available. Of course one can explore independently.
Thank you so much for your detailed comment and for watching 👍
Please tell me you have been a narrator before, your voice is perfection!
Aww, thank you so much. No, I’ve never been a narrator before. 😊