5 Nights Mediterranean from La Spezia (Cinque Terre) Cruise

Best Europe Cruise

The cruise was one adventure after another! The quality of the service that we received was always amazing! The food was very good as well and was varied for the next destination. The most fun part was meeting new people several times per day and seeing the sights at each destination. For a river cruise, bring jeans for excursions but also bring some “business casual” clothes for the dinners on the ship. It’s nice to be able to “freshen up” and dress up a little for dinner. Go to the lounge after dinner, because that’s where you will really get to know people. If you want to meet new people, get to dining room early and start a table that’s on a window. You’ll have new friends soon! Go to the meetings and “port calls” so you will have the latest information. They are not boring. They were actually fun! Use your cabin wisely. There is plenty of room for two, once you work out a system. We unpacked on the first night, but didn’t really figure out how to stay out of each other’s way, while getting ready, for another couple of days. Then, we figured out a system that worked great. We hope you enjoy you cruise as much as we did ours.

Loved the pace & feel of the river cruise. Smaller

Lovely time, I appreciated that they let us board & store our luggage when we arrived in Amsterdam @ 5:45am! They welcomed us aboard & served us breakfast! What a nice way to start our tip after a long flight! The excursions were great & Luis & Mikey made the whole trip fun! We did a ship swap but it was easy, harder on the crew! The food was great with a nice variety. Appreciate white/red wine to compliment the meal. People who shined- Hakim, Ionia, Zoran, Brando , Lana, Pedro, Jasmine,Adin & Jelena. Our weather was perfect which made the trip even more enjoyable! Having a gentle group & regular group of walkers is nice too. Accommodating those who use walking sticks or have mobility issues is nice. I would do another cruise in the future for sure. Nice to have the comfortable room to come back to every night!

Another Great Viking Cruise

This was our 4th Viking Cruise since 2013. We had originally booked a Viking Ocean cruise during Covid so we had to use our money soon as Viking wouldn't issue a refund. Also, we had to spend all the money on one cruise and not spread it out on 2 trips. Therefore, we ended up in an Explorer suite with all the perks - SS Package, laundry, private transfers, and breakfast in our room. I will say that the Explorer suite and perks have us spoiled. WE began with a pre-trip extension in Prague. The Hilton we stayed at was probably the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at. Fantastic breakfast, great views from the rooftop bar, the biggest hotel gym I have ever seen, and great location. The Viking representatives were fantastic and helpful. It is a very large hotel with lots of groups staying there but it never seemed crowded. We ate a few other meals there besides breakfast that were great also(but expensive). Transfer to ship in Passau was about 3 1/2 hours. Boarding was effortless. The Embla is an older ship but it looked in great shape for a 12 or 13 yo ship. Lots of room in the Explorer suite but because of the cooler weather in April, we didn't get to take advantage of the great balcony in our cabin. This cabin was a little noisy from the ship's engines but personally, it never bothered us much (more like a white noise). Whether you have a big cabin or not is your preference but the Explorer suite is the only cabin that isn't affected by rafting. Lots of cruises were happening in April and the ports were busy. Our last stop in Budapest had 5 Viking ships there at once with 3 being rafted together. The cruise director and staff can make or break your experience on a cruise. Marko was exceptional and a delight for all on board. Of course, the staff was fantastic, friendly, and accommodating when possible. Shout out to Martina who met with my wife every day to discuss her GF restrictions. The staff learns your name on the first day and remembers your preferences with drinks and food. The food was great and chef Michael had something interesting to try every night. Of course, everyone has different tastes, but we heard no one complain about the food or menu. Reading other reviews, I see people complain that there is no seating for 2. I think the great thing about this type of travel is the opportunity to meet other people. We met many interesting people from the USA, Canada, and Scotland at dinner and lunch. Most likely, we will keep in touch with some of them. The itinerary was good but not my favorite. I think the Rhine and Douro both had better scenery than the Danube. The big cities of Prague, Vienna, and Budapest though were all spectacular. The ship was docked close to town in Budapest and one could walk easily into Pest. Vienna's dock was about a 10 minute walk to the metro. We didn't try this but stayed on the ship after our morning excursion. One could easily spend a week and not get bored exploring those 2 cities. Prague Old Town was easy to walk to from the hotel. The other towns we visited were nice but definitely a different flavor from the big cities. The ship docked in a good location to explore Krems, Passau, and Linz. Entertainment was the usual enjoyable piano player with a few nights having local entertainment. With several create composers like Mozart, Listz, and Shubert coming from this region you would expect great musicians and that was the case here. I have never heard more talented musicians. Disembarkment went smoothly (at 4am) and we had a long day of travel to get home. The Aquavit lounge was open at 3am for a light breakfast. Overall, an outstanding cruise. Kudos to Viking for an exceptional product.