grand european tour

June

Pros:

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

An excellent cruise, well organized with a professional and dedicated staff. I would have preferred a bit longer stay in some ports and maybe skipping some, but thats a personnal preference. One downside was the upper deck was closed for about half the trip due to low bridges.

Skadi

August

Pros: Great service, good tours, wonderful staff.

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Other than running aground, which was handled very well by crew and staff. And that was an adventure too. I had a very needed relaxing time.

Skadi New Year's Cruise

December

Pros: Personnel, destinations

Cons: Connecting with the ship

Recommended: Yes

I didn't realize that "transfers" in Viking language meant all connections - even train and taxi. Apparently I could have made train reservations through Viking that might have alleviated problems since the Danube was low and the cruise couldn't start at Budapest but Romaron. When I received the e-mail from Viking about the docking change, I called the US number. The people there told me to contact the ship directly. I received only the message that the number wasn't available and they would send an SMS message when it was. For 3-1/2 days it was NEVER available. On the afternoon my cruise began (the 26th) I called the hotel where Viking was meeting people and finally talked with a representative. She took my phone number, the time of my train arrival and said she'd get back to me. Two hours later, I retried to no avail. But they had arranged for a gentleman to meet me at the train - sign in hand, and a personal drive to the Skadi. He had looked me up on Facebook and knew what I looked like as well. Kudos to him.(Of course, if someone had returned my call, I could have gotten off the train in Romaron - 5 minutes from the ship - instead of having an hour's drive in heavy fog. ) Once I arrived at the ship I was well taken care of. The only problems were the low water on the Danube and fog. Otherwise it was a delightful trip. And we could have used a little more time in the ports.

Overall good trip

September

Pros: Attentive staff, excellent food, structured schedule, good weather, floating hotel allows you the comfort of not unpacking every other night, Viking makes sure you are well taken care of.... staff accompanies you on tours, bus transfers, and helping through the log jam at the airport. Their concierge services at hotels before and after the cruising are very knowledgeable of the area, transfers to and from airport were seamless

Cons: 1) Low water levels made switching ships necessary half way through the trip, 2) we could not dock in Budapest, be/c of water level and had to be bussed to Budapest, and lost 1/2 day of touring, 3) groups were still large for daily excursions 4) optional tours are an added expense $$$ once on board, and most of the "included" tours are mainly city overview excursions 5) the cabins are very small, and there is very little free time once you are on shore.... everything is almost overly scheduled.

Recommended: Yes

We weren't prepared for all the necessary tipping of the local guides..... it is difficult to always have enough of the local currency in small amounts. It was not unusual to have 3 - 4 people that required tipping in one day..... several local guides and different bus drivers! Our local guides were EXCELLENT AND SO KNOWLEDGEABLE. You also needed to have small coins to pay for use of the toilets. Be prepared for long lines at the water closets! We were provided maps of our daily excursions and emergency phone numbers for contact if necessary on every outing. Quiet VOXES were great for audio to be able to listen to the guides' narration. We were always provided water to take on daily excursions. We applaud the concierge and cruise director for their choreography of 180+ passengers and getting them to and from daily excursions and onto busses! We had the last state room towards the back of the boat, and would not recommend that, be/c there is constant activity going in and out of the storage room..... the door is always slamming. Beverage center for coffee and tea with cookies is available between dining times. When you return from excursions the staff greets you with little surprise treats of local sampling of beverages, hot towels, etc. Lots of extra attention on many levels.