Why Viking River Cruises Is the River Cruise Line for You

We have done 3 Viking cruises starting 3 years ago - Danube Xmas Markets, Seine, and just returned from Bordeaux. In fact, we bought 2 future cruise certificates.

Viking provides a good product at a good price. V has paid for our airfare to and from Europe for all of the cruises. I like the food, the service, and the ships. We usually book the least expensive room and use the public spaces alot in the evening. They have all been comfortable. V is not the fanciest but provides good value.

I always look at Viking's prices and itinerary prior to booking our river cruises. We have done four river cruises in last five years, none with Viking. They never come out the best value considering price and itinerary.

My son took a cruise with them and said they were very good. I expect that they provide a good product.

However, I very much dislike paying a year in advance. I always book early and would never pay in full that early.

Next time you book a river cruise, compare prices with number of days on tour, airfare specials and tours included. Perhaps Viking will be the best value. Perhaps not.

We have done Vantage and AMA and both are great. Unfortunately, AMA's pricing has put itself out of the competition in more recent comparisons.

Take a look at Emerald River Cruises, a relative new comer, but a subsidarary of Scenic, a highly regarded Australian line. We compared them with Viking after we made a deposit and Emerald won hands down. Better cabins, amenities, gratuities and excursions included , food, including free wine & beer were good. They also has promos including air or other items. We lost our V deposit but did not regret our choice.

We like Viking for most of the reasons offered in the linked article.

We found on the recent Rhone trip in November that the passenger average age was considerably younger that on previous trips. We are mid-50s and are almost always the youngest by at least 10-15 years. We are well outnumbered by 70+ travelers. I don't mind (I work in retirement living) but this trip was fun in that we travelled with people much closer in age and agility. I am hoping their marketing continues to skew towards a younger crowd or at least attracts a bit of a mix.

We like the Scandinavian design--neither of us are big fans of heavy dark colors and curtains. We are self-sufficient and don't require a butler or additional care. We do like the onboard laundry service. We treat the ship like a floating hotel and come and go at our leisure--not always tied to the scheduled activities or tours.