Viking Danube Waltz

We took the Danube Waltz the first week of September. Others have posted detailed summaries, but for anyone considering a Danube cruise, I wanted to add:

Budapest is absolutely breath-taking. It is so much prettier than we ever expected it to be, with beautifully ornate buildings everywhere. Viking has a prime docking location at the Chain Bridge, making for easy walking to many of the main sights. The pedestrian zone is less than 5 min away, with lots of sidewalk cafes and shops like Hard Rock and a Harley Davidson (with very reasonable prices). Our only regret is that we did not arrange for additional days in Budapest. We truly enjoyed all that managed to see, and just wish we could have explored it more. Do read up on and walk along the river to view the Shoes Along the Danube from WWII period. It is a poignant memorial.

Bratislava - is another great stop, with historical buildings and a walking tour, as is the small village of Durnstein. It with its narrow cobblestone street, full of neat shops to explore. I thought the time allowed in both of these places was just about right - allowing us enough time to shop or wander.

Passau is featured in many brochure photos, but I can honestly say none of the photos do it justice, nor reflect that this is a village with the complete package of location, charm, perfectly blended colors, and beauty. We did hear the organ, and it was impressive, but it was more tones / sounds. I think I would have enjoyed it more had they played a song or music we knew. The best views of the village are from the castle atop the hill, and its well worth the trek to get there. There is a bus, but the walk while all stairs, isn't that bad. We took our time and enjoyed the incredible views.

As for the local guides..some were very good, and some were not. Our guide for Vienna talked non-stop for the duration. The man had serious lung capacity, and memory for his speech. Its just that little of what he said was interesting. On the bus, he gave us historical dates and names from the beginning of time, that none of us could remember, or frankly cared. It would have been nicer for him to describe some of the current sights we were passing.

Viking did a great job. We liked Viking Legend, the staff was totally efficient, and we thought the food very good.

We highly recommend the Danube trip, and if we repeat one, it will probably be that one. That's how much we enjoyed it.

Dear milling73,

All of us at Viking Cruises are happy to hear that you enjoyed our Danube Waltz itinerary so much. We see that you’ve traveled with us on several occasions, and we wanted to tell you that we’re very excited that you’ll be joining us again in 2014. We’ve taken note of the feedback you shared here and in the member review you posted of Viking Legend; please contact us directly at TellUs@vikingcruises.com if there’s anything else that you’d like to bring to our attention. In the meantime, we just want to say thank you for choosing Viking.

We look forward to exploring China with you next year!

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

We took the Danube Waltz the first week of September. Others have posted detailed summaries, but for anyone considering a Danube cruise, I wanted to add:

Budapest is absolutely breath-taking. It is so much prettier than we ever expected it to be, with beautifully ornate buildings everywhere. Viking has a prime docking location at the Chain Bridge, making for easy walking to many of the main sights. The pedestrian zone is less than 5 min away, with lots of sidewalk cafes and shops like Hard Rock and a Harley Davidson (with very reasonable prices). Our only regret is that we did not arrange for additional days in Budapest. We truly enjoyed all that managed to see, and just wish we could have explored it more. Do read up on and walk along the river to view the Shoes Along the Danube from WWII period. It is a poignant memorial.

 

Bratislava - is another great stop, with historical buildings and a walking tour, as is the small village of Durnstein. It with its narrow cobblestone street, full of neat shops to explore. I thought the time allowed in both of these places was just about right - allowing us enough time to shop or wander.

 

Passau is featured in many brochure photos, but I can honestly say none of the photos do it justice, nor reflect that this is a village with the complete package of location, charm, perfectly blended colors, and beauty. We did hear the organ, and it was impressive, but it was more tones / sounds. I think I would have enjoyed it more had they played a song or music we knew. The best views of the village are from the castle atop the hill, and its well worth the trek to get there. There is a bus, but the walk while all stairs, isn't that bad. We took our time and enjoyed the incredible views.

 

As for the local guides..some were very good, and some were not. Our guide for Vienna talked non-stop for the duration. The man had serious lung capacity, and memory for his speech. Its just that little of what he said was interesting. On the bus, he gave us historical dates and names from the beginning of time, that none of us could remember, or frankly cared. It would have been nicer for him to describe some of the current sights we were passing.

 

Viking did a great job. We liked Viking Legend, the staff was totally efficient, and we thought the food very good.

 

We highly recommend the Danube trip, and if we repeat one, it will probably be that one. That's how much we enjoyed it.

Viking thank you.

There are several river cruise companies, with similar routes / itineraries, and they probably do a very good job as well. But we took our first cruise with you two years ago, and were totally impressed.

From reservations with your booking agents to our return, we honestly haven't found anything during our trip to complain about. We booked air through you, at a price I was thrilled with as it was several hundred less than what I was finding. Our routing was direct and good connection times.

Our experience has been that Viking handles or arranges everything with complete efficiently. All we have to do is relax and enjoy the trip. That's nice.

We have liked our cabin, and we usually go with the lower level. The room is quiet. We like the half window as it allows plenty of light, and privacy at the same time, as well as spacious with good storage. (MORE hangars would be nice though).

We are totally excited and looking forward to our China trip in June. And deciding which one to take after that.....