Viking Helvetia

We traveled on the Viking Helvetia ship from Amsterdam to Basel in mid-November 2010 and loved it. We opted for the pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam staying at the Raddison Blu hotel which was excellent. We were fairly close to what we wanted to see by foot but did take the tram to the Rijks Museum which was a bit far to walk. Enjoyed our stay in this fascinating city. :)

The cabin on the ship was good. We were on the below deck so were eye-level with the water line which was fine. The hum of the engines put me to sleep each evening. The bed was comfortable, and the cabin very adequate when only sleeping and showering there. Our cabin steward was friendly and very helpful. The ship staff from the captain on down were outstanding. The tour guides in each port city were excellent to the point of sometimes giving too much information. We found it all very fascinating and interesting. And the tour guides spoke excellent English which was a plus. :)

The only downside we had on this tour were the group of travel agents and their guests who sailed with us. :mad: They were very obnoxious and only there for the free cruise and to drink the alcohol and couldn't care less with the other passengers who were there for the cruise and what it all had to offer. The staff tried not to cater to the travel agents, but at times it was obvious that they received preferential treatment and the paying passengers were second-class. I know the staff had to make the travel agents feel welcome so they would sell the cruise line to their clientele, but after a bit it got very old.

In spite of this, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed the cruise very much. It's a great way to see lots of Europe in a short time and not have to drive it yourself. We loved it so much that we have booked the Grand European Tour from Amsterdam to Budapest for April-May 2012 to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Looking forward to another great adventure with Viking!

Thanks so much for your review. We are sailing on the Helvetia, Basel to Amsterdam in early December to visit the Christmas markets and I haven't seen much info on this cruise or the ship. We too are staying in Amsterdam but doing it on our own as we've been there several times. I've put a roll call for our trip but have no replies, maybe we're sailing alone, ha ha, actually looks like our sailing is close to being sold out. We are also on the Main deck, cabin category D.

We returned from Vikings Imperial Jewels of China nearly 6 weeks ago and thought they do a wonderful job. It too was a fantastic trip and we are very impressed with Viking. Appreciate your sharing.

Susan

We traveled on the Viking Helvetia ship from Amsterdam to Basel in mid-November 2010 and loved it. We opted for the pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam staying at the Raddison Blu hotel which was excellent. We were fairly close to what we wanted to see by foot but did take the tram to the Rijks Museum which was a bit far to walk. Enjoyed our stay in this fascinating city. :)

 

The cabin on the ship was good. We were on the below deck so were eye-level with the water line which was fine. The hum of the engines put me to sleep each evening. The bed was comfortable, and the cabin very adequate when only sleeping and showering there. Our cabin steward was friendly and very helpful. The ship staff from the captain on down were outstanding. The tour guides in each port city were excellent to the point of sometimes giving too much information. We found it all very fascinating and interesting. And the tour guides spoke excellent English which was a plus. :)

 

The only downside we had on this tour were the group of travel agents and their guests who sailed with us. :mad: They were very obnoxious and only there for the free cruise and to drink the alcohol and couldn't care less with the other passengers who were there for the cruise and what it all had to offer. The staff tried not to cater to the travel agents, but at times it was obvious that they received preferential treatment and the paying passengers were second-class. I know the staff had to make the travel agents feel welcome so they would sell the cruise line to their clientele, but after a bit it got very old.

 

In spite of this, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed the cruise very much. It's a great way to see lots of Europe in a short time and not have to drive it yourself. We loved it so much that we have booked the Grand European Tour from Amsterdam to Budapest for April-May 2012 to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Looking forward to another great adventure with Viking!

Dear scarlettoftara,

We hear that a member of our Customer Relations team had a great chat with you today. Thank you for providing this feedback on your November cruise — we’re happy to hear that you had such a wonderful time that you’ve chosen to celebrate your anniversary with us next year! We hope you LOVE the ‘Grand European Tour’.

Warmest regards,

Your friends at Viking River Cruises

Thank you, Susan, for your kind remarks. You will have a wonderful time on the Helvetia. At the time of our cruise, the Christmas markets were being set up all over the place but not yet open for business. You will love them as there were tons of them everywhere we went. Have a great trip. :)

Thanks again scarlettoftara, I love that screen name. We are looking forward to traveling with Viking again and know it will be a wonderful cruise. We did basically the same one in Sept. 2009 with Uniworld but started in Amsterdam and ended in Basel with the Lucerne extension. September was a beautiful time of year as most of our scenic cruising was done during the day as opposed to sailing in December. We've been to Christmas markets all over Europe, try to go every other year but this will be our first river cruise to visit them, giving my husband a driving break this year! We lived in Germany in 92' & 93' and were introduced to the Christmas markets then.

First of all The Viking Helvetia is a wonderful ship with great accomadations and excellent food.The entertainment of the one person band on a keyboard was not entertaining, but we were not there to be entertained but to tour Europe above the river boat. Four days into our cruise, it ended abruptly.The Rhine river was too shallow.We were given no choice but to pack our bags and climb onto a tour bus. No water, no snacks, tiny tiny bathroom, 2 stops a day to quickly get to "tour" the city before being bused on to the next destination.Restaurants that were irritated to have a large group. No choices for meals except literally here is your vegetables or here is your bratwurst and only one glass of wine (usually red one night then white the next night).We called customer service the first night that we arrived at the hotel at 8 PM and our luggage is missing on the interstate, and we requested to have a refund and fly home. We were told to "give it another day". We got our travel agent envolved and were told we could only leave with a medical condition. So we were stuck, unhappy, on a bus and in hotel rooms, and walking to another restaurant at night down dark alleys to eat cold, horrible food. so Viking Helvetia ship is wonderful. Viking Cruise lines, horrible.

Had a wonderful time in Amsterdam!

Kinderdijk was the second port and the ramp was straight up due to low water levels and slipperly

First of all The Viking Helvetia is a wonderful ship with great accomadations and excellent food.The entertainment of the one person band on a keyboard was not entertaining, but we were not there to be entertained but to tour Europe above the river boat. Four days into our cruise, it ended abruptly.The Rhine river was too shallow.We were given no choice but to pack our bags and climb onto a tour bus. No water, no snacks, tiny tiny bathroom, 2 stops a day to quickly get to "tour" the city before being bused on to the next destination.Restaurants that were irritated to have a large group. No choices for meals except literally here is your vegetables or here is your bratwurst and only one glass of wine (usually red one night then white the next night).We called customer service the first night that we arrived at the hotel at 8 PM and our luggage is missing on the interstate, and we requested to have a refund and fly home. We were told to "give it another day". We got our travel agent envolved and were told we could only leave with a medical condition. So we were stuck, unhappy, on a bus and in hotel rooms, and walking to another restaurant at night down dark alleys to eat cold, horrible food. so Viking Helvetia ship is wonderful. Viking Cruise lines, horrible.

 

 

Had a wonderful time in Amsterdam!

Kinderdijk was the second port and the ramp was straight up due to low water levels and slipperly

Dear Rendalala,

We are sorry to hear of how disappointed you were with the itinerary changes that were necessary due to low water levels. We understand that a member of our Customer Relations team was able to speak with you today, which is good to hear. We just wanted to let you know that we are listening and should you ever want to contact us directly in the future, we’d be happy to hear from you again at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com or by calling your contact in Customer Relations.

Wishing you a great weekend,

Viking River Cruises

I was so sorry to hear of your experience on your November river cruise. My husband and I took that same cruise in November 2010 and had a fantastic time. I sure hope the river level comes up soon because we are scheduled for another river cruise with Viking in late April into May and will be traveling on the Rhine River before heading over to end up in Budapest. I would hate to have to take a bus tour instead of the ship tour. Please give Viking another chance as they are a great river cruise company and you would have enjoyed the river cruise to Basel immensely as we did.