Viking River Cruises
Reviews and Complaints

Viking Buri River Cruise Saone-Rhone May 25th 2014.EvaluationExcellent1. All staff on board. Mainly eastern European. Captain Swiss. All spoke excellent English and nothing was too much trouble.2. Programme Director Mark Poisson, a Channel Islander. Worked very hard intellectually and physically for us.3. Tour guides to Beaune (+ wine tasting), Lyon, Vienne, Tain L'Hermitage ( + wine tasting + chocolate tasting at Valrhona's boutique), Viviers, Arles and Avignon, also paid 49 euros per person for Pont du Gard. We love history, architecture and French wine. It was our 3rd visit to the Pont du Gard in 45 years, and apart from the the tourist infrastructure thankfully it has not changed.Good1. Quantity, quality and variety of food and complimentary drinks.2. On board activities, talks about cheese and life in France, musical evening, visit to the Bridge etc.AdequateCabin cramped, I am only 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 metres) and my wife 5 feet (1.52 metres) and neither ofus over weight. My head would switch on the room lights if I moved it, unless my feet stuck out below the quilt. The safe was useful but standard in most decent hotels. Internet worked well in the lobby, erratic in the cabins. Bathroom modern and functional.Poor1. Balcony which was not cheap.We spent 3 days and 3 nights moored up in Lyons alongside and level with a noisy, crowded public quay below the main hospital. No privacy or security so we couldn't leave window open.We spent 2 days and 1 night parked against another ship in Avignon. Dark, we thought initially we were in a lock, no privacy, terrible smell of raw sewage. Couldn't use balcony or open window.2. Sun decks closed for 2 or 3 days because of low bridges, when the weather was sunny with refreshing breeze. Closure probably inevitable on this route. Be aware.3. Much cruising was replaced by bus trips.Chalon-sur-Saone to Lyon (whole of Saone Cruise and one third of total cruise) was omitted.1st Sunday. Chalon-sur-Saone to Lyon by bus. 1 hour and 40 minutes including stop to pick up another group.Monday. Lyon to Beaune 1 hour and 40 minutes each way instead of Chalon-sur-Saone to Beaune 20 minutes each way.This loss of cruising was attributed to high water levels preventing the ship from getting under the Saone Bridges. But many other ships seemed to be functioning normally, and the 2 rivers were obviously level at the Confluence.This was the first season of a new larger ship which was not in active service when we booked. It will probably get under the bridges in late summer and early Autumn when river levels are lower, as well as before the thawing of the Alpine snow.Friday morning. Avignon to Arles, (40 minutes by bus) instead of Tarascon to Arles (20 minutes by bus). We were given no explanation for this change.Terrible.Lack of communication from head office.We had driven to Chalons sur Saone and stayed the night prior to the cruise at a hotel overlooking the docking site for the ships as indicated by the Viking Web site at the time of our booking. When our final paper work arrived 2 weeks before we left home, it indicated a docking site about 700 metres from the hotel, across the river, a short taxi ride with baggage, but no problem. The lady owner of the hotel also told us the night before of this new arrangement, caused by the new ship being too large to use the dock in front.By chance on the Sunday morning we met at breakfast at about 9.30 a.m. an Australian couple staying at the hotel for the same reason as us. They had received an Email on the Friday evening saying that the cruise would start in Lyon. They were given a phone number functioning officehours Monday to Friday.We received no such Email during or after our travels, but continued to receive advertising EMails.I was in due course able with my French cell phone to contact a +49 (Swiss) phone number and was told that a bus would collect us in less than an hour with our bags about 500 metres away across a busy dual carriageway from the hotel.We did not have long to check out of the hotel, find somewhere secure to park our car for 8 days and get ourselves and our bags to the rendezvous, and take a sequence of auto route (motorway) bus drives rather than "Enjoy the scenery along the Saone River as you cruise. Enjoy cruising through lovely Burgundy and Beaujolais landscapes, passing lush vineyards, farms and quaint villages" as spelled out in the brochure.Conclusions1. Be careful about reserving and paying for a balcony on this trip.2. Don't book this trip between mid April and mid June.3. Phone the Swiss company number at least every 24 hours 3 or 4 days before embarkation.Viking must have known by the Thursday night that this ship was not going to get under the bridges, yet a number of independent, international travellers were not notified in time.Passengers appeared approximately 48% US, 40% UK, 5% Canadian, 5% Australian, 2% Dutch.Age 40 to 80, average late 60s. All good English speakers. Upper-middle income and education.

Viking River Cruise Sept. 4 - Sept. 14 including Prague transfer. Romantic Danube cruise Budapest to Nuremberg via the Viking Freya, with three night extension to Prague. I was told at booking the extension I would be allowed Hilton Honors Credit which I have come to find out I can not get now. Hotel in Prague - Room was horrible, dirty and smelled of smoke. I paid for a better room at the desk which cost an additional $700.
The Cruise - I got a piece of Glass in my salad at the start of the cruise, stuff happens I know but glass? I understand that there is a cultural difference between Americans and most Europeans but on a cruise that is designed to be marketed to American I would think that the crew would be trained in our expectations. Some of the crew where very rude or harsh, again I know a cultural thing but at this price point I expect to be treated warmly at all times. I will give a A++ to their bar staff and the hotel manager Roy he was wonderful. Also Great hot water on demand I am always amazed in Europe how they have hot water so quickly yet in America we have to wait for it to get hot. The locks went on strike and we had to be moved around on buses for two days which was a royal pain, also because of this we had to eat in port two times and we had no choice in what we had to eat. There should have been at least a choice, no vegetarian dish given just meat dish. Again at this price point and all meals included with choices according to the marketing for this cruise this was not what I paid over $10, 000. for. A lot of small things just did not go well on this cruise which just made it a semi okay cruise but most definitely not one that you would expect at this price. I don't mind spending money when I am getting a value equal to the dollar amount, and Viking failed at delivering that Value to me.

Viking Skadi Grand River Cruise July 2013 - a lock strike in Germany caused problems during the Budapest to Amsterdam portion of the trip.

Viking was aware & had knowledge of the strike well before the ship even left Budapest and did not announce it until the day we arrived in Nuremberg.

We docked in Nuremberg for 4 days by a bus terminal construction site with large & very visible waste bins. (Photos are available). We experienced this view, dust & noise for a 4-day period. The upper deck was also unavailable for at least 50% of our time here.

Unfortunately, Nuremberg (a beautiful city) could only be reached by a 20-30 minute ride. We took longer & longer bus rides (up to 3 hours for our last tour) on each of the successive days.

The bus rides were uncomfortable for us with long waits at gas stations for bathroom breaks.

Lunch was often hastily delivered en masse in over-crowded & over-heated restaurants. The quality of the food & dining experience was unimaginably sub-standard compared to our first 7 days, which was world-class.

Upon returning from these long bus rides, we were overly exhausted from our day trips to fully enjoy our evening meal. In fact, on some days we arrived back onto the ship only 30 minutes before dinner.

On the fourth evening, the captain announced that we would travel non-stop for the next day on the Rhine-Main-Danube canal to get past the lock strikers. We covered the RMD Canal during the day with only a small & overcrowded outdoor lounge available to us. The area that we cruised is considered non-scenic as Viking normally covers this portion at night.

To add insult to injury, we were forced to disembark two days early and bused to Cologne and then on to Amsterdam only to find out that Skadi was docked in Holland at Kinderdijk on Saturday. Many passengers wanted to stay on the Skadi instead of facing two very difficult and long days on prolonged bus trips.

After long bus trips on these two days, we were offered a sub-standard buffet-style meal. On the last night, the hotel staff was closing down the buffet shortly after we arrived after approximately 8 hours on an uncomfortable bus ride.

We paid for a 14-day luxury river cruise and wound up with a 7-day river cruise and a 7-day bus ordeal. We did not pay thousands of dollars to take a bus trip.

We received an email (dated July 31) upon our return home offering a 25% voucher for future travel.

It took a long time to be able to take this trip and we felt their offer was very inadequate considering that our experience was quite different than what Viking depicts in their marketing materials. In fact, we believed the pamphlets and slick commercials that said that Viking would “take care of us”.

It was clear that we were not making progress with their customer relations staff so we asked for the name of their VP, Customer Relations to escalate this matter with Viking’s management.

We were shocked when Viking stated that they would not share this information with us. After receiving this surprising response to our request, it took a couple of minutes via Google to find out that the executive for Customer Relations is Joost Ouendag and to get his contact details.

We emailed Joost Ouendag 3 times in the course of the next 14 days without any acknowledgement of receipt from him.

Ultimately, one of Viking's customer service reps finally reached us via email and then phone and said that nothing could be done except for the 25% future credit.

It would seem that we would be throwing away good money after bad. Also, Viking’s offer looks very stingy considering another post on this site that claimed “the June cruise received FULL refund of their cost even though they had been on the ship more than a week and a 75% voucher for future travel”.

In my email to Joost Ouendag back on August 14th, we stated that our satisfaction and future business seemed unimportant to Viking. Sadly, we still feel that way.
W&B Bernabe

Viking Aegir European Sojourn July 2013 - a lock strike in Germany caused problems during the Budapest to Amsterdam portion of the trip. Viking had knowledge of the strike well before the ship even left Bucharest and did not announce it until the day before we were due to arrive in Passau. From then on, we were bussed to cities in Germany, spending a minimum of two hours on the bus each way every day. We were on a bus that got lost going to Heidelberg Castle and ended up on a road that did not allow buses at all. Returning to the ship was a nightmare when the bus decided we were going to Nuremberg instead of Wuerzburg. Many passengers were becoming ill and spreading sickness on the long bus rides, some of which were on buses with little or no air conditioning. To top it off, we were ordered to disembark two days early, even after we were promised that we would arrive in Amsterdam by Saturday, July 27, and bused to Cologne and then on to Amsterdam only to find out that Aegir was docked in Amsterdam by noon on July 27. We did not pay thousands of dollars to take a bus trip and were not given the option after Melk to either disembark and return home or continue with the cruise with the understanding there could be problems due to the strike. We received an email (dated July 31) upon our return home offering a 25% voucher for future travel within 7 to 10 days. As of today, August 21, we have not seen that. Letters written to Torstein Hagen, Joost Ouendag, and Stephanie Maldonado, received at the Woodland Hills office on August 12, have not been acknowledged nor has there been any type of response. We requested a portion of our money be returned as well as a more generous voucher. Viking's lack of communication and obvious disregard for the age and physical limitations of most of the passengers when they decided we would be bused for ten days made this portion of the trip not only uncomfortable, but almost unbearable.

Viking Skadi Grand European Tour 6/16/2013
This was a very disappointing “cruise” with six days of long bus rides replacing long ship cruising, along with four nights in two hotels. The second hotel was an airport hotel with dinners in an upscale airport cafeteria. One night in each hotel was an excruciatingly slow dinner service. Experienced Viking customers on the cruise said they were disappointed relative to past cruises.
Several included city tours and optional tours did not live up to their descriptions. E.g. driving by an opera house hardly seems like “seeing” an opera house, nor do 13 pieces make an orchestra. The experienced crew of the Embla was way beyond the apparently new crew of the Skadi, which also does not as yet have useable Internet in some cabins.
Viking mislead all the way starting with web and email statements indicating a single day of bussing around one broken lock. They provided minimal information at the last minute before each days change in plans. We have yet to receive the promised compensation offer which is likely to be a discount on a future cruise. We are yet to receive any official apology from Viking.
The one thing that went well was having the same excellent Cruise Director and Concierge the whole time. They did a great job in spite of the circumstances and having to front for Viking which did not want us to have straight information. They did a heroic job, especially without the two extra guides for the hotels and bus trips promised early on.
We did not get the value expected for our $12, 000.

WHAT VIKING SAID:
Dear Viking Guest: (6/16/3013 – similar to Web info posed for several days earlier)
Thank you for choosing Viking Cruises for your upcoming Grand European Tour on June 16, 2013. Water levels on the Rhine, Main, Main-Danube Canal and Danube River have begun to come down after peak flood levels last week and navigation is starting to return to normal. However, due to events of the last week various ships in the fleet have had their sailing schedules altered and they may not be where they need to be. In addition, the Austrian authorities have announced that the Altenwörth lock, which is located on the Danube River between the cities of Vienna and Melk, was damaged during the recent flood. The lock is currently closed for repairs and is scheduled to reopen on June 20, 2013. As a result of these current conditions, we will operate your cruise with modifications.
You will now embark sister ship Viking Embla (Longship, built 2012) in Budapest and begin your itinerary, as planned. There is a possibility that the Altenwörth lock will affect Viking Embla’s ability to continue sailing on the Danube River. It is expected that a ship switch will take place with Viking Skadi on June 26. We anticipate that a full-day excursion to Heidelberg will take the place of originally scheduled sailing time. While you and your fellow guests are in Heidelberg, your belongings will be transferred to Viking Skadi, to which you will return after the excursion. After this ship switch the cruise itinerary will again continue as originally planned.
We look forward to welcoming you aboard and wish you a wonderful journey.
Sincerely,
Joost Ouendag
Vice President, Customer Relations
Viking Cruises

The Danube River was flooded. Other companies canceled cruises, but not Viking. Never gave us an opportunity to cancel. Ship could sail no further than 60 miles, never searching any of the planned ports. Ship was used as "floating hotel" for the first 4 nights and they herded us onto buses and took us to locations that were not included in the original literary. City tours were cut short because we were traveling during the day instead of sailing at night. Evacuated at 7:45PM from hotel in Budapest that was on the river and flooded. Said we would get a compensation.
June 20, 2013 Email from Joost Ouendag, VP Customer Relations: "In consideration of the substantial difficulties of your cruise, we would like to offer you a credit voucher worth 100% of your MS Vienna cruise fare...It is combinable with 1) all current offers on our cruises, 2) Past Guest Travel Credit, for which you qualify, 3) Viking Referral Rewards Credit.
When voucher was received it had lots of "fine print." Decided to try to use it to book the Nov 27 Heart of Germany cruise. That resulted in discovering it would actually cost more when using the voucher. In other words, Viking gave us a worthless voucher, meaning they gave us no compensation.

About 11:00 AM on 5/20 I booked three rooms for my family on a Viking River Cruise. After discussing this with my wife at lunch and we decided that it was not a great bargain. We sent a cancellation notice (e-mail) at 3:34 PM. Viking withdrew deposit money ($3000 / room or $9000) that night. I complained and they said our money would be refunded in 2 - 4 weeks. I told them this was unacceptable. If they can withdraw the money overnight, they can return it to my account overnight. After several e-mails and discussions, they promised to return the money by 5/30. On 5/30, they did return two of the deposits. They still owe $3000. I believe a tour company should treat this kind of transaction like any other contract with a three day right of recession. They should not take money from my account until a three day waiting period has lapsed. I will not use Viking again and would advise all to be very cautious of their financial practices.

Despite the fact that their web site "Terms and Conditions" clearly states that payment in full is not due until 90 days before departure, they actually demand it 6 months before. Their justification is that is you have a "special rate" the contract doesn't apply. the agent said that the contract doesn't apply to 99% of their customers and i recorded her saying that.
I understand that they want to float my money for 6 months and i don't even object. What i object to is the underhanded way that they do it. EVERY business should be very clear on their terms and conditions and i am going to file a complaint with the FTC.

Told by guide to wait at bottom of stairs while he led more agile people for a "five minute" look at a German castle that was not on the tour. He never came back. My wife tried to tell him three times that he forgot those he left behind. When she got it across to him he decided to just leave us and come for us at end of tour. 40 minutes later he returns, refuses to acknowledge he forgot and had refused to return. I however had heard the whole conversation over the tour radios we had been given. I told Viking tour people and they said to submit a complaint card and maybe they would not use him again. Their is no greater tour guide crime than to abandon his customers in a foreign country except for murder and robbery. He should be banned forever. Viking refuses any responsibility.

I am currently on a Viking cruise through Russia. St petersburg to Moscow
The organization is not focused on customer experience. We get on average 1 hour per day off this boat. We are currently sitting of Yaroslavl refueling. We gave been sitting here for 4 hours so far and have another 3 hours to wait until we can go onshore for 3 hours. I don't understand why we couldn't be dropped off onshore whilst it is being refueled. Beside the [protected]@s risk of refueling occurring below the smoking area of the boat we are stuck, bored stupid whilst this all happens. The most boring trip due to the organization of the itinerary. The staff are not engaging, not interested in making our stay interesting. I would not recommend this to anyone ever. I did a scenic cruise through Europe 2 years ago and they were perfect. Waste of money.

1. 2-for-1 Early Booking Discount. The discount that never goes away. It's a marketing gimmick. Don't fall for it.
2. Can't get unsubscribe from their e-mail list. Have tried several times but still get bombarded. Also can't find an e-mail for customer service to send a complaint. Can only find a phone number. I want to send an e-mail to document my complaints.
3. Single "supplement" is double the cost of the per person price for two in a cabin. You have to call to find out what the single supplement is because it's not listed anywhere in their brochures or on their website. Single supplements through other cruise lines or vacations are not double the price.
4. Paid the extra fee for special airline service, but it was useless, and I couldn't get a refund. Specifically asked to be booked on United so I could use miles to upgrade. When I called United, I was informed that the tickets were not upgradeable. Viking should have told me that.
5. Was told over the phone that I could use a voucher from a previous trip for a cruise this year. Confirmation e-mail did not show the voucher being applied. Called for an explanation but agent was on vacation. Backup agent said the voucher couldn't be used for the cruise. I canceled.

Promised wifi is a bust. Only one device can be used, lockout occurs when shutting down and attempting another device, there is a 1.5 hour wait (their estimate) for resolution, and latency (ping) is poorest signal quality seen in years. Don't believe them when they market wifi aboard their line - it's a no-go.

After reading all the complaints listed from passengers on your Air Arrangements Division of Viking I would have thought good business practices would require you to clean up the Air Travel Division. Since you have not, my husband and I have additional complaints to add to extension list. It seems to me if a reservation is made for a husband and wife, same date, same room on board the river boat someone would clue into the fact that during travel their preference would be to travel in adjacent seats. When the travel package from Viking was received, I noticed seating was either not assigned or each of us was in a different section. I called the Air Travel division and they said I had to call my travel agent, my travel called Viking and seats were re-assigned, OR SO THEY SAID. The problem is when I called Polish Air, the seats were not assigned, they had no record of ANY seat assignment being made. I recalled Viking, no answer. VOICE MAIL but requested to leave a message; recalled - no answer requested to leave a message; recalled and again requested to leave a message; AND ON AND ON it went. So far no return phone call.
Note to future passengers: Viking Air Travel Division is mismanaged, poorly supervised and generally to be avoided at all costs. Have your travel agent make separate arrangements, it will save you plenty of grief.
Note to Viking: clean up your Air Travel Division, it's a fragile economy these days and it's costing you business and business is money...

This is about the three supplemental days in Istanbul after the Kiev-Odessa Cruise.
The Conrad in Istanbul is a lovely first-class hotel, but it is too far from where we need to go in town, and the eternal traffic jam everywhere makes it doubly bad. The traffic cuts down on tourism time, and the guide spends too much time on unnecessary details, under the circumstance, and the main attraction is hurried. Dancing girls sculpted under the obelisk in the Hippodrome Plaza is pretty interesting, I admit, but not when it hurries our Blue Mosque time. Because of distance and traffic, we 'always' got back to the hotel late from our morning tour and with no time to eat before the afternoon tour began.Dare I mention the the sound system? Not very clear to begin with, but on one morning, it cut off half of what was being said. I didn't want to put this in a public forum.

I am VERY dissatisfied with the air arrangements that Viking made. I have written to the CEO, but have not had the courtesy of even a phone call.
April 29, 2012

Torstein Hagen
Chief Executive Officer
Viking River Cruises
5700 Canoga Avenue # 200
Woodland Hills, CA91367-6569

SUBJECT: BOOKING NUMBER1285702

Dear Mr. Hagen:

I am writing to seek your assistance regarding the air travel arrangements that were made in conjunction with the subject Booking Number. The travel route to our initial China destination, Shanghai, is from Chicago to San Francisco to Beijing to Shanghai. Total flight hours are nineteen (19) plus a total of more than five (5) hours of layover time in San Francisco and Beijing. Thus, we’ll be traveling more than twenty-four hours before we finally land in Shanghai and then we’ll have still more time before we are bedded down in our Shanghai hotel.

I think this is unconscionable for a company that espouses on the packaging for their Viking Explorer Society, “He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.” I ask, parenthetically, will the routing chosen by Viking change us in the way that you hope? My suspicion is that most of your travelers are not in their thirties and that many/most are near our ages, 74 and 71.

There are alternatives to this routing. For example, United offers both nonstop and one-stop flights. My suspicion is that Viking chose our routing without consideration of its guests and their ages.

I called Viking Thursday, April 26, to see if changes were possible and was told no, UNLESS I was willing to pay $300 per passenger ticket change ($600 total). I felt this was unacceptable and asked to speak to the clerk’s supervisor and was EVENTUALLY routed to the supervisor’s voice mailbox. I left a message, but have not received the requested return call.

Had I known that Viking would route us on such a circuitous path, requiring more than twenty-four hours of travel time, I would have made our reservations independent of Viking, or perhaps might have chosen a different tour company. We have traveled with Viking (Paris to Prague) in 2009 and found it to be a delightful and satisfying trip. However, I made my own air travel arrangements.

In summary, I am asking that you intercede on our behalf. The air travel arrangements made by Viking are hardly acceptable. At this late date we might be stuck with them, but the memory of traveling for more than twenty-four hours will also remain in our minds. Viking could have done it differently. The clerk I talked to could have been more cordial. The supervisor could have returned my call as requested in my voice mail. Please help.

Sincerely,

Robert and Dian Hornick
Permanent Address
4706 Montego Pointe Way, #103
Bonita Springs, FL 34134
Cell: [protected] E-mail: [protected]@AOL.COM Trip Departure Address
11271 Lindbergh Lane
Poplar Grove, IL 61065
Cell: [protected] E-mail: [protected]@AOL.COM

On September 29, 2011 my husband and I booked a trip with Viking cruise line from Budapest to Nuremberg. We were very unhappy that we have to cancel this cruise for reasons beyond our control.
When we called to cancel the cruise we were told there would be a $200 cancellation fee ($100 each) which we were aware of and had no problem paying. However, we were then told our insurance, which we did not think would be in effect until we paid in full for the cruise would cover the $200. This would then cost us $1198. This did not make any sense to me and if you think about it would not make any sense to anyone.
We were told the insurance was based on the full amount of the cruise which would be $12, 500. Why would I pay $1198 to cover $200. I have taken a number of cruises with Oceania, Disney and Princess cruise lines and insurance was never charged until the cruise was paid in full. No where on my bill does it indicate the insurance would be paid on day I booked the cruise.
I had a big problem with this and was very upset to think this cruise line would rip people off like this. I was sure this must have been a mistake and asked for any help they could give me in correcting this. This was a lot of money to lose by any one's standards especially since I was canceling the cruise well before date of final payment. I had only given them $2198 and was scheduled to give them the remainder on March 1. We were leaving on Sept 8, 2012.
The company responded to my phone calls and e-mails protesting this charge with "We are sorry but that is our policy and we do not make exceptions.
If this is their policy I would advise all future travelers to avoid Viking River Cruises.

Last weekend, we booked a trip to China through Viking River cruises for June 2012 (Imperial Jewels of China tour). I researched available flights from Louisville to China and selected the most desirable, shortest flights. I passed the flight information on to my travel agent, who then called Viking to book for us. Viking informed her that we could not have those flights because they contract through airlines and those flights were not offered in the contract. Instead they put us on a return flight that takes 33% longer.

I called the Viking Air Plus Department and was treated very rudely. The representative that answered told me that they wouldn't talk to me because I was just a customer and not a travel agent. I asked her questions about the trip and she was short and rude with me. I asked to speak with a manager about the flights and was told that a manager "wouldn't speak to me because I wasn't a travel agent." I corrected her and said that a manager would speak with me because I was a customer. She told me that they were 20 minutes away from closing and no manager was there, and that there were only two people still working. I informed her that I would call back the next day.

The next day, I called and spoke with another woman, Patrice, this time very helpful and polite. But she was unable to put us on the requested flights, so I thanked her and asked to still speak to a manager (she had been talking to the manager during my call). She transferred my call to the manager. But he did not answer the call and instead i got his voicemail. I left my name, number, a brief description of my complaint, and requested a return phone call. He has never called me back. Unacceptable customer service.

I am requesting that we be put on the most desirable flights offered. Only a few seats on that particular plane have been reserved this far in advance. There is certainly room on the plane. And it is ridiculous to ask people in their 70s to fly hours longer and add additional connecting flights to their journey. The flights to China are very long and exhausting, and the thought of it being made even longer because we will not be placed on these flights we are requesting is upsetting.

I would like for Viking to return my call and to help us.

If they contact me I will repost and let you know the outcome.

On July 1st 2011 I took the Grand European River Cruise - Our ships name was the Prestige - On a whole I the cruise - I became dissatisfied towards the end of the trip - The last 3-4 days I felt the service became poor in the dining room - There were a few times when people at my table did not get there food ordered - An example: My friend ordered an omelet for breakfast and never got it - Also, we waited long periods of time before we were asked if we wanted more wine or dessert or to order something off the menue for lunch - The first week maybe week and a half we never had to ask they were always right there to service us - We expected the same service though out the whole trip - The second part of my complaint is about the Prague extension - I enjoyed the city very much - Want I did like was the lack of service we got from the Prestige Representative - On the excursion the representative did not go with us as they did when we went on an excursion off the ship which I found to be very helpful - I was extremely upset with our departure at the airport - I was told the day before we left that a rep would be going with us to the airport - Instead she put me and my friend in a cab and left us on our own to fend for ourselves - She said there would be a rep at the airport to assist us - We got there and no one was around - We did not know where to start, what to do, and where to go - Thank God we found an airport worker who spoke some English - This was very stressful to both of us - They were there for us in Amsterdam when we began our trip they should have been there for us in Prague.

My mother and I took the Waterways of the Czars cruise with Viking, and were sorely disappointed. The cruise is not worth the money spent and we would not cruise with Viking again. The onboard administrative staff lacked basic customer service skills (they like to lecture you) and we did not feel welcome at all, more liked policed if we did not conform to their strict schedule. The included tours were short (the shortest less than an hour and the longest 3 hours) and we felt that some of their optional excursions (which were very expensive) should have been included. Viking will try to nickel and dime you every step of the way, overcharging you for taxi rides, excursions, and even when you settle your onboard account (ship currency is the euro, but at the end you'll be charged in rubles with an exchange rate plus an extra surcharge). The onboard experience was poor, and the offboard experience was okay.
The food, at best, was edible. The food was not fresh. The pastries were stale, the steak tough, and the salad wilted. My mother, who speaks Tagalog, was able to talk to the Filipino wait staff about what goes behind the scenes in their restaurants. They recycle food (leftover bread served during breakfast is used for sandwiches served at lunch, expired yogurt cups are opened and mixed together in a bowl). If you have traveled on large ocean liners before, you will know that a cruise ship never runs out of food. On this cruise, if you don't come to a meal on time, there is a chance that there won't be enough food for you. On one occasion my mother and I came to lunch 30 minutes after it was served and they had run out of chicken wings. There aren't too many food options, either. Most meals you only have one or two options for appetizers or main course. The wait staff were disorganized and understaffed. It took forever for the next course to be served and many times our ice cream for dessert was served melted. I have some concerns about the welfare of the workers as well. From what my mom gathered during her conversations in Tagalog, the workers are mistreated and underpaid, working 6 months with no days off and earning $30 per day. I also overheard one of wait staff meetings after dinner in one of their restaurants and the restaurant manager was swearing at the staff about how they were driving her crazy.
The stateroom was very small. My mother and I both brought one carry-on and one large suitcase and there wasn't any room to walk. My mom had to put her large bag on top of her bed so we'd have some floor space to get to the door. The "yacht-style" bathroom is also very small. When I first walked in, I wondered where was the shower, but soon realized I was in the shower. Next to the sink is a shower head and a shower curtain you pull to prevent the toilet area from getting all wet. I would recommend bringing flipflops with you to shower/enter the bathroom with. Because the bathroom also doubles as the shower, surfaces will be constantly wet. The air conditioner worked most of the time, but was very loud. It was a very old unit, and the controls didn't match the operation instructions. The housekeepers were stingy about giving amenities, such as shampoo and conditioner. I think they were told only to provide them every three days or something. Because my mother and I are of small stature, we were able to manage, but we can't speak the same for other, larger passengers on the ship. Most staterooms were not equipped with a TV; only the most deluxe suites had one.
There were next to no activities onboard. They had one TV playing BBC news in a small nook with enough seating for about 6 people. There was a movie every night, but most of them were old and/or obscure. The few activities they had practically the whole ship attended, resulting in packed rooms with inadequate seating for everyone. Viking touts cultural lectures that educates passengers about the place they're visiting, but the one I went to was not very good. The presenter sounded unprepared and I could have done a better job putting together the powerpoint presentation. It was really boring and several people left early. There was a vodka tasting event, but of course costed extra. Considering the large proportion of time spent on the ship (~50%), you would think Viking would invest a little more in onboard activities. I spent quite a lot of time to myself in my stateroom. It was a good thing I had brought my laptop, which was stocked with movies, to entertain me. Viking could have organized more activities, easily. They could have done a bingo night, or had karaoke, or Jeopardy, at close to no additional cost to them.
St. Petersburg and Moscow were very nice-- I wish there were more days in those cities. There are tons of things to see. In St. Petersburg, the Hermitage and the Church of the Resurrection are must-sees. Moscow's Red Square has the iconic St. Basil's Cathedral, which is as beautiful inside as it is outside. I'd recommend going to the Moscow by Night tour, when everything is lit up. The stops between the two cities were alright-- some good, some meh. I really liked Kizhi, with it's peaceful, pastoral charm. The local guide we had was really knowledgeable and spoke clear English. Mandrogy, on the other hand, was lame. The fake town looked like it was constructed exclusively for tourists, in which its main attraction is the souvenir shop. We also toured a whole bunch of churches, and they tend to blur after a while. The craftsmanship put into each one is astounding, but after you've seen the fifth or sixth church, they all look the same. Throughout the trip you will be exposed to countless souvenir shopping areas, but don't buy until you're at Uglich. They have the best prices for the same stuff you'll see at every stop. The nesting dolls you'll see there will sell for two to ten times more in Moscow. There were many optional excursions that should have made it into the included tours. Sadly because of the language barrier in Russia, you don't really have a choice of who you're buying tours from, and Viking takes advantage of that, charging 20 euros for a simple shuttle bus to and from the city center, and as much as 70 for a tour of a convent.
This vacation was the most stressful we've ever had. We had booked a pre-extension tour of Helsinki in addition to our cruise. Helsinki was a very nice place, but we could have done the trip on our own at a much cheaper price. Viking only included one walking tour and the rest of the trip was on our own. When it was time to leave Finland for Russia, it was discovered on the train there that we were missing a Russian visa, which we thought our Viking-provided invitation letter was. Throughout our previous travels, we had never visited a country where we needed to apply for a visa beforehand, so we never knew what a visa looked like, and Viking gave us inadequate, vague information on how to obtain one. When giving us the invitation letter, they could have said "this is not a visa" and we would avoided so much trouble. There were so many opportunities to inform us about the visas. Had they checked before we left the country, or even when we arrived in Finland, or even before we got on the train, some of this would have been avoided. We, two small women, were booted off the train with a couple hundred pounds of luggage, and had ten minutes to change platforms and get on the next train going back to Helsinki. We ended up missed the first couple of days of the cruise, and purchasing the visas on such short notice set us back $1200. We pleaded with Viking to help us and Viking refused. We were left on our own, stranded in a foreign country. They refused to help us pay for anything, so we were left paying for the hotel stay and train tickets. They even charged us 40 euros for picking us up at the train station and refused to provide us with the tours we had missed (which we had paid for in the cruise fare) at no additional charge. The tour operators were very rigid and inflexible. They only offered to organize or book things, but always at our cost. This company gave us the impression that they don't care for their customer and think only of profit. This ordeal placed unimaginable amounts of mental and emotional amounts of stress on us and my mother woke up the next day with pain in her left side. We were ready to just give up and go home, but we would lose the money toward the cruise as well as the plane tickets from Moscow, so we were forced to swallow the costs for the visas. We will never forget the way Viking treated us, and that is the main reason we would never sail with them again.