Harriet24

We did Grand European Tour Budapest to Amsterdam June 2023. We did enjoy the trip. We were fortunate with river levels so had no disruption and off loading to coaches. We were the only UK people on board so it was great meeting so many people from America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. The menu was good but not exceptional. The excursions interesting but for most you have to be pretty mobile - even the gentle tours were quite a distance for people with mobility restrictions. The excursion guides were very knowledgeable and by the middle of the cruise it was a bit information overload but you can always turn the headsets off and just enjoy the view! There was a respiratory virus (not Covid) on board so waves of coughing - fortunately we avoided it whilst on the trip but it hit us on return home! The one thing that we would say is try and get at least a veranda balcony as most on the lower level said the rooms were claustrophobic and being below water level had water noise reverberation night and day. The sun deck was closed for a quarter of the tour as the bridges on sections of the river being so low all the furniture had to be laid flat. It is a small ship (200 people) so there is only one dining room and one lounge - that was fine - the evening entertainer was a keyboard player with an electronic accompany which was …. Well, interesting! There were a few alternative events in the evening which were very good (glass blowing, classical music). The cost of Viking is double what we paid on ocean cruises and the Viking room a lower spec - was it twice as enjoyable - no! But that is comparing two very different experiences. People asked did you prefer ocean or river cruises. Our take is you cannot compare them as they are so different and we do enjoy both. Would we recommend this river cruise - yes. But go with an open mind and not as a comparison mindset with an ocean cruise. The staff were excellent and catering for special diets superb. Despite the virus and on return getting a chest infection we are glad we did this trip and would recommend it to others. Finally, top tips - just make sure you go at a time of year where there is less chance of very high or very low water levels so to avoid a river cruise turning into an expensive coach cruise. Second, if you enjoy tea in your room take a travel kettle as no facilities in room. Enjoy!