Just got off the Kara from Basel to Amsterdam. We have been on both Uniworld and AMAwaterways which we preferred to Viking. The reasons were as follows:
Smallest staterooms, (maybe 12" of space on three sides of the bed) why buy a balcony when you are rafted off many nights next to another ship, horrible pillows, limited menu selections at every meal (3), very slow dining service but you were rushed to order, no meal above a 6, even though wines were included, they poured the same cheap Argentinian Malbec and Sauvignon blanc ALL week long, (didn't this cruise go through some of the finest wine regions of Europe?), they seemed understaffed in the dining room and finally, tipping. When we went to settle our account they practically demanded 8 days of tipping for a seven day cruise and they insisted on 2 euro per day per person for the cruise director who was just ok. Good things were checking in and out, the ships condition and inside appearance, the air conditioning and towels. They always had water available for the tours. As I recall Viking had the lowest price compared to Uniworld and AMA maybe you get what you pay for.
Read this before considering Viking
in River Cruising
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Just got off the Kara from Basel to Amsterdam. We have been on both Uniworld and AMAwaterways which we preferred to Viking. The reasons were as follows:
Smallest staterooms, (maybe 12" of space on three sides of the bed) why buy a balcony when you are rafted off many nights next to another ship, horrible pillows, limited menu selections at every meal (3), very slow dining service but you were rushed to order, no meal above a 6, even though wines were included, they poured the same cheap Argentinian Malbec and Sauvignon blanc ALL week long, (didn't this cruise go through some of the finest wine regions of Europe?), they seemed understaffed in the dining room and finally, tipping. When we went to settle our account they practically demanded 8 days of tipping for a seven day cruise and they insisted on 2 euro per day per person for the cruise director who was just ok. Good things were checking in and out, the ships condition and inside appearance, the air conditioning and towels. They always had water available for the tours. As I recall Viking had the lowest price compared to Uniworld and AMA maybe you get what you pay for.