Have heard negative things about Viking

[sjde]

At least with Viking.  they have enough ships that they can bus you around low points and get you back on a ship to complete your journey. 

 

Last Nov we did Christmas Markets Prague to Paris and the first half of the trip was too early for them to be open , though we started after ( American) Thanksgiving . So many people were upset. It’s true it was billed as a Christmas market cruise and we weren’t informed of this ahead of time. I believe we all got a $300 credit because of this.

 

One thing I’d warn about-we have usually been in a lower level cabin but do NOT get the very last cabin in the corridor or at least not on Viking ( or maybe it was just this ship) but there was a Lot of noise, a lot of banging. 

[Bill Y]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I think that what I have learned about River cruising over Ocean, is that with River, you cannot (or should not) go into a journey with set expectations.  

 

Last year in December when water levels were high, we docked several times way outside city limits when we knew that Viking had docks at the city.  We were lucky that we did not have to change ships or be bussed to hotels, and the week before our cruise they shut down all ship traffic through Cologne.

 

You must be flexible on River cruises - IMO.

 

We saw so many people that were "red under the collar" and "steamed up" and "angry" at Viking during this cruise.  It was not Viking's fault.  They were doing the best they could under the circumstances of the high water.

 

Imagine what is going on behind the scenes when these weather situations are happening.  Crew on the ship and crew on land rearranging everything, and arranging busses and different docking locations.  This stuff takes a lot of coordination and they are not doing it to punish us, they are doing it to give us the safest and best trip possible.

 

I had to bite my tongue so many times listening to people attack Viking verbally to others on the bus at how ridiculous this was and how they could do better...  I was just beside myself with the lack of understanding and reasoning that some folks actually have to reality. 

It’s a matter of managing expectations. There are advertisements and brochures depicting people enjoying themselves in interesting sunny locations, but what can implead these expectations is rarely mentioned and often minimised. For instance water level disruptions are often explained as, high water early in the year as the snow melts and low water during or after drought due to a dry summer. Anyone who has been following Rhine or Danube cruises in the last few years or has read @notamermaid's excellent reports and explanations knows that this is an over simplification.  Some people are upset on ocean cruises when ports are missed. Unfortunately on rivers and canals it’s not as simple as the ship just taking an alternative route.

[sharkster77]

My favorite unrealistic expectations story is the guy who sued Viking because he did not see the Hungarian parliament building, as in the Viking ads----ON A RHINE CRUISE!!!!

 

I wish I was a fly on the wall in the judge's chambers after he dismissed the lawsuit in a nanosecond.