Viking Var Review

Romantic Danube : Christmas Market Budapest to Nuremberg

Review for Europe River Cruise on Viking Var
User Avatar
CloudBuster
First Time Cruiser • Age 20s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2013

First River cruise with several ocean cruises behind us. The first thing we found was how open the ship was, for the actual width. After the massiveness of the ocean liners, this ship looked very small from the outside, but they have done a great job of making it very roomy indeed.

Our cruise had 184 passengers so you never got the feeling of being crowded. In fact I was pleasantly surprised that overall there was more "personal space" on this ship than on the ocean liners. Very surprisingly we found there were 172 Americans on board, so it was more like an American ship. We had originally thought we would be one of the few Americans or at least some balance of cultures from around the world. In any case, the mix of people really made the cruise exceptional and we were also surprised that the average age of passengers was a little younger than we had anticipated (not the mid 70's but more late 50's to mid 60's) and all pretty well traveled.

We spend a couple of nights in Budapest prior to sailing, which was wonderful. Allowed us to recover from the flight and get our sleep patterns in check, as well as see more of the amazing city. Others joining the cruise on the day of embarkation wished they had booked a few days as well (highly recommended whichever cruise you take).

Cabin Review

Very nice room with a balcony and chairs. Much better than most ocean cruises with plenty of storage space, drawers and coats/closet. The bed can easily fit luggage underneath for storage.The bathroom is extremely well laid out with the shower having class all the way to the floor, so you don't have to "step in" and the glass is angled just right, so there is no space wasted, but you have plenty of room to move around. The shower has 2 doors which open to create a large walk in space.The bathroom floor tiles are also heated.The bed is quite large and we never felt cramped. We hardly used the deck, but it was nice to step out on at times and gave the appearance of having a larger room. If we did the same cruise in winter again, we would go with the french balcony, but a full balcony in any other season.The room was far enough from the lobby but not too far as to make it a long walk, especially if you forgot something from your room.

1 Helpful Vote
previous review

Find a Viking Var Cruise from $2,199

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.