We arranged our own air and arrived in Prague a day earlier than the scheduled 2 free nights from Viking. The hotel was a Hilton, OK for a large hotel; a little out of the way from old town. We took taxis in to town on our own instead of the Viking tour. Prague is a magical, fairytale city with lots to see and do. We did do the Lobowicz Palace tour and lunch through Viking. We had a great lunch in the family's quarters and then a private concert. Prague and the Palace were the highlight of the whole trip.

We then went on a bus to Nuremberg to board the Prestige. Luckily we had one of the two suites which were great. Eva, head housekeeper and the captain's wife, looked after all our needs. The boat was very nice, the food about a B- but the staff was great. This was our first river cruise and what we thought we were getting was traveling down a river and docking in small villages or towns that we could explore with the group or on our own. We got to do it in Bamburg and one other village. The lock masters went on strike which Viking knew since July, so we were stuck dead in the water for about 36 hours. Viking should have notified us passengers and given us alternatives. Most of the people we talked to felt the same way. Reading other reviews this happened in July also. So, there were the long bus rides for the tours. We only went to Heidelberg and stayed on the boat the rest of the time. We couldn't get off and explore because when the strike was over the boat had to keep moving to get us to Paris on time; so you would get off in one port and get back on in another. We had to miss two ports because of the strike. The weather was dreary and rainy so just as well. When you finally get to the Rhine, you really feel like you are on a river, but only the last two days of the cruise. Then we got on a bus at 8:30AM to go to Paris with a stop at the American Cemetery and some time in Luxembourg to have lunch and some free time.

We arrive in Paris in all the traffic and get to our hotel around 7:00PM. A very long day, most of us ate in the hotel that night. The hotel was dowdy and not very clean. Not a 4 star in my opinion. The walls were nicked and the carpets all over need to be shampooed. The room was OK after we upgraded. But Viking should be able to do better than that. I would never stay there again. Read more