We took the Rhine Getaway cruise from Basel to Amsterdam in the Viking Rinda (one of Viking's new ships this year). After many ocean cruises, this was our first river cruise. Overall, we were very pleased with all aspects of the cruise and Viking. We are an empty nest couple nearing 50. As expected, we found the demographic on board mostly Americans in their 60's and 70's. We were very pleased that there was no strict dress code like the ocean cruises and most people wore jeans all week. Our opinion is that the formal dress codes and men having to wear long sleeve, collared shirts and slacks to dinner every night need to be put in the past.

The included tours each day were well organized and the guides very knowledgeable, polite, and sometimes very funny. As others have posted, the most scenic part of the trip is the middle Rhine were most of the castles are located. The food overall was very good, a little better than Princess. As there are only 200 passengers and 45 crew on board, the experience was much more intimate than that of a large ocean cruise ship. Our captain, Attila Toth, and rest of the officers greeted each passenger with a toast at both the welcome and farewell cocktail parties. We purchased the most basic category of cabin (#120) and were satisfied, since you spend very little time in your cabin.

There are a few things Viking can improve on we would like to share with prospective guests: Read more