We took a transatlantic cruise over to Europe and enjoyed the ocean cruise very much with Royal Caribbean. We visited 6 countries on that cruise. We ended up in Copenhagen, Denmark and flew back to Amsterdam to board the Viking Ve Grand European River cruise. Let me begin by saying that we were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. Our cabin was tiny and had a peep hole for a window as all the balconies were sold out. We felt smothered and claustrophobic. We tagged our sheets on the bed and they were only changed once, after the first night, because my wine glass on the night stand had tipper over onto the bed. Imagine paying that kind of money and our sheets were never changed after that, ( this was a 14 night cruise).. The spokesman for Viking that we talked to over the phone after our return told my husband that, and I quote, " I don't change my sheets every week", and " you should have told your cabin steward you wanted you sheets changed". One would assume that the sheets would have been changed at least mid-cruise. The ship itself was small with the staterooms accounting for at least half of the ship space. They had a nice dining room, outdoor terrace for another dining option, lounge/bar gathering place for lectures and briefing of the next days events, and a sun deck lounge that ran the length of the ship on the top floor. The top deck stayed closed the majority of the time due to the lock bridges. On the one nice day that it was opened, we attempted to get a little sun but there was no pool, no Jacuzzi, or even a water hose that one could use to cool off.

The entertainment on board left much to be desired. There was a gentleman that played the piano for at least 90% of the time when entertainment was called for. They brought in a one time glass blower, a father and son duo that sang and played instruments. and a trio of musicians who played instruments. That was the extent of the entertainment for 2 weeks.

The ports/shore excursions were included which the majority of the time were walking guided tours. The tour guide would stand in one place for long periods of time which wore the older people down. The streets in all of the ports were cobblestone and created the risk of falling. I mention this because in most of the ports we noted sight seeing tour buses that were available but never used by Viking. The only buses that were ever used were the ones to get us back to the ship as it moved to a different location while we were on the walking tours due to the congestion on the rivers and the locks. They offered other excursions but cost extra. Read more