This was my first river cruise. We were originally scheduled to sail on the Kara from Amsterdam to Basel for a seven night cruise. However, a few days before we were to sail, we got an email telling us that we were going to be getting on the Hlin in Amsterdam instead of the Kara. This did not really concern us since they seemed to be identical ships.

The Hlin was initially docked at an industrial port in Amsterdam, Coenhaven, which is about 10 km outside of the city. It cost us $50 euro to get there. We could not walk to the city from here, and as a result,, we lost time in exploring the city. The worst thing is that Viking did not tell us where to go for the ship! It was not one of the three "possible" ports indicated on their website.

We really enjoyed the first three nights on the Hlin. The chef was excellent, the crew was great and we had a happy ship. That all changed on day three when we were told to pack our bags and have them ready at our door at 9 am, we were going to be transferred by bus to the Kara and the Kara passengers were being transferred to the Hlin. OK so we were going to miss an evening in the lounge, I was not that upset. Sometimes you have to go with the flow. I wish I could say that was the end of our troubles. Read more