Why did we choose Viking? Because we're not thrilled with big ship cruiseline sand thought we'd try this alternative to see different cities while taking in the sights along the river. If only we'd had such an opportunity! Apparently it's not unusual to have river cruises become tour bus excursions as they're dependent upon water levels, that are subject to risibly and falling at any given moment. In our case, as we were aware before we departed but were helpless to do anything about due to the terms of the contract, the Siene was high on account of rain.

As a result, our cabin with scenic balcony was replaced with a three star European hotel with dinners served in the basement, devoid of any selection - or taste, for that matter. So much for French cuisine for the first three nights. The bus tours took us to pre-arranged lunch spots, chosen more for how they could accommodate the large number of tourists than for fine dining experience, again with a preset, and rather bland, menu. Tours were rather hurried with guides speaking through headsets given to the divided groups according to buses. I was on the younger end of the spectrum at not quite 60 and in fairly good shape so was pretty shocked when's one tour guide asked a group of primarily older adults if they could walk quick you a steep incline of a hill to get to castle ruins since she had taken a rather lengthy time explaining the history and had to be back to the bus by departure time. There were some folks huffing and puffing and nursing swollen joints by the time we descended.

The staff is nice enough, some more so - and more genuine - than others. And of course we did meet some nice folks on board, a few with whom we've stayed in touch and will visit again, on land. Read more