We've been on one other river cruise (France) and loved it so much we were a little hesitant that this 14 day cruise might not be as nice. We shouldn't have worried. The ship was wonderful, the itinerary was wonderful and the entire Viking staff was amazing. Bottom line, we LOVED both the cruise line (Viking) and the itinerary (Grand European).
We arrived at Budapest airport in the afternoon of boarding day and were greeted (along with a lot of other people) by representatives of various river cruise lines. After check-in, we boarded a bus and set off for the dock. It was a little "iffy" at first as the crew on the dock didn't seem to realize that there was a bus full of people arriving from the airport (and neither did the front desk staff as it took several minutes for someone to appear). After that, everything was absolutely seamless.
We were shown to our cabin and then told a light lunch was being served. Of course it was the first day and everyone was exploring the ship and meeting each other, but the atmosphere was still calm and relaxed. The next day we awoke, ate breakfast and prepared for our included excursion. This was our only opportunity to explore Budapest but it gave us an overview and we were able to explore a little more, close to the boat, on our own in the afternoon. That evening, after dinner, the captain pulled away from the dock and gave us a brief cruise past the lights of Budapest. Beautiful!
Our cabin was more than adequate and we found it to be equal to many of the cabins we've found on ocean cruises lately. We had plenty of space for our clothes and having room under the bed to stow our suitcases was a real bonus. The bathroom was very nice and we really appreciated the heated floor. Plus, the fact that both doors of the shower opened gave you more room while getting ready as you could open the doors and you weren't hitting your elbows, etc. We found the balcony to be a real treat when passing by the countryside and when in some docking locations (not so much while we were in the locks .... slimy walls, yuck). Our only complaint was the selection of television stations. After a week, the programs began repeating. How hard is it to get tapes of old television shows or some decent movies!?!
A charming city that was untouched by the bombings of WWII. This is a city that I definitely want to visit again.
Note: We also took the BMW factory tour and, while it was interesting to see the secrecy involved with this company and tour the facility to see it's robotics, I'm not sure I'd want to take this tour again. It was, frankly a bit boring.
The review is for the city itself as we have been here previously. We love Nuremberg; however, the short walking tour that was given was NOT good. Basically, they drop you off at the top of the hill, walk you down a bit and then leave you in the town square for nearly two hours. There was another tour from the ship for people with limited mobility and these poor people were dropped off as well and then left to their own device. Many from our group ended up helping those with limited mobility. Viking really needs to do something about this tour as the city of Nuremberg has so much to see (the wall, the cathedral, etc.) and I felt our guides were just glad to be rid of us.
Such an amazing city! We spent most of our time at the Residence Palace but that was fine with me. I was amazed at how this structure was rebuilt after WWII and what it took to save it. From what we saw, it's a city to visit again and explore a little more in depth.