After a very enjoyable two week cruise through France on Viking ships, we decided to go for the Grand Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. We added a short extension in Amsterdam.

Although we were not disappointed with the cruise, there are a few things Viking should do to improve offered shore excursions. Local guides were available in almost every instance and were generally good. We did have a couple of guides who were not up to standard. When we mentioned this to the ship's staff, we were only told that others had made the same complaint. Not a very encouraging answer.

Be wary of making trips away from the port cities. Too often the excursions were cut short because of slow progress through locks, or the time spent on a bus ride. These excursions are very pricey and the amount of time spent at the site did not seem to make for a good value. Read more