This was our third Viking River Cruise and it was, as with the others, an excellent experience. The Prague-to-Paris trip is a blend of motor coach sight-see and transport, as well as river cruising, This aspect was different from our other river cruises and was necessary to help travelers see and experience so many countries and towns. My only complaint about this trip was that so much was packed in to each day (lots of walking) or transport time here and there, that we returned to the ship exhausted each night. It was not as relaxing a time as we had experienced previously. While we could have stayed on the boat rather than done the included excursions (plus the 3 optionals), the conundrum is balancing everything. As a shopper, I wish we had been in Bamberg on a weekday rather than a Sunday when everything was closed! Bamberg is such a great place to hob-nob around and missing it this trip was a disappointment.

On the upside --- the Program Director (Marianne) was AMAZING and made the trip a delight. She is attentive, talented, and has a wonderful sense of humor. The nightly jokes were something we all looked forward to. Our wait staff were stellar ---- same two every night. They knew our names, what we drank, who we liked to sit with ---- truly a personalized experience! The hotel staff were super and the new Alsvin is terrific! We will be back in 2018 to try a Viking Ocean trip, and maybe another river cruise!