We have wanted to do a european river cruise for a very long time. The Budapest to Amsterdam cruise fit many of the countries we wanted to see. Viking picked us up at the Budapest airport and bussed us to the boat, no muss, no fuss. We found our cabin decorated in what I call Swedish modern, sleek and pleasing. We both loved the bathroom, the heated floor was well beyond what we expected.

There are two eateries on board: the main dining room and the Aqauvit “cafe” at the bow of the boat. We ended up eating all breakfasts and most lunches at Aquavit because it was like eating at a sidwalk cafe except the sidwalk was the river. We could eat while watching, hearing, and smelling the surrounding countryside slide by. The main dining room was a great meeting place for dinner. The large tables resulted in seatings of groups of people that started the meals as strangers and ended up as friends. Most nights the main dining room offered aregional menu in addition to the standard menu. The Regional menu offered a chance to try local cuisine that would never be available at home. In most cases it was a pleasant surprise.

The on board entertainment was uniformly excellent. The two person lounge combo was thoroughly professional and had a breathtakingly broad repetoire. Viking brought in opera singers and a glassblower for unexpected types of entertainment. There were frequent historical seminars, usually as preludes for the next day’s excursions which greatly helped understand the history behind the excursion. Read more