We chose this cruise because the itinerary looked very interesting, and we got to start in Paris and end in Prague. We traveled with another couple. We're all between 50-60 years old and are very active. My husband and I traveled with Avalon a few years ago for the Romantic Rhine cruise and based on that experience, we told our friends we would almost never be on the ship because we would be docked right outside the towns we were visiting and anticipated spending a lot of time checking out the sites. Well, I don't know if it's Viking or just this itinerary, but we spent very little time in any charming cities. Viking relied very heavily on bus transportation. Also, two nights, we docked at charming little towns, but we arrived after 6:00 p.m., and nothing was open unless you just wanted to eat and drink. One of our stops was supposed to be Koblenz, but we never stepped foot in Koblenz. We docked a few miles away in Winningen. Also, at our last stop, Bamberg, we were at an industrial dock several miles outside of the city, with nothing within walking distance. I have to believe Viking either has too many ships and not enough docks, or they are selling their dock space to other cruise lines and docking at cheaper locations.

The good: Transfers to and from the airport were flawless. The scenery while cruising was beautiful. The food was delicious, and the service and staff were great. The tours were well-organized with excellent guides.

The bad: Too much time on the ship sailing. There just isn't enough to do on board for that much sailing, plus the upper deck is closed the entire time on the Main due to low bridges, so shuffleboard and putt-putt aren't even available. The stops were very rushed, and we never had any time in the towns to explore. Finally the docking locations were terrible, resulting in too much reliance on bus transportation. Read more