Viking

"A year ago, my husband and I embarked on what we thought would be the experience of a lifetime, an ocean cruise to the "Cities of Antiquity." The cruise was cancelled twice during COVID. Viking presented us with a "Risk Free Voucher" since we had already paid for the initial cruise. It looked like the 2023 cruise to the Mediterranean would happen; my trip advisor suggested travel insurance but it would be limited to medical problems since the "Risk Free Voucher" would cover the trip. I became ill after arriving in Italy due to a medication reaction. In discussing my condition with guest relations personnel, it was agreed that I should return home since medical care might not be available once we left portside. I was not offered medical care on the ship. Transportation was quickly arranged and we began the trip home. Once home, I contacted my trip advisor who assured me not to worry about our investment regarding the trip. He suggested we file a claim for the cost of travel home and any medical expenses. A customer relations advisor, added to the call, also assured me that Viking would "make good" for the trip itself. It took several weeks for me to obtain the necessary medical forms to complete the claim. The insurance honored the claim for transportation. When I again contacted Viking about the cost of the trip, I was advised to book another trip to the same destination immediately. I began to receive notices of non-payment and potential cancellation for this new trip. I was unable to get a return message from my former trip advisor or the customer relations advisor that had spoken to me. I finally reached a new customer relations person who decided that Viking's "make good" was approximately $1600 (a voucher) on a $16,000 investment! My husband and I were incredulous. I subsequently sent emails to both the original travel advisor and customer relations advisors and received no acknowledgement. I also wrote to the Director of Customer Relations and then to the Chief Operating Officer explaining the situation and appraising them of the difficulties we experienced. Again, there was no reply. While Viking offers a quality product, I cannot agree that its business practices in handling a situation such as my husband and I experienced, measures up to a quality experience. Needless to say, we will not be going on any more Viking cruises, nor will we be recommending it to our friends. A year later, we still feel disappointment."

"My Mom and I paid for a Viking Ocean Cruise from Athens to Istanbul. We are Jewish and have seen huge Pro Hamas rallies in Istanbul and pictures of signs saying No Jews Allowed in shop windows in Istanbul. Viking is refusing to move our trip until next year when it would be safer for Jewish travelers. My parents have been on probably a dozen cruises, and I have been on two river cruises. This is not what we expected from Viking. To go on a vacation is a time to relax, not worry about your safety, or have to hide your identity."

"I injured myself on the second night of our cruise down the Danube because lights were burnt out on the top deck. Viking basically dumped us out on our own in Budapest to a terrible national health care facility where no one spoke English. We spent three nights on our own in Budapest as the ship sailed on with our luggage aboard. I had broken my ankle and we had to buy business class tickets to fly home because my leg needed to be elevated. Viking refunded/paid Not. One.Red.Cent! In fact they made us pay $400 to get our luggage back from the ship! This is a horrible company that overbooks their ships. Eating meals is loud and overcrowded! Never, ever again!"

"Floating Covid incubation chamber. The trip from Amsterdam to Budapest was beautiful, even though water levels were low and we had to change ships. My issues are with Viking policy. On our first day on the ship I noticed a woman passenger who was clearly sick - coughing, congested, blowing her nose. Then when I saw her in the self-service buffet line coughing into her hand then handling the serving utensils I spoke to the hotel manager. That's when he informed me that they can't ask them to where a mask or even suggest they isolate or apply common sense. Fast forward 10 days and about half the ship was sick with this classic Covid variant cough. A few had to leave the boat, probably on their own accord as Viking is fine if you're sick onboard. 3 of the 6 in the group we were traveling with were also sick. We would run into other Viking ships passengers on shore excursions and a large number of them had the same symptoms. But no mention of any of this on the boat or during our nightly port talk briefings. This is my first time on Viking and the other complaint is related to this Super Walmart of the river, mass-marketed discount luxury approach. We too frequently docked in industrial areas with nothing interesting around. Viking would then bus us to our shore excursions in the city where we would also see other cruise ships docked right next to the scenic city ports. Also, many times we would dock 3 ships abreast with other Viking cruise ships. This means no view from either side when you're sandwiched in the middle, and worse, you frequently got the smell of sewage in your cabin and the lobby. When I complained to guest services, they said this is common when docked next to another ship. When I spoke to the hotel manager, he wasn't happy the agent told me the truth and said there must be an engineering problem. Again, other cruise lines like Avalon and AMA were docked single ship. I'm sure Viking saves a lot of money on docking expenses but I will gladly pay more next time to stay out of the sewer."

"While there are positives and some negatives, the good, far outweighs the bad and we had a wonderful trip! We have taken several cruises with most of them being ocean cruises on some of the world's biggest cruise ships. I always enjoyed those so I didn't think I would like being on a really small ship. This is a different kind of cruise which makes for a different kind of vacation. We opted for the Rhine Getaway which was a cruise up the Rhine River through; Switzerland, Germany, France and The Netherlands. Now it doesn't cruise during the day which my husband didn't like too much but the reason for that is so they can stop at various cities along the river and you have the whole day to explore those cities and go on tours, during the day. One of the other problems we encountered was the river being too low. This happens on a particular stretch of the river where most of the castles are. They did accommodate us nicely and got us a ferry and allowed us to go back and cruise the portion with all the castles so that we didn't miss out. I was able to get some stunning photos of the castles which I am so proud of! They do have a strict timeline for everything but this is done to keep everything organized. You just need to watch the time and follow the rules. We had 2 different ships (The Viking Kara & The Viking Hiln) and both were extremely clean and all the workers were kind and top notch. Most travelers were older or possibly retired with the youngest being middle aged but all were in good spirits and clearly having a grand time. We made some new friends and even hung out with them the whole time. There isn't much to do on the ships but it really isn't needed because you are too busy having fun off the ship touring and exploring new cities. There are lounge chairs up on top which are great for a cup of tea or coffee, after dinner, while cruising. The main dining room is indoors but there is also outdoor seating which is a wonderful place for a peaceful breakfast. There are a couple of outdoor games, on the upper deck, where we met some other new friends. Traveling on the Rhine you will find there are a lot of bridges. This means the ship has to go through what is called "locks". This either lowers or raises the water for ships or boats to pass on one side or the other. I found that to be very interesting. The only negative I found was if you miss dinner, which we did one night because of an extra long nap, you basically don't get to eat. Hence, the strict scheduling. There is no room service. There may be a couple of cookies by the coffee machines but that's it. This is the big difference between them and a big ocean cruise ship where there is food 24/7. That is my only complaint but still it was such a wonderful vacation, we saw so many sights, I brought home a ton of unbelievable photos, that I give it 5 stars and would definitely book with Viking again."