Viking Embla River Cruises Reviews

Our Viking trip was awesome, the food was wonderful, the staff helpful, friendly and courteous and we just had a great time and met new friends, as well!

the best vacation we've taken. A combination of relaxing, learning, sight seeing, delicious food and a lot of pampering.

Very happy with Aga's Expertise in arranging out your!

The staff on the two Viking Cruises we have taken is exceptional. They are very efficient, courteous and service oriented.

Viking River Cruises excels in customer service & professionalism.

We had a great time on our recent Viking Cruise, despite the fact that low water levels in the Danube and Rhine rivers disrupted travel by boat somewhat. We had to change ships once and visited four sights by bus that we were supposed to sail to. Still we visited all of the promised locations and tours, except one that was refunded, and Viking people went out of their way to minimize the disruption which was totally out of their control. The restaurants they substituted for skipped shipboard meals (because we spent a lot of time on a bus) were excellent. Although we did not expect to be compensated for the disruptions, we were very pleasantly surprised when we returned home to find that Viking gave us two generous vouchers good on future travel. Because of the vouchers, we have already booked another Viking Ocean cruise. Ed

Viking crew and staff literally knocked themselves out to assure our comfort and pleasure. Shore excursions were led by excellent tour guides, and their system of using individual head phones attached to what they called "quiet" boxes, allowed us to hear every word from the tour guide, even if we were 20 or 30 yards away. The only thing that slowed us down was our own physical limitations. As for the cabin, the brochure photos made it seem much larger than it actually was, but it was comfortable and clean. On board food was presented beautifully, but it wasn't as tasty as we might have expected. Overall, it was a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.

Disappointed that Viking limits your use of "Affordable Credit" on ship purchases. Some optional tours were booked and therefore unable to purchase with credit. Viking refused to address provision for receiving a credit for unused "Affordable Credit $$". Basic tour package required too many additional purchases for optional tours; not included in basic fees. Not sure I would book again with Viking. I have extensive cruising experience, and believe that Viking Cruises do not compare with more inclusive cruise providers.

Viking Cruises provided excellent service except for vegetarian food options. I would suggest significant improvement is necessary to accomodate vegetarians aboard.

Viking seems to be lowering the quality of its river cruises.

We purchased the drink package - they ran out of our choice beverages and did not re-stock for 3 days - we should receive a partial refund. Food was just OK - more cafeteria style and boring after a couple of days although dinners were usually the best meal of the day. Our first river cruise - liked the concept. Would take another river cruise but with a different operator for comparison. Evening entertainment (piano player) was so boring and limited in songs - all old slow songs. Even though the passengers are a somewhat older crowd we still like modern music and enjoy dancing.

As a customer with a BA in Hotel/Restaurant Management, this cruise was a huge disappointment. The guest service manager was arrogant. He said and did anything to get rid of me including underestimating travel times and walking difficulty on tours. The tour guides were boring and busy promoting where to eat & drink so that when we reached the Cologne Cathedral, she did not enter even though other Viking Tour Guides were inside (the whole reason for the tour!). The food was tolerable. The staff looked and acted underpaid and overworked with the exception of "Jerome" who was the only one who took the time to learn and use my name making me feel my business was appreciated, Viking program director "Rob" kept trying to convince us that we were getting "exceptional service" but I do not think he knows what good service is never mind exceptional. I will not cruise with Viking again.