Review of Rhine Getaway on Kara

I thought this might interest some members .................

This is our first River Cruise. After flying from London, we sailed from Basel to Amsterdam in October/November 2016.

The weather has been brilliant. Sunshine and no rain until the last day; it was certainly far better than expected.

Kara is delightfully designed in blond wood and soft blues and greys for the fabrics and curtains.

The public areas are quite spacious although Kara wasn't full up with only 140 passengers aboard so there was plenty of room for all.

The organisation from pick up from the airport to our flight home could hardly be faulted. All the included tours were excellent. led by knowledgeable, interesting guides.

There was a mix of night time and daylight cruising and the trip through the Rhine Gorge was certainly scenic and attractive with a good commentary by Boris our Programme Director all the way.

The stateroom, a deluxe balcony, was small but more than adequate and the bathroom has a heated floor and lovely thick towels, pleasant, if not luxury, toiletries. The shower is efficient with simple to use controls. The toiletries are replenished frequently. The electric sockets are plentiful. There is water in the fridge, glasses and an ice bucket. An ice machine is down the hallway.

There was just one disappointment, but it is quite an important factor. The Food. Breakfast and the lunch buffet were very good, but the evening dinner was not. Some starters, but not all, were quite nice, but the main courses were really not up to scratch. I have read in these reviews that say the food was above excellent. Were we unlucky? Is it really a matter of personal taste. I am not sure it is. Many others we spoke to were as critical as we were. Some main courses were unimaginative, and sometimes plain stodgy (specially a cannelloni that was inedible). The steak was always good, but I cannot eat that every night.

Surprisingly, a river cruise is not the relaxing sailing along, watching the world go by, that you might expect. We were disappointed that we did not negotiate any locks during the day time. There is quite a lot of noise when the ship is manoeuvring which disturbed our sleep. For the city tours you need considerable stamina and good footwear, but as I have already said, the organisation and the guides were excellent.

On the whole we enjoyed our cruise, but would be very reluctant to return to Viking because of our experience with the evening dinner.

By the way, we are going on our first Viking Ocean cruise in January so I will be reporting on that food too!! J

As you say, food is a personal "taste"...sorry. :P I wonder how much also depends on those working in the galleys, as my S & B-i-L just returned from a Viking cruise and their only complaint was to much food.

Glad you did enjoy the rest of your trip, looking forward to booking ours soon....

That is too bad you did not enjoy the entrees. My experience with a Viking River cruise was I couldn't stuff any more in or risk seeing it back again. Every dinner I had two starters, two entrees and two desserts. Not kidding! Fantastic food on the river and also on a Viking Ocean cruise in September.

You are right the river is not a relaxing sit down and watch the countryside go by. Too many things to see and do to do that.......but you could if you wanted to.

Too bad food at dinner was not to your liking. Food can be subjective though. It may be different on your next ocean cruise. Thanks for the feedback.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Dear Jay23,

Welcome back from your cruise!

We are happy to hear that you enjoyed your overall experience aboard Viking Kara.

Our highly trained chefs are passionate about food and committed to providing an enriching culinary experience, so we regret that your personal experience was anything less.

Your feedback is valuable to us in every way and has been documented for future consideration. Should you wish to discuss your comments further, however, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at Tellus@vikingrivercruises.com.

Jay23, we appreciate the opportunity to respond and are looking forward to seeing you again in January.

Kind regards,

Viking Cruises

I thought this might interest some members .................

This is our first River Cruise. After flying from London, we sailed from Basel to Amsterdam in October/November 2016.

 

The weather has been brilliant. Sunshine and no rain until the last day; it was certainly far better than expected.

 

Kara is delightfully designed in blond wood and soft blues and greys for the fabrics and curtains.

 

The public areas are quite spacious although Kara wasn't full up with only 140 passengers aboard so there was plenty of room for all.

 

The organisation from pick up from the airport to our flight home could hardly be faulted. All the included tours were excellent. led by knowledgeable, interesting guides.

 

There was a mix of night time and daylight cruising and the trip through the Rhine Gorge was certainly scenic and attractive with a good commentary by Boris our Programme Director all the way.

 

The stateroom, a deluxe balcony, was small but more than adequate and the bathroom has a heated floor and lovely thick towels, pleasant, if not luxury, toiletries. The shower is efficient with simple to use controls. The toiletries are replenished frequently. The electric sockets are plentiful. There is water in the fridge, glasses and an ice bucket. An ice machine is down the hallway.

 

There was just one disappointment, but it is quite an important factor. The Food. Breakfast and the lunch buffet were very good, but the evening dinner was not. Some starters, but not all, were quite nice, but the main courses were really not up to scratch. I have read in these reviews that say the food was above excellent. Were we unlucky? Is it really a matter of personal taste. I am not sure it is. Many others we spoke to were as critical as we were. Some main courses were unimaginative, and sometimes plain stodgy (specially a cannelloni that was inedible). The steak was always good, but I cannot eat that every night.

 

Surprisingly, a river cruise is not the relaxing sailing along, watching the world go by, that you might expect. We were disappointed that we did not negotiate any locks during the day time. There is quite a lot of noise when the ship is manoeuvring which disturbed our sleep. For the city tours you need considerable stamina and good footwear, but as I have already said, the organisation and the guides were excellent.

 

On the whole we enjoyed our cruise, but would be very reluctant to return to Viking because of our experience with the evening dinner.

 

By the way, we are going on our first Viking Ocean cruise in January so I will be reporting on that food too!! J