Viking Experience Amsterdam to Basel

[MickeyP]

We had the Viking pre cruise package in Amsterdam and the Movenpick wasn't worth what we paid for. Rene was great as he took us around town in the drizzling rain on tours. We boarded the ship early on Sunday morning and I must admit the crew was super, all 45 of them. Always visible and helpful, especially Marianna at the front desk. Our stateroom balcony latch was broken and although reported , it was never fixed. Some rooms had the toilets plugged from some idiot flushing face towels which effected many rooms. About the third day some people started to get sick and by cruise end there were many, close to half the ship with some stomach or back side issues. The only sanitizer dispensers were at the dining room entrance, the lounge did have little bottles which were handled by everyone. I know from what I saw many were missing at dinner time and two people had to go to the hospital for having upset stomachs. Breakfast and lunch were good but dinner could have had a better selection. Many meat orders weren't cooked as requested and had to be returned. The afternoon cookies went quick and never replenished.

 

The Christmas Markets were outstanding in Cologne, the others were good as well but the drop off / pick up location was a long walk so be prepared.

 

My biggest complaint is with Viking Air arrangements. On our return, they only gave us an hour to make our connection in Munich. Now anyone who has traveled there, should know it is very unlikely ( almost impossible) by the time you land and get bussed to the terminal and then have to go through passport control and two more security checkpoints YOUR NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. Needless to say delays from the snow/weather added to this; then we were rerouted through Newark to Charlotte for another 17 hours added to our trip home. With the fixed price we couldn't upgrade either.

Once home we got a 10% discount offer for our next cruise within a year for our troubles.

What a shame to have a good crew, Christmas markets, meeting new friends and sights only to be ruined by the air issues and a virus.

[Viking Cruises]

We had the Viking pre cruise package in Amsterdam and the Movenpick wasn't worth what we paid for. Rene was great as he took us around town in the drizzling rain on tours. We boarded the ship early on Sunday morning and I must admit the crew was super, all 45 of them. Always visible and helpful, especially Marianna at the front desk. Our stateroom balcony latch was broken and although reported , it was never fixed. Some rooms had the toilets plugged from some idiot flushing face towels which effected many rooms. About the third day some people started to get sick and by cruise end there were many, close to half the ship with some stomach or back side issues. The only sanitizer dispensers were at the dining room entrance, the lounge did have little bottles which were handled by everyone. I know from what I saw many were missing at dinner time and two people had to go to the hospital for having upset stomachs. Breakfast and lunch were good but dinner could have had a better selection. Many meat orders weren't cooked as requested and had to be returned. The afternoon cookies went quick and never replenished.

 

The Christmas Markets were outstanding in Cologne, the others were good as well but the drop off / pick up location was a long walk so be prepared.

 

My biggest complaint is with Viking Air arrangements. On our return, they only gave us an hour to make our connection in Munich. Now anyone who has traveled there, should know it is very unlikely ( almost impossible) by the time you land and get bussed to the terminal and then have to go through passport control and two more security checkpoints YOUR NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. Needless to say delays from the snow/weather added to this; then we were rerouted through Newark to Charlotte for another 17 hours added to our trip home. With the fixed price we couldn't upgrade either.

Once home we got a 10% discount offer for our next cruise within a year for our troubles.

What a shame to have a good crew, Christmas markets, meeting new friends and sights only to be ruined by the air issues and a virus.

 

Dear MickeyP,

 

We are truly sorry to hear that you were unhappy with some aspects of your trip. We hope that, despite these issues, you were able to enjoy your time in Europe. Please do contact us at TellUs@vikingrivercruises.com so that we may discuss your experience in more detail. We appreciate the feedback you’ve shared here and believe that we would benefit from hearing more, as there are experiences mentioned which do not sound like the typical Viking experience.

 

Kind regards,

Viking River Cruises

[stretchcruz]

What did you not like about the Movenpick? We just got it for $85 for our pre cruise night in April.