Viking River Cruises
Best Value and Service on Viking River Cruises
With itineraries in Europe, China and Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Cambodia and Vietnam, Viking River Cruises is the world's largest river cruise line. Discriminating travelers appreciate the small-size ships, spacious river-view staterooms and gourmet, on-board meals. Today, the company boasts the world's largest fleet of deluxe river cruisers, including the newest and most luxurious ships on China's Yangtze River. The company is a multi-year recipient of Travel+Leisure's "World Best" award, and has been named to Conde Nast Traveler's "Gold List" multiple times.
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Review: Rhine Getaway With VikingMedieval castle, grand cathedrals, historic cities, quiant towns and spectacular scenery are all included on this Rhine Getaway With Viking.
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Review: Rhine Getaway With Viking River CruiseThe Rhine Getaway with Viking experience was amazing. We’ve never been on a river cruise before this, and we can’t imagine taking any other type of cruise!
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Review: Danube Waltz With Viking River CruiseDanube Waltz with Viking was a true feast for all our senses, with charming villages, art museums, castles and amazing new food and drinking experiences.
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Review: Rhine Getaway With VikingAll in all, we fell in love with the Alsatian region, Germany, and the beautiful river cruising experience on the Rhine Getaway with Viking.
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Review: Danube Waltz With Viking River CruisesDanube Waltz with Viking river cruise gave us an excellent sampling of each destination’s culture, language, architecture, history, local food and wines.
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Review: Danube Waltz With Viking River CruiseOn the Danube Waltz with Viking River Cruise, there is a tremendous amount of cultural and historical sites throughout the region
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Learn More About Viking River Cruises
Viking is a cruise company which was founded in the year 1997. The company successfully bought the KD River Cruises of Europe in the year 2000. This gave a boom to Viking's growth because not only did KD River Cruises increased its fleet to 26 river vessels but also gave it a 40 year experience as a leverage and provided Viking with access to some of the best docks in the key cities of Europe. Viking opened its marketing headquarter in Los Angeles, California in the year 2000. This gave the company a chance to enter the United States' cruising market. After so many successful endeavors like these in such a short time, Viking became one of the World's largest River Cruise Line. All of which happened in less than a decade of it being introduced into the River Cruise industry. The itineraries that Viking offers have always focused on the destinations that will be visited by the cruise. Since, most of Viking cruises operate from Switzerland; it gives a chance to the company to access some of the very best naturally rich destinations located in Europe.
- Viking is one of the best river cruise tour operator in the World with over two decades of experience in the market.
- Viking River Cruises is owned by Viking. This company also owns two more tour operating subsidiaries apart from Viking River Cruises. These subsidiaries are Viking Ocean Cruises and Viking Expeditions.
- The company operates from its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. It has another headquarter in California, USA, which oversees the marketing and advertisement functions of Viking.
- Viking River Cruises has a fleet of over 76 river vessels, which are all operational and are cruising on the rivers of North America, South America, Europe, Egypt, Southeast Asia and China.
- The company has seen very rapid expansion during its initial three years and has seen continuous growth in the years after that. This growth can be assessed by the fact that currently the company has more than 5000 employees around the globe, which is a huge number as compared to other tour operators.
- The establishment of Viking is a quite unique story of its founder Torstein Hagen who made his money in the Russian private equity markets. He helped a few Russian oligarchs to purchase a shipping company and as a return he received four river cruises from them at a very cheap price. These four vessels were the founding fleet of Viking River Cruises and this is how it all started.
- Viking is planning to expand its river cruising operations further by introducing Mississippi River of United States of America as one of its cruise destinations. They plan to achieve that by the year 2022.
- The average passenger capacity on Viking River Cruises is about 190 while the ship with least capacity can accommodate about 52 passengers and their vessel with the highest capacity can accommodate some 256 passenger. Most of their ships have the same length of 135 meters, have some 95 staterooms and carry the Swiss flag.
- Viking has sponsored a lot of TV programs including Masterpiece Theater by PBS, Sherlock and Downtown Abbey. It also sponsors the National Geographic Channel's scripted series on the life of Albert Einstein called Genius.
- Viking River Cruises has won many awards by different reader's magazines. These awards are mostly based on the user reviews and they depict the approval ratio of customers for this tour operator. Some of the awards that Viking has won are "World's Best by Travel + Leisure", "#1 River Cruise Line by Conde Nast" and "#1 Cruise Line by Cruise Critic"
- Viking also offers air services for its customer's convenience and they can buy their air tickets directly from Viking to match their river cruise dates.
Top Reasons To Choose Viking River Cruises
- It has been voted as the World's number one river cruise line by Conde Nast Traveler 2020 Readers' Choice Awards with the travelers rating it at 97.37 out of 100 on average.
- They provide a series of movies, documentaries, reading materials and videos to their guests before their departure so that the guests can have more insight about the cultures and local traditions of their destinations.
- Viking has always given top priority to their customer's satisfaction and they take into consideration every tiny detail about the cruising experience that their guests are going to have. From their cuisines to their cabin interior everything is designed in a way that you get a feel of the heritage and be able to connect to your destination.
- The onshore experience by Viking River Cruises offers you opportunities and insights that are not seen by many. While there onshore excursions include most of the famous landmarks and attraction spots, they will also take you to too many appealing points at your destinations that are pretty much hidden from the general public.
- The ships of Viking River Cruises are carefully designed in such a way that they are compact enough to be docked at many of the smaller towns in Europe so that you don't miss out on anything.
- They also offer cruises on longer ships that have more luxurious and spacious decks so that the people who like to travel in a more lavish and less crowded cruise ship can have an option to go on a cruise with Viking in their longer ships.
- Viking ships have been designed to accommodate large windows, beautiful terraces and wide balconies where you can sit and have your breakfast with panoramic view of the sun rising from the horizon.
- Their cuisines are destination focus and the food that you eat in their Scandinavian designed restaurant is always going to be something from the regional cuisine of your nearby destination so that you know which place you are at right now.
Frequently Asked Questions About Viking River Cruises
- What kind of trips can I take with you?
Viking is a river cruise company that offers many types of trips for its customers. These trips may include, but are not limited to, small ship river cruises along the European regions, long ship river cruises, cruises with shorter duration of stay and cruises that have a very lengthy duration of stay.
- How much would a tour cost?
Viking is a luxury cruise operator and one of the World's leading names in the industry which is why a lot of people believe that Viking River Cruises maybe very expensive but that is not the case for many of their regular cruises. The reason for this is because they have been in the business for a long time and have excess to supply that does not cost them too much. On average a river cruise by Viking may cost you somewhere around $2000 to $8000 per person. These prices are for a European tour that takes you on a cruise for almost 8 to 21 days.
- Can I take my family with the guide and not be stuck with other people?
Taking a tour guide with you and your family may be possible in the case where there are some extra tour guides available on the ship. Since the tour guides provided by Viking are very experienced and their availability exclusively for your family can not be promised. But if you intimate this request to the company before your tour then they may be able to accommodate you somehow.
- Can I tell the agent what I want out of the trip?
This company has a very high customer satisfaction ratio and they give their utmost importance to their customers. They have many programs through which you can let them know about your expectations and desires for the trip.
- Do they have support that can help me regardless of what time?
Yes there are many different ways by which you can contact the support staff of Viking and they will definitely respond back to you with in a short while. They have a toll free number and an email address available on their website "contact us" page that you can use to reach out to them.
- What do the guides do for you?
Viking River Cruise's tour guides are very knowledgeable and they will guide you about each and everything of your destination. These guides will always be there on your onshore excursions and will help you out in every matter possible.
- Do they have specialists that are working in each place?
Yes, their people specialize in the fields in which they work. They have been doing it for many years and have developed a special set of skills that help Viking stand out amongst its competitors.
- What type of way can you travel when you are traveling through Viking Cruises?
Viking River Cruises has two more partner companies, Viking Ocean Cruises and Viking Land Expeditions. These three companies together offer you a vast number of options in which you can travel with them. You can either go on a river cruise, an ocean cruise or you can also choose to go to the destination by yourself and let Viking help you out in your land expeditions.
- Who customizes the itinerary or things you are going to do ahead of time?
A team of professionals who are expert in customizing itineraries do this job for the Viking. These people have customized too many itineraries before and have the knowhow of creating itineraries.
- Where do you stay while you are at the destinations?
Your stay on land is also going to be very decent if you are travelling with Viking because they offer packages that have the cost of staying in beautiful hotels and resorts during on shore expeditions, included in the price.
- Is there a single supplement that can be used for travelers who are solo?
Yes, there is a single supplement charged to solo travelers. This charge is not a fixed charge and may change with the passage of time. As of now, Viking is offering a very low supplement charge of only 25% which is available for a very limited time only.
- On average, what is the group size like?
Group size in Viking cruises may vary from time to time and cruise to cruise. A typical group on a Viking cruise may consist of 10 to 15 people if you are on a walking tour but if you are on a bus tour then the group size might increase to be between 40 and 50 passengers, which can be a little problematic for those who like to travel with a little privacy.
Health and Safety Protocols on Viking River Cruises
Pre-Departure Test
To ensure your journey is smooth and that you are able to fully enjoy your voyage as planned, we highly recommend that all guests take a pre-departure COVID-19 test, no more than three days prior to beginning your journey.
Purified Air
Enjoy fresh air in your stateroom, knowing that all staterooms on Viking river ships feature independent air handling units that do not share air with other areas of the ship. Take comfort in knowing that the air in the public areas of your ship has also been purified with new short-wavelength ultraviolet (UV-C) lights and high-density filters, which kill 99.99% of all airborne viruses and bacteria.
Medical Services
While every precaution can reduce the risk of illness, we are also prepared for that outcome. Each of our vessels has always had a state-of-the-art Medical Center; those facilities have now been upgraded with more specialized equipment. We have also launched a new 24/7 hotline staffed by doctors, specifically for our river cruises.
Sanitization
Rest assured that the surfaces on your ship will be cleaned and sanitized continuously with daily scheduled deep cleanings. You will notice more hand sanitization stations throughout your ship. And on our ocean and expedition ships, we are using new sanitization robots that utilize UV-C light to treat surfaces in guest and crew public areas—an industry first.
Dining & Entertainment
On your ship, you can expect spacious, airy public areas and abundant options for al fresco dining. Also, on our ocean voyages, as always, you can enjoy complimentary 24-hour room service. Now, more options for spaced seating in all dining venues will allow for physical distancing; there will be additional table service at all bars and lounges; and new capabilities will allow you to watch more live events and enriching content through your in-room entertainment system.
Physical Distancing & Face Masks
Public health experts agree that proper physical distancing and the use of face masks are effective in helping slow the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. Face masks are optional while moving about the ship. Please note: Viking’s Medical Team continually monitors conditions and may deem face masks to be necessary while moving about the ship, based on conditions at the time of travel. While ashore, guests will need to comply with any local guidelines for face masks and physical distancing. Face masks continue to be required for all crew.
Local Partner Training
As part of the Viking Health & Safety Program, we will regularly train every local partner, including motor coach drivers and tour guides. While ashore, Viking’s measures will meet or exceed local guidelines for social distancing and other precautions.
Great trip!
This trip was amazing, truly a once in a lifetime trip and we had a great time.
Viking does a great job!
Viking was wonderful. The airlines not so much.
Regions
- Germany River Cruises (2942)
- France River Cruises (2081)
- Netherlands River Cruises (1654)
- Hungary River Cruises (1587)
- Austria River Cruises (1453)
- Switzerland River Cruises (1101)
- Slovakia River Cruises (508)
- Czech Republic River Cruises (392)
- Croatia River Cruises (276)
- Romania River Cruises (276)
- Bulgaria River Cruises (276)
- Portugal River Cruises (274)
Rivers
- Rhine River Cruises (1935)
- Danube River Cruises (1588)
- Main River Cruises (908)
- Rhone River Cruises (454)
- Seine River Cruises (448)
- Moselle River Cruises (335)
- Douro River Cruises (274)
- Elbe River Cruises (230)
- Nile River Cruises (120)
- Saone River Cruises (119)
- Garonne River Cruises (85)
- Mekong River Cruises (64)
Departure
- 2023 River Cruises
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Great trip,but the quality of food is not the same as on previous trips.