We traveled with two dear friends for their first river cruise experience. Of course I had been monitoring the Viking status page as well as cruise critic before departing. Arriving in Prague for a two day pre-extension on Oct. 15 we stayed at the Prague Hilton on the edge of the Old Town area. The first encouraging words came from our program director Emma ( from NZ) that it looked like we had a good chance of actually floating down the river- the first in 3 months. But until we boarded the ship on the 18th would not know for sure.
Prague is absolutely beautiful! It had been on our bucket list and so happy that we had 3 days to explore. Viking provided a wonderful tour during the day before boarding the ship at Melnik about a hour from Prague. Our first impression of the service to expect came quickly when ALL staff helped deliver bags to cabins including the captain and head chef. Our first evening on board set the tone as soon as it was officially announced that we would traveling the Elbe without deviation. Many smiles among all 78 passengers and 30 staff!
Ship: Very nice modern and sleek with most time spent in the lounge or dining room. As it was late fall we did not use deck much but it did have a nice herbal garden that provided fresh touches to many meals on board.
At a little less than 200 square feet obviously small but Vikign made excellent use of the space. Loved the full length windows to view the passing German countryside. Great bathroom amenities. Since the ship is brand new everything sparkles!
We did our own walking tour.
Covered all Prague highlights
Spectacular architecture
Stunning buildings