This would be a very long review if I tried to tell you everything I loved about this, our first river cruise. Everything was perfect and easy. Being met at the airport and escorted to the buses waiting to take us to the ship was wonderful. Not having to deal with our suitcases until they were safely in our cabins was a treat. Everyone on the Viking team was friendly and knowledgable. Our program director, Emilie Boey, was really special. She not only made everything fun, but also took care of a couple of problems we had with a smile on her face and a hug. Our dinner table attendants also added to the enjoyment of the cruise (Gilbert, Adrian, and Rein). The food was amazing, much better than any ocean cruise we've ever taken. I loved the smaller ship and smaller number of people on board. The excursions were all interesting and the buses taking us to various towns were clean and the drivers were friendly and great drivers. My favorite excursion was to Strasbourg, France. What a beautiful, lovely city with its pretty little bridges covered in flower boxes. I could've stayed there for a week. But we really enjoyed all the excursions we chose -- they were all fun and the towns or villages were all beautiful in different ways. German Night was fun on the ship, and we enjoyed the piano music in the lounge every night. Loved having the use of the tables in the lounge to play dominoes each evening, too. Emilie made the trivia and other game nights fun, too. If we take another cruise we will choose a cabin above the lower deck so we have a full window. Other than that tiny thing, I wouldn't change anything. This cruise was absolutely perfect in every way.
Our cabin was very clean and was actually larger than what we expected. Friends had mentioned how small the cabins are but we had plenty of room to store our two big suitcases and all our clothes. We were pleased that our cabin attendant usually had our room cleaned by the time we came back from breakfast. The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was great. We will book a room on an upper deck next time, though. I missed having a large window.