Viking Anmeldelser 295

This is a truly superb operation. We’ve done four river cruises and two ocean cruises and have never had a bad experience. We’ve only had super experiences. I really don’t understand the bad reviews I see here.

The only thing I would recommend is to book your own air. They try to accommodate your preferences, but they probably have contracts with a few airlines and will try to fit you into a mould that you won’t like.

My best friend and I took the Rhine River Christmas Market trip. All-in-all, we had a good time but we probably would not do another cruise.
Pros:
The boat was in good shape and clean and well maintained
It works well to travel mostly at night and have the daytime to explore
Most days, everything was well organized
Our fellow travelers were very nice
The guides for the included tours were funny and knowledgeable
Cons
THE FOOD I was terribly disappointed in the food. As someone else stated, "The display is better than the food". Food quality is a big thing for me.
Expensive
The Christmas markets were so crowded you couldn't move at some of them (not Viking's fault}
The Christmas markets had very little unique or handmake items
I felt ripped off by the taxi the staff ordered for us at the end. The taxi to the airport hotel was 80 euros but a Uber back to town was only 22 euros
The staff were nice but at times not very helpful due to lack of local knowledge. Some of the next day briefings were too long and unnecessarily convoluted.
The only outing we paid for was disappointing, I think because it was winter and the Fort was partially closed, it lasted 1/2 as long as it was supposed to.

We have traveled with Viking two previous times, both were excellent European river cruises. We booked a third cruise last year that includes Iceland and the British Isles for this May. We were planning a fourth cruise in Asia in 2027. That is now NOT going to happen.

We just received our pre-paid flight itinerary for the upcoming May cruise. In the past, we had always been able to fly out of our local regional airport which is serviced by four major airlines. This time, we are being required to drive 10 hours round-trip to a hub airport instead. The rationale is not cost, but rather an inflexible internal policy.

The policy was explained to me in great detail as to why "this time" we could not use our regional airport. The policy is apparently inflexible, even if it defies logic and common sense in this particular circumstance.

The multiple customer service agents and the supervisor I spoke with were pleasant and patient, but ultimately my issue was not satisfactorily resolved. I am not big on hearing it is against our policy, even when the policy is a one-size-fits-all that clearly should not be applicable under the given circumstances.

I informed Viking that it is my policy that I will not travel with a company that does not value its customers and who's policies are so inflexible that they can't accommodate common sense. We will hopefully enjoy the upcoming trip, but have no plans to travel with Viking again. I estimate that at least three future trips we were seriously considering will now not be with Viking.

Viking refused to refund cruise fares for three passengers (including my 90-year-old mother) who never traveled or received any cruise services.

After an Air Canada strike was announced, I secured viable alternate flights, but Viking Air instructed me twice not to proceed and to wait for cancellation. I relied on their guidance. When the flight was canceled three hours before departure, Viking’s remaining options were unsafe and unreasonable for seniors.

Viking refunded the airfare in cash but kept 40% of the cruise fare and offered only future vouchers, which are not usable for a 90-year-old with uncertain future travel ability.

BBB complaint was filed and Viking confirmed refusal in writing.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime family trip, and retaining payment for services never provided is deeply unfair.

My husband and I did a Viking Mediterranean cruise in 2025 and there were a number of disappointing aspects. The food in "The Restaurant" was very hit and miss - sometimes okay, but sometimes inedible. To be fair, the food in the other onboard restaurants - The Chef's Table and the Italian restaurant were better, but you have limited booking options with those restaurants. Our cabin only had a small window, and the air con was so loud it made it difficult to sleep. We complained about the noise and they did send a repairman the same day, however the noise did persist (to a lesser extent) for the duration of our cruise. Daily cleaning of the cabin wasn't great. Onboard activities were fairly limited. Average age of the passengers was probably 80 years old, so not a cruise line for young passengers.

I placed an order on 1 December. Received an email that it had been dispatched via DX the following day. As from 3 December the DX tracking system says: "in transit". I contacted Viking by every means they have, phone, online form and email (they have chat but it does not work). I contacted DX via its online forms. Nobody ever contacted me, the products have not been delivered and nobody has reimbursed me either. Customer service zero stars on how it works - However, the people who answer the phone are extremely polite and it is not their doing that the system doesn't work. These people deal with us, customers, with a lovely manner, tell their respective "teams" - it is Viking's customer service system that needs sprucing up - they have nice people answering the phones - and then nothing is done (at least, in my case, nothing has happened in a month).

My reserved river cruise was overbooked and Mr. Mackenzie Williamson of Viking called me and I took his offer to move to another sailing. I was told there will be no issue with my paid Viking air flight from Houston to Paris. I talked to Viking Air supervisor Tee Martin; she wants to charge me 800 each for a flight to Paris via Montreal or to charge me a so-called deviation fee of 100 each for a flight leaving Houston one day early. Even though I agreed to pay for my own accommodation and transfer. THE BOTTOM LINE IS VIKING FAILED TO HONOER WHAT THEY OFFERED ME

Viking River cruise Amsterdam to Prague, 15 days. First and last cruise for me.Magni is the boat, Petea s tour director, or, should I say,,,top car salesman.
This is a booze pushing, overly heated sales event. They totally cram sales pitches, for future trips, down your throat!!!! Not enough shore time or activities for me. And yes, message came on our tv that they need our credit card numbers, so they can charge us a gratuity: $280.00. No thanks.

I have been on 3 Viking cruises and this is the last with them. We are on as I write this 11-19-2025. We booked over a year ago and only offered Tokyo to Sydney (50 days over $100,000), After boarding and talking to many passengers we were told of the "segments" that were never offered to us, we would not have sailed that long. So on board for 2 days I asked about upgrading to a bigger room and they said yes $16,000 extra for 12 days??? A few days later we spoke to a single lady that was upgraded for free and also many other passengers that were offered a much better deal than we were with free upgrades. I guess booking early has its penalties. DO NOT PAY THE TIPS, the crew DOES NOT GET ANY OF THAT, give out cash tips to the crew. Viking keeps that money, ask any of the staff. If you don't opt out they will charge your card when you disembark. The on-board entertainment is like a bad Vegas act. It is better to book your own excursions on Viator because Viking is about double the cost for less experiences. Spending a large amount of money I it feels like a big rip-off. The captain made a bad decision and sailed north because of a cyclone; we missed 3 ports and got stuck on this ship floating around for 5 days with nothing to do. The port we were supposed to go to (Darwin) did not have bad weather. This trip of a lifetime turned out to be a BIG expensive mistake.

We took the cruise from Paris to Zurich. From the time we arrived at CDG we were well looked after. We were met, escorted to the hotel, had our luggage looked after. The hotels were lovely, the boat was clean and nice, and service was very friendly and attentive. We were impressed by the food and itinerary. There were two bus days, with stops in France and Luxembourg - very well planned. This was a premium experience throughout. With our companions, we highly recommend this trip.

Worse experience ever. I wouldn't use these dishonorable people for a fishing trip, let alone a cruise. Probably the worst company I have ever dealt with.

Twice now Ive phone Viking for cruise info.
Both times staff were ignorant and rude.
Hate to think what the on board crew are like
Scenic got my business.

Booked a year in advance and already 2 ports advertised for the itinerary changed to much less known places. No compensation or care from Viking.
Got insurance so we are seriously considering cancelling and getting back what we can. However, from all of the reviews we've read that is very difficult with this cruise line even with insurance and there are additional fees even with insurance. From what we read along with our experience thus far, we fear the excursions and or extensions will be more bait and switch and their response will again be...to bad so sad for you. But, that's our policy.

I have tried everything to stop Viking Cruises from sending me physical mail — five phone calls, multiple emails, and even trying their so-called “unsubscribe” system through CatalogChoice. CatalogChoice requires login credentials and an extra setup process just to request removal — it’s a hoop they force you to jump through. It should be as simple as clicking “unsubscribe” on their website, but it isn’t. The mail keeps coming no matter how many times I ask. It feels intentional and predatory — like they’ve designed a system where you can never truly get off their marketing list.

Recently we did the Danube Budapest to Bucharest river cruise.

We initially raised concerns to Viking about our flight schedules with Air France and KLM but assured by Viking all would be good. Two flights late and two flights cancelled. The two rescheduled flight were then also late. Viking abdicated all accountability despite booking and recommending the airlines, as they appear to have a strategic alliance with them. But even worse, on the way out to meet our cruise we were late into Paris, but fortunately the connecting flight to Budapest was also late allowing us to make the transfer. However Air France decided as our flight into Paris was late they would not send our bags on the connecting flight. We were therefore without luggage for the hotel phase of our so called 5 star holiday. The Viking reps were very laid back about our situation and showed negligible empathy.

The bulk of the cruise was as expected. Good food and service. However the drinks package for spirits were not as good as our last Viking cruise.

However two more issues. I booked a so called hike to the vista of the iron gates. The advertising photo showed a deep gorge. The hike was more like a stroll on a path and the position was nothing like the photos. Viking refuse to do anything as it was bought with onboard credit. The fact the tour is wrongly advertised seems to not matter to them.

Finally the last stop in Ruse was cancelled apparently for water levels despite the river being full. A poor explanation on the ship and reorganisation of tours etc. Viking could not explain how often this happens and hide behind operational small print. We then stoped at a ferry crossing upriver with nothing in the area other than derelict factories and stray dogs making any land based activities other than tours possible. The final transfer to Bucharest was now a 3+ hour bus trip rather than 1 hour with a comfort stop in a petrol station! This is 5 star service?

My letter of complaint has been effectively rejected by Viking with an offer of a future cruise discount. Do they really think I will use Viking again?

My husband and I were booked on a Viking tour down the Danube in late September. We did not buy their insurance. Unfortunately 2 weeks before the cruise, I was diagnosed with an eye condition that required immediate surgery. A gas bubble was inseryed into my eye and if you fly with that, you risk your eye exploding. There was no choice, I couldnt go. Viking was able to rebook my room to someone else, so essentially they received double payment on the room. I am not asking for our money back, just a credit, as it was a fairly substantial amount. All Viking would give me was the run around—- you should have bought the insurance! This is just bad business since they received double the amount for the room. I will NEVER book with Viking again. They are a low class cruise line with bad policies. There are so many better choices on better cruise lines. They nickel and dime you to death, and make you pay a year in advance. Please look elsewhere. This company is no good!

This was our first River cruise which my wife and I planned to take in retirement. We arrived in Amsterdam and we were greeted at the airport by a Viking representative who escorted our group to the Viking bus to the ship. Our luggage was tagged with Viking supplied tags and loaded onto the bus by Viking reps and bus driver. We arrived at the ship and were told our luggage would be delivered to our room. Upon getting to our room we noticed one of our bags was missing. We were told it probably was delivered to the wrong room and would show up eventually. It never did show up with half our clothes missing. Unfortunately, this cast a shadow on the rest of our trip. Viking contacted us after the trip and offered a small credit on a future trip but we would be hesitant to use them again. We were treated well by the staff and crew and the experience would have been excellent except for this unfortunate situation.           

Viking is obviously catering to a specific crowd, but the lack of entertainment options on the ship were disappointing to say the least. Internet service via WiFi was abysmal and there were no streaming services available for those who chose to entertain themselves given the lack of ship board entertainment.

Ports were changed multiple times after booking, some of the changes required a 2hr one way bus ride to see the locations promised at time of booking. The Monaco port was fantastic, and likely only available to a ship of this size, beyond that, the others were disappointing and did not meet expectations for this type of cruise.

Excursions (through the cruise line) were modified the day prior to the excursion, leaving absolutely no time to book a similar event through a local company. No apology, no explanation, just booked an alternate excursion and offered a minimal discount on the replacement excursion.

Terrible company, they have no respect for people.

Viking Helgrim cruise on the beautiful Douro. I’ll start at the end, we left the overcrowded ship, where we were packed in like Portuguese sardines in the dining room,(one lunch and dinner sitting only) and standing room only in the only lounge during briefings, listening to people coughing and speaking about partners staying in their rooms as they were ill, and after taking a test on getting home, (eventually) we discovered we had Covid, (we wore masks all the way home even though we didn’t know it was Covid), we were very ill and still suffering now! This was a treat for my 70th birthday, we paid for a top stateroom AA, with a lounge, separate bedroom, and full veranda plus the Silver Drinks Package, came out at over £20,000! Never been on a cruise before, thought this would be a calm and casual way to try it, Viking spoke of having a library, HA!behind the grand piano in the lounge was a bookshelf, so only one indoor gathering point. We were flown by TAP airlines, Air Portugal, and before we left the UK I did query why we had two flights home from Porto where the ship would disembark us, Porto to Lisbon and Lisbon to Manchester. I was told in an email that Porto was a small provincial airport and that there weren’t international flights from there, a downright lie, when we were at the airport, not only is it far from small or provincial in fact it’s one of the best we’ve been in, and we’ve been in a few as our work required us to fly overseas, there were dozens of international flights leaving from there. So we arrived in Lisbon on Sunday and our first two days were at the Corinthia Hotel a beautiful hotel, but we were booked as bed and breakfast, I queried this and was told that Viking had been told by passengers that they like to dine out in Lisbon so hence the B & B! But it’s an all inclusive booking, what if you didn’t want to dine away from the hotel, which we didn’t? Surely an allowance could be put onto your room, use it or don’t? Always things done to the convenience and cost saving to Viking. So on Tuesday we were put on a coach at 8am, (up at 6:30 so we could breakfast and put our luggage out for it’s to be put on the coach), for what was a 3hr 20 drive to Porto, or should have been a 3hr 20 drive to Porto, but no, there was and I can only put it like this, an enforced visit to Coimbra, just over 2hrs away from Lisbon and about 1hr and 20mins from Porto. Coimbra, a lovely place, but up at 6:30, we wanted to get on board and relax, we’d other excursions booked. Now, as we paid for the AA Stateroom we were told that we could board the ship at 12, but no, even though Viking could have put those of us that wanted to and had paid to go straight to the ship onto a smaller coach, we were made to stay with the excursion. I know this sounds like we think we are privileged, but we really did push the boat out on this one, (no pun intended) and did expect to get all we highly paid for. We got to the Helgrim at 4:30pm. Our stateroom looked great, the veranda small but had two chairs and a small table and was on deck 3 the ultimate deck for cabins, the aircon in the bedroom was unusable as it was so noisy, we reported but nothing happened. First briefing in the very cramped lounge, with all passengers there people were standing. This was where there were talks, demonstrations and briefings, evening entertainment with the resident musician, dancing etc, oh and also the “library!” Also known as a bookshelf at the back of the grand piano,so no quiet areas on board! dinner at 7:30pm only one sitting so all together in the dining room, quite snug. Crew in there were lovely, we were always served by Andy, a great guy, made us feel very welcome, the food was very good, the chef calls around the dining room and asks your opinion, again a lovely guy. We didn’t join the entertainment lecture in the lounge, we were knackered after our early start, and as there was no other place to go other than on deck which was a little chilly we went to our stateroom. The in house on demand movies was a bit of a joke, think there was about 7 or 8 films, one of which was the Sound of Music? Live TV was CNN and another American news channel, (predominantly American passengers), the entire series of Downton Abbey, Americans apparently can’t get enough of that, we heard this from Americans, and there was a documentary. How many films can you get on an airplane? We went to bed. At just before 6:30 we were awakened by the most god awful noise, bloody amazingly loud, additional to that was the vibration. This the day after too, and on other days. Our veranda was unusable on some days due to being berthed inches from other ships, even though this was one of the things that made the stateroom so expensive. We avoided the lounge, it was a plague pit. There other things wrong I could go on given space. We notified the Prog Director and C S re Covid, no reply, crew has Covid!