Viking Cruises review: Disillusioned
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Our first cruise was with Viking in 2025, from Basal, Switzerland to Amsterdam. The trip was flawless and convinced us to book a follow up in 2026. Fast forward to today, August 11th. We are 7 weeks away from our Passage to Eastern Europe, Bucharest to Budapest. After looking forward to the trip for a year, we see and hear all the horror stories related to unprecedented low Danube River water levels. The “unpack once” advertisement catch phrase isn’t going to happen until next year….maybe, and hasn’t been happening for a number of weeks already. Viking should take the high road and cancel, giving folks the opportunity to rebook after the spring mountain melt replenishes the Danube and Rhine. But they haven’t, will not and shall continue to string along guests into joining their nightmare, providing bus travel instead of the floating haven promised. Their clients are older like us, and Viking executive management has zero problem herding 60+ people off/on/off ships which can’t navigate the lowest water levels in recent history. Fact is that most of the travel is by bus, on roads which were previously congested, now parking lots because the rivers commercial traffic is being routed by truck. Vining keeps you in the dark to lure you into believing that you will be treated properly, that the corporation has integrity. There was a time when they did, but that’s long in the rear view mirror. We see the handwriting on the wall and are cancelling, taking a $6,000.00 loss, 50% based upon the time before the cruise departs. We will recover 100% of our airfare, plus the other half of our Viking expense $6,000.00 and feel lucky. Rather than be $20,000.00 into a trip which only God and Viking management will control. What we are certain of, is that it will NOT be an “unpack once”, smooth, relaxing river cruise. What a pity….we are so sad and disillusioned.
Recommendation: Talk to a travel agent and think through various negative scenarios before booking. Know that the contracts signed are binding and generally not in YOUR favor.
Know that there are zero, none, nada... U.S. Consumer Protection Laws which extend to river cruises in Europe. This is a large gap which has been exploited and needs to be addressed, so contact your Congressperson or Senator. When airlines cancel due to mechanical or weather related challenges, they can't herd you onto a bus, drop you off at the destination and claim that they delivered on their promise! The airlines weather related challenges are no different than the cruise companies river water level challenges. There was a time when airlines rode roughshod over their customers, until U.S. lawmakers stepped in. The cruise industry is no different than the airlines, except that most of these cruise companies "target" American citizens over 55 years of age, which all sounds a bit "predatory" to me. False advertising by Viking "Unpack Once" should be the cornerstone, a posterchild of any legislation.
Lastly, the trip insurance companies and cruise lines are seemingly complicit. It is very expensive insurance (generally greater than $1000) and if you do exercise the policy, that expense is not recovered by the consumer. The cruise company steers consumers toward engaging a policy and expense, which helps the insurance company sell policies, which as a percentage, typically do not have to pay out. So, the insurance companies remain profitable. The cruise companies are made whole by the insurance companies, so they are profitable. Hmmmmm...who loses in any scenario where the cruise line fails to deliver? I sincerely believe that there needs to attention to this problem. Multi-Billion dollar companies have an unfair advantage and leveraging it as Torstein Hagen says in Viking advertisements, "quite wisely".
Know that there are zero, none, nada... U.S. Consumer Protection Laws which extend to river cruises in Europe. This is a large gap which has been exploited and needs to be addressed, so contact your Congressperson or Senator. When airlines cancel due to mechanical or weather related challenges, they can't herd you onto a bus and claim that they delivered on their promise! The airlines weather related challenges are no different than the cruise companies river water level challenges. There was a time when airlines rode roughshod over their customers, until U.S. lawmakers stepped in. The cruise industry is no different than the airlines, except that most of these cruise companies "target" American citizens over 55 years of age, which all sounds a bit "predatory" to me. False advertising by Viking "Unpack Once" should be the cornerstone, posterchild of any legislation.
Lastly, the trip insurance companies and cruise lines are seemingly complicit. It is very expensive insurance (generally greater than $1000) and if you do exercise the policy, that expense is not recovered by the consumer. The cruise company steers consumers toward the expense, which helps the insurance company sell policies, which as a percentage, typically do not have to pay out. So, the insurance companies remain profitable. The cruise companies are made whole by the insurance companies so they are profitable. Hmmmmm...who loses in any scenario where the cruise line fails to deliver?
Thank you for sharing your concerns. We understand that the reports of low water conditions and the possibility of itinerary adjustments have influenced your decision-making process and expectations for your upcoming journey.
We've sent you a private message with additional information and would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your concerns directly.
Warm regards,
Viking
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