Viking Cruises - Lower Your Expectations
We recently returned from a less than stellar ‘Danube Waltz’ Viking River Cruise. We had booked this River Cruise over a year ago and had been eagerly awaiting our trip, because we had heard many positive reviews over the years from family & friends and we were excited about our first river cruise with a company whose reputation was built on river cruising. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed in our week-long river cruise and want to inform others about some of Vikings failings in customer service.
We "sailed" on the Viking Vilhjalm from 19th September through 26th September, 2018 with a three-day extension in Prague. We upgraded to the Veranda Suite that has two rooms and I admit that having the extra space and amenities was lovely. BUT…. what was very frustrating is that we were unable to sit outside on our balcony most days and enjoy the view, because our ship was often moored to another ship and our windows looked directly into another room. This made the room very dark and depressing having to keep our curtains closed so we received no outside light and we missed seeing a view of the riverbank. We believed that in paying an additional $5K for this upgrade our experience would be extraordinary.
The day before our scheduled departure date we received the same email as everyone else, informing us that due to low water levels on the Danube River our trip would be effected, which we now understand has been known by Viking for many months. My cousin who helped us with our travel arrangements, had heard about the water levels being an issue and called Viking a few weeks before our departure to inquire about it and she was told that our trip was not affected. I strongly believe that Viking could have handled informing customers about the low river water levels weeks in advance so that we could have either 1) adjusted our expectations of the river cruise ahead of time instead of being greatly disappointed upon arrival in Budapest or 2) had enough time to discuss rescheduling our trip for another date when the river was full. Receiving a last minute email blast was very unprofessional. One lesson that I learned repeatedly during the Viking River Cruise is that I needed to lower my expectations in order to enjoy the trip.
Because the water level was too low to allow our ship to sail into Budapest, we spent our first night on a different ship, the Viking Idun before being bused the next day to Vienna where our ship, the Viking Vilhjalm was moored. In fairness the Viking Idun was similar to the Viking Vilhjalm, but the staff on board the Viking Idun were not very helpful. When asking a question or trying to get help in making reservation in Budapest I was told that this is not your “regular” ship so we don’t know anything or we cannot help you. That evening, the Program Director told us that we should feel grateful for this minor inconvenience since we were on a ship and not in six different hotels like other groups had experienced previously. What a strange thing to say, since we sign up for a luxury river cruise.
The next morning we needed to have our luggage outside our door by 7am so that they could move it onto our bus. Instead of sailing out of Budapest and getting to see the extraordinary architecture especially the Parliament building, we had a long and boring three (3) hour drive to Vienna. (Lower your expectations.)
The staff on our “regular” ship, the Viking Vilhjalm, were very professional and welcoming upon our arrival, which was nice. I also found the housekeeping staff and the wait staff to be very warm, friendly, and accommodating. Unfortunately, the front desk/ Viking Concierge staff were unable to help us “customize our trip, such as directing us to a special bookstore or café; or making a spa reservation ashore.” In fact we tried to make a spa reservation in three different countries to no avail. In Budapest, we were told they were unable to help us. In Vienna, we were told that there was nothing available. In Passau, they successfully scheduled an appointment for us in the morning, but by lunchtime the therapist had cancelled our appointment. In Prague, we were excited to finally get a booking for a massage therapist, but unfortunately, the Swedish massage (typically performed on a massage table) turned out to be a Thai massage done on the bed that we would be sleeping on later that night. (Lower your expectations.)
Even though the ship has lots of seats and lounge chairs on the roof to enjoy the view of the river, please note that most of the river cruising happens at night. Our Program Director told us we were very lucky to be able to sail through the Wachau Valley, which had amazing views of the towns and countryside along the river. I was surprised by this statement, since I innocently thought being on a river cruise was going to provide many lovely river views. (Lower your expectations.)
Most people rave about food when the go on cruises, but I found the food on the Viking river cruise to be just okay. The food temperature could have been hotter, the food could have been cooked with less oil, and there could have been a better variety of offerings. On three separate occasions we sent back our meals to the kitchen. On another occasion we found a fly in our salad. But I want to state that Viking does employ an exceptional wait staff. All of the wait staff (especially Ryan & Bryan) who looked after us were always courteous and pleasant when we sent back food and wanted to know how to make things better.
The Program Director really enjoys hearing himself speak, so be prepare to listen to the Program Director every night for an hour before dinner prattle on about information that you can read in your nightly cruise briefing left in your room each night. I really suggest that you get him some classes in how to speak kindly to guests.
I have to say that Viking employed a great copywriter, but do not be fooled by some of their excursion descriptions. For example:
1)The Panoramic Bratislava tour that said “enjoy some free time in lovely center of town” was only 15 minutes. There was no time to explore this beautiful city on your own before boarding the bus again to get back to Vienna.
2)The optional Vienna “Mozart & Strauss Concert” is not performed by an actual “orchestra,” because ten (10) members playing instruments on a small removable stage while I am sitting on top of my neighbor in a folding chair is more of a music ensemble or band not an “orchestra.” Plus, you might get to view the beautiful Vienna State Opera concert hall during the Panoramic Vienna tour earlier that day, but you do not get to go inside later for the concert, since the music is performed in the Stock Exchange building and is for Viking guests only.
3)The “scenic drive after dark through an illuminated Vienna” is merely you driving back from the concert hall to the boat with unimportant buildings being pointed out like an insurance building or the tax building, which happened to not be illuminated.
4)The front desk/ Viking Concierge staff members were not helpful in assisting us to “customize our trip.”
Viking fell short in a few important areas and could have offered us better Customer Service. It was disappointing to learn after some online research and talking with other Viking passengers that Viking is known for their misleading advertising and questionable business practices.
1)Viking has known for months about the low river levels and chose not to notify their customers/passengers in a timely, honest manner.
2)Our trip did not meet the experiences as outlined and documented by Viking’s website, brochures, and ship representatives.
3)Viking’s business model seems to only support “when everything is normal”. Once “something” occurs that is out of the norm, the business isn’t adequately prepared to ensure a pleasant cruise nor assist with changes.
4)Our Program Director enjoyed telling us that Viking was doing very well as a company and had commissioned 6 or 7 other boats strictly for the Chinese market. This made us feel like our needs were not important, because there is lots of money coming in from the Asian market.
5)A Program Director who constantly touted the excellent service and scenery, which should translate into gratuities for himself and the staff. He was certainly laser focused on getting his tip! In fact I do not understand why the Program Director gets his own “tip envelope” and then everyone else on the cruise has to share one “tip envelope.” I felt that both Tanya in housekeeping and Ryan and Bryan in wait staff were so much more helpful and professional.
6)Selling me on another cruise while I am on this one is in poor taste. Your cruises should speak for themselves and I shouldn’t have to feel pressured by a sales pitch during my current river cruise. From the in your face sales pitch to the farewell captain's speech that summarized why we should buy from Viking again.
7)Offering a 25% discount on a future Viking cruise booking that must be used within a year (non transferable) is not acceptable. Viking, as a good faith gesture, why not start demonstrating some integrity and provide a discount on the cruise that we just took?
Viking, as a good faith gesture, should provide a cash refund for the cruise that we just took, instead of an empty promise to do it better next time. Unfortunately, we do not have much confidence that things will be any different on another sailing.
Reason of review: Poor customer service.
Monetary Loss: $6000.
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution.
Viking Cruises Pros: Staff on the ship, Ship and accomodations, Website.
Viking Cruises Cons: Changes in the itinerary, Not as advertised, Inability to notify customers in a timely and honest manner.
Location: Hayward, California
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We appreciate you taking the time to share your review, AlarmedSunBear814. Although we regret to hear of your disappointments in the changes to the original program in light of the historic water levels, as well as your comments regarding service, it is with appreciation that we receive your constructive feedback and suggestions.
If you haven't already, we would like to address your concerns with you in more detail at TellUs@vikingcruises.com should you wish to share more. Thank you for this opportunity to connect with you, and hope to speak soon.