VikingReviews of viking.com

The FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT thing I would like to say is make sure your rain gear is indeed WATERPROOF. It RAINS a lot and that is why Norway is so GREEN! It was raining 80% of the time in Iceland and Norway. It was NOT down pouring but after a few hours of drizzling rain our rain coats were saturated and started to seep inside. Our backpacks were water resistant but it had water inside. Luckily we had are stuff in zip lock bags just in case. The arrival flight into Iceland was CHAOTIC and not very well organized. We had two extra carry-on bags that they gave us regular airline tags to put our names on it to ensure they got to our stateroom. That was a BIG mistake. (my mom’s ashes were in that bag) Our luggage that had the actual Viking tags with our room numbers made it but not the one that had the airport added tag even though I put my cabin number and my name on the tag. I was FREAKING out since my mom’s ashes that I promised her to bring her when I travel was in the missing bag. My daughter happened to see the bag just like mine in the hallway by another room and when we realized that mine was missing an hour later knew that it could have been my bag. So, she went looking for it and luckily the bags were still in the hallway so she grabbed it after verifying the name on the bag. The SATURN SHIP and CREW were FANTASTIC! I can’t say enough good things about everything. Food and Service was GREAT! The state room was set up with two separate beds as we asked. Loved the Veranda that we could walk out and see things from our state room. Enjoyed watching the tug boats do their thing in every port. 😊 I even told my daughter “Here comes our lil Buddy”. We got some really good videos and pictures on our phone and GoPros. ROOM service was GREAT! It was nice to order breakfast for the following morning so we were not rushed getting ready for our planned tour for that day. Everything about the SHIP and CREW were AWESOME. They were helpful, polite and looked like they enjoyed their job. I loved the SPA area and enjoyed the Thermal Pool every chance that I had. The FOOD was great! We did try the other restaurants that required reservations and they were great as well. No complaints on the food. They had a particular ice cream (Stracciatella) that they only had twice that I really LOVED and wished that it was more permanent. I did not use the HOT Tub that was right next to it since the stairs were so vertical that I had a hard time getting out. Had I known the issues ahead of time with the ATV and on of the bus tour, I would have just ENJOYED staying on the ship. (LOL) Did not like the fact that the Faroe Islands were cancelled and then the backup port Shetland islands was cancelled as well; however, I knew that the captain was only keeping us safe due to high swells. They should have gone to another port instead of staying an extra day in Geiranger. We did enjoy the HELICOPTER tour, that was fun and AMAZING and worth every penny! DO NOT TAKE THE ATV TOUR! The ATV tour in Iceland at the Isafjordur port SUCKED. The tour place did not have proper gear to be used in the rain. The gloves were not waterproof and I started to get frost bite due to wet cold hands. Definitely NOT worth the money. I have been on other ATV tours before and NEVER had this issue in the rain or snow. Viking please find another tour to use for ATV. I feel that the tours were rushed and the lunch were way too long. We could have spent more time at the sites and less time eating. The Post 4-day Bergen Extension was NOT worth the money since I am a Nature Scenic person. Now I know why the 2-day sold out so fast. The hotel Norge in Bergen beds were way to soft that it hurt my back. The Flam train tour to Voss was way better than the train from Bergen to Oslo. They had us walk to the hotel in Oslo and the only thing open on Sunday were museums. The Clarion Hub hotel room had poor lighting. Both hotels on the extension were NOT 4-star hotels and had NO AC. The Viking rep said goodbye before the bus left to take us to the airport. We had no help at the airport trying to figure out how to use the kiosk to check in for our flight home. This was very STRESSFUL! Luckily my daughter traveling with me was able to figure all this out. This was the first time that I took a Viking cruise. If I ever go on another cruise I be very picky selecting my land tours and will ask for additional luggage tags going forward. FYI, Northern Norway is much more scenic and better in my opinion then southern Norway. Wish they had more cruises that go further north of Geiranger. I may have to fly to the Lofoten islands without a cruise. UPDATE: Decided to try ONE more cruise with Viking and getting a room in the middle of the AFT since that is on my BUCKET LIST. I will hold my mom's ashes this go around until I get to our AFT room. I will spend some ports just relaxing/enjoying the ship. Will provide another review after 2028 for the 2nd cruise.

The deception was the major issue The Rhine River water levels were too low to cruise Viking told us this by email only a few days before departure We would have happily accepted a full refund and traveled on our own from Basel But were told it was too late to cancel and if we chose to we would forfeit 100% of the cost So we had no choice but to accept a bus tour based around a river ship Not what we purchased

We recently traveled from Amsterdam to Budapest with Viking. We were told three days prior to departure that there may be some inconveniences with low water levels. What we experience was not some inconveniences but major inconveniences. We traveled on three different boats several different bus rides to different cities, missed destinations that were on the route and very disappointed in the food. They would never tell us in advance what to expect so that we can make other arrangements to just go home. They also made it clear you were on your own if you wanted to go home. This destination trip was two weeks and a lot of planning and saving. We will never travel internationally again because of the experience by Viking.

We just completed our first excursion with Viking to the Balkans. Never,ever again...Our river boat cruise turned into a nightmare because of poor planning and lack of transparency.Upon arrival in Bucharest,we learned our boat was stranded on a sandbar because it went out of the navigational channel. This was confirmed by the Bulgarian police and printed in the Maritime newspaper. Viking left us in a hotel for 4 days while scrambling on what to do with us..nasty reps who communicated nothing...they told us to call customer service who thought we were on the boat...they provided us with cafeteria style food,lines of 180 people scrambling on a buffet line..and daily full day traveling from city to city on a bus once they figured it all out. There was no boat swap or trip cancellation which is what they really needed to do since they knew in advance of the condition of the Danube.The Travel Mate insurance that Viking recommends declined our claim and Viking offered no cash refund. Think about it. They are in cahoots with the insurance company and they have all our money for trip and excursions upfront. The trip was hell for a mostly senior group with no consideration for our well being. The excursions and experiences were superficial and boring.There was poor communication throughout the time...do not be fooled by their slick advertising.( They are now a publicly traded company who is only interested in making money).They are hiding behind the media and advertising. And, by the way, we are very experienced world travelers so this was all so shocking. Do not use Viking!!

My wife and I travelled on Viking Venus from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand from 30 November to 14 December 2025. Including our premium suite, Silver Spirits Beverage Package, hotels, transfers, flights and insurance, this holiday cost us around AUD $60,000, with approximately 90% of that amount relating to arrangements made through Viking. For that sort of money, we expected an exceptional, premium experience. Unfortunately, Viking fell well short of those expectations. We booked Premium Suite 3001, one of only 12 suites of its type on the ship, with only the Owner's Suite being a higher category. The suite itself was excellent and most crew members were friendly and helpful, but the premium treatment we believed we were paying for simply was not there. Our transfer from Sydney Airport to the Marriott was by private limousine and was excellent. However, our transfer from the Marriott to the ship was on a bus with more than 40 other passengers. There was also no priority boarding when we arrived at the terminal. We stood in a lengthy queue like everyone else. To make matters worse, when we finally reached our suite, our cabin keys did not work, meaning another wait at customer service before we could even enter our room. Despite paying for one of the highest cabin categories, there was no private butler service, something we have received on premium cruises with other cruise lines for considerably less money. Dining was another major disappointment. We had pre booked several dinners at Viking's premium restaurants, yet repeatedly found ourselves seated at less desirable tables away from the windows. We were told window tables were simply allocated on a first come basis. For passengers paying a significant premium for accommodation, this was disappointing. Our experience at the Chef's Table was particularly poor. We had the Silver Spirits Beverage Package but wanted drinks other than the matched wines. My wife asked for her preferred Pinot Grigio and was told by a waitress, "Good luck with getting that." On two separate evenings I ordered my preferred Scotch whisky and it simply never arrived, despite those drinks being readily available elsewhere on the ship. We became so disappointed with the premium dining experience that we cancelled our remaining reservations and instead ate at the World Cafe or ordered room service. Ironically, the World Cafe was one of the highlights. The food selection was extensive and generally very good. The Explorer's Lounge was also excellent, with friendly staff, a pleasant atmosphere and a very good selection of drinks and snacks. Unfortunately, things deteriorated again when we arrived in Auckland. Instead of a premium transfer to our hotel, we were again placed on a bus with more than 40 passengers. The bus was going to undertake a lengthy Auckland tour before dropping passengers at the hotel, even though we had already completed that tour the previous day. When we said we did not want to do it again, we were told our alternative was to walk to the hotel ourselves. So, as a couple aged in our mid 70s, we walked uphill through several city blocks in Auckland carrying two heavy suitcases and hand luggage. We arrived at the hotel at approximately 10:00am only to discover that our room would not be available until 3:00pm. We then had to make our own arrangements for several hours. Our final transfer from the Auckland hotel to the airport was again by bus, and we were dropped at the airport approximately four hours before our flight. We have travelled with several other cruise lines and have experienced significantly better premium service while spending considerably less money. For approximately AUD $60,000, this should have been a once in a lifetime luxury holiday. Instead, we regularly found ourselves asking what exactly we had paid the premium for. A beautiful ship and some excellent staff cannot make up for poor organisation, lack of priority treatment, disappointing premium dining service and transfers that felt anything but premium. We will not travel with Viking again and cannot recommend Viking to family or friends. When a company markets itself as a premium luxury cruise line and charges accordingly, passengers should receive a genuinely premium experience. In our case, Viking simply did not deliver.

We found out the day before we left we were going on an 11 year old ship versus the brand new ship we had booked. Upon entering our room we saw blood stains on the drawers, a stained comforter and blood stains on the sheets when the comforter was removed. We missed several excursions which we specifically booked this cruise for and couldn’t do because of the water levels and time constraints due to taking buses. We don’t know if we will ever be able to see these places for ourselves again. The food was just ok. Our extension to Prague was supposed to be 4 1/2 hours from our location instead of the 5 hours we were told when booked. We ended up being on the bus for 7 1/2 hours with a stop for lunch at a truck stop. Not at all what we expected! We had booked this river cruise to celebrate my husband’s 75th birthday, however this was not what we had envisioned! We anticipated being able to visits the towns at night at our leisure but there was only one place that we stayed overnight in the 14 night cruise. We had to change ships 3 times and the last ship wasn’t prepared for us in fact the doors were locked when we tried to enter. We had to wait over 10 minutes after a long bus ride for the doors to be opened. The staff didn’t seem very pleased! Breakfast on the last day wasn’t served in the dining hall. Instead we had to eat in the lounge where the was only a few tables or couches to sit on. We don’t recommend taking any Viking Cruise. Totally disappointed!

Told “full refund,” then charged $200 afterward This review concerns Viking’s booking and Guest Services process for a fully paid November 2026 cruise. We have not yet sailed, so this is not a review of the onboard experience. Viking advertised a Premium Paris post-cruise option at Sofitel Le Scribe. I booked the standard Paris extension and called about the Premium option. Viking said it was unavailable for our itinerary. I accepted that availability can vary, canceled the extension, and booked my own hotel for the same Nov. 15-18 period. At the start of the cancellation call, I was told the extension would be fully refunded. I authorized cancellation based on that statement. Only after Viking processed it was I told $200 would be retained because keeping our already-scheduled Nov. 18 return was now an “air deviation.” I did not request a change to the return date, flights, carrier, routing, or fare. Viking retained the same Nov. 18 return and later confirmed the flights were not ticketed. In its written response, Viking stated that the $200 could not be removed while we retained the Nov. 18 return. Viking also stated that it would remove the charge if we canceled the “deviation” and changed our return to Nov. 15. In other words, Viking’s offered solution was to remove the charge only if we gave up the existing post-cruise return date. I made five calls involving agents and supervisors, then sent three written complaints. I asked for the policy supporting the $100-per-person charge, where it was disclosed before cancellation, the transaction that triggered it, review of the cancellation call, whether Viking disputed the full-refund representation, and written supervisory review. Viking’s final written response did not answer those questions. It attached an updated invoice and repeated that the $200 remains because the return is Nov. 18. Viking publicly describes its air process as transparent and says changes or cancellations can be made without penalty. If a booking-specific exception applies, customers should be told before authorizing cancellation, not after it has been processed. My request is simple: remove the $200 while preserving the Nov. 18 return, or identify the policy, advance disclosure, cancellation-call findings, and transaction record supporting the charge.

I went on one cruise in 2025 and did not find it to be my cup of tea. The other passengers were snotty. There is very little to do on the ship, The scenery is relaxing but after several days of river cruising I was bored. The food was good and the ship was pristine. We were appalled that at one stop in Germany the tour guide glossed over the atrocities of the Nazis and gave us the impression that his family were in the SS. (who tells tour group members NOT to believe everything the have been told about Nazis) we were shocked ,especially as our grandmother was a member of the French resistance and spent 3.5 years in a concentration camp. Viking needs to pick better tour guides. My main complaint is that this company WILL NOT leave me alone. I have called time after time to be removed from their mailing list and I keep getting brochure after brochure. They will NOT STOP harassing me. I have been really polite but I am ready to call again and ask them to leave me TF alone,,,,,maybe they respond better to profanity but that is not my style. Be prepared to be hounded by these people for life if you contact them. I did not like their cruise and I like the harassment even less.