Viking River Cruises. Anyone done one?

[Papa Hotel]

I'd love to do a cruise. The wife, not so keen. She's regularly sick on the ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast and an overnight from Amsterdam to Newcastle nearly killed her.

Then she saw a TV ad for Viking River Cruises and announced she'd love to do one. I laughed but I think it might be a good stepping stone for a proper cruise so I fired up their website and requested a brochure.

Well, the brochure came a couple of days ago and TBH the pics are a mixed bag...

Stunning scenery? Check.
Ropey looking boats? Check.
Geriatrics? Check.

So, has anyone been on one? How do you rate the on-board entertainment? Fun and lively or geared heavily towards people who'd be better off on a one-way Dignitas trip?

[Woolly]

Not done one but have followed exactly the same route as you. They must have good marketing because their adverts also made me check them out but I came to the same conclusion re the age of the clientele so haven't taken it any further. I signed up for the weekly offers email so may fall for it at some time in the future.

I have been on 2 Royal Caribbean cruises with the family which were both superb and huge VFM when all costs taken into account. They are now my favourite sort of holiday. The River cruise was more for me and the missus so would have been happy to meet and chat with different folk rather than stick to ourselves and just use the facilities. However I don't think the oldies would be ready for my raucous wife after a couple of G&Ts so the idea was shelved.

[mj01]

Don't worry about the age of the other guests! You're there to enjoy a very relaxing way of seeing some spectacular scenery and enjoy some great food in comfortable surroundings. Think of it as a continental tour without the hassle of having to pack / unpack every day at a different hotel. We've been on the Rhine (Cologne to Basel and back) and Danube (Budapest to the Black Sea and back) and each time met some very friendly folks; older, but many have led interesting lives and you soon find people you'll 'click' with. Or if you prefer, you can keep yourselves to yourselves. The entertainment is low key, but remember you're always in sight of the shore and its ever changing sights, so there's not the same need to be entertained like on an ocean cruise.

[Papa Hotel]

Cheers chaps. Good points mj01, I suppose when on other holidays people don't particularly spend much time making best friends with others anyway and the point of this type of cruise is sightseeing rather than getting bevvied up all the time. You're right, the other clientele doesn't hugely matter.

[LostCroc]

While not Viking, I did escort my mother on an AMA River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. I had similar fears to you up front as the average age was looking initially like 20 years beyond Saga qualification but....it worked out fine. I liked the itinerary - lots to see and all interesting. If you did not like something then a few hours later you would be off for the next stop. I self-toured a lot to avoid the geriatric tours. AMA had different tours for different age groups - active, moderate, gentle - which I thought was a good idea. Evening entertainment was hit or miss but its amazing what you can tolerate after enough drinks. There was always someone I could relate to close to my age at the bar - they were not always geriatrics. Every third night we were moored for the evening until 10/11pm so you could go ashore and find a restaurant/bar to settle in at which I liked. Some little wine cellar bars with local bands/singers turned out to be great nights. Cabin was small but manageable for 2 people.

[marcosgt]

Papa Hotel said:

Stunning scenery? Check.
Ropey looking boats? Check.
Geriatrics? Check.

It's a cruise

I know the ads show loads of 20 something surfing, but when my friends (in their 40s/50s) come back from all their cruises (proper ones! ) their photos show them as easily the youngest by (at a minimum) 20 years!

M.