Planning your first Viking River Cruise? Before you book, watch this. We share the 20+ specific lessons, surprises, and tips we learned firsthand on our recent sailing aboard the Viking Radgrid.
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If you are researching European river cruises, comparing @VikingCruises to ocean liners, or just looking for luxury travel inspiration, this guide covers it all. We break down essential travel tips, including the dress code, cabin reality checks, and how to handle shore excursions on the Danube or Rhine. Get the facts on expectations vs. reality before you sail.
Viking River Cruise Tips 🚢 What We Wish We Knew Before Our FIRST Sailing (2025)
0:00 What We Wish We Knew Before Taking a Viking River Cruise
00:50 The “Silent Ship” Policy You’ll Love
01:24 How to Plan Your Day (The Viking Daily)
02:40 The Alcohol Loophole (Bring Your Own!)
03:44 Boarding the Ship: 5-Minute Embarkation
05:18 Don’t Panic: The “Overnight” Start
05:30 Dress Code Reality: What to Wear (and NOT Wear)
06:11 Included vs. Optional Tours: What’s Free?
07:35 The Headphone Trick for Shore Excursions
08:41 Tour Pacing: Is It Too Slow for You?
09:46 Safety Tip: Always Grab This Before You Leave
10:45 The “River God” Factor (Water Levels)
11:43 Cabin Tour: Storage Hacks for Small Rooms
13:11 The Laundry Warning (There Is None!)
14:50 The Dining Truth: Seating & Times
17:23 The Social Scene: Making Friends on Board
18:03 Mobility Issues? Watch This First.
19:16 The Real Crowd: Who Sails Viking?
19:27 Security: How Strict is Getting On/Off?
20:29 The Drinks Package: Is “Silver Spirits” Worth It?
21:00 Final Perks: WiFi & Room Service
LEARN MORE ABOUT VIKING RIVER CRUISES BACK ON THE BLOG
What We Wish We Knew Before Taking Our First Viking River Cruise
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What its Really Like on a Viking River Cruise: https://youtu.be/UFgUN6IRN68
21 Cruise Boarding Day Mistakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u3NdtH7mdE
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Join us for our first Viking River Cruise experience, where we share essential viking cruise tips and insights from our time on a Viking longship. This river cruise review highlights how different it was from our previous ocean and expedition sailings, providing valuable information for anyone considering European river cruises.
39 Comments
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Slow and boring
what type of filtered water are the river cruises using for people to drink, or are they using commercially prepared drinks and if so what are they doing to reduce consumer exposure to plastic contaminates? Sorry this answer may be common knowledge to other but my wife and I have not taken a cruise before and we are really wanting to do this but she has a lot of questions about using foods that are locally sourced, chemically and plastic free.
We had a Viking trip booked to Norway for a year. Unfortunately, we did not buy their travel insurance. One month before departure my husband was diagnosed with a life threatening cancer. Keep in mind my husband was a VERY healthy 81 year old. He golfed 3-5 days a week walking a very strenuous course every time. He also, worked out 3times a week. Viking REFUSED to give us anything back on our trip of over $26,000.00. They offered their sympathy but nothing more. This was not our first Viking cruise and we loved them. Right up until this situation. They wouldn’t accept a letter from our oncologist or a bill from the hospital that would prove we weren’t scammers. I’m so sad about this. I never thought we would be in this situation let alone being treated so poorly by Viking. No refund. No offer of a later sailing date. No offer of a voucher. No ability to transfer the ticket. Plus, we know the ship was sold out for this sailing. Lesson NEVER DON’T BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE! You will never get your money back from a very rich, successful company like Viking Cruises!
We did a river cruise after seeing a Viking ad. We paid extra for a room with a balcony. That was a waste of money. We smelled sewage in our room many times. Whenever we docked, they stack riverboats side by side. That means we shared the same space with people on the boat next to us. After we finished our day and returned to the boat, we noticed there were people trying to get into our room. They didn’t realize that several boats switched places at the dock because of departure times. It created a problem. All Viking boats look the same so it’s easy to make a mistake.
Dining was an issue. One dining room, one seating. There was a mad rush to get a table, at least a decent one. If you arrived late, you would take whatever table area that was open. Whatever course they were serving, that’s what you started with. That means if you arrived late you may not get a salad or appetizer if they’ve already served those. The food wasn’t spectacular.
There was one bar. That bar area was also a communal area. The noise level could be very loud. They would hold meetings for the next port in that area. With the bar noise, it was difficult to hear the presentation. They had a piano player playing elevator music. That was the entertainment.
While the river boats get you into small towns along the river, you could do just as well by booking a land tour on your own. For what we got, it wasn’t worth the price. Wouldn’t do it again…
is there a place to smoke cigars abord.
I just watched your video. We are going to Paris in April. Why didn’t you like your Van Gogh excursion as much? We have to decide which excursions to book. Thanks!
cool video, thanks for the info. was smoking allowed on board? (looking for non-smoking boats) thanks!
Been ona Viking river cruise and all he says is absolutely true.
The lack of security is a concern.
We have been fortunate to have had several Viking river cruises…all were exceptional. Needs were accommodated beautifully from better than average transportation and accommodations to highly executed tours and guides. Viking has such a wide array of destinations. One is never bored! Viking is our favorite cruise line for a reason…they do their jobs beautifully.
I will never book on Viking. The fact they want the trip paid in full a year in advance is very concerning.
I saw a small bug crawling on your cookie video.
I don't think river cruises would be interesting for me. I like the big ocean cruise ships.
Don’t take Viking would be a good start.
We were excited about a 2026 tour to Eastern European Capitals. We learned that most of the excursions are a la carte, and the optional excursions all cost, and MORE than one would pay getting into venues on one's own. For example, the Vienna Boys' Choir costs about 150 to 160 (dollars for Americans) which likely includes transportation from the boat whereas entrance online is 50 to 65 percent less. (One could book that from home and take a cab from the dock and save the difference Entrance to the Schonberg Palace Viking sponsored guided tour is $150 pp; whereas, a skip the line Palace and Garden guided tour is $62 pp. These approximate (previous) prices are not displayed on the non-included excursions until 250 days before the trip which make up the meat and potatoes of the places to see. (A basic bus type tour is ALL that is included). Also we were invited by friends to go on this trip, and they have been on 3 previously . We learned AFTER we paid that they as inducement to get friends to come, they could buy 2 for 1 tickets up to $200 for the overall price of the trip (not excursion or onboard events). Because we paid early on a trip we have NOT yet taken (so it's a new booking to us, but not to Viking), we would not be allowed to use this perk. So, to do what we want to do on this trip, we are likely talking $2000 – $3000 extra that was hidden. Viking USED to have a PDF for customers of costs for excursion on a previous trip but do NOT any longer. An agent, will though, if verbally asked, give the expected extra cost over the phone. YOU HAVE TO PULL IT OUT OF THEM.
Viking is making a LOT OF MONEY on these excursions from the "unknowing" buyer.
My brother has been on several Tauck tours where every thing is covered in an UP FRONT way, but Tauck costs more. That company is UP FRONT with real costs. To walk away now would cost us what these excursions will cost (insurance, etc.) One advantage of Viking, we're told, is that you only pay for what you do beyond basic costs, and for an independent traveller, this may be advantageous. Don't mean to sound like a sour pus, but all the aforementioned was a SURPRISE.
I will never go on a Viking cruise ever again. They ripped us off.
3:47 hey, that’s Galveston!
SUPER INFORMATIVE. Thanks!
I CALLED Viking this weekend for a river cruise, they wanted to charge me twice the quoted price in their mailings. When I objected and asked to talk with someone higher up, they put me off until Monday morning, I have yet to get a call. False advertising…
I was surprised that beer and wine that comes with the cruise are only at meal time. Also there is very limited entertainment on board. To me it seemed very expensive.
Interesting because we found that the dress code was listed on the Viking site prior to both of our Viking river cruises. I dont know about you, but we spent such little time in our room that the size did not impact us much. I would think that the lack of laundry is because of the size of the long ships compared to ocean cruise ships. Take some sandwich bags with you, make a little sandwich at the breakfast, and take it with you if you have a tight tour schedule! You can also take the food to your stateroom to eat. We found them to be very accommodating to help with tight schedules and changes in schedules. Unless it has changed, it you want the beverage package both cruisers in the cabin have to purchase it. Both of our trips have several evening programs to chose to enjoy.
I guess it depends on the person.
My wife and I are independent travelers. We are late 70’s and have visited Europe 30+ times, averaging 2 1/2- 3 weeks. We rent a car and create our own itinerary. We usually stay at each destination for 3 or 4 days and get to know each city. We are flexible and love to just take our time and walk around each city. By traveling as a couple we find we are able to connect with locals much more readily. We are not that interested tours or following a group. We like to pull over and stop at a random patisserie or chateau along the way. No schedule.
A cruise would be pure torture…
MY WIFE AND I TOOK THE AMSTERDAM TO BASEL RIVER CRUISE. IT WAS OUR FIRST CRUISE AND WE ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. YES LIKE IN LIFE, THERE ARE SURPRISES AND EXPECTATIONS. WE NEVER EXPECTED ANYTHING, WE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT TO EXPECT AND WHAT WAS OFFERED BUT WAS TOTALLY HAPPY WITH THE SURPRISES, AND THERE WERE MANY. SO IF YOU ARE PLANNING A TRIP ON A RIVER CRUISE DON’T EXPECT WHAT YOU GET ON A BIG OCEAN CRUISE AND BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE ON A LOVELY INTIMATE PERSONAL CRUISE. WE TOTALLY LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT OUR TIME ON OUR TRIP BUT I THINK THE BEST PART WAS THE PEOPLE WE MET ON THE SHIP AND THE PERSONAL TOUCHES THAT I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED AT. HAVE FUN.
Plan to take an 15 days Viking Vali European Grand River Cruise next June 2026. Please provide any advice for us of 8( departure from San Francisco). An important question to ask , is it worth to book a French balcony cabin on the 3rd deck, which is US$3000 more than base deck cabin with just a high and narrow window ? Thanks for any inputs.
Is it worth to book French balcony cabin while it cost US$3000 more ?
Note to narrator: the proper pronunciation of Vincent Van Gogh's name isn't Van Goe, but Van Gock (hard gutteral k sound).
Viking seems to always go above and beyond the call of duty, We took a Danube cruise last year While doing a pre-sailing tour in Munich I slipped and hurt my knee. We got to the longboat but I couldn't walk to meals for a few days. The Maitre'd of the dining room personally brought my meals to to me in our cabin until I was better. After the cruise ended in Budapest, we flew to London Heathrow to make our connecting flight to the US. we went up the ramp to the concourse and there stood a Viking employee holding a card with our names on it.She was there to guide us to our gate. Heathrow is not the easiest airport to navigate. She first showed us our gate and then took us to the American Airlines lounge where we could wait for our boarding time and get something to eat and drink!
Just finished the Viking River Cruise D-Day Itinerary which started in London. It was terrific. Service was fabulous. Met wonderful people. I’ gluten free and they took exceeding care to make certain I avoided gluten. Ship looks exactly like this today. Book a river cruise with Viking! If you do the D Day itinerary, get the Overland Excursion where you get off the boat and stay in Normany.
Summer of 2025 we cruised the Main River thru Germany, beginning in Prague and ending in Paris. The one big thing I think they should’ve told us, beyond barely mentioning it, was the huge number of locks we had to go thru. So many! And thru the night, as well, which was quite disruptive to my sleep.
The cruise and the sights were good but those locks — man!!
Sorry, can’t stand the jerky narration. I highly recommend a speech coach.
Thank you for putting it together!
Does the ship depart at the same time, or it varies?
At what time the dinner stops being served?
What travel insurance would you recommend? Preferably, the one that covers riots and civil unrest.
Are there any other tips you did not mention here?
Just came home from our first river cruise . Viking is absolutely the best!! The cruise was not for us, as we need a gym, no coach tours, and we do not drink alcohol, or eat meat/sea food. But the way that Viking organizes every detail to make each trip a wonderful, stress free experience, is unique. Highly, highly recommend, but not if you are a very active traveller. We went from Avignon, to Lyon. The included excursions were second to none. Great guides, and great places visited. We did not take any trips in the afternoons, as we went back and back-tracked on our own, shopping, and exploring. The dining experience was such a pleasure, as we made it a point to sit with different guests each night, and met some fabulous folks; all have a story! We are not a very sociable couple, but this forced experience has been one of our highlights. We tried it once. We loved it. We will not be doing this again until we are in our 80s.
Are most Viking River Cruises adults only? Thanks!
Don't go on Viking. They lie to you and only care about money. Total crooks.
I’m wondering if any Viking cruise ship doesn’t have a mirror facing the bed?
We just did Normandy & Paris Christmas markets. We loved our experience. We have done large ships before. They are not comparable tbh. It is high end. Meals are a la carte too. The chef will make anything else you want anytime
Is Viking River cruise the water is calmer than Ocean cruise?
Re the “My Trip” part at 2:28, can I do this on my iPhone or do I need to bring my laptop? We’re doing this cruise this coming July and I can’t wait! Thank you!