When we booked the China’s Cultural Delights tour I was asked about any special diet restrictions or food allergies. I informed the VRC rep that my wife did have some very specific food allergies. The VRC rep indicated that she would note that and ensure that the ship’s chef was made aware of it. I then said to the rep that I intend to call United Airlines to make certain that they could accommodate the meal restrictions for the round trip flight from SFO to China and back. The rep then stated, “That won’t be necessary – let me take care of that for you. I’ll call United and let them know.” I thanked her for that and assumed that the airline would be informed of the food restriction.

When we boarded United Flight 344 on March 14, 2011, we were told that the airline had no knowledge of a special food request. As a result, my wife was unable to eat anything for the duration of the 11 hour flight.

Upon arriving in China, I did not have phone access but I did have limited email access. I emailed VRC, advised them of the VRC miscue and asked that they phone United Air to ensure that they could provide an appropriate meal for my wife on the return trip. Here is VRC's email reply, verbatim:

“Sorry for the inconvenience but unfortunately the meal request is only
available on our ships we cannot accommodate on the air flight as those
are not apart Viking.”

Here is my email response to the VRC rep:

“So why was I told by a Viking rep that Viking would handle that air meal
request? And what is the status of that request on the return flight?
The info in your reply to me is contrary to the representations made to
me by Viking earlier. I await your advice.”

Over the course of several more email exchanges between the VRC reps and myself, that same message was reiterated to me and they continuously refused to call United Airlines to make appropriate food arrangements, despite my being assured by the first rep that VRC did indeed make such calls to airlines. On the return trip, we had to pack a meal for my wife since VRC refused to correct the error and make the simple call to the airline. As noted, I did not have access to a phone and could not make the call myself.

If a VRC rep promises to do something over the phone, get it in writing. And don't expect them to fix their own mistakes. Massively poor customer service.

I scheduled a vacation in February 2010 for a vacation in July 2010. I paid the extra $100 for seat assignments. I explain to the clerks that I needed seats by the window for my wife and myself due to disabilities. No problem, I was told since I paid the money. One month before our trip I was told that my wife was flying out of Chicago to Belgium and that I was flying out of Washington, DC. I explained the reason for paying the $100 dollars and they said they could not guarantee the seating assignment. What was the extra money for if they couldn't guarantee the seating assignments? I did purchase the insurance so I did not loose all my money but they destroyed the vacation.

I have been coldly informed by email that I am not eligible for transport from Munich to the boat in Passau with no explanation. So, after no response to my further enquiries I phoned. I was told that I am only eligible for transport if my plane arrives in Munich on the day of the boat cruise (July 18). The Viking agent did not inform me of this restriction (I found out also that there are time-of-day restrictions) when I made the booking over the phone. When I asked for a refund, they said it is their policy to give only 75% refund. That's not fair. It is not like I changed my mind about the transport. Viking did not inform me of the restrictions when I made the booking. I should get 100% refund. Secondly, I should then also expect Viking to provide me with information on alternate transport and where to find the boat in Passau. Would this be so difficult? Neither did Viking offer, and when I requested it, they did not send it to me. How am I supposed to find the boat? Why is it such a problem for Viking to do these very simple things? I am absolutely astounded at this severely poor level of customer care.

The Viking River Cruises agent "helping" us book our vacation for June 2010 makes repetitive mistakes. She does not listen to messages I leave her on her voice mailbox. She is usually late responding to e-mails. I ask her to do one thing and she ends up doing something completely different ... then I have to either e-mail her or call her to correct the mistake.
Reading others' complaints scare me to go on this cruise!!! I wonder how Viking was chosen as the best cruiseline 2 years ago!!!

My wife and I, for our Honeymoon, booked an 8 day river cruise with Viking Criuse Lines beginning in Amsterdam and ending in Basel Switzerland. We left Amsterdam and cruised for two days then stopped, we were informed that the water level on the Rhine was too low and we may not be able to proceed. In the mean time we took a short cruise up the Mosel River, were told again that the water was still too low, then were bused for several days to two of the stops on our itinary (out of a half dozen). We spend hours on buses to have only a short time at each stop. We were then bused to our final desination city and that was that. We ended up cruises for three out of eight days and missed seeing most of the stops on our itinary. For that Viking offered us all 30% off a future cruise but only if we took it within one year, not booked it, took it. This was at a time when the company was offering two for one deals and big discounts on airfare to anyone off the street!

I obviously don't blame Viking for the river being too low. I do however blame them for the way they handled the situation. They later admitted that they had known before leaving Amsterdam that the chances of them being able to complete the cruise were very slim. At that point they should of let us know that and offered us options; a refund, re-scheduling the cruise, or going on ahead and chancing it. Instead the crew lied to us for four days so that they could claim that they had done their best and at least provided a partial cruise.

Also, during the entire trip the crews demeanor was abrupt to the point of being rude. This was so apparent to all that it became a running joke amongst the passengers. During the onboard meeting at which we were finally told that we would do no more cruising the majority of the passengers expressed the desire to see the Black Forest (one of our scheduled stops) but instead we were bused to Strasbourg because it was easier for the company to bus us from there to Basel and cut us loose. The crews attitude throughout was "We're going to do things the way we want, that's the way it is so just live with it."

Also, the ship was noticebly understaffed, the wait staff in the dining room was so harried and rushed that they did little more than put your food in front of you and rush off, never to be seen again. If you asked them for anything extra (a cocktail etc.) they acted as if you'd just called them a dirty name and rushed off, you then had a slim chance of recieving what you'd asked for before the meal was finished.

Drinks aboard ship are also not included in your ticket price so Viking offers a package deal, for $250 per person you get two cocktails a day and unlimited beer, wine, soft drinks, etc. My wife and I both opted for this package however, since we spent most of the trip being bused all over Europe and so not eating meals on the ship as we should have, we had to pay for our drinks at all the stops. Viking paid for lunch at each stop (in fair to poor restaurants btw) but would not cover drinks; another $500 wasted on the trip.

My problem with Viking is that they knew ahead of time the cruise would not happen and lied to us about it. They then offered us no options at all other than a paltry discount on another cruise IF taken within a year, a discount that paled in comparision to the deals they were offered the general public. Their attitude throughout was a far cry from the sterling service their literature claims they offer passengers. And after returning home and writing a long thoughtful letter to them about all of this I waited for two months and then recieved a form letter from them basically telling me they were sorry, that was the way things were, get over it, and hey, we hope to see you on another cruise real soon!

All of this cost my wife and I $9, 000! We basically got a very expensive bus tour to a few cities in Europe and a very short cruise. Basically we were taken advantage of by Viking Cruise Lines.

If you're planning a river cruise there are numerous companies in the business; Uniworld is a good one, so is Globus, but I would strongly advise steering well clear of Viking. Our experience may not be typical but then again, I suspect that it may be, and would you really want to spend that kind of money to find out?