Viking Rinda – Old Norse or Norse Goddess?

I’m back down to earth with a bump having just returned from a great few days sailing from Passau to Nuremberg with Viking River Cruises, and what a fantastic time we had. You get so spoiled on these ships that having to make your own bed, clean your own bathroom and cook your own meals is a bit of a blow to the system when you get home.

You know that I love river cruising and have been lucky enough to sail with all the main players before, so how does Viking compare in my opinion? Rinda is one of Vikings new longships and was only built last year, 2013. She has 95 cabins ranging from Oceanview, with two small windows, on the lower deck through French Balconies, Verandah Balconies and up to the two lovely Explorer Suites at the rear of the top deck with 270 degree views. She has a really light and airy feel due to the amount of floor to ceiling windows in most of the public areas and also to the glass-ceiling above the atrium and the use of birch wood throughout. The decor is subtle too so the overall feel is sleek, modern and understated elegance, just the right feel for a river ship. Not ‘in your face’ at all.

To be honest which ever river cruise line you choose – Viking, AmaWaterways, APT or Avalon, the layout is exactly the same. Lounge top deck front, dining room below, central atrium, and Sun Deck up top. Each cruise line has one or two unique features and an especially nice one on Rinda is the Aquavit Terrace area at the bow end of the lounge, a brand new concept on river ships. It is a lovely open air area for al fresco dining, having a drink or just plain old chilling out. There is a covered, enclosed part of this area too which is great for sailings early or late in the season when the weather is a bit chilly. You can take breakfast and lunch in this area rather than in the main dining room and as it is buffet style some guests will find it more relaxing – though I found the dining room equally relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed every meal in there.

Another feature that was unique to Viking that my colleague Gina and I enjoyed was the in cabin on demand films.I am not aware of any other river cruise line that offers this. It’s probably something that you might not use if you were cruising in the height of summer as you would be making use of the Sun Deck but as we were cruising late in the season and the weather was extremely cold we made good use of it on Wednesday afternoon. We were cruising through a stretch of the Danube that take you through a flight of locks so there was’t much scenery to enjoy – you can only take so many locks you know – so we indulged ourselves in a couple of hours on our beds watching Last Vegas! An excellent film if you haven’t watched it! The selection of films available was excellent and I am sure there would be something for everyone to enjoy.

The on board experience was everything I would expect from Viking, excellent food and service, I ate too much of course because that is what I do when I am cruising! Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, ask for anything and you got it, accompanied by a beaming smile. I will cover the food in another post as I have lots of pictures to share with you.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my three nights on board and would have no hesitation recommending Viking to clients who are looking for a 5* river cruise experience. I certainly enjoyed my time on board.

For more information about Viking River Cruises please feel free to call me on 0800 408 6084 or 0330 303 8184 from a mobile. I will be happy to chat to you about them and advise you.