Viking Vidar

The Rhine river cruise was our first cruise of any type. We selected a river cruise because we did not want to be on a floating city. We liked the idea of a vacation that was totally handled by someone else and having a smaller vessel to navigate. This trip did not disappoint! The included daily destinations were interesting, informative, and sometimes exhausting! Like I said, "My body doesn't know that my mind is young!". Most days we walked 2.5 miles. One day we included the optional afternoon tour, we walked just over 4 miles. Several days in a row, the walking was on cobblestones or in the castle even more primitive. If you are not used to walking daily, you might want to start a daily walking program to prepare yourself. At the beginning of the trip, you may want to talk to the Activities Director to discuss a good day to schedule a masseuse to come on board and give your calves and feet a good massage! For our route, Cologne, Germany was the perfect stop for this. I say this not to scare you away. I am just being honest for those of us who own who we are (over 50 years old and have the foot problems to prove it). One of the days, we cruised during the day and it was fairy tale castle and church after fairy tale castle and church. Interspersed in all of that was a vibrant landscape that was stunning. I am still amazed at the foothills with grape vineyards growing down the sides. It appeared that every useable space had a use assigned to it. Combined with all of this Andreas (the Vidar Chef) and his kitchen along with the wonderful crew of the Viking Vidar plied us with delicious food, wonderful beverages that we might not have otherwise tried, and wool blankets when needed to enjoy the cruising experience. Jerzee is the ships onboard musical talent. He plays piano, clarinet and saxophone nightly after dinner, as well as, provided relaxing music during the lunch and dinner hours. A particular amazing experience was when the ship had a professional harpist and violinist come on board to provide us with a private concert. It was absolutely beautiful. One last and VERY IMPORTANT note is that our entire experience with the Viking Vidar crew from housekeeping to the Captain, was absolutely fantastic!!!!! All details of our possible wants and needs had been foreseen by the crew. Every single request was met with a smile and a genuine willingness and wanting of the crew to please their guests! This was such a refreshing experience. The service provided was impeccable. Thank you Viking Vidar! The reason I only gave four stars to our Cabins/Staterooms. They are small. It is a sailing vessel so this is to be expected, you might say. Well I say that just like the airlines with their tiny seats, that can and should be changed. True on the ship, we spent the majority of our time either one deck, in the lounge or on an excursion; however if I had not purchased one of the larger rooms, I think I would have gone mad in that tiny space during that short amount of time. Sometimes also, you might just want to hang out in the room and watch everything from the balcony.