As there are relatively few river cruise reports, I thought that I would give a brief report of our recent cruise on Viking Primadonna on the lower Danube. The ship was nice- clean, well maintained and attractive. The cabins are small, but well appointed. We did not feel cramped and there was room for all our gear. The balconey is small but useful. This is somewhat irrelevant as a new ship is to take this route next year.
The food is very good. Better than most recent cruises. The breakfast is lavish - a real pound gainer. Lunch was good. Some dishes with American sounding names were disappointing as they a Continental twist. Dinners were very good with several attractive selections per sitting. Watch out - the waiters pour the wine with a heavy hand - full to the brim. The wine is OK. We did buy some bottles in town and they were served to us. These were usually a bit better.
The crew were very attentive and freindly. The cruise director was excellent. The best I've seen. No Las Vegas aspirations. And Very helpful and friendly.
The excursions were included and were generally OK, but not great. As seems usual, all hed plenty of time for shopping, even if there was not much shopping to be done. To be fair, outside of the capital cities, there are few wonderful sights to be seen. The river itself is the sight to be seen.
The stay in Budapest before the cruise was wonderful. It is avery attractive city, and deserves a longer stay.
The only downside was the flight through CDG. It is so big and poorly marked that it is impossible to navigate. I still wonder how we got home. An example ; both coming and going, our connecting flight left from gates in terminal 2E, but no information was posted for 2E, including how to get there. Later on CDG's website I found a gadget to find your way from one terminal to another. Too late, but if you do CDG, plot out every possible combination. Over all, a great trip. I recommend Viking.