I looked at their trip reports and they were on the negative side with sarcasm. Doubt they are the kind of folks that would have fun on any type of cruise that involved other people. Some folks do better on their own regardless of the cost.

Popov, I was just on Viking's site, since you don't seem to be comfortable posting a link. As it turns out, you CAN pay that much if you book the most expensive rooms on the ship (ie. Explorer Suite or Verandah Suite). A standard room is more like a quarter of that, and while they appear small, really it's mostly just to sleep in. It's a riverboat, you're not going to be way down in steerage. i'm assuming that when you say "top hotel" you are referring to a standard room in one, not a suite.

Ocean cruising can be a great bargain, and while the best deals are always either way out or at the last minute, that tends to be true of almost any travel. It may not be for you, and that's fine, but that does not make cruising a financial trap for the unwary and the unimaginative.

Well said, Deb.

Even looking at Viking's prices for Amsterdam/Basel, which seems to on the expensive side, and calculating per night, rather than the industry standard of per day, a mid grade cabin on the MOST expensive sailings seems to be right around $600. Someone willing to travel in a standard cabin in November would be under $200, which starts to bring it in line with any but the most frugal travel possible, keeping in mind that it includes point to point travel, a fair amount of sightseeing, and three generous meals a day.

I think it depends on the cruise you choose. I usually stay away from ordinary cruise choices and go for cruises that are a little off the beaten path and unique. Those cruises have always provided me with great value. A great example is a cruise on the Le Borel Yacht to Antarctica. The rooms were just as nice as any hotel, including 5-star hotels. The dining was on par with restaurants in 5-star hotels. The staff was better than most I have seen in top hotels, due to the high ratio of staff to passengers. Those are not what make the trip worth it, though.

The adventure of climbing aboard a smaller skiff to go take pictures of icebergs, seals, and penguins is an adventure I will never forget. Watching whales breaking the surface of the ocean and then gracefully diving back under the water as their tail slapped the water's surface is amazing. Stepping from the cold outdoors into the luxury interior to sit by a fireplace and continue watching the wild scenery slide by is glorious. I took more pictures during those eleven days than I ever took on a vacation in the USA or Europe.

I have one other suggestion. Check into some of the luxury cruises in Europe. They have excellent prices and are a lot of fun. The Amadeus Elegant is a great choice for a European river cruise, as you can find here: http://www.10luxurycruises.com

We're booked on a Celebrity 13-night transatlantic cruise in the spring of 2014 for $81pp/night. We usually book a balcony but booked an ocean view on this particular voyage because the ship has added some new cabins that we want to try out. There's definitely a learning curve to booking inexpensively. There are many categories of discounts: Senior, military, state of residence. There's also onboard credit offered by some travel agents and, under some conditions, by the cruise line; shareholder credit for owning stock in the company; special promotions. Not all are combinable. Among several other discounts, I got $100 off with a special Twitter offer. I learned a lot at cruisecritic.com.

Betsy,

We're possibly doing the same cruise/crossing, departing Ft. Lauderdale April 19?

Hey, Cath. Our cruise, on the Infinity, leaves FLL later than yours. Sails to NYC, Halifax NS, and Cork, Ireland. We have nine days to hang out in Europe and then we sail from Amsterdam to St. Petersburg and return to Amsterdam, stopping at several ports along the way. Googled your sail date and see that you go farther south, which is probably not a bad idea at that time of year. WE love the long, lazy TA days. Maybe we'll have a GTG aboard at some point!

Betsy,

An onboard GTG would be great!

Have a wonderful time on both your cruises. I loved St. Petersburg, was there for 5 days in 1996, I want to see it again.

We've been thinking about a Baltic or Norway fijords cruise for '15. I expect we will go to St Petersburg combined with Moscow as I want more time than a cruise would provide.

To all those who say that cruising isn't absurdly expensive:

I just received a Viking brochure for 2014/2015. Moderate cost rooms were $2000 a day! 2 for 1 they were a mere $1000 day.

And here's the best part. They generously dropped $300 from flights from the east. The only problem is that their standard airfare is $2000, about double what you can get if you try on your own.

Yeah, so tell me that cruising isn't a complete rip off.

Give it a rest. No one believes you, not even you.

Popvov, is someone trying to force you to do a cruise? You fight 'em! Don't let anybody put you on a boat!

Popov,
If river cruises are out of your price range, well, here's a novel idea -- DON'T GO!

There is no arguing with someone like Popov...be happy that you don't have him at your dinner table.
Speaking of dinner, I resent people like Popov who eat expensive beef and other meat dishes, which causes MY vegetarian meal to be more than it should be!
I note that my comment is as equally absurd as his comment about vegetarians above.

Popov, I think Viking must have sent you a different brochure than the one they sent me. Where in the name of heaven was that cruise going?