Viking Spirit River Cruise in France

This shared message was written by our customer after a river cruise in November on the Viking Spirit from Paris.  As you will read, she was very pleased with her river cruise.  Jeanine, thanks for sharing your thoughts about your trip!

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Just want to thank you for helping with our trip - it was just wonderful!  Everything was perfect and we would highly recommend Viking to anyone!


Our flight on Delta from Sea-Amsterdam-Paris was very smooth.  The nonstop from Paris to Seattle was very smooth also.  Granted it was an 11 hour flight, but knowing that we didn't have to get off and change planes was very nice.  They fed us many times and we watched about 4 movies!



The car service you arranged at Paris was an excellent idea.  We picked up our luggage, walked out of baggage claim and there he was!  Simple and easy!


The hotel was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it - it's more of a business hotel.  Not charming at all, but it was nice to be at the hotel where Viking is situated as the Seine River was too high because of recent rains so the boat had to stay in Conflans.  We wouldn't have known this if there wasn't a Viking representative at the hotel!  We opted to take a cab to Conflans instead of waiting for the bus.  Sure glad we did as it was only about a 45 mins cab ride - we arrived about Noon, our cabin was ready, we had lunch, was unpacked and were already out walking the time the bus showed up.


Where do I start about how wonderful Viking is?  Might be easier if I list all the pluses (there are no negatives).  They are very much like Vantage, but just a little classier.


1.  Cabins are very nice, the bed and pillows were super comfy - we slept very well!  Our cabin had a huge picture window which opened!  We spent a lot of time just relaxing, reading and watching the world go by from our room!  Bottled water was provided in the cabin and our cabin person (Loretta) was excellent!  Every night there was a towel animal and a special note from her, even one wishing us a Happy Anniversary!


2.  The Hotel Manager, Oliver, was very nice and personable - and was always around chatting with everyone.


3.  The Cruise Director, Annika, was one of the best I have ever met!  I don't know when she slept because she was always around socializing and providing information.  She was super nice, made us all feel important and kept us informed of everything!  Everything ran smoothly!  The front desk was staffed 24 hours with the best people!


4.  Food was excellent and the staff amazing!  At our first dinner, every lady received a red rose!  Such a nice touch!  For breakfast, they had a nice buffet or you could order off the menu (or do both!).  They even served breakfast on the last morning, even a lite breakfast for one couple who had to be off the boat by 5:30 am.  Lunch was the same - nice salad bar and good menu.  Dinner was menu only with lots of choices, or you could always have steak, chicken or salmon.  I had salmon two nights and it was excellent!  I heard that the steak was also very good.


5.  The day of our Normandy Tour, it was an all day trip and very cold.  Upon arriving back at the boat, they had hot towels and hot chocolate waiting for us as we boarded!  Once again, a simply thing, but so appreciated!  They also provided bottled water every time there was a shore excursion.


This was the most fun, relaxing and well organized trip we have ever taken.  We will take Viking again!  So, if you get any information on a Holland or Italy boat cruise on Viking, let me know!


Thanks again for all your help - it was greatly appreciated and you made our 30th wedding anniversary trip a huge success!


Dick and Jeanine