Viking Cruises, BUDAPEST and a BUS is a BUST!

What did they say when you asked them? What do the terms and conditions of the contract say?

We were told that it all depends on the rain… look they pretty much know in advance. It doesn’t matter what the contract says. Why advertise something that is not 100 percent true?

Why build up false hopes?

Why advertise it and then when you don’t sail by have it rubbed in your face?

This is a moral issue. An issue of social responsibility.

And besides that Mrs Lincoln how was the play?

So the water level was too high or too low to bring the boat down to Budapest? Cant possibly be true. Never heard of such a thing happening. Viking could have done something about that. At the very least they should have warned you this might happen.

I was asked did I contact VIKING. I actually asked on the boat for an address or email for the Basel office. THEY REFUSED. They said it was policy not to give out corporate address. Crazy! To me, the cruise was very mediocre. Only one guide was sterling. Many shared silly anecdotes and misinformation.

doesn’t matter what the contract says.

Actually it’s the only thing that matters.

This is a moral issue. An issue of social responsibility.

It’s not. It’s a sense of perspective issue.

I actually asked on the boat for an address or email for the Basel
office. THEY REFUSED

Horrendous that the ship had no wifi

Viking River Cruises AG
Schäferweg 18
4057 Basel

+41 61 638 60 00

“Why advertise something that is not 100 percent true?”

Hmmm:

Is Budweiser really the King of Beers?

Does America really run on Dunkin Doughnuts?

And what does Nike just want you to do?

https://www.publift.com/blog/misleading-advertising-examples

Welcome to the forum, stthomasaqyuinas -
As suggested above, please reference Viking's "Booking Terms and Conditions" and "Passenger Ticket Contract" (specifically entry #12: "Carrier's Rights and Discretion".)

https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/2-240101_BookingAndSaleTermsAndConditions.pdf
https://docs.vikingcruises.com/pdf/3-240101_PassengerTicketContract_Non-US.pdf (reference #12)

Text in both Legal Documents clearly state that the "The Master of the Ship is authorized to take any action deemed necessary for the safety, security, comfort or well-being of any person or to prevent damage to or loss of the Ship" and "Carrier reserves the right at any time, without notice, to cancel any cruise, change or postpone the date or time of sailing or arrival, change your port of embarkation or disembarkation, provide a different Cabin than the one initially assigned, modify or omit any activity on or off the ship, shorten or lengthen the cruise; change, add or omit ports of call, substitute the Ship or provide for alternate transportation..." .etc. etc.

In short, reasons for potential itinerary deviations are many and are described in those documents. Stuff happens.

But Viking commercials aren't detailed itineraries; they're just collections of pretty visuals of interesting/attractive places their tours go to; a taste of what you might see/experience.. As well, that specific clip is from drone view (above) that one couldn't expect to see in person, right? Unless the description of the tour specifically mentions cruising by a specific landmark, it's not part of an itinerary. Even if it was, any part of an itinerary can be changed unexpectedly for any number of reasons, and you agree to those when you sign on the line.

As they say, nothing for certain except death and taxes, eh? Sorry for your disappointment, and hope other parts of your tour were enjoyable.

If you had inquired about Viking here on this platform, you might have decided against taking a Viking River Cruise.

Friends who took a VRC in 2024 spent 3 nights in the Budapest Ritz Carlton instead of on the boat, with bus tours from there. Sounds like a nice hotel, but they were expecting a river cruise - as seen on TV.

If you had inquired about Viking here on this platform, you might have
decided against taking a Viking River Cruise.

Because the other cruise lines have the ability to drain or fill the Danube as required and thereby avoid needing bus service? Excellent!

stthomasaqyuinas, look at the bright side. No matter how you ended up here, you did end up in the most beautiful city in Europe. Hard to complain.

Actually when this first came up several years ago, someone explained that it’s the way the Viking boats are built that makes them unsafe to use while other riverboat boats lines are still able to function. Draft too deep or ship too high or both or something.

Yes, a river cruise can legally turn into a second-rate hotel and bus trip. Sometimes passengers are told at check in.

If you had inquired about Viking here on this platform, you might have
decided against taking a Viking River Cruise.
...
Because the other cruise lines have the ability to drain or fill the Danube as required and thereby avoid needing bus service? Excellent!

Thanks for the compliment on this Day of Days, but I was thinking that she would at least be slightly forewarned of the possibility that this could happen on her cruise.

There are issues with both high and low water levels in European rivers that have been impacting cruises for decades.

In May 2012 we were in Avignon, and we noticed that a large cruise ship was "stuck" in Avignon due to high water levels that made it impossible for the ship to pass under bridges...when it came time for the passengers to move on, they were transported by bus to the next port of call. In August 2003, I remember that water levels were so low in the Rhine River that it limited ferry traffic, and it impacted our plans.

Caveat emptor on river cruises...

I’m sorry your river cruise was a bust. I would have been disappointed too. It’s a very expensive way to see Europe. I would not take one as I have read too many horror stories about low water levels and your expensive river cruise, turning into a bus tour.