My wife and I took the Viking Grand European River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam on Viking Skirnir, ending on October 14, 2024. The cruise was delightful until the very end after passenger reviews were turned in. The Viking bus dropped us off over half a mile away from Schiphol airport in Amsterdam in an unmarked remote area, while other buses dropped their passengers off right at the airport departure entrance. 70+ year olds had to drag their heavy suitcases over streets and curbs at a brisk pace set by the young Viking guide. My partially disabled 72 year old wife with an artificial shoulder, dragging two suitcases behind her, didn’t see one of the many curbs at the halfway point. A wheel caught the curb and turned the suitcase into her ankle, causing her to fall heavily onto the pavement. She suffered knee and arm injuries, with her arm injury bleeding through her blouse. The suitcase wheel was broken beyond repair. Two other kind passengers took her suitcases and we all struggled on with no medical assistance made available. The guide left us at departures sweaty, worn out, and hurting, and recommended she get medical attention. Until this last crucial point in our trip, we would have rated Viking five out of five stars. But Viking turned the trip into a one-star nightmare.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8876 posts
How is your wife doing now? I hope she has recovered.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Hi, Carol! She's hurting alot and now that we're home, we're making doctors appointments.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Note to other readers -- This is a good example for traveling light. I have had the same problem with curbs and I only had one bag. A half mile is a long ways to drag any luggage. Did Viking have a reason for that location? We have done the reverse of that cruise getting on in Amsterdam and having problems in Budapest finding local buses and taxis at the end. There were a couple of other river cruise companies ending at the same time and location.
Posted by
3438 posts
That must have been an awful flight home.
I always just assumed that Viking buses would drop you off in front of the departure entrance. If you reach out to them after your wife feels better, please let us know how they respond.
Posted by
Charleston & Birmingham
4602 posts
I'm so sorry this happened to you. We have heard river cruises recommended as a good choice for older, less mobile travelers. Apparently this is not the case. Just curious-was this transfer part of airfare booked by Viking?
Posted by
Oregon
372 posts
First of all- I am so very sorry! That is a terrible way to end your trip.
To clarify though- no complaints about the cruise. The river cruise was wonderful.
you booked a transportation transfer from Viking ship to airport after cruise vs doing your own thing. I would definitely let Viking know I am curious if they were employees or a separate company they contract with which I believe is more common.
Posted by
North Florida
115 posts
I'm sorry for the ending to your trip. We have taken 6 Viking journeys, ( 4 ocean, and 2 river, including the Grand European cruise that you went on) and every time Viking has taken us to/from the airport. We are going on another Ocean Cruise this December and will be using their air service once again. We have never had any issues and have always been taken directly to the gate in which we were leaving and picked up promptly at the gate in which we arrived. I would contact Viking and let them know what happened; it could have been an outside company hired by them and they would want to know. Viking has always been helpful with any issue we have had and they try extremely hard to please their customers.