So, who is better, Viking River Cruises or Tauck River Cruises? I’ve sailed with Viking on the Douro, the Rhine, and the Danube (from Passau to Budapest), and I had a wonderful time on all three cruises. I’ve only sailed with Tauck on this cruise, and I had a wonderful time. Bottom line: you can’t go wrong, but particularly as a solo traveler, I give the advantage to Tauck:
| Factor | Viking River Cruise | Tauck River Cruise |
| Price | Partially inclusive – generally one shore excursion in each port and some gratuities are included. Optional shore excursions are additional. Beer and wine are included only at meals. No single cabins are available, which is a real pain in the wallet for solo travelers. | Fully inclusive – all shore excursions, gratuities, and drinks are included. Tauck’s brochure prices are higher, but they may end up representing a better value depending on how much you drink, whether you take optional excursions, and how much you tip. For solo travelers there’s no comparison: Viking’s single supplement and the availability of single cabins on Tauck makes Tauck the less expensive option. Advantage: Tauck, with the notes above. |
| Cabins | Very comfortable. However, as noted above, Viking does not offer cabins for single travelers, and they impose a stiff single supplement. | Very comfortable. My cabin was quite small (and the shower was minuscule), but on these trips the cabin is just a place to sleep – and the bed was terrific. Advantage: Tauck* |
| Tour Directors | Fantastic! | Fantastic! |
| Service | Fantastic! | Fantastic! |
| Food | Very Good. All meals are in the dining room. | Very Good to Excellent. In addition to the dining room, there is a limited-menu casual eatery (Arthur’s) that is open from early morning until late evening. Advantage: Tauck |
| Shore Excursions | Generally very good to excellent, but optional excursions cost extra. | Generally very good to excellent. All excursions are included. Advantage: Tauck |
| Atmosphere | Informal – I’m a t-shirt and shorts guy in hot weather, and so were many other passengers. Jeans are fine at dinner, and jackets for men are rare. Advantage (based on personal preference): Viking | A bit more formal – I was one of very few people not wearing button-down or collared shirts during the day. Jeans are not allowed at dinner, and quite a few men wore jackets. |
| Personal Space | The lounge and dining room can get crowded | Fewer passengers means more space. Public areas were never crowded. Advantage: Tauck |
| Onboard Entertainment | Cultural acts relevant to the itinerary, generally excellent. Some educational speakers. | Cultural acts relevant to the itinerary, generally excellent. Strong educational speakers. Advantage: Tauck |
| Onboard Amenities | No gym; I don’t believe bicycles are available to take on shore. | Small gym (4 bikes, 2 treadmills, dumbbells). Bicycles are available to use on shore. Advantage: Tauck, if you like to work out on vacation. |
| Pre-/Post-Cruise Hotels | Generally excellent | Generally excellent |
| Age Group | Generally 60s, 70s, 80s, no children allowed. | Based solely on this one cruise, I feel like Tauck skews a bit older than Viking, but children are allowed. |
* The single cabins are on Deck 1, which means that there are two small windows at eye level rather than a large window or balcony. In addition, Deck 1 is accessible only via a partially twisting staircase with very narrow steps. Anyone with mobility issues or uncertain balance is likely to have problems. Given the demographic (see the last row above), this is an unfortunate design, though it’s probably necessary given space constraints.
I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts on the relative merits of the two cruise lines, as well as reactions from people who’ve sailed with AMA, Uniworld, and other companies. Please comment if you have helpful input – and by all means feel free to disagree with me (politely) if your experience on Viking or Tauck has been different than mine.
My next trip isn’t until November, when I’m heading to Cuba, so I probably won’t be posting again until then. In the meantime, I’ve written more than one hundred posts from all around the world dating back to 2010, so please keep yourself busy reading those posts and dreaming of your next destination. You can also check out my crossword site, JeffsPuzzles.com and my poetry site, It-Could-Be-Verse.com. Be well!!!
PuffinlessTravel 