The European river ship so good, other cruise lines copy it

VIKING SKIRNIR AND VIKING MODI

• Launched 2015
• The cruise Rhine & Main Explorer, 11 days
• Passengers 190
• Crew 53
• Decks Four
• Length 135 metres
• Suites 95

THE SHIP

Owing to a stretch of too-shallow Rhine, I’m on two Viking Longships (Skirnir and Modi), but the coach transfer is made with remarkable efficiency and without much disruption to the itinerary. Because all of Viking’s Longships (there are currently 69) are virtually identical, the onboard experience is uncannily the same.

BOARDING

Those in suites get priority noon access to their “sleeping quarters”, as Viking sedately puts it; everyone else must wait until 3pm. Many guests have airport transfers, but I’m arriving by train, and a short tram ride takes me to within sight of Viking Skirnir. Check-in is fuss-free, which is exactly how I – and presumably the other jet-lagged passengers – like it. A welcome bottle of champagne and a gargantuan fruit platter await.

THE DESIGN

Viking’s Longship layout works so well that many other cruise lines have imitated it. Viking has continued to imitate itself, too. Once you’ve been on one Longship you know what to expect, which is reassuring, though sometimes I wish for a breakaway from cookie-cutter design. Expect sleek Nordic minimalism and lots of glass, even on interior fittings such as balustrades, which provide ample sunlight and a feeling of space. Wood-accented pieces are in abundance. Subdued colours are enlivened by occasional eruptions of artwork.

The decor is unassuming but, when I look closely, I find interesting touches, such as Viking-style axes above the computer terminals, and black-and-white photos of company founder Torstein Hagen’s family.

THE SPACES

The lounge is expansive and bartenders at its U-shaped bar are always busy. Grouped seating means guests can socialise in whatever sized gathering the mood takes them. At its front end the lounge dissolves into Aquavit Terrace, a delightful spot at the ship’s prow for informal dining with forward-facing views.

The top Sun Deck has shuffleboard, a walking track and putting green, seating and strips of herbs that get regular haircuts to supply the galley. However, low bridges on the Main River, the longest tributary of the Rhine, mean it can’t be used throughout much of this particular cruise.

The library is understandably, given the limited space on river ships, simply a lobby space with a wall of books, two desktop computers and four armchairs around a coffee table often taken up by jigsaw-puzzle solvers. Viking’s educational ethos is alive and well in the quality of the book selection.

THE STATEROOM

Among cabin categories are Standard Staterooms which have but a porthole, French Balcony Staterooms, and Veranda Staterooms. Outlook and size vary but decor and amenities are very similar. I’m in stateroom 316, one of seven Veranda Suites (there are also two larger Explorer Suites). It’s a generous 25.5 square metres and divided into a lounge with enough room for a sofa and armchair, as well as a modest desk that doubles as a dressing table.

The bedroom has a queen-sized bed good enough for Goldilocks. Praise be for sensible pillows uncommon in Europe, one thin and one fat, to suit your favourite neck position. The suite’s beige, brown and blue decor is relaxing, and a cool comfort to return to in the full blast of Europe’s heatwave.

Some arty photos of European river scenes might have been more interesting than the couple of small and undistinguished abstract artworks. Nice touches include a pair of binoculars, reading lights in the bedhead, heated bathroom floors, and an anti-fog bathroom mirror. Suites benefit from complimentary laundry.

THE FOOD

The food is very satisfying, and can’t be faulted for quality and freshness. Regional dishes are among the choices every evening, among which are standouts such as braised beef with onion sauce, sausages and sauerkraut, and bienenstich or bee-sting cake, an almond layered biscuit cake with vanilla cream. Both lunch and dinner are a la carte. At lunch, chefs are present to prepare salads and cook pasta, and guests help themselves to salads, bread, cheese and dessert. Three-course dinners are more formally served. All the tables in the main restaurant are shared. Alternative Aquavit Terrace is more informal with some limited tables for two that are always in high demand. Menus run the gamut of international favourites from French onion soup to steamed cod, rib-eye steak to involtini, rounding off with classic desserts or cheese and fruit plates. I become a little obsessed with the lunchtime Nicoise salad. Although excellent, the dining is mainstream rather than adventurous and, on a cruise that spends far more time in Germany than France, I’d have preferred a German buffet evening. Instead, it’s French and rather unexciting, with cheese plates peculiarly promoted as an appetiser.

WELLNESS

I’ve often wondered why cruise ships, and especially river ships, devote space to gyms that only a minority of guests use. No such mistake on Viking Longships. You don’t need a gym on a European river cruise: every port has kilometres of promenades and cycle paths. The Main River has amiable cycleways that contour the river for almost its full length. No wellness area either. Wellness consists of enjoying the top deck in the fresh air as lovely scenery drifts past, instead of huddling in a perfumed room.

ENTERTAINMENT

There’s no regular nightly entertainment except trivia competitions, although occasionally a local music group is invited on board. A pianist glassy-eyed with boredom tinkles on a grand piano in the lounge. I suspect he can play Rachmaninov, but is doomed to produce dreary elevator music. Lectures and talks that provide informative background to local history, politics and society used to be a hallmark of Viking’s river cruises. Disappointing that these have been abandoned but for one mundane lecture on the rise of the Nazis.

THE CREW

Founder Torstein Hagen is a Harvard-educated Norwegian who once worked for an American ocean cruise line, and his company has headquarters in America and Switzerland. The crew on both ships seem infused both with Swiss-Norwegian efficiency and the relaxed friendliness of American service: a winning combination.

THE VERDICT

I’ve been on several Viking river cruises, but the last one was probably a decade ago. Rediscovering that little has changed is slightly disconcerting but ultimately a pleasure. Why change something that works so well?

DETAILS

Viking Cruises’ 11-day Rhine & Main Explorer river cruise from Basel to Nuremberg (or the reverse) has limited remaining departures in November 2026. It resumes between May and November 2027. From $7795 a person twin share in 2027, including dining, beverages with meals, Wi-Fi, a shore excursion in every port and gratuities. Economy flights are included on new bookings on selected 2027 sailings made before November 30, 2026. Phone 138 747; see vikingrivercruises.com.au

RATING OUT OF FIVE

★★★★

SWELL

Unflappable efficiency both on and off the ship has been the hallmark of all my river and ocean cruises with Viking, and this is no exception.

NOT SO SWELL

The ship’s air-conditioning copes well with Europe’s heatwave, but only when the engines are running. In Basel and Strasbourg, ships must connect to shore power, and reduced electric capacity means several sweltering mealtimes. Cabins aren’t as badly affected.

The writer was a guest of Viking Cruises

Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.