Rivers & Seas Tour & Trip Reviews

Recently returned from a Viking Rhine trip on 10/14.
The good:
Rhine water levels were good, no issues. Service on the vessel was A+, excluding one attendant with “attitude” at the front desk. Entertainment was low key but acceptable. Viking succeeds in creating a laid back atmosphere. Viking is like a clock - they run on time. Cabin was nice and shower was exceptional. Most (not all) tours were informative, guides ranged from good to excellent. Tour buses were top shelf with experienced drivers.
The not so good:
All 6 in our group were disappointed with the food (not service but food) all week excluding breakfast. All felt the food offerings got “old” real fast. Food appeared to be prepared in advance and then reheated. Plenty of TV movies, tv and internet reception poor all week.
Most concerning
Viking, customs, and airline never asked to see our proof of vaccination. While Viking did a excellent job in keeping the boat itself clean and sanitized we had an issue on one of the bus tours. A unmasked woman sitting directly behind my wife was sweating & coughing non-stop. Not a occasional sneeze or cough, it was obvious this woman was ill. At the first stop multiple riders relocated to seats as far away from this individual as possible. Regrettably, Viking said/did noting.
Viking claims they are not the Covid police and if we felt compromised we should have put on a mask. Absolutely ridiculous that Viking felt we should have masked but took action to pull this woman aside, require her to mask with a suggestion to see a physician. Again - we’re not talking about normal coughing and sneezing- this woman was visibly ill. Viking was willing to put 30 travelers at risk rather then ask a visibly ill woman to mask up. It’s Vikings boat, tour, bus but they say and do nothing.
Of course 2 of 6 in our group contracted Covid.
Viking had a obligation to do everything within their control to protect us as best possible. In this instance they didn’t even try.
Not trying to trash Viking, just being truthful.

This trip was the most poorly organized and executed trip I have ever been on. I have attended other trips by other companies in the past and always had a wonderful experience.

Prior to leaving on our trip we had researched rbe hotels listed and had some concerns about the one we would be using in London: the Copthorne Tara. Reviews mentioned blood in beds, floors, general uncleanliness and even MAGGOTS IN THE BEDS. We called EF with our concerns and were essentially dismissed. This was our first sign to run.

The flights on the way to the trip were just fine, but our accommodations in London were extremely subpar. We checked in at 1pm and our hotel room was not ready until almost 6pm. Other people from our trip arrived and checked in after us and had their rooms ready before us. Once we entered the room we were greeted with the smallest single beds I have ever seen. The room was a room with a adjoining door, this door was broken and did not lock, which is a major security concern for two young women alone. We found blood on our wall and in one bed as well as a curtain. When this information was shared with the front desk we were met with complete apathy. There was no urgency and no concern. A girl on our trip ended up with bedbugs from this hotel, and the rest of the trip we spent in fear that we too would become contaminated. The air conditioning in the room was broken and when we shared this with the front desk we were told someone would be up to address it which never happened. At once point the temperature in our room exceeded 90 degrees Fahrenheit when the weather outside did not go above 70. We shared this as a concern about the heat being activated and were told there was none in our room.

The girl that ended up with the bedbugs was told that they would contact a doctor for her l- they called a doctor once and he never arrived. She finally had to resort to calling back to the USA with a tele health appointment in order to be sure that the rash she had was bedbugs. She was confirmed with rjem and covered all over with bites. She had to miss most of her trip cleaning her belongings and the trip did nothing to assist.

Then we went to Paris. The hotel there was no better. Cleanliness and concern and consideration lacking. Each night from midnight to two am there was a intense clanking outside our bedroom that came from the GRAVEYARD we were next to. When we complained about the noise again we were met with zero concern. The beds were just as small, and I had an allergic reaction to something in their linens.

Amsterdam was the only hotel that was nearly worth our money, but on the way there my friends luggage was stolen. When this was reported to the THALYS employees they did absolutely nothing and did not even check the train to see if the luggage had been moved. We made a police report and reported it with EF but there was again no urgency.

The trip home was also a mess. We arrived at the Amsterdam airport 4 hours before our flight (as requested by the airport) and were told we were unable to check in or check our luggage for two more hours. We waited two hours in line and then checked in. We then waited over two and a half hours for security and almost missed our flight, which when we expressed this concern to the airline, and to the airport employees we were regarded with disinterest. We had to run to make it to our flight only to find out our plane had not arrived on time.

Our flight was then delayed over two hours on the tarmac and when we finally took off, we realized we would miss our next flight because we only had a two hour layover. The only reason we managed to make our flight was because the wonderful employees of Dublin airport and their assistance. We ran to our flight again and made it with less than a minute to spare, the doors closing behind us and the plane taking off minutes after we sat down. The travel time that was estimate to take a total of 17 hours for the two flights and all the in between times turned into close to 24 by the end of the time when we arrived home.

Through all of these issues our tour guide was downplaying the seriousness of all these issues. She refused to believe that our friend was actually infested with bedbugs, and did not get a doctor involved, making them call an emergency service in the United States. In addition she told our friend with this affliction to lie to the rest of the trip and not tell us that she had the bedbugs because she did not want to cause a panic. This is a violation of medical codes and could cause serious harm to others. When we had our issue with the stolen luggage she did not want to accompany us to make a police report and only did so after I asked her to come with us.

For a company charging for an “upgraded trip experience” and for the additional money we paid, we did not receive any of the upgraded “4-5 star accommodations”. I want my money back. I look forward to receiving a refund for the “upgraded” part of the experience, and will be sharing the service I received widely throughout my networks.

This company cancelled our trip 3 times due to COVID. The most recent cancellation was less than 10 days notice. When we tried to re-book this time for a later date (our fourth reservation with them), they charged us over $10,000 more for the EXACT same itinerary even after their 100% guarantee says they have a voyage-for-voyage exchange on cancelled trips and we would be able to exchange the trip for the same itinerary. Now they've changed their rules to say they only have 1 date available that's approved for "exchanges." So our original booking, which was the week of Christmas, now has to be some random week when conditions are not as good and we won't even see Antarctica in the season we wanted. For the EXACT same itinerary as we already booked and paid for (and they kept the money for over 2 years for, while continuing to cancel our trips) they want 10k+ more to book. This is a scam and these people have kept our money for going on 3 years now with absolutely no intent to honor their "guarantee." This company has been a nightmare from the beginning and I highly recommend you book with someone else.

signed up to travel the Columbia-Snake River to visit Hell's Canyon. That part of the trip was cancelled by Nat Geo without notifying the passengers. Instead we visited a farm market. Wow, big deal, I can do that at home. It was a major disappointment and of course NG did not give any refunds for leaving out a major part of the trip.

I booked a trip with EF Ultimate Break in October for a trip leaving in May. Of course, that trip was rightfully cancelled because of COVID19. What isn’t right is that this company refuses to give refunds for the trip they themselves cancelled. Our options are an expiring trip voucher or to take a refund minus a thousand dollars. I even paid for their insurance and they’re refusing to give a full refund. They’re taking advantage of a pandemic to steal money from young travelers who trusted them with thousands of dollars. They don’t care about their customers and they are not to be trusted with anyone’s money.

This greedy and unethical company is being sued for keeping money from school children and their parents after the company canceled trips due to Coronavirus. They have a pattern of canceling trips and keeping your money and you get nothing! They only care about money and not earning it.

We traveled to Morocco with A+R earlier this year and had a very poor experience. Our guide was generally indifferent (did not keep the group together on walking tours so often spoke when not everyone could hear, often put off questions for "later" and never followed-up despite requests, and often left out information that we later heard from others that could have been very useful to know), travel was in a bus barely big enough for our group (so it was quite cramped), and the itinerary was not followed (things were just left out with no explanation). Several times traveling to meals the guides even had trouble finding the way to the restaurant. Very poorly prepared. Many other issues - enough for a several page note to the company post-trip. And the company's post-travel follow-up was not outstanding. They did at least acknowledge that they had perhaps not vetted this trip to an appropriate level. Others on the trip who had traveled with A+R before said the trip was an aberration, but we will not risk it again given the poor follow-up and the alternatives available.

My Mom and I had the opportunity to visit Italy this summer on the 9 day Rome and Amalfi Coast Tour. Italy is a beautiful country and everyone needs to see and experience it before they die. However, I would NOT recommend Perillo Tours (PT). Here’s why: Introductions of group members were not done at the orientation. There are still people on the tour that I did not meet or know their names. And, we were only given the first couple of days of our itinerary, which was VERY broad and lacking detail. I am still in shock that it was HAND-WRITTEN and lacking so much important information. For example, it would say that Breakfast was at 7 and we would depart at 7:30, we would tour the Coliseum and the Roman Forum, have lunch, and we would return to hotel at 5:30. I had so many questions: Where is breakfast located? Where do we meet to depart as a group? How long is each part of the tour? How long will we be on our feet/in direct sunlight? Will bathrooms be accessible on the tour? What time is lunch? Where is lunch? How long do we have to eat lunch? In my opinion, these are valid questions that should have been written down on the itinerary that was given. I will say that some of these questions were addressed verbally, but it would have been more relaxing for me to have at least had approximate plans written down on the itinerary. In our orientation, we were told that water was provided on every bus. NOT TRUE. I asked for a water bottle and was told that only the bus ride to Amalfi would have water bottles. So yes, you guessed it. My Mom and I went most of the day without water. This was frustrating knowing that we had perfectly good water bottles in our room and that we were misinformed during orientation. I think that it is also important to note that on the tours you don’t always get to jump the lines. At all of the tour sites, we still had to get in the “tour group line” and wait our turn to go. Most of the time, we were standing in direct sunlight for 30+ minutes. Specifically, while we were waiting to tour the Blue Grotto at the Isle of Capri, we had to wait in a rocky boat for 45+ minutes. Keep in mind the conditions. It’s hot, humid, loud, and the fumes from ALL the boats is almost unbearable. Then the captain of the boat randomly decided to jump out of line and move our boat closer to the cliffs for some reason. This area of the water was full of waves and not an ideal spot to anchor a boat. Accurate time frames or time estimates are almost nonexistent with PT. Not only is this confusing and not helpful, but this was a trend of the entire tour. No one knew any answers and it almost felt like we were being misinformed or dare I say lied to. My Mom and I decided to do one of the optional tour add ons. We understood that it was at an additional fee, but thought it would be worth it. Long story short, it was not. This tour started at 2, so we had a short window to rest, eat lunch, and regroup. We were told the walking tour would be 2 hours. It ended up being 3.5 hours in the heat of the day, direct sunlight, with no bathroom breaks, and only two stops at fountains to refill our water bottles, per my requests. At this point, my Mom becomes ill. She is light headed, nauseated, and no longer able to walk at the pace of the group (probably due to the heat, lack of water, and fast-pace of the tour, but that’s just a wild hunch). I informed the tour guide of this and he responded loudly in front of other group members, “Well, what do you want me to do?!” I suggested that my Mom and I end the tour early and head back to the hotel in a cab. He told me that this was a pedestrian only part of town and that we would have to walk to find a cab pick-up area. He also made it very clear that PT would NOT pay for the cab ride. I was shocked to say the least that he did not seem to care that my Mom was sick and did not offer to help us in any way. When we arrived back at the hotel, we were given less than an hour to rest and get ready. So at this point, we had been up and moving in direct sunlight, with very little water for about 8 hours. Sounds relaxing and fun, right? My Mom was still feeling ill and was not able to go out for dinner with the rest of the group, so I asked PT to please send a meal from room service, so she could have dinner. PT would not accommodate this request because hotel room service was too expensive. Instead, they sent up a bucket of ice to our room. Confused about this? Yeah, we were too. At the restaurant, I was handed a to go bag of food to give to my Mom, but we didn’t arrive back to the hotel until 10 PM and in my opinion, mozzarella cheese and prosciutto was the last thing my Mom needed to eat that late. If a person cannot go out to dinner because they are ill from the tour, then room service should be provided by PT to help them feel better. I have so many more things to add, but not enough character space to do so. In summary, do NOT book with PT!

Excellent host and local guides. Got to know that there is more to Panama than the canal. Loved going to the Embera Village.

The Panda's were great and the overall trip was handled very professionally. The Guides were excellent, and took us right to the Airport, got our tickets for us, no waiting in long lines, they were very knowledgeable about the History of their Province, and on time.

I just really thought the trip was very good. This was our second Alexander and Roberts trip, and we have been impressed each time. I highly recommend your company to everyone. We love the small group feature, also. As I prepared for this trip, Melanie Delworth was also very helpful.

The tour guides were fabulous and the hotels were first class. We saw quitzals (three) of them in Monte Verde because of our guide.

We paid for a 3 week luxury river cruise but received a large group bus trip across Europe with many days of packing and unpacking. I called our Viking representative when we received an email message just 2 days prior to departure that mentioned a possibility of problems with low river levels. I was assured that everything was "normal" In reality, as we learned later from ship personnel, nothing has been normal for at least 3 months. About 2 weeks prior to departure, we received by mail, lovely personalized booklets describing all the details of our voyage on the Viking Lif, which we were to board in Russe, Romania. Instead, we boarded the Viking Aegir but not at Russe, because the Danube was too low. Instead we rode buses upstream to a port on the Romanian side directly opposite our first scheduled stop at Nikopol, Bulgaria. We had a beautiful cruise through the Iron gate gorge, but after three more scheduled stops in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, our voyage was terminated in Mohacs, Hungary, an unscheduled place two days short of reaching Budapest. So we were herded into buses for a 1.8 hour ride each way to our scheduled stop at Kalocsa. The next day we retraced the journey to Kalocsa and continued an extra 1.5 hours to reach Budapest. We lost the entire morning in Budapest and spent the night at the Marriott hotel. The next day we lost the entire afternoon in that city because we had to take a 4 hour bus ride to Vienna. Where we were put aboard the Viking Embla. Our voyage on that ship ended two steps later at Passau Germany. After a day in Passau we went upriver for a short distance and it seemed that we had entered the canal to take us to the Main river. But much to our surprise, it was a dead end channel for an industrial port. We spent two days there with our balcony room moored tightly against another Viking ship so there was nothing to look at but the scenery at that site was even worse than looking at someone else's window and the balcony was unusable anyway due to the unpleasant odors at that site. The pattern continued with a long round trip bus ride the next day to our scheduled stop at Regensburg and a 3 plus hour trip the following day to Nuremberg where we finally boarded the Viking Lif. A crew member told us that the Lif had not traveled east of Nuremberg for 3 months. We sailed from Nuremberg to scheduled stops in Bamberg, Wurzburg, and Werthiem and then our voyage terminated for good at an unscheduled port in Mainz. Once again we endured a long round trip journey to our next scheduled stop at Koblenz, followed by a 10 plus hour bus trip (with lunch and a walking tour in Cologne) to Amsterdam and a night in a hotel. Despite a promise that our bags would be in our rooms (they did take great care to provide us with tags so they could easily keep our bags organized) all the baggage was dumped in the hotel garage and it took a good 15 minutes of searching to find it and then take it to our rooms ourselves. There is much more, but it would only be more descriptive of the misery of this trip. We know Viking didn't cause the low river levels, but they did not need to lie to us and make us suffer because of it.

Just about everything was great. Our guide Leo was excellent! A+R needs to ensure that all guests are capable of taking care of themselves and their excess bags and not have the guide take care of them.

Amazing. Highly recommend South Africa and Victoria Falls with the Chobe extension. Excellent locations with even better staff. They really deserve 6 stars.