Our Starlight Travelers of the month are Dan & Lori! Here's a bit about their vacation:
Destination: Viking River Cruise + Extensions in France & Germany
Destinations:
Greece, Switzerland, Germany & France
Travel Time: June 2023
Special Occasion: Delayed COVID Honeymoon
Room Category: King and Balcony on ship
Your trip was impacted a few times over the pandemic? How was our service and trip accommodations throughout your experience with us?
We started planning in March of 2022 with Kim and wanted to experience a large part of Europe and had a 3 week plan in mind. Kim was very helpful and did everything we had asked for. We have so many fond memories of a bucket list trip. The hotels and cruise ship were all luxurious and classy. We had the time of our lives!
Our staff, whether at our hotels or the cruise ship were so helpful and took very good care of us. Jovan, our cruise ship director was immensely helpful, kind and patient person. He made the cruise even more enjoyable.
How were your suites on both the river cruise ship and the hotels you stayed at during your trip extensions?
The rooms were beautiful and the hotels were very classy. We only had one hotel that was not in the greatest location and notified Kim so she is aware of this hotel to avoid for any future bookings for her clients. The cruise ship suites were small but very accommodating and luxurious. After all, you're not on vacation to live in your room all day!
And the food during your trip?
All of the hotels had lovely breakfast buffets and we ate at local restaurants during the day and evenings. The cruise ship food was A-1 and way more than most people can eat. We did skip most lunches and ate out occasionally if we were docked.
Did you participate in any activities throughout your trip? What were the highlights?
The ABC's of a river cruise are "another beautiful church, cathedral, castle"
Travelling the Rhine and Moselle rivers was amazing and very educational. Seeing 21 different castles, 18 different locks, and the many stops of the cities. We took many of the excursions that were part of the cruise, but we also purchased a few. The tour of The Schloss vineyards stood out because of the 800 year history and tour of the vineyards.
Here's what we did:
Athens - tour of the Acropolis and museum
Santorini - Cooking class at winery....lots of fun and
insightfu
Sunset cruise - highly recommend, lots of
fun and absolutely beautiful
Shopping area was wonderful
Crete - Private tour of the Palace of Konossos and the city
of Heraklion
[We had] Too many [fond memories] to highlight, but the bond we made with 3 French women on the sunset cruise in Santorini sticks out. Complete language barrier, did not get in the way of us dancing together and becoming good friends by the end of the cruise. Santorini was also just the most beautiful island and so many friendly people.
Did anything go wrong during your vacation?
Yes, basically the driver picked us up too late for our ferry to Crete which led to some extra flights and getting to Crete rather late. Talked to Kim during this whole problem and things were amended. The tour company picked up the flights and expenses with no issues as well as buying us lunch the next day. They also refunded our ferry tickets.
Special Notes:
Can't say enough how Kim and her staff took very good care of us through the whole trip before, during and after!
Thanks for spending your honeymoon with us, Dan and Lori! You are star travelers! It was a great honor to help you on this once-in-a-life-time river cruise to celebrate your once-in-a-lifetime love story. Cheers to you two!
To become a star traveler, request a vacation with us! Or if you've already traveled with us, you can submit your travel review here.