Viking River Cruises

ABOVE: A rendering of a "Viking Longship" on the Rhine. (Six of the new ships will enter service in 2012.)

Viking River Cruises operates nearly two dozen ships, with the majority catering to Americans, Canadians, and other English-speaking cruisers. Its modern vessels (mostly built in the past decade) cruise in the Rhine, Main, Moselle, Danube, Elbe, Seine, Rhône/Saône, and Volga rivers.

The company is currently investing US $250 million in fleet expansion and refurbishment, with 10 new "Viking Longships" in service, in the shipyard, or on the drawing board. (A new Viking Ocean Cruises brand will be launched in spring of 2014, when the first of two new 888-passenger deepwater ships is scheduled to enter service.)

Viking has been emphasizing "green" features in its newbuilds, with hybrid diesel-electric engines that reduce emissions, noise, and vibration. Also, a number of Viking ships offer free Wi-Fi Internet service in public rooms and cabins.

Viking's fares include most shore excursions, so a Viking cruise is somewhat like a group tour where you unpack only once and travel by boat instead of bus.

Durant Imboden cruised with Viking a number of years ago (see our MS Maribelle cruise review), and the cruise offered a comfortable, informal first-class voyage through beautiful countryside with stops in interesting cities and towns.