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APT vs Viking River Cruises
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT and Viking River Cruises.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Cruising down the rivers of Europe you are sure to pass a Viking Longship on your travels. Viking boasts the most extensive fleet of river cruises vessels in Europe, and while their core market is the US, there are many clients from Australia that choose to cruise with them each year. In 2017 Viking launched their range of mid-sized ocean cruises - with just 930 guests this gives their ships greater maneuverability, allowing them to dock where the mega-liners cannot. Viking do not offer NZD pricing, so if you're a Kiwi wanting jump onboard then you'll need to pay in AUD or USD.Stats
No. of Trips
417
No. of Departures
3,189
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$745
Accommodation
4 - 5 Star
Budget
Premium & Luxury
No. of Trips
54
No. of Departures
4,646
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$443
Fleet Size
75 Ships
Known For
Scandinavian Design
Ship Styles River Cruises
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
APT is an Australian family-owned company whose essence began in Melbourne in the 1920s. More than 90 years on, APT offers life-enriching trips to every continent, and through the company’s vast industry experience, meticulous planning and unquestionable passion it's earned a place among the world’s most well-regarded travel companies.
From boutique river cruising to small-group 4WD adventures; traditional coach touring with a decadent twist; epic rail journeys to small-ship expeditions; classic ocean cruising to safaris of discovery by both land and air – there’s little APT are unwilling to consider in pursuit of creating the finest holiday experience for its valued guests.
Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
A Viking river cruise is the discerning traveller’s dream. Whether you choose to visit Egypt, Asia, Europe or the Mississippi, our itineraries are designed to immerse you in the history and culture of each destination. With us, you could be exploring a local food market with our head chef one day and experiencing an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of a world-famous museum the next.
Our state-of-the-art ships take you right into the heart of each destination, and you won’t find any kids or ‘nickel and diming’ on board. In fact, our fares include everything you need - from meals, beverages and Wi-Fi to a culturally enriching shore excursion at every port of call. This unique combination of features has become affectionately known as ‘the Viking difference’.
Viking has 70 award-winning river ships sailing all over the world, and we can’t wait to welcome you on board to discover the Viking difference for yourself.
Recent Reviews
4.7
I have been on many tours both in Australia and overseas. I would have to say that the Tour Director Michelle and Coach Driver David were without doubt up there with the best. David was a local Tasmanian and Michelle was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and totally empathetic to all her guests' needs. I thoroughly recommend APT for this 6 day tour, and also ...read more Global Journeys for their efficiency.
We have done this trip previously, although in April. This time we went in November. Although the autumn colours were beautiful it was very cold most days (around 5 degrees during the day). As this was the last trip of the season we found many of the freedom of choice activities were limited and in many cases were only limited to a city walk. We were ...read more really looking forward to riding the e-bikes on a couple of occasions but were told once we boarded that they stop that by the end of October. Very disappointed! We did find we were sitting around a lot on the ship and once we did stop at each port we were time limited. Maybe more day-time activities whilst on board too would have been better. On the whole we enjoyed our time away and couldn't fault the food and staff and their attention to detail.
Paris was very disappointing, the river cruise & Prague were excellent and met all expectations. Very knowledgeable & well organized tour guides. Perhaps this trip isn't geared to solo travelers. Accommodation on the cruise & Prague of high quality but were disappointing in Paris.
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
On the whole a great trip. The one let-down was the food, which would not pass muster in a Melbourne bistro. Restaurant staff were largely under-trained, which may be a hang-over from COVID.
Trip was very good. Karijini was below standard (very arrogant staff and canteen like food). Tour director Shay and husband who drove the bus were outstanding and went the extra mile to assist everyone. Visited many places that we had never heard of. The weather was lovely Exmouth and Broome excellent accommodation. Smaller towns accommodation was ...read more not as good but that had to be expected as there isn’t much to choose from.
4.6
This was a really wonderful cruise with Viking from Budapest to Amsterdam. We went in December to see the Christmas Markets, which we saw in every town or city we visited. They were absolutely magical! It also snowed a few times, which made it even more special.
The shore tours that we did were great and the local guides very knowledgeable. We couldn’t f ...read moreault anything on the cruise. The food at breakfast, lunch and dinner was always delicious, with plenty of choice. All of the staff on board were very friendly and always ready to help. Our room was very comfortable, with plenty of wardrobe and drawer space, which is very important.
Thank you Tracey, from Global Journeys, for your help with our booking. Global Journeys have always been great to deal with and will definitely book with them again in the future. We loved absolutely everything about our cruise and can highly recommend Viking (which we have already done) to anyone wanting to do a river cruise.
The shore tours that we did were great and the local guides very knowledgeable. We couldn’t f ...read moreault anything on the cruise. The food at breakfast, lunch and dinner was always delicious, with plenty of choice. All of the staff on board were very friendly and always ready to help. Our room was very comfortable, with plenty of wardrobe and drawer space, which is very important.
Thank you Tracey, from Global Journeys, for your help with our booking. Global Journeys have always been great to deal with and will definitely book with them again in the future. We loved absolutely everything about our cruise and can highly recommend Viking (which we have already done) to anyone wanting to do a river cruise.
Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. The couple of years delay we had due to Covid was well worth the wait. We have nothing but praise for Viking and their staff and also Georgie from Global Journeys who we booked through. Everyone was so friendly, courteous and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. We booked our flights with Viking Air which ...read more included pickup at the airport and transport to the ship.
Our cabin with a French Balcony was a good choice as it was quieter and the weather in November was mostly overcast with single digit temperatures which was not conducive to utilising an outside balcony. While the weather was cool we were comfortable wearing appropriate clothing on the tours. Dining was top class with plenty of choices. We were very impressed with everything and are already planning our next Viking River Cruise which we will book with Georgie through Global Journeys.
Our cabin with a French Balcony was a good choice as it was quieter and the weather in November was mostly overcast with single digit temperatures which was not conducive to utilising an outside balcony. While the weather was cool we were comfortable wearing appropriate clothing on the tours. Dining was top class with plenty of choices. We were very impressed with everything and are already planning our next Viking River Cruise which we will book with Georgie through Global Journeys.
Viking provided a very professional magical experience and we enjoyed every moment. David Wander, our program leaders expertise in organising and generally caring for each and every guest aboard was beyond outstanding. The majority of travellers were from America which we at times felt excluded by non Viking excursion leaders who directed all there ...read more commentary to and about Americans. We had to change ships half way as the river level was low, this was handled in the least disruptive way by all the wonderful Viking crew aboard the Bragi and Skadi.
Georgie handled our reservations at Global Journeys and was easy to communicate with. Our Viking travel tags did not arrive in time which caused a delay in our boarding the ship and an error on our flight arrival time receipt back into Melbourne meant we had the extra cost of a nights accommodation, this we did not realise until checking in to fly home. Our arrangements had been made and could not be changed but if we had known the correct flight time we could have travelled the next part of our journey home with ease.
Georgie handled our reservations at Global Journeys and was easy to communicate with. Our Viking travel tags did not arrive in time which caused a delay in our boarding the ship and an error on our flight arrival time receipt back into Melbourne meant we had the extra cost of a nights accommodation, this we did not realise until checking in to fly home. Our arrangements had been made and could not be changed but if we had known the correct flight time we could have travelled the next part of our journey home with ease.
Our Viking river cruise met all our expectations and above. Unfortunately we missed the first five days because of COVID but Viking rang us every day to check we were ok and we were able to join the cruise on day 5. On arrival they upgraded us to a French verandah which was unexpected but greatly appreciated. The staff were so friendly and helpful ...read more and we could not fault the food, good variety and quality. The shore tours were excellent and the tour guides very knowledgeable. When we returned and contacted Viking about our missed days on the cruise, they were also very prompt in issuing credit vouchers to put towards another Viking cruise. We would highly recommend Viking.
Fantastic trip - Viking have obviously spent years perfecting their on-board service and features, as well as daily excursions and experiences. Staff were all very polite, expert at their role, and always willing to help. Food and drink was high quality, and in abundance. Recommend taking the drinks package - left us with zero to pay at end of cruise. ...read more No need to travel with friends - the boat provides ample opportunity to meet new people.
A wonderful journey on the very picturesque Danube, Main and Rhine rivers with no packing up each day 1 Rhonda & Trevor, VIC, Australia, Sep 2022
Viking gave great service, especially the food - it was amazing. We went in early September and it was a little cool-would have liked it to be warmer but you can't control the weather. Another great life time experience. Thank you to Global Journeys and Georgie - once again.
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