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Scenic River Cruises vs Viking River Cruises

Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of Scenic River Cruises and Viking River Cruises.

The Low Down

Scenic River Cruises Scenic's 5 star luxury river cruises are well known and popular in Australia (not so much in NZ). Scenic were the first to introduce balconies on their Scenic Space-Ships, which many clients love, but this comes at a cost to interior cabin space. Like many of the other premium river cruise Operators, look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. All inclusive, with Freechoice activities that allow you to choose what you want to do in each port, Scenic also offer a range of luxury additions (like your own Butler) depending on the cabin type select.
Viking River Cruises 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
176
No. of Departures
1,167
Avg. Trip Length
14 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$613
Fleet Size
14 Ships
Known For
Luxury Cruising
Ship Styles River Cruises
No. of Trips
64
No. of Departures
5,525
Avg. Trip Length
11 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$570
Fleet Size
74 Ships
Known For
Scandinavian Design
Ship Styles River Cruises
Regions Explored AsiaEuropeMississippiNile

In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them

Scenic River Cruises
With Scenic, it’s more than a 5-star river cruise...it’s a seamless journey from start to finish that places you, our guest, at the heart of everything we do. It’s taking you to extraordinary regions and immersing you in meaningful and enriching experiences. It’s exquisite cuisine, indulgent wellness, and a world-class team who will anticipate your every need. You'll find the difference is in the details with Scenic: the innovative ship design, expertly trained crew, immersive journey, and an unrivalled focus on health and safety protocols.
Viking River Cruises
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

Luxurious all-inclusive river cruise.   1 , Auckland, New Zealand, Nov 2023
From the moment we embarked on our scenic river adventure, it was evident that Scenic was committed to providing a level of luxury and enrichment that surpassed our expectations. The highlight of our trip was the private concert at Richitenstein Palace - the intimate performance In the opulent Palace setting was a prestigious event and was the epitome ...read more of the Scenic experience.

What stood out to us was the genuine commitment of the Scenic team to go above and beyond for their guests. Cathy, our cruise director was the most cheerful person I’ve ever met. She was full of positive energy which made us feel energized too. The bar staff, all of them were working hard. Ali and Luka were constantly offering drinks to guests. The restaurant staff, the housekeeping staff, the hotel manager, all of them were committed and made a very good team between themselves.

One of the standout features of the Scenic River Cruise was the comprehensive all-inclusive package, from meal to excursion, all day drink onboard to gratuity, everything was included and this made our vacation worry-free experience. In conclusion, we really enjoyed our river cruise. We are grateful for the memories created and can't wait to embark on another adventure with Scenic in the future. We booked our cruise through Georgie of Global Journeys. The booking process went on seamlessly and Georgie is a wonderful agent to deal with.
Great Cruise     3 , QLD, Australia, Aug 2023
This was our first river cruise with Scenic and we found it enjoyable but a bit crowded. The food and service are amazing and the tours were great. Scenic's attention to detail is outstanding. The cruise director was absolutely awesome and went out of his way to make everything run like clockwork. We have done 2 Scenic Eclipse trips prior to this and ...read more found this trip to be not as good though.

The cabins are VERY small and the public spaces are limited and crowded. Dinner is at a set time and the usual stampede occurs to get there. We thought we would make more use of the sunroof area but did not as it was either pulled down to get under low bridges or the weather was not good. As we had to be disembarked due to weather we got to experience two different boats and were surprised to find the service levels not as good on the 2nd boat. If you can, get on the Scenic Crystal not the Scenic Ruby. Overall still a great experience though.
Gabriel Gate made the cruise extra special!   1 , ACT, Australia, Jun 2023
Tastes of Southern France river cruise was excellent, and the presence of Gabriel Gate as host made a huge difference. He not only entertained us but educated us about French culture, food and wine. We enjoyed all the daily tours and appreciated the fact that they were all short bus trips or walking distance from the boat. Staff were all lovely, ...read more efficient and friendly. Our cruise director Andreaa was super organized and efficient. She was very aware of the limitations of the older guests and described tours in detail so people were well informed of walking conditions, toilets availability, weather. Highly recommended.
Luxury cruise on the Duoro   0 , Auckland, New Zealand, Jun 2023
We would definitely cruise with Scenic again - this cruise went beyond our expectations of luxury and service - the quality of the food and wine was amazing. We had the 11 day cruise and were pleased to have chosen this, could not imagine spending any less time to be able to discover all the sights and experiences of the Duoro River Valley. Global Journeys ...read more handled our bookings well and we were pleased with their helpful service in sorting our touring details.
The Best Scenic River Cruise We Have Done   2 , SA, Australia, Jun 2023
If you only ever do one European river cruise, this is the one. Our ship, Scenic Opal, was in very good condition, both inside and outside. The cabin was very comfortable and clean and in excellent condition. The Scenic Crew were exceptional and could not be faulted. Nothing was a problem for them. The Tour Director was also exceptional, extremely organised ...read more and provided useful information with good humour throughout the cruise.

The food was very good but serves are on the small side. They did however make the point a few times that if you wanted more, just ask. Either way you won't leave this cruise hungry. The drinks were free flowing both in the dining room and the lounge. The cruise itinerary is very good with lots of options when it comes to tours or the opportunity to do your own thing in many parts as we did because we had been to most of the towns / cities before.

There was about 144 passengers on board and the nationality mix was about 80 Australians and the rest were mainly Canadians and British with a handful of Americans and New Zealanders. This was our fourth Scenic Cruise and the nationality mix has been different on each cruise.

Our cruise started in early June and the weather was quite good, ranging from around 22 C with some showers at the beginning to 28 C and sunny at the end. The river water levels were OK and we had no problems but there was speculation that later cruises may encounter lower levels which could impact their cruise. Our advise for cabin choice is to get as far forward as you can so you can to avoid engine noise and vibration. It's also a long walk to the back of the ship if you just want to pop back to your cabin for something. Our Cabin 208 was very quiet. We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and highly recommend it.
Jewels of Europe River Cruise     0 , SA, Australia, Jun 2023
Booking through Georgie at Global Journeys made our holiday seamless. Georgie was available to answer any of our questions in a timely and professional manner. Scenic were a great company to travel with. Accommodation on board the ship was really good. Staff and food were amazing. Other passengers were lovely. There were a number of excursions to choose ...read more from to suit most needs. The only negative we have is that there was information overload. Would highly recommend a river cruise. 15 days was perfect length for us. Well done Georgie and Scenic.
Perfect way to see Europe   1 , QLD, Australia, Dec 2023
Two weeks aboard Viking River Ships is the most relaxing way to explore a beautiful part of Europe. To wake up in the morning and look out the floor to ceiling window and see the stunning river and scenery go past is magical. Viking made everything so seamless (including a ship swap due to flooding rivers). The staff were incredible and the ship was ...read more so comfortable and beautifully decorated for Christmas. Each town and city offered something different and we had plenty of free time in each place. A truly perfect way to travel.
Viking Grand European River Cruise     0 , NSW, Australia, Nov 2023
Our first river cruise with Viking did not disappoint! We enjoyed the excellent experience and attention we received from the staff onboard. They welcomed us onboard around 10:30am even though our boarding time was 4:00pm. We were able to leave our luggage and continue to explore Budapest. Viking provided our lunch on the first day and if we needed ...read more we could have had lunch on the last day of our cruise after checking out of our cabins at 9:00am. Viking will hold your luggage as well if you have a late flight and want to continue to see the sights after leaving the cruise. This was a thoughtful gesture.

We had a couple of things that did not go to plan. Our ship the Viking TIR had some damage because a log hit a part of the propeller and it was causing vibrations so we had an unscheduled stop in Linz so they could repair the damage. The rivers were in flood which made it difficult for the nautical crew and when we reached Passau we were advised the water level was too high for us to continue. Viking had a sister ship coming from the other side of the river and we had to pack up our things and they transferred them to the Viking VALLI whilst they put us on a bus for the planned excursion and then onto the Vali docked in Nuremberg. Because all their ships are the same we were allocated the room and we continue on without further disruption.

The included tours were informative and because we have traveled to Europe many times before we didn’t do any of the optional tours offered. I will say that I found the price of the optional tours expensive as we had been to most of the places offered and at a much cheaper cost. The food was restaurant quality and you could have as much as you wanted. The one thing I didn’t like was that lunch and dinner were at set times. The laundry was expensive however we were able to do everything except our jeans in the bathroom which had a heated floor and most things dried overnight. Most of the other passengers were in their seventies with a sprinkling of a few younger and older. Overall the experience was great and we were able to see the Christmas markets in Budapest, Vienna, Nuremberg, Kolbenz, Cologne and Amsterdam. Global Journeys and Georgie always give exceptional service and advice and we look forward to making our future travel plans with them.
Viking's France's Finest Adventure   0 , QLD, Australia, Nov 2023
We booked Viking's France's Finest river cruise with Georgie after previously sailing on their Amsterdam to Budapeat river cruise. It was fantastic. Top class cabins, tours, food, drinks and staff. We cannot praise Viking and their staff highly enough. Very pleasant and helpful. There was a problem with high water and strong current on the first half ...read more of the cruise but the staff organised for buses to take us on our tours and return us to the ship after it sailed without passengers to our next port. Everything went without a hitch.
Like many others, we have another cruise waiting for us in a few months time. Global Journeys Georgie does a great job with our bookings.
8 DAY CHATEAUX, RIVERS & WINE     0 , VIC, Australia, Nov 2023
Our Viking river cruise far exceeded our expectations. The crew provided exceptional service, the food was sensational the tour guides were professional, fun & informative, and the comfortable cabins were spacious and cleaned regularly. We will only book with Viking for future cruises and definitely recommend them to our friends. We also wanted to ...read more thank Georgie from Global Journeys for her great communication and help with our Viking holiday including organising our flights to ensure we have a seamless experience.😊
Grand European Tour     0 , SA, Australia, Oct 2023
Tracey and Global Journeys made the whole trip fit together! Viking was an excellent company to travel with and although getting late into Autumn, we didn't have all the crowds to contend with and the autumn colours were magnificent. From the moment you stepped on board, the staff were there to help you with any queries, magnificent meals, touring and ...read more just generally taking care of you. The peace of floating down the rivers and looking out were soothing. We had a main deck cabin but spent our time in the lounge or on the Aquavit Terrace. There were times on the sundeck, but fresh. The included tours were great and well organised, and then there was still a little time to explore yourself. Well worth it.
Relaxing river cruise     1 , Queensland , Australia, Oct 2023
We set off from Australia at the end of August on an almost 10 week European adventure. On our last 2 weeks we did Viking’s France’s Finest 15 day river cruise, which is in fact 2 cruises marketed as one trip. We did the Avignon to Lyon cruise first, followed by a round trip from Paris for the second. Viking transfers you via train from Lyon to Paris ...read more to do the second cruise. Both cruises were a wonderful, relaxing way to end our sometimes exhausting 10 week journey! We were blessed with pretty good weather and the itineraries on both ships were interesting .

Everything onboard was amazing, from the friendly staff, the wonderful food & wine to the included tours, complete with excellent local guides. We couldn’t fault it. It was the perfect way to end a long trip abroad. France in Autumn was beautiful with the trees changing colour and the scenery we saw from our ship was spectacular. We chose the lower deck cabins as we were travelling with a group, so not in cabins much. Perfectly fine for our needs. Many thanks to Georgie for organising this part of our holiday. Nothing was too much trouble and she happily answered all our queries!😄

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