VIVA Cruises GmbH is a river cruise company that specializes in offering all-inclusive travel experiences across Europe’s scenic waterways. The company caters to travelers seeking unique and elegant river cruise experiences, featuring light-flooded cabins, gourmet dining options, and a variety of onboard amenities. VIVA Cruises provides a range of itineraries that highlight popular destinations, such as the Seine in Normandy, allowing guests to explore cultural landmarks while enjoying luxurious accommodations.
Customers of VIVA Cruises include leisure travelers, couples, and families looking for immersive travel experiences with a focus on comfort and quality service. The company emphasizes a boutique hotel atmosphere on the water, providing flexible dining times and a selection of beverages throughout the journey. With a commitment to creating unforgettable memories, VIVA Cruises aims to attract those interested in discovering Europe's rivers through a unique lens.
VIVA Cruises GmbH has a positive customer experience.
VIVA Cruises GmbH receives a mix of feedback from travelers, with many praising the excellent service and high-quality food on their cruises. Reviewers frequently highlight the engaging and helpful staff, noting that the crew contributes significantly to a positive experience.
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The cleanliness of the ships and the overall organization of the trips also receive commendations. However, some customers express dissatisfaction with certain aspects, such as the lack of flexibility in dining times and inadequate responses to complaints. Issues like malfunctioning amenities in cabins and limited public restroom availability are also mentioned. Overall, while many enjoy their experiences with VIVA Cruises, there are notable areas for improvement. The sentiment leans positive, but attention to customer concerns could enhance future trips.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
3.9
47
100%
-0.2
● Low
3.9 / 5 overall
=
47 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
Last 3 months
4.0▼ 0.2
12-month avg
4.2
All-time
3.9
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Aug 24
5.0
2
Sep 24
4.0
3
Oct 24
—
0
Nov 24
5.0
2
Dec 24
—
0
Jan 25
—
0
Feb 25
5.0
1
Mar 25
1.0
1
Apr 25
4.8
4
May 25
4.0
4
Jun 25
4.3
3
Jul 25
3.0
1
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 47 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 31 positive reviews
Customer service39%
12 mentions
Helpful support10%
3 mentions
Delivery6%
2 mentions
“Everything, the service, the cleaning and especially the food and restaurant service”
On “Customer service” · May 31, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Cruise Lines.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
VIVA Rhine River Cruise Review – A Rocky Start
My wife and I, along with friends, recently traveled to Europe and began our journey with a week in Paris before boarding our first-ever river cruise wi... See more
We were recently on the Rhine river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. Everything was top notch from the captain to the sailors. The waiters were extremely helpful, engaging and highly entertaining. Our... See more
Some things are excellent, but also thinks to improve
Some things are excellent: the food, the drinks, the staff.
But also some points of improvement.
No info on the TV in our cabin, the water cooler din't work, the yaccussi on the deck didn't work...
An... See more
From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with smiling faces and very helpful staff. The whole trip was first class. From the cabins, to the meals, to the excursions.
The crew members were fantast... See more
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VIVA Rhine River Cruise Review – A Rocky Start
My wife and I, along with friends, recently traveled to Europe and began our journey with a week in Paris before boarding our first-ever river cruise with VIVA on the Rhine River in Basel. While we’ve cruised extensively on the ocean, this was our first river cruise experience—and unfortunately, the embarkation process left a lot to be desired.
We arrived in Basel, Switzerland, the day before our departure on June 21st. Upon reviewing all our paperwork and emails, we realized that we had never been sent the specific address of the ship’s location. The front desk at our hotel (the Movenpick) wasn’t able to help either. While we saw several fellow travelers heading out on Viking, we couldn’t find anyone else boarding VIVA. Eventually, we found a location on Google and hoped for the best, since we’d heard VIVA ships may depart from several different piers.
We checked out of our hotel at 11:00 a.m., had lunch, and took a cab to the Google-listed location at around 12:45 p.m. Thankfully, it turned out to be correct—but once we arrived, the contrast between VIVA and Viking was immediately evident. The Viking tent was staffed with several friendly greeters. The VIVA tent, however, had only a security guard, who said we could leave our bags there but offered no welcome or direction.
We had arrived around 1:00 p.m., well aware that check-in wasn’t until 3:00. Nevertheless, no one from VIVA made an effort to greet or guide us. When we boarded the ship briefly to ask about early check-in, a woman curtly told us to leave and come back later—without a hello, no “Welcome to VIVA,” nothing. It felt cold and unwelcoming, especially as we stood in an industrial part of Basel with no nearby restaurants or shelter in 90-degree heat.
When we asked the Viking team if they knew anywhere to wait, they kindly pointed us down the riverbank, saying there were restaurants “just 300 meters away.” In reality, it was closer to two miles before we found a place to sit and eat.
First impressions matter. Compared to the warm, attentive service we've consistently experienced on ocean cruises, this was a truly disappointing start. Even when we later brought our concerns to the cruise director, Yon, there was no acknowledgment or apology for the poor handling of our arrival.
River cruising might offer charm and intimacy, but VIVA missed the mark on hospitality right from the start. We hope they improve the experience for future guests.
We were recently on the Rhine river cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. Everything was top notch from the captain to the sailors. The waiters were extremely helpful, engaging and highly entertaining. Our rooms on the Ruby deck were much nicer than anticipated. Our excursions were excellent with very helpful and knowledgeable guides. The food was exquisite.
Our main complaint is that there are no non-smoking areas in any of the outdoor spaces. We frequently had to change spots on the outside decks. The other small disappointment was the evening entertainment, except for one night when we were thrilled by a solo violinist.
Other than that I would highly recommend this company.
Some things are excellent, but also thinks to improve
Some things are excellent: the food, the drinks, the staff.
But also some points of improvement.
No info on the TV in our cabin, the water cooler din't work, the yaccussi on the deck didn't work...
And at 7 pm, the staaf of the bar had to go and help in the restaurant: no drinks in the bar during dinner. Understaffed ?
And the smoking policy: smoking was allowed on the all outside deck.
From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with smiling faces and very helpful staff. The whole trip was first class. From the cabins, to the meals, to the excursions.
The crew members were fantastic and looked after us. We felt pampered and well taken care of.
If there was 1 thing that you should know, we felt invisible a few times at lunch. We realize that there are many people at once during meal times and it’s hard to keep track of everyone. The staff did a great job, but for a few times.
Detlef was an outstanding cruise director. He was always ready to help with any questions and was an invaluable source of knowledge regarding any port or anything to do with the ship.
We will definitely recommend Viva to our friends and family. Plus Viva will be our first place to look for our next cruise.
Trotz eindeutig berechtigter Reklamation keine Anerkennung der Reisemängel, noch nicht mal negative Antwort, einfach nichts und das über ein halbes jahr lang.
Service by housekeeping and wait staff was good. Food quality and drinks were good.
However, the lack of readily available public toilets on board the ship personally caused my some distress. There was only 1 public toilet for men and 1 for women located on the Ruby deck close to reception. However, the lounge was located on the Diamond deck. As a 75 year old man, it became stressful to navigate up and down steps ever time I needed to use the toilet. The only other option was to go back to my cabin but that was located mid ship. Having only 2 toilets in the forward of the ship for 190 guests is insufficient and certainly a design flaw of the ship.
The day of Embarkation was unnecessarily chaotic and stressful. Your website states that passengers may board the ship and check-in two hours prior to departure. I had called the agent who handled my booking to ask about the check-in time, and he informed me it was 2 hours before departure. We arrived about 2.5 hours ahead of departure, believing we we could wait in the lounge for check-in to start, as we were permitted to do on our 2 previous Viva Cruises. However, we were curtly told by a crew member that we had to wait on the sundeck and check-in would NOT begin until 1 hour before departure. The sky was threatening rain and the weather was cool but all passengers were forced to crowd onto the sundeck and wait up to 2 hours or more. When check-in was called, passengers had to descend the narrow stairs with hand luggage and many older passengers struggled while waiting in queue some doing so on the narrow stairs. When we descended the steps, another crew member was barking instructions that English speakers and German speakers should go to different check-in points, which added to the chaos because of the narrow space passengers were forced to navigate in. In all, it took us 2.5 hours to check-in! On our previous 2 cruises, the check-in process was seemless and organized, and passengers were permitted to wait in the lounge if they arrived early. The chaos and confusion on this 3rd cruise could have been completely negagated with better planning and organization.
This was our first, but DEFINITELY not our last, river cruise and our first experience with Viva. I cannot identify a single thing I would have or could have asked to have been better. The staff was absolutely amazing...the food, awesome...the service, impeccable. We enjoyed the Sea of Tulips trip on the Enjoy. We met some lovey people aboard and are already planning our next Viva cruise together.
Ook deze keer weer top voor service, begeleiding van de cruise director en restaurantervaring. Een week lang echt fijne live muziek van het duo Heart Beat (op onze vorige reizen waren het andere muzikanten en dat was minder). Jammer dat het water in de rivier zo laag stond (milieuveranderingen...), waardoor we niet naar Straatsburg konden. Beetje domper toch wel. Het bovendek werd net heringericht, waardoor het minder toegankelijk was. Maar deze keer geen bussen met Noorse en Israëlische toeristen aan boord, die vorige keer de cruise zowat claimden. Dus ja, we gaan volgende keer opnieuw boeken.
Loved it! Beautiful staff who seemed to be so glad to do anything helpful on our Danube Cruise. Meal selection was impressive with duck breast and lamb and steak cooked perfectly. I have serious food allergies but the chef and Maitre D took great caution to keep me safe!
Flexible Essenszeiten waren nicht. Abendbrot ab 19 Uhr. Alles voll. Wollten späteressen, bei Gala Dinner gab es keine Suppe mehr...Angeblich zu spät gewesen um 20 Uhr. Reinigungskräfte ständig gefragt, wann das Zimmer gereinigt werden soll... praktisch ausgetrieben aus der Kabine..Keine Luxusfahrt! Wirpool angeptiesen, aber die Düsen nicht funktioniert.Früstück jeden Tag das gleiche....Wirklich zum Fenster rausgeworfenes Geld....
Net terug van onze 2 de riviercruise op de Viva Moments. Wederom een ongelofelijke ervaring. Mede door het vertrek hier in Antwerpen is dat voor ons zeer eenvoudig. Als je van rust en een goede service houd een aanrader. Het personeel is zo vriendelijk en behulpzaam. Je wordt op je wenken bedient en het eten is top. Bravo aan onze kok. Voldoende keuze of je nu vlees, vis of vegetarisch wenst te eten. In de bar 's avonds pianomuziek, enig puntje van kritiek, daar zou wat meer afwisseling in mogen zitten. Voornamelijk de zang is niet zo top. Onze volgende riviercruise is reeds geboekt nu trekken we naar Portugal op de Viva Mirante, we kijken er alvast naar uit.
Ein Wort SUPER!!!!
Unsere Flusskreuzfahrt war umwerfend schön. Ein geschmackvoll gestaltetes Schiff, durchdachte Kabinen mit genügend Stauraum, exzellentes Personal, köstliches Essen gepaart mit einer schönen Route und fantastischem Wetter. So kann es nur gut werden.
Wir wurden eine Woche rundherum verwöhnt und mussten uns um nichts kümmern. Unsere Balkonkabine hat uns einige Male vom Schlafen abgehalten, da wir uns lieber die vorbeigleitende Landschaft angeguckt haben. Das Sonnendeck konnten wir bei warmen Temperaturen und viel Sonnenschein oft nutzen, sogar der kleine Pool war gut beheizt und konnte genutzt werden. Großes Plus bei Viva ist das All Inklusive Konzept, man muss nicht jedes mal seine Karte vorzeigen, da jeder Gast alles inkludiert hat. Das Personal war äußerst zuvorkommend, fröhlich und hat sich auch untereinander sehr gut verstanden, was auch der Gast mitbekommt. Das Essen war köstlich, abwechslungsreich und immer wieder ein Genuss!! Wir planen schon unsere nächste Flusskreuzfahrt, garantiert wieder auf einem Schiff von Viva Cruises.
Meine erste Flusskreuzfahrt und direkt ein Fan. Einmal VIVA, immer VIVA! Tolles Konzept, wir haben uns dank All-Inclusive rundum wohl gefühlt! Selten im Urlaub so gut gegessen.
Sind gerade auf der VIVA Tiara unterwegs nach Holland.Das ist unsere 3. Fahrt mit VIVA Cruises und wir sind wie immer sehr zufrieden. Die Crew umsorgt die Reisenden super. Durch die mehrfachen Fahrten u.a. mit der Tiara kennen wir schon einige Kellner\inen und würden auch sofort wieder erkannt und mit Vornamen begrüßt. Das ist fast wie nach Hause kommen. Trotzdem habe ich einige Anmerkungen, keine Kritik - das wäre übertrieben, nur Verbesserungsvorschläge. Auf den Kabinen auf dem
Diamantdeck ist neben den Betten nur ein kleiner Tisch , dort wären kleine Schränke besser. So fehlt Stauraum für Kleinigkeiten die man am Bett benötigt.Im Bad ist nur eine Steckdose - in die Decke eingelassen. Kaum jemand hat ein Gerät mit einem so langen Anschlusskabel. In der Wand wäre es vorteilhafter.Einige USB Anschlüsse wären auch vorteilhaft.
Das Tagesprogramm gibt es nicht mehr auf Papier, darum wäre es gut wenn es täglich auf den TV zu sehen wäre.
Hallo, wir haben bei Viva die Reise von Düsseldorf nach Holland mit der VIVA TIARA vom 03.09.2024 bis10.09.2024 Kabine 318 Diamat Deck gebucht.
Am 22.08.2024 teilte uns das Reise Unternehmen VIVA mit, dass Maastricht nicht angefahren werden kann! Grund: Baumaßnahme im Kanal. Dieser wurde laut zuständigen Schifffahrtsamt rechtzeitig schon im März 2024 öffentlich angekündigt. Laut einer Beurteilung am 13.08.2924 wurde dies schon von Teilnehmern eindeutig beschrieben. Auch nach meiner Beschwerde beim Veranstalter, wurde mir mitgeteilt, dass die Schifffahrt nach Maastrich nicht mit einer Busfahrt zu vergleichen ist. Also hat man ein Recht auf Entschädigung für die Reiseänderung (1 Tag kostet 537€). Aber dies wurde abgelehnt. Das ist arglistische Täuschung. Noch nicht einmal 10% davon!
Vor der Anreise fragte ich, ob ich bis an das Schiff mit dem PKW fahren kann, wurde das bejaht. Falsche Angabe.
Das Schiff selbst gibt keinen Anlass zur Bemängeln. Das gesamte Personal, Reinigung super, Bedienung super.
Essen und Getränke super.
Es ist ja alles auch im Preis einschließlich Minibar auf der Kabine enthalten.
Das finden wir völlig unnötig.
Vergleicht man die Anbieter sind es rund 80€ je Tag und je Person, die wir mehr bezahlten. Aber welches Paar trinkt täglich für 160€ je Tag An Getränken?
Die Sicherheit an Bord war durch ein persönliches Erlebnis nach unserer Auffassung nicht gewährleistet. In Dortrecht kamen durch eine einzeln reisende Dame noch zwei fremde Personen (eine Holländerin und ihr Bekannte "Engländer ") um 18.30Uhr an Bord. Sie saßen dann mit an unserem Tisch und nutzten all die Vorteile die wir ja bezahlt hatten. Das finden wir nicht nur ungerecht, sondern auch gefährlich, dass fremde Personen das Schiff betreten können. Für uns ist das nicht hinnehmbar! Es gibt genügend technische Möglichkeiten, dies auszuschließen.
Wenn alle Getränke wie, Wasser Hauswein, Bier und Kaffee umsonst ist, wäre das ausreichend. Alles andere wird auf die Kabinen-Karte aufgebucht. Somit sinkt der Preis je Tag je Person mit guten Gewinn auf 50€ und es bleiben keine halben oder angefangenen Getränke stehen. Wir haben nicht einmal etwas aus der Minibar benötigt! Wir sind keine Alkoholiker! Es gibt ja alles ausreichend.
Kurz zusammengefasst.
Diese Reisegesellschaft ist zu teuer!
Die Unplanung mit Bus statt Schiff wollten wir nicht. Wenn mir das gewusst hätten, wäre keine Buchung zu Stande gekommen.
Auch war ein Kleinkind (6 Mon.) an Bord, das war auch nicht bekannt. Wir hatten extra wegen unseren Ruhebedarf in den Schulzeitraum hinein gebucht.
Nicht empfehlenswert, dies Tour!
I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a river cruise with VIVA Cruises along the Danube on VIVA TWO, and it exceeded all my expectations. The journey took us through enchanting cities like Budapest, Bratislava, and Vienna, each offering its own unique charm and beauty. The service on board was exceptional, with the crew going above and beyond to ensure our comfort and satisfaction. The ship itself was beautifully designed, with elegant interiors. What I appreciated most was the sense of relaxation and tranquility, as the steady pace of the river allowed us to truly unwind and take in the stunning scenery. I highly recommend a river cruise on the Danube with VIVA Cruises!
VIVA Cruises GmbH is a river cruise company that specializes in offering all-inclusive travel experiences across Europe’s scenic waterways. The company caters to travelers seeking unique and elegant river cruise experiences, featuring light-flooded cabins, gourmet dining options, and a variety of onboard amenities. VIVA Cruises provides a range of itineraries that highlight popular destinations, such as the Seine in Normandy, allowing guests to explore cultural landmarks while enjoying luxurious accommodations.
Customers of VIVA Cruises include leisure travelers, couples, and families looking for immersive travel experiences with a focus on comfort and quality service. The company emphasizes a boutique hotel atmosphere on the water, providing flexible dining times and a selection of beverages throughout the journey. With a commitment to creating unforgettable memories, VIVA Cruises aims to attract those interested in discovering Europe's rivers through a unique lens.
