Viking Sigrun: 117 departures, and the 65 kilometres that justify the whole trip
39 departures from Basel to Amsterdam and 15 from Amsterdam to Avignon, measured on 25 August 2026, out of 117 in total.
The Middle Rhine gorge
Between Bingen and Koblenz the river cuts through a slate massif over 65 kilometres. The stretch has been a World Heritage site since 2002 and holds some forty castles and fortresses, the highest density in Europe over so short a distance.
Those castles were not built for the view. They existed to levy a toll on every boat that passed, and there were so many that by the thirteenth century merchant traffic was being strangled by them. The beauty of the landscape is a by-product of medieval greed, which takes nothing away from it.
At kilometre 555 the Lorelei rock rises 132 metres, at the narrowest and deepest point of the navigable Rhine. The current quickens there, the channel tightens, and the legend of the siren distracting boatmen is only two centuries old: a poet invented it in 1801, it was not inherited from the Middle Ages.
The stretch takes half a day, almost always in daylight, and it is why the Rhine remains Europe's best-selling river alongside the Danube. Viking Rolf runs it too, with 86 departures.
What 190 berths mean
One hundred and ninety guests over 135 metres, served by 53 crew, in 95 staterooms: 25 Standard, 22 French Balcony, 39 Veranda, 7 Veranda Suites and 2 Explorer Suites. No stateroom sits more than 60 metres from the dining room.
One crew member for every 3.58 guests: that is the Longship-class figure, and it does not generalise to the rest of the river fleet.
Viking Kara runs the same gorge with 151 departures, and Viking Eir with 80.
Sigrún, the one who returns
Sigrún is a valkyrie who loves Helgi and loses him in battle. The poem tells how she spends a night in his burial mound with his ghost, then dies of grief. The two are later reborn under other names, which makes their story one of the few accounts of reincarnation in the Norse corpus.
Getting there from Montreal
One connection outbound to Basel, usually through Zurich, Frankfurt or Paris. The return from Amsterdam is a direct flight. Plan an open-jaw ticket and have it issued before you block your time off.
What happens when you book with us
First a fact you can verify in 30 seconds: from a Quebec address, Viking's reservations site does not answer and sends you to a page inviting you to contact an agent. The agency is not an added intermediary, it is the only route open.
Then a method. A Viking River Cruises advisor confirms in writing the exact fare, what the package covers and what it does not, before any deposit. That is what Quebec consumer protection rules require, and we participate in the compensation fund for travel agency customers.
