Viking Eir Ship (Viking Cruises) Food and Dining Review

Happy Friday friends! I hope that you have had a wonderful week! Anyone doing anything fun this weekend? Saturday is my amazing mom's birthday so I am so looking forward to celebrating with her! Today I am so excited to share with y'all a review about the food and dining on the Viking Eir. I am going to cut to the chase here and just say that the food was absolutely wonderful, especially if you have food allergies like myself.

From the moment that we arrived on board we were immediately impressed with the quality of food, the taste, and the attention to detail that Viking Eir gave.

As a bit of an explanation for those who haven't sailed on the Viking Eir before seating is a bit different than a typical ocean cruise where you are assigned a table and the people you sit with. This is "free and open seating" where you can choose who you sit with and it was awesome. Honestly, I absolutely loved it. It was fun to meet a ton of different people on board the ship and get to know people - especially at the beginning of the cruise. 

Having this open and free seating allowed us to make treasured friends on our cruise. On our second night on board we saw these four beautiful ladies above and we asked if we could join them for dinner. From that night on (and at most lunches for the rest of the cruise) we sat with "the girls" (as my mom and I affectionately named our friends) at both lunch and dinner. My mom and I still say that this was one of our absolute favorite parts of the trip for us! We love and miss you guys!! Seriously- these ladies were amazing. They were warm, welcoming, and made the cruise for us. Their life stories are inspiring and I walked away from the cruise inspired in so many ways because of them. 

Breakfast each morning was incredibly delicious. As a lady who usually just has a fruit smoothie in the morning and some gluten free granola, these breakfasts were outstanding! You had the choice of the buffet (where I discovered my love of European Pepper cheese- still dreaming about it!) or you could offer the menu that was provided. We usually did a combination of both- getting fruit and cheese and some veggies from the buffet and then ordering off the menu.

Everything could be made gluten free and dairy free - and so both my mom and I enjoyed the french toast and the pancakes. One morning my mom had a delicious omelet and tried a few other specialty breads, which she said was delicious. Because of all of the walking that we would do during the day, having a yummy and nourishing breakfast was a great way to start off the day. As a side note for those who are concerned and have food allergies: I had called ahead to discuss my allergies, was able to talk with a Viking Cruise chef, and never had one worry about food. Not having this concern truly made the difference on this trip. I was so impressed with the way that Viking handled everything throughout our cruise.

One of the neatest things about a river cruise is that you can watch outside as you are eating. It was so neat to see the countryside as we would eat our meals!

For lunch we had the choice of a buffet again (where I enjoyed the most delicious salads- everything was so incredibly fresh!!) and an opportunity to order off a menu. Typically there were choices of specialty soups and salads, sandwiches, or light dinner options. Lunch was one of my favorite meals because I was able to get so many greens into me, and y'all know how much I love my greens! *smiles*

This was our chef on our cruise! He was the absolute best!!

Dinners were also a favorite meal... so yes, I have said that all three meals were my favorite (*smiles*) hahaha! But honestly, they were just delicious. Each meal had so many yummy choices and the food was done to absolute perfection. It was hands down some of the best food that I have ever eaten- not just on a cruise, but from a restaurant. The presentation was also amazing - it was simply beautiful in the creativity and colors and you always felt like you were dining in a 5-star restaurant.

This chocolate cake above makes me smile. It was gluten and dairy free and even though I don't like chocolate it was delicious. I loved it so much that I asked if I could have it again the final night of the cruise and our waiter surprised me and my mom with two pieces. We couldn't eat all of that but we still dream and talk about that chocolate cake! 

Because we were on the cruise over New Years Eve they held a special dinner for us that night and the food was amazing. We had such a great time- hanging out, talking, and just enjoying the evening. Later on there was dancing on the ship and then we watched as people all over set off fireworks- it was simply a beautiful evening! 

On every Viking cruise there is a "cultural night" which is a special evening of music and food. On our cruise it was a German themed evening and it was so much fun! 

All of the staff was dressed up and they brought in special music, had beer flowing, and yummy German food for the night. It was so much fun! I have to add in here a few words about the entire wait staff (and all of the waiters that we came in contact with). They were absolutely amazing. They seriously went above and beyond in so many ways to help accommodate my food allergies and were just amazing people to talk with and get to know. Each one was incredible patient, helpful, and fun. I was so impressed with each staff member!

I hope that this review of the Viking Eir Ship Food and Dining has been helpful! Please let me know if y'all have any questions! 

If you are interested in reading more about our Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Viking, you can click on the links below: 

Viking River Cruise- Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions

Viking Eir- Stateroom 203 Review

A Walk Through Downtown Historic Basel // Switzerland

Basel Munster (Basel Cathedral) // Basel, Switzerland

Hoftgut Sternen (in the Black Forest) // Germany

A Brief History of Old Town Colmar // France

7 Things You Must See When You Visit Old Town Colmar in the Winter // France

Saint Martin's Collegiate Church (Place de la Cathedrale) // France

A Brief History of Beautiful Strasbourg// France

A Walk Through Historic Strasbourg // France

Place Saint Thomas - Strasbourg // France

Au Vieux Strasbourg Restaurant // France

River vs. Ocean Cruising: 23 Key Differences to Know

Heidelberg Castle // Germany

Best Rhine River Books (from travel to culture to history) to Purchase for Your Trip

A Walk through Old Town Heidelberg // Germany

Happy Friday friends!