The new ship was outstanding. All of the amenities were great - we loved the heated floor in the bathroom. The veranda was plenty big and was well used by U.S. We were away from home for twenty eight days and never had a snivel. Outside of the main dining areas were a pair of right silver wash basins - great idea. The food was excellent. There were two specialty restaurants (no extra cost and Igor who ran the Chef's Table was fun and concerned with your every desire. I literally but my wallet in the safe and pretty much left it there - wine and soft drinks were included. The cabin staff was especially friendly and efficient. Can you believe free wifi in your roo that worked? The workout room was nice with workout pool, a large hot tub/pool, a steam roo, sauna and room with snow. The entertainment good with several opera people coming to the ship to perform while we were in Rome. Overall the entertainment was fun and good. The ship small enough to get to know new friends. The ports were great although I could have skipped Corfu and Toulon. Neither city had a " spark" to it. I had wondered how it would be to be away from home for a month - no problem.

The only complaint I would lodge were several of the excursions. Carefully rated each one. I rated several the best I have experience and several that I think should be eliminated. The best included Rome, Naples, Ephesus, Santorini, Kotor, Dubrovnik (Preserving Old Dubrovnik), Pisa and Barcelona (take the Gaudi excursion. Several of the guides were not up to Viking standards and when a diner or lunch was included, they ranged from marginal to just plain bad. We found the included excursions to be quite good. We had a great time and are looking at several next voyages.