We wanted to see a number of cities around the Baltic Sea and this seemed like the most efficient way to travel. The Viking Star is a beautiful ship and the trip was worthwhile. Viking does an excellent job with their staff service and organization for shore activities. The food was delicious and the choice of places to eat was great. I liked that they did not nickle and time you for wine/beer at dinner and shuttles at the port. If I had one area that I would select entertainment and activities. I would have appreciated more relevant in depth lectures on the ports/countries we visited. We had a lot of odd lectures - like flying heliocopters or buying amber that were just not up our alley. The singing was also pretty mediocre. We did like the music offerings although they tended to play the same sampler every evening. The cabin and balcony were lovely- having perfect weather helped!