If you have never been on a Viking Cruise then you don't know what leaving up to the cruise organizers to do all the hard work is. From the time you get off the plane to when you head home, everything, and I mean everything is just about perfectly planned to make the trip easy and more Importantly we could focus on just enjoying all the tours and, food, and the company we traveled with. If there was a glitch the staff would attend to it right away.

This was our second Viking cruise and we have more planned and we wouldn't think of going with anyone else but Viking. We got to se all the places we had on our "wish List" and at what I felt at a great value for the services we received.

The ship Emerald was not up to the full luxury standards that Viking usually demands, since the Chinese government had a lot to do with how it could and would be built, but the mostly Staff ( they have to hire so many locals, to meet the government demands.) made up for it in so many ways. The main tour guide was fantastic, and we became friends by the end of the tour. About 40% of the off ship, on site, tour guides had somewhat of a language barrier, again local hiring demands, and they were not too up on doing their jobs, and going through the motions, but it made for some interesting conversations. Read more