The criteria for our first cruise was not too long, visit Barcelona, Florence and Rome. This cruise seemed perfect. We went a day early and at the last second, decided to book a tour on our own before we boarded the ship. It was a walking tour with a guide, my wife and I and was less then what Viking charged for the large group tours. We were a little overwhelmed when we embarked but a great digital guide on the TV helped. The first tour with the ship was of Barcelona. A great guide and not a bad mix of driving and walking with the right amount of free time. Toulon was the second stop. We had wanted to go to Marseilla but that tour was sold out by the time we could book it on the net. If you want an early mourning tour, unless you have the fancier rooms, you may not be able to book the time and as I noted, even an optional tour. The guide was great but a short walking segment and then a bus drive around Toulon. A nice overview but not a town that is really worth seeing in my opinion. Monaco and Monte Carlo was nice to see. A recurring issue: great guide, we walked for 90 minutes and then an hour of free time with very little to see or at least that one could see. Then a 30 minute talk back to the ship with most along the route we came up. Corsica: A very nice guide but the included tour was drive to take pictures of a tower that was off in the distance. Then walk around the town and stop in front of the Napoleon Museum but not in it. The guide was obsessed with this face cream and most of the tour was talking about that and where to buy it. Florence: another great guide and good stop at the Academia. A good walking tour of the buildings but then a 2 hour lunch. After that, it was speed walking through the Uffizi Gallery and not even time to stop to buy a book. It was the highlights of the highlights and then 60 minutes of attempting to stay warm and dry with a cold rain. Every single person would have rather spent the time at lunch and the "free" time in the Uffizi Gallery. Final stop Rome: A great tour of the Coliseum. Paid around $250 per person but did not feel bad about that at first. A very good driving tour and then 2 hours of walking with a good 15 minute break. At the end of busy cruise and the previous day had been over 10 hours. So by the end of the tour, most everyone was beat. But then it was 2 hours of "free time". Again, not really enough time to do anything meaningful but too long just to sit and wait for a bus. The cafes near the meeting place were filled with exhausted people staring into coffee cups that had been empty for 15 - 60 minutes depending upon how much "free time" was used up.

The cabin was good and even the cheapest one that I had included a good balcony. Decent bed, nice shower once the awful smell left.

The food was okay. Nothing great, but serviceable. Two fancy places to eat - no extra cost but by the time we could book, only had two chances to eat there. Did eat once but was not overly impressed. Read more