We have been on all 3 Cunard ships which are all beautiful and very well presented. The staff are second to none and very helpful. We chose this cruise and had booked a year in advance whilst still on board in 2018. It was our wedding anniversary on the 24th June so we like to go away the same time every year. We don't mind where to as long as it falls on our anniversary date and as long as we are on board a Cunard ship! Our stateroom was serviced twice daily and a turn down service for the evening with chocolates provided, just before bed time (as if we hadn't already eaten enough) and tomorrow's programme of events to browse through and plan tomorrow, before some very much needed zzzzzz's after such a fabulous day/evening. We usually chose a large table of 6 for dinner as we enjoy meeting like minded cruise buddies. Two of our 'tablemates' we'd met on a previous cruise the year before (we had arranged this with them and are certainly now lifelong friends). We met two other guests who were delightful. We all had a lot in common particularly when it comes to cruising! The food was very well presented and tasty. The Lido buffet on board is fabulous. The food is fresh and plentiful in choice. Despite being in the Grills, we still love a wander through and maybe a little nibble here and there ;) The entertainment on board is amazing. I particularly enjoy the Cunard singers and dancers and all the other shows and guests appearances/entertainers. Also during the day on sea days, we love going to the on board speakers insights/enrichment talks. They are very interesting and have met some really lovely speakers from famous sports people to pilots to ex-policemen/detectives. There is always plenty to do around the ship on sea days and of course there's the swimming pools and hot tubs and the gym if you feel you need to burn off a few gained pounds! The service on board from the stateroom steward to the waiters and sommeliers to the cleaning staff and pursers desk are always so helpful and nothing is too much trouble. They are always welcoming and are very polite and say 'good morning' or 'have a good evening'. The shore excursions are varied and interesting. The coaches are clean and comfortable and the guides are very knowledgable. I love the fact that we can book an excursion and know the ship will be waiting for us whether we are late or not. We have travelled with our grown up children who equally love the Cunard ships. We haven't got grandchildren yet but I'm sure they would love it with their very own special area and staff to entertain them on sea days. We will certainly book again soon. We just have to save up the pennies first :) Read Less

This was our first "ocean" cruise with Viking (we previously did a river cruise). This company REALLY knows how to take care of their guests. They ship was just the right size and so beautiful. Our room had plenty of space and they provided binoculars, umbrella, extra bedding when requested, free snacks and drinks...I could go on and on. We definitely will use them again. The included excursions were top notch. I believe we only paid for an extra excursion in St Petersburg. We loved the difference in the various ports...small, large urban, historic, party town, etc. Some guests had a bit of a hard time with all the uneven cobblestone, so be forewarned about the older towns. We did a LOT of walking in the ports and had no issues (all four of us in late 50s early 60s). We appreciated that we could watch all of the port talks in our cabin and did not have to attend in person. Read Less

My husband's brother and his wife are seasoned cruisers and suggested we join them on Voyager. We have cruised three times before but never with Regent. It was fabulous. There was a computer technical hitch which meant we had to wait quite a while before embarkation but as we had enjoyed the previous day's independent tour of Copenhagen which included a wonderful river cruise and spitefully expensive beer, we were not concerned. Our pre-cruise hotel was lovely as was the breakfast. We were thrilled that our Concierge suite lived up to our expectations. The toiletries, bathroom, and the attention to detail provided by our maid were very much appreciated. Nothing was too much trouble and she was willing to attend to our requests promptly and efficiently. The bed was really comfortable. I rarely sleep well whilst away from home but there were no problems on this cruise. It was lovely and quiet (Deck 10). We did not order room service so cannot comment in that regard. As I am in my forties I did feel that I was one of the younger guests as the average age was about 65 and it was like cruising with my parents. But everyone was so lovely it didn't matter. Service in the restaurants and bars was excellent. The minute we sat down in the Voyager lounge to enjoy pre-dinner drinks the waiter appeared to take our order and offered delightful canapes. The food was excellent and could not be faulted. The service was good too. It was very clear that everything is geared towards American guests' expectations and the coffee, egg dishes and pancakes were flowing. Despite serving Twinings English Breakfast tea, the waiters couldn't quite get it right. Still, a small hiccup in the grand scheme of things. The standard of food and service in Compass Rose was excellent also. Service on some evenings was slow but well worth the wait. The steak and lobster in Prime 7 was amazing. In fact I could go so far as to say it was the best fillet steak I have ever had. We also enjoyed dining in Signatures. We were pampered throughout and it felt great. We visited Coffee Connection nearly everyday and the Barista was very accommodating. The choice of biscuits and snacks was varied and all tasted delicious. Excursions were well organised and the tour guides very knowledgeable. Very enjoyable. I think their brief was to keep talking...and they did! As most of the guests were of a certain age there was nothing too energetic and so each tour could be accessed by everyone. The shows were slightly disappointing and although each member of the entertainments team was very talented, the shows did not flow and were quite disjointed. We saw a couple but then didn't bother with any more... they were very 'samey' and 'predictable'. The acrobatic duo were incredibly supple and would contort into the most bizarre shapes and it made me feel quite sick. We didn't take part in any enrichment activities but made full use of the gym and jogging track. The weather was excellent throughout the cruise so we were able to sunbathe a little - which we did not expect to be able to do! Every member of staff with whom we came into contact was extremely polite and respectful. Before we went on this cruise, we were so confident that it was going to be wonderful we booked the 21 night cruise on Voyager from Singapore to Sydney in December and so are very much looking forward to sailing again with Regent. Read Less

WE chose this cruise for the destinations, to try the new Viking Ocean Cruises and to be with friends. The Viking Star is small by cruise ship standards, but very nicely appointed and stable. Food is generally good, but the Italian Restaurant was disappointing. Our deluxe stateroom was very nice and the bed was comfortable. Service was very good and staff was friendly. Some shore excursions spent too much time on a bus. The train ride to and from Berlin was poorly organized (we were separated from our friends) and accounted fro 5 hours of the excursion time. The destinations are very interesting and the guide for our bus on the Ultimate St Petersburg tour, "Helen" was terrific! The cruise was great and we would do it again, but we prefer the smaller, more intimate Viking River Cruises. There were no children on our Viking Homelands Cruise and that was a real plus! Read Less

We had not been to Scandinavia or the Baltic states and were anxious to go to this area. Viking's ocean cruise there seemed to offer all the places we wanted to go with the luxury of not having to pack and unpack and sail from one location to another while we slept. It was the perfect choice. Loved everything about the trip. The Viking Star was a lovely ship and the staff/crew was outstanding in every way. We had done a Viking river cruise and loved it so that is one reason we chose Viking over other options. The shore excursions were numerous with many options in each location, sometimes hard to decide which one to take. The local guides provided great insight into the region. I wish we could have had more time in St. Petersburg, especially at the Hermitage. There was so much to see and not enough time and we had no control as to the areas we visited in the museum. We had good weather and only one day with rain, which did not hamper or tour or "dampen" the experience. The food was excellent and varied with a nice number of restaurants to chose from. We could chose to have fine dining and linger over the dinner table or we could do a buffet meal quickly to move on to our next activity. There was so many choices on board of things to do we never get to do them all. We were never board. The entertainment while on the Viking Star was outstanding with options varying from the concert pianist, string trio, the ship's band to the performers (singers and dancers). The Aba show was really fun and the digital set state of the art. The young performers were very talented and always put on a superb show. We are already planning out next trip with Viking Ocean and have talked to a number of friends about joining us. (we went with a group of 3 couples) Bravo Viking Star! Read Less

Oceania's Marina has the best quality food of the 8 cruise lines we traveled on, but there are major problems in entertainment and excursion policies. We were booked in a Concierge cabin and dined 6 times in specialty restaurants. All served superb food, especially Jacques. All pax get 4 free reservations and our Concierge was able to arrange two extra dinings. The 4pm tea service and violin concertos were excellent. The service quality in all areas and room were outstanding -- no complaints about the ship or its personnel. It was my 2nd cruise on the Marina. However, Miami HQ has major policy flaws. Passengers (pax) are given a choice of on-board-credits or free excursions; however, the OBC can only be used after departure. All of our excursion requests were fully booked by other pre-cruise pax and the prices are about 25% more expensive than other cruise lines. If you book five pre-cruise excursions, the price is reasonable. HQ simply doesn't arrange enough excursions to meet demand. To use our OBC we booked two $193 massages and paid for tips. Other OBC pax bought liquor or items in the boutiques. You should not select the OBC option. There is only one show at 9:45 pm every night and that is past our bed-time for early next day events. The reason is dining only starts at 6:30 pm and specialty restaurants also offer 7:30 and 8:30 options. On average dining took 2 hours 45 minutes, so there can only be one late show. All but one other cruise line we traveled on had an early show that Oceania refuses to offer. This voyage started in Southampton thru Copenhagen. Since we couldn't book excursions, we arranged our own thru cruise critic blog or per trip advisor recommenda-tions. We visited most ports before and enjoyed all of them. The lectures by a Professor were academic, but didn't help much for independent travelers. We never knew what berth we were docked in or that free shuttles were provided to city centers in Zeebrugge, Goteberg, and Copenhagen. There were continual problems with accessing online wifi especially in late afternoon. I used the fitness center and group lessons. On my prior Marina trip the fitness classes were too crowded, but not this time. Read Less

Had never been on Regent before wanted to try it for the first time. We Cruise a lot on Silver seas , yachts of seaborn and Oceania. Typically I prefer a smaller ship of under 1000 psgrs or close to 600 to 400 passengers. There were many areas of concern and disappointment for us while we were on this cruise for over three weeks. In summary we had issues with the main dining room seating as well as consistent service. There were concerns in the fitness center and spa. The men's hot sauna was not functioning most the time unless you went to the front desk and ask them to reset the device in the sauna. The cardio equipment in the fitness center is quite dated old and on several days was not clean. The gym is configured in a way that makes it feel very crowded although there is a group exercise room nearby that could easily accommodate additional equipment. At the beginning of the three-week cruise I asked the fitness center if they had music that plays in the fitness center and they told me it was not working. I asked if it would be possible to have it repaired and they said they were looking into it. They did have some music working in the fitness center and spa the last few days of the cruise. The pool for many days iwas basically not usable because the quality of the water in the pool was visibly poor and dirty (dark green color with dirt covering the pool bottom) which looked as though they were not maintaining the swimming pool for their guest Even the two whirlpools they had by the pool were Set with temperatures that were excessively hot and the Jets were inoperative making a hot tub experience less than average . Room service was inconsistent sometimes it would take close to an hour to receive a room service order and once we did not even receive our requested order . One breakfast was delivered through room service and the server did not even offered to set the table other than just place a tray in our room . We found it challenging the first part of our cruise to get a table for two around 8 o'clock in the evening in compass Rose without there being a long waiting list even though we visibly could see tables for four or six standing open but we were not offered those tables when we walked in. On the others cruise ships that are accustomed to, we've never had a problem being seated immediately in the main dining room for table of two. The first 10 days of our cruise we were on the concierge level and our room was nice a refrigerator did not work initially until we brought it to their attention. The next 13 days were spent in a deluxe balcony room on the seventh deck, we could hear our neighbors talk clearly when we were seated in our room we could hear their TV playing, which appears that the walls to these rooms are very thin. You need to bring earplugs ! I found it quite strange and towards the end annoying, that whenever you would sit down in the veranda for breakfast or lunch you would have often times 3 ,4 or 5 waiters coming and asking you what you would like to drink before you received anything. Another very odd thing about the cruise is when you would go to the afternoon tea they combined trivia with the tea, so it was not a very quiet inviting atmosphere unless you We're participating in the trivia games . Our cabin attendance were great and we always had very clean state rooms The specialty restaurants serve delicious food and the ambience is quite good with great service the only drawback is your limit it to two times during your cruise . I suggest if you change rooms during your voyage to coordinate carefully with hotel manager. We received a letter the night before we changed rooms clearly stating the procedure but what happened the next day was contary to what they told us they were going to do for us, which ended up making us frustrated. I asked if I could review this procedure with management and reception desk never followed up with me. I left the ship disappointed! Read Less

I picked this cruise because of the itinerary - the opportunity to visit a range of fabulous cities and fjord towns - on what was billed as a new, stylish and not too large cruise liner. I was not disappointed. The ship is the style of the show - like living for a fortnight in a 'boutique museum', a mix of the modern scandi and a wealth of historical detail. It had all the facilities you might need and all of a high quality, designed with function and beauty in mind. Cabins were well designed, comfortable and attractive and well maintained by the friendliest room service you could wish for. Similarly, the dining facilities and food were of a high quality, from the homely Mamsens with its jam and waffles to the highly innovative, taste bud tingling Chef's Table. And make sure you have a cocktail in the Explorer's Lounge whilst passing through the Stockholm archipelago, the fjords or whilst watching the sun go down - a recipe for a magical moment. The pool areas were attractive and well maintained and swimming in the infinity pool in sunshine in St Petersburg was one of the unexpected highlights of the journey. A free trip was included at each port - I only paid for extras in St Petersburg (Gold Room and Hermitage - well worth doing), the ballet in St Petersburg and the jazz cruise in Copenhagen (pricey but a wonderful evening out). After feeling very herded on the Helsinki trip (lots of ships in port and the city felt under strain) we decided to do most of the other ports on our own which enabled us to miss the groups and investigate things of particular interest to us. We did, however, participate in the free trip in Warnemunde (alternative to Berlin) and this turned out to be a lovely day with a brewery visit (beer at 9.30am!!), guided tour of an incredible cathedral and a boat trip with fabulous views - a surprising gem of a day and all included! The following 'extras' were lovely bonuses: the quality of the lectures delivered by the guest lecturers that were informative and helped you to build knowledge as your trip progressed; the music everywhere on the ship - of a high quality but not too loud or obtrusive; the laundrette (not exciting but making packing and dressing much easier!); the fabulous spa facility - no need to pay a penny to fully immerse yourself in the Nordic spa system and the facility is usually nearly empty; the shuttle bus service at all larger ports (if you're the sort of person who doesn't like large, herded groups then this is the service for you - free transport to the heart of your port, a good map with a note of pick up point and you're set up for a great day!). This is not a family cruise ship, it is not an all singing all dancing entertainment ship, it is not a dressing up and having your photo taken at every opportunity ship. Instead it is a relaxing, informative, safe environment from which to explore a fabulous range of ports in a style that suits you. My only gripe - there was only a minimal reduction on double occupancy rates for a single traveller! A better deal would be the icing on the cake! Read Less

We heard really great things about the service and amenities of Viking cruises and we were looking for an adult cruising experience. We were more interested in a cultural experience than an entertainment environment. Viking met every one of our expectations. The organization for travel and embarkment was smooth. The Viking Journal kept us updated on the necessary preparations for the trip and provided us with meaningful insight into each port. Our cabin was very comfortable, the food was outstanding, and the staff made our trip so relaxing. We enjoyed the variety of lectures which was very important to us and we looked forward to the daily port talks. The shore excursions were very well organized and planned and the tour guides were exceptional in their knowledge of each city. There was also an interesting variety of shore excursions. We were so pleased with this trip that we have two future Viking cruises on our calendar! Read Less

Wanted to see Scandinavia. We enjoyed the cruise, and really liked the size of the ship. The additional tours we took were very enjoyable except for Germany/Berlin. Would have preferred more time in Amsterdam or Helsinki. We have traveled with Viking and are looking forward to our ocean and river cruises we have booked for next year. The rooms and service were very nice. The restaurants were nice, but we didn't enjoy The Chef's Table as much as the other dining venues. The food was very good, but we felt rushed at The Chef's Table; it wasn't a very relaxing experience. The ship as I said was very nicely sized - we do not do the "monster" cruises. It was also very clean and all the staff was very attentive. Our most enjoyable shore excursions were Gdansk, Amsterdam, Stavanger, and Helsinki. We did a number of additional tours and found them all worth the extra we paid, except for Berlin. Read Less

Never have been to this part of the world. We were very happy with the selection of port stops. We were able to see all of the Scandinavian countries and also had stops in Germany, Poland and Estonia. We were very taken by the friendliness of the people especially in Denmark and Estonia. The trip to St. Petersburg was beautiful. Great gourmet food served in all venues on the Viking Star. The entertainment is diversified and wonderful. Whatever your tastes in entertainment there was talent on board to meet your needs. We enjoyed the afternoon teas and the tasty scones and sandwiches. We were amazed by the design of the ship and we again noticed that even when we were all on board during the day at sea you feel as if there are only a few people on board. The public areas are spread out in a way that you never feel as if there are more than a few dozen on board. Read Less

We picked this cruise line because of the itinerary. We wanted the opportunity to visit St. Petersburg for 3 full days instead of the usual 2 days. We booked our own private tours while in St. Petersburg but used the ship's tour in Estonia and Helsinki. We were very pleased with the knowledge of both guides. The other reason we chose Seabourn was the Thomas Keller dining experience Seabourn offered, a foodie's paradise. We were totally blown away with the various Keller inspired dining venues. The chef and his crew did not disappoint in any of the exquisite meals prepared. The crew was friendly and knowledgable from how the food are prepared to explaining differences in caviar sourcing. Both galley and kitchen tours were informative and well presented. What makes this smaller ship attractive is the size. There are no huge crowd during embarkation or disembarkation, no crowd dining. The ship is able to get into the smaller ports thereby closer to all attractions. In St. Petersburg, we were docked in the city. Most attractions were just a few minutes away by car. The larger ships must dock further away and sometimes 2-3 hours drive to any given destination. The verandah cabins on deck 6 were spacious and very well appointed. We were able to have caviar in our cabin or outside deck most late afternoon before dinner. Deck 6 is also a central location for all the dining venues, pool, bar, library and salon. Overall, cruise service, cabin, lectures and dining were superb. Read Less

Chose this cruise based on the itinerary- wanted to go to St. Petersburg. Also wanted a smaller ship. Embarkation is the easiest I have ever experienced.... The ship is gorgeous- Scandinavian design throughout, very elegant without being glitzy. The cabin was adequate, the bathroom was fantastic. My 6ft2" husband could stand up in the shower!! Plenty of storage space in the bathroom but not enough storage space in the cabin. The luggage fit under the bed. The closet was spacious with sufficient hangers. Complimentary mini bar in room- you can decide what type of soft drinks you want, replenished daily. Choices on the TV were limited but the TED Talks available were a great bonus. Could use more choices of movies, especially more current ones. Also, could use some music channels. Bed is heavenly.... Food is excellent. The menu at the dining room and buffet is almost the same on most nights. Fresh sushi every night. Manfredi's Italian restaurant is a must!!! Rivals any excellent Italian restaurant on land. The Chef's Table is excellent if you are a foodie and like to experiment. Included tours were basic, some good others not so. Viking provides transportation to and from the ship in most cities. Crew was fantastic= could not do enough for you. Would definitely sail with Viking Sea again!!! Read Less

We have done a number of river cruises with Viking but this was our first ocean cruise with this line. As always with Viking, the service was excellent. The staff was uniformly friendly and helpful. The cruise and excursions were well organized and varied. The ship is beautiful and sailed smoothly with minimal roughness even in a storm. We especially appreciated the small size of the passenger list - just 930 travelers max - and the focus of the group - adult English-speakers only. These combined to mean no long lines, no waits while information was repeated in different languages and a emphasis on cultural experiences: no gambling,no Las Vegas-style floor shows, or children. Port talks were very informative and the enrichment speakers were excellent and very enlightening. We enjoyed the choice of restaurants and were particularly impressed with the imaginative food preparation at the Chef's Table. The public spaces are lovely and varied. The spa is the real thing, with professional staff and a variety of services. Our cabin was comfortable with a small balcony. An extra was a bathroom with heated floors! Our only disappointment was that the post-cruise excursion from Bergen to Oslo by rail stayed an extra day in Bergen with the result of only a few hours in Oslo. Read Less

Previous excellent experience with Viking River cruise, new ship, inclusive cruising, comfortable luxury. Viking takes excellent care of its clients in my opinion. An example of this care was on an evening when we returned to the ship without having had a chance for dinner, and we were rather late for the standard dinner alternatives. Much to our surprise, a lovely light supper awaited us in our cabin upon our return. It is also wonderful to have a ship with only 930 guests total. You never felt crowded or lost in the shuffle. The spa was spectacular, many activities were available, and we especially enjoyed having an included tour in each port. We did participate in some extra events, but the included tours we attended were also excellent. Our tour in St. Petersburg of the Hermitage was the best and most complete museum tour I have ever encountered. Well worth the fee! The dining venues were delicious and, yes, we tried them all over the course of the cruise. My husband also appreciated that there were no "formal" nights, and we both appreciated the lack of a casino, art sales and children. Read Less

I am going to focus on the positives! This is a beautiful ship with an amazing crew many of whom seek to go the extra mile in trying to give you a great time! We had an amazing trip. It was our first sea cruise and we were not disappointed. All of the four restaurants are excellent and we eat 3/4 times int he evening in each. Even the buffet style World Cafe is great in the evening as it is quiet, spacious and has the best views on the ship! We particularly enjoyed the Chef's table and were able to enjoy 4 out of 5 of the menus offered when we were on board. The included wines repeat a bit over 2 weeks but we are not great drinkers so it dodon't bother us. We loved the entertainment programme and music which were outstanding but for us the enrichment lectures were rather highbrow...and I am no intellectual slouch at all! They seem to be enjoyed by the academically minded on board. So for the downsides...security was a bit of a shambles...with the scanning process quickly abandoned after a port or two due to inefficiency. My wife's bag was impounded as she had a picnic knife and it took us 2 hours to track it down after we had to go to Guest Services and initiate a search! Finally what must be imporved - excursions...we had a really poor experience before we went with changed excursion times ( which Viking put right under pressure) and one really bad excursion that I am still discussing with them ( awful guide and not as described) . It is a challenge to get 700 or so people off on an included excursion. Those disattisfied with their walking tour allocation learnt that groups could be gatecrashed on the quay leading to a loss of control! ( not a problem with coach trips though as tickets were tightly controlled). It is early days and I am sure Viking will sort all this out. Most of our excursions are fine but be ready for immobile people who cannot keep up with the most gentle walks! Enough of that...an amazing experience...we loved it and hope to be back on a Viking cruise ship in a year or two. Read Less

The finest ship on the water at that size (930 passengers) Best service from all personnel including management. Food was great and the buffet is probably the best on the ocean. Overall ship design and quality of interior public space could not be better.. NO CASINO was a welcome relief!! Free land tours at each port were well above expectations. Once onboard the ship, it was perfect. HOWEVER, it was necessary for my travel agent and I to contact the Los Angeles based ground service group several times before departure and our experiences there were with the WORST GROUND SERVICE GROUP OF ANY CRUISE LINE. We have traveled over 20 times on several lines and never have we seen such totally incompetent service. Nothing was correct, factual or relevant to the requests being made. Unfortunately, we plan on another Viking Ocean cruise and dread the interface with the Los Angeles ground service people. Read Less

My friend invited me to join her as she had paid 2 for 1 on her single cabin so I lucked out!!!! The Viking Star is like a first class hotel - the staff are very kind and helpful and the food is just unbelievable!!!! I made sure I took full advantage of all the port talks and lectures, the spa (including being snowed on, don't enter without shoes and definitely don't sit down or your tush could be frozen to the seat for ever!!!!) I loved the infinity pool and swam there regularly, often alone for some reason! We took several excursions and enjoyed them all - the canal jazz tour around Copenhagen was the only time I was sad to see the Viking Star - our excursion was not long enough! It was great fun! We did manage to book all our included excursions eventually but that was the only thing about the entire trip that caused some anxiety - how can included excursions be sold out? Luckily extra trips were added so we got to see St. Petersburg. It says somewhere that you need to purchase a Russian visa if you want to leave the ship unaccompanied. I think it should be in bigger print because I was about to book to go to the Hermitage on my own when someone at home warned me that it was a problem without a visa and they are expensive!!!!! I had the best time and met many lovely people. I had withdrawals from being able to log on to My Viking Journey. com when I got home but the photos and memories will remain with me forever. Thank you Viking Star - I really hope to see you again some day! Read Less

We chose this cruise for the destination and previous excellent cruises with Viking. It was far better than our very high expectations. The ship makes one feel like high royalty in every way. Beautiful furnishings and common areas. Gracious, highly trained, professional staff. Gourmet dining in lovely onboard restaurants. Wonderful entertainment to suit a variety of tastes. No punk, heavy-metal or CW, on one end of the culture spectrum. Fabulous, professional flute-violin-cello trio, an acoustic guitarist, & a classical pianist played several times daily; lightly attended. Lots of Broadway tunes & toned-down Vegas-style shows were packed with elderly, middlebrow cruisers. Great variety and quality of food & service worthy of fine NY or European restaurants. That said, probably 1/4 to 1/3 of the cruisers ate pizza, burgers, steak, fries & ice cream most of the time. Can't say enough good things about the destinations and activities offered. Read Viking's brochures, look at the TV ads, & fully expect it to be 2-3 times better! We're experienced Europe-travelers & heretofore France & Italy were our favorite countries. On the basis of this cruise & before/after stays in Stockholm & Oslo, we think Scandinavia & the Baltic are even better. We like to socialize & we met lots of exceptionally nice people on the cruise. Most of our shipmates were age 75-85+ with some in great shape, and a good many more with significant physical limitations, including wheelchairs & electric scooters. This really compromised shore excursions, on some of which it seemed most of the time was spent getting people on & off the bus, & on long & frequent bathroom stops. The cruise offered lovely onboard & off-ship classical music programs. Our shipmates' concert etiquette tended to be annoying & embarassing. Photography including flash. Video recording, and playback with sound, during a performance!!!! Arm-waving & loud talking. All in all, the cruise was just wonderful & we can't wait to go again! Read Less

I choose this cruise for two reasons, first because of Viking and secondly because of the trip itself. Th Viking sea is a five star ship with outstanding service. It is a beautiful ship. The cabins are comfortable and each room has a balcony. Each room has a small refrigerator that is restocked daily at no charge. It has candy, snacks and juices. There is coffee machine in your room as well. There is a small Laudermat on each floor for the guests to use. The furnishings are lovely Scandinavian pieces. Even the furniture in the grand hall are very nice. The grand hall is three levels where entertainment is provided each evening. There is also a bar for after dinner cocktails while you listen to the piano player, guitarist or string trio. There are also nightly talks given by the tour director. The restaurants are many and varied according to your taste whether it be Italian,a steak house and several others to try. The buffet is outstanding serving everything you could possibly want from a variety of soups, breads, fish, meats,vegetables, and desserts. They even have sushi available. And of course wine and beer are available at lunch and dinner. There's plenty to do on board from the exercise room, the spa, the snow grotto or go for a swim The staff are efficient and will see to your every need. And they do it with a smile. The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was some of the tours that were included. Maybe some of the tours you pay for were better.The best tour guides were in Berlin, Norway and Poland. But here again it all depends on the tour guide not Viking. Maybe they could do better to include museums. Read Less