The ship was wonderful, the food was wonderful, and the staff (housekeepers, waiters.waitresses) were outstanding. After two Viking River Cruises we were afraid we wouldn't enjoy this larger ship as well as the river boats but we were sorely wrong. We never had difficulty finding somewhere wonderful to eat and our room was always kept in pristine condition. We had terrific meals in all of the restaurants as well as outstanding breakfasts and lunches. We never experienced crowds except when leaving the ship for a tour.

We only rated this as average because of the complimentary tours. A few of them were not good at all. the guided tour in Barcelona was probably the best but all of the other tours were not up to what we would think was Viking expectations. The guides were not proficient in English, they were not well planned, and the one in Venice was terrible as was the one in Toulon. Either offer a tour that was up to what we have experienced in the past or do not offer complimentary tours. At least we would not have wasted our time. We could have had a wonderful day touring Venice on our own but from past cruises, we just expected Viking to be a cut above the average in all areas.