This was our third Viking cruise but our first on the first new ship of Viking's sea-going vessels, the Viking Star. We've been hooked on Viking ever since our first river cruise with them back in 2013. All the rest of the cruise lines can take a back seat to Viking's fleet and the services they provide their cruisers. We have cruised on many of the other cruise lines, including Carnival, Costa, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney's line, etc. When we first began doing cruises as a way to travel to places we wanted to get a taste of, cruise liners were about half the size of today's and their attention to details and to customer satisfaction was top rate. Over the years, we found that the bigger the liners became and the larger the number of travelers onboard, the lower the standards were for food service and customer satisfaction. They are not the way we want to travel anymore.

Our first Viking cruise proved to us that there are still cruise lines out there where every detail is spectacular, from the arrangement of the cabins to the arrangement of the dining tables. Nothing is left out. The staff knew our names within the first 24 hours. The bar tenders knew our favorite cocktails and had them ready for us every afternoon and at dinner time. The music and onboard entertainment were perfect. Being able to wave to locals as your ship passes by their area was fantastic as was being able to sit on the top level and take in the sights as the ship moved along the rivers. All of the excursions, whether included or add-ons, were perfectly accommodating no matter what your age or speed of movement.

We loved the Mediterranean cruise aboard the Viking Star, too. With a much smaller number of travelers onboard (930), it was much easier to get seated when dining and much easier to get to know your fellow travelers. There was entertainment if you wanted it and solitude with music in the lounges if that was your desire. Once again, the staff knew our names and drink orders within the first 24-36 hours. The dining was superb and all of the excursions were fantastic. The entertainment was varied and top-notch. All in all, an excellent cruise with the best cruise company of all, Viking. I doubt we will ever travel with any other line.