We chose this cruise (technically, two cruises back-to-back) to visit a number of places in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially Barcelona, Nice, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Malta and Tunisia. Unfortunately, political conditions arose that forced Tunisia off the itinerary; however, Crete was added and that was certainly satisfactory. We also chose this cruise because it included both Christmas and New Year's Eve. The tours were excellent and we chose to go on as many as we could. I would note that we have gone on five Viking cruises and have found the tours offered to be uniformly outstanding - especially with the great guides. We did arrive in Barcelona a day early and toured on our own before joining the group on board. From La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to Monaco, Nice, Aix de Provence Rome, Crete and Malta, we saw all of the main the sights with thorough trips, yet adequate "fun stops" at restaurants and markets. Two of the highlights were a private after-hours tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and a wonderful concert in a cathedral in Malta. We were told that the Vatican Museum tour was limited to eight people (plus guides) and we were very skeptical - thinking it would be "groups of eight" from a number of cruise vessels or other tours. NOPE! It really was just the eight of us, two guides, Vatican security and the cleaning crew through the whole Museum and the Sistine Chapel. One tour was a visit to the salt processing (sal de mer) location in Sicily, together with a tour of a family-owned (multiple generations) olive farm and processing plant. The tour ended with a delightful sampling of olive oils, then moving into bruschetta, pate, pesto, cheese and wine in abundance. Two of the staff also provided traditional Sicilian music with a guitar and accordion and there was some dancing involved by those of us on the tour and various staff and family members. The on board accommodations were up to the usual excellent Viking standards. We went to two of the "specialty restaurants" (including one "Chef's Table" seating) and they were both very nice; but, as always, we most enjoyed the large multi-station buffet. We tend to choose the quieter bars and those were good. We went to several on-board lectures and a couple of shows. Again, these were fun, informative and entertaining.