We have been on river cruises with Viking and decided to try this Viking Homelands itinerary. The Viking Star is a beautiful ship and never felt crowded even with 930 passengers. Our cabin was huge and very comfortable with a king bed and large bathroom. On our big screen TV we could access the "Port Talks" and information about excursions, in addition to the written Viking Daily, plus the menus for all the restaurants.
The excursions were wonderful, and the staff did a good job of getting everyone off the ship in a timely manner. The guides on the optional tours were excellent. We felt that overall the guides on the included tours were not as knowledgeable, but still did a good job.
The food was excellent. Our only complaint was that the included wines in the Restaurant and buffet areas were only passable. We did eat at the "Chef's Table" with it's set wine pairings and menu. One of the wine choices seemed very odd to us, and when we expressed our views, we were told that all the wine pairings are decided at the corporate level, so there cannot be any deviation. Mamsen's Restaurant was wonderful with decent pairings.