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!