After having been on an excellent river cruise last year, we wanted to try an ocean cruise, and we were not disappointed. The same high standards apply everywhere on every Viking ship. The meals, ambience and entertainment were all outstanding! It was a pleasure to relax at various times throughout the day with pleasant music playing, although there was perhaps a bit too much emphasis on classical, and not enough on soft, contemporary music. The shows and the Port Call lectures were great! The variety and quality of food was exceptional, and the waitstaff did a great job of always being right there when needed. The excursions were fantastic, especially the Gaudi Architectural tour in Barcelona and the Vatican tour in Rome. These were both once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The only downside to any of the excursions was the excessive amount of walking in Pisa just to get to the attractions. Obviously, there are restrictions on where buses can park, but a better accommodation for those with walking limitations would be a great help. The only real negative to the entire tour was the extremely early disembarkation in Rome. It is not accurate to count that as a day of the cruise, since we had to get up at 2AM, which also limited the activities of the previous evening. Disembarking just two or three hours later would have made a huge difference. We loved the overall experience, and we're looking forward to sailing with Viking again!