We had traveled with Viking River Cruises eight times and wanted to try an ocean cruise. This was my first ocean cruise and I trusted Viking. We chose this specific itinerary to visit Istanbul. Unfortunately politics dictated caution and our itinerary was altered eleven months before sailing. We cruised from Venice to Athens.

The experience was above expectations. Viking did take the great aspects of river cruising to the ocean. Included shore excursions in every port were well organized. We had lecture options relevant to our itinerary daily. Entertainment nightly. We enjoyed daily English tea. The food was very good and Manfredi's signature steak was exceptional. Our deluxe Veranda cabin (DV 6) was spacious despite being one of the lower cabin categories. It was nice that attire was generally casual with "smart casual" suggested for dinner in The Restaurant and the "no extra charge" specialty restaurants.

We were so impressed that we booked our next Viking ocean cruise just a few months after our return. We look forward to traveling from Rome to Barcelona in early spring 2018.