Heard good reviews from friends who have been on Viking cruises for years. In general, Viking knows how to run their business. The on shore excursions were good and the guides were knowledgeable. The on board educational talks were informative. I attended all of them. Food was very good but not excellent. Service in cabin and restaurants were very good. Provided manager and maitre D with a lot of suggestions during cruise and many were implemented. Embarkation was less than ideal. Many passenger had to walk long distance with luggage to get to the boat because the guard at the gate in St Petersburg would not allow passengers who came in private cars or taxis anywhere near the ship. There were no directions to passengers as to where to go. There was nobody at pier to welcome or help the passengers with luggage or provide information. It took us 15 minutes to finally get to the gangway ... even then nobody came despite rain to help us to board. When we finally got to the boat, the two Viking crew members said, "you must be joining us based on the tag on your luggage." What else would we be doing .... there is nothing else going on there. This was the case at both St. Petersburg and Moscow. This is something that can be fixed easily and it was the only blemish during the entire tour. Unfortunately, it happened at the beginning of the cruise ... it took many days for us to feel good about it.
Good size room. Stool so provided was not comfortable especially for someone with back problems. Requested for a chair and got one immediately.