We chose the Viking Homeland cruise because it took us to countries and locations we've always wanted to visit. All the tours were informative and showed us the beauty of each country. WOW! The Viking Star far exceeded my expectations, from the time we stepped on to the ship we were welcomed like visiting a friends home. The daily meals, separate dining experiences, afternoon tea and pastries, wine tastings, guest lecturers, service, crew, professional entertainment and daily tours were exceptional. We tried our best to take advantage of all the activities as possible. We also took advantage of the fitness center and spa servers many times during our tour and staff explained the equipment and spa treatments that made it easer to enjoy those areas at our leasure.The service staff were all professionals with one goal in mind, making sure our experience was one you wouldn't forget and we won't. It was our first ocean cruise with Viking but not our last. I thought the Viking river cruise we took in 2010 was exciting there ocean cruises will put them to the top of our list for future cruises.