We had sailed on two European River Cruises with Viking and had such an amazing experience that we decided to try an Ocean Cruise. Althought there are many great choices, the Scandinavian cruise appealed to us because it's a different part of Europe with the fjords, design elements and it offered the opportunity to experience St. Petersburg. Neither my husband nor I had ever take an Ocean Cruise of any kind, and now we are spoiled. The friends who traveled with us have taken many cruises of all varieties, including other high-end companies and they said that Viking was by far the best. In fact, they said "don't ever book another Ocean Cruise with anyone else, you will be disappointed." The ship is absolutely beautifully designed and luxurious. The public spaces are stunning, comfortable and so cleverly designed that we never felt like there were 900 people on the boat. We enjoyed every inch, every level, every space of the vessel. Our cabin was perfect. We were on the third floor, in one of the less expensive options, yet it was perfect! The room and bathroom were spacious and cleverly designed to hold all our belongings without feeling cramped at all. The heated bathroom floors are a great touch! The stateroom bed was comfortable, the seating area was nice and the dressing table was a great addition with compartments for make-up and jewelry which made getting ready a breeze. The ONLY change I would make is a shorter bench/chair for the vanity. It was so tall, that even a short person like me, had to crunch over to see the mirror. We thoroughly enjoyed the balcony and did I mention that the closet was very spacious? I also love that the bed is high enough off the ground to slide suitcases underneath. Dining was a treat. We tried room service which was prompt, restaurant quality food and a part of the price of the trip - no extra fee. We thoroughly enjoyed The Restaurant which is cleverly designed to make you feel like it's a small space while giving every spot an amazing view to the outside. The specialty restaurants were exquisite and we were able to get all the reservations we wanted! I have a serious allergy and the staff took wonderful care of me, making sure I did not get sick. The food everywhere is the best quality I've had in any fine restaurant anywhere in the world. The musical entertainment - piano player, classical quartet, guitar player, cover band - were all top quality. The "shows" were not. But who goes on a cruise like this to see shows? Not us. The pools were both fabulous. We loved that included in the price of the trip were the spa amenities of the cold dip pool, steam pool and the snow grotto. We fell in LOVE with the snow grotto. Service. Wow! The service was impeccable. Every interaction with every staff member was excellent. It's easy to tell when people love their jobs and the staff and crew of the Viking Sky certainly did. This trip is the closest I will ever get to feeling like royalty. Viking does service extremely well, better than I could even imagine. From the moment I opened the curtains and audibly gasped at the beauty of the fjiord, I wondered how the next port could possibly match up. But they did. The choice of places to see and the variety of excursions which helped us create experiences tailored to us at each stop was perfect. The only improvement I would make is more walking tours and less panoramic tours for the included tours. I get that they are trying to show the flavor of the area, but getting to walk around is far more meaningful to us. The prices of the extra excursions seemed very fair and the comfort of booking them with Viking gave us the confidence that we would make it back to the boat in time. The airfare booked through Viking is a slightly different story. More than once on our trips with Viking, we have been glad that we had a Viking rep to assist us at the airport and the peace of mind knowing that because we booked through them they had our back with any problems was priceless. However, the choice of Air Canada on the Ocean Cruise was terrible. The airline is not ok. No one was at the Air Canada desk at DFW, a major city airport in Dallas, Texas. I had to call Air Canada before they finally got one person to show up and process all the people waiting for more than an hour. They transported us to Toronto, a four and a half hour flight, on a puddle jumper plane, very uncomfortable and with surly flight attendants. The Toronto airport was a zoo, poorly marked. Air Canada had two flights to Europe leaving at the same time in gates next to each other. That's nine hundred people crowded in an area with maybe 100 places to sit. The plane was late and no updates were given. When they finally boarded us, (after being in an elbow to elbow crowd standing for over an hour), the announcements were mad without a microphone! Total confusion. The plane was full and we were NOT given the upgraded seats we paid for. There reaction was - tough luck! The third flight we boarded in Stockholm was ok. On the way back, Air Canada had a glitch and would not issue boarding passes. We had to run and plead for seats on every flight on the way back. Not fun. Very stressful. In spite of ALL that, I would do this trip again in a heart beat because the trip itself so far outweighed the air difficulties. I heartily recommend Viking and this itinerary.