We combined the Southern Mediterranean cruise with the Iconic Cities of the Western Mediterranean cruise. We wanted to see Barcelona again as well as the stops in France, Italy and Africa. The weather was not cooperating including temperatures near freezing, snow in Monaco and high winds that caused us to miss two ports. We were able to add a few ports in lieu of the ones we missed that were fine with us, however other passengers really missed visiting the two ports in Africa. The weather also made for some rocky nights cruising with winds to 40-50+ mph and seas in the 15-20' range. The ship actually handled the seas very well with new type stabilizers.

Cabin and staff were great in all aspects. Food was typical Viking, good but could use some additional variety. Make reservations in speciality restaurants ASAP as they tend to fill up very quickly and the food quality is better than in the main dining room. Shore excursions are adequate, but sometimes we just opted to use the local Hop-on Hop-off city service which was just as good as most excursions that are "included".

Suggest room on the starboard side, as most times the city view was on that side of the ship.