We wanted a smaller ship - and 900 passengers fit the bill. There was plenty of room on board and areas for quiet relaxation and intimate dining. Food was very, very good compared to other cruise lines. Service was terrific, especially in the buffet (which is not typical of other cruise lines I've sailed with). Wine selection was decent as well. Cabins were spacious with plenty of storage. The problem was excursions which were anywhere from disappointing to terrible - these were the "included" ones. We had scheduled one excursion that was extra charge but it was cancelled because of weather issues. The Merida tour turned out to be nothing more than a long coach ride in both directions with about 15 minutes of "shopping" (unguided) on our own. It was supposed to be a walking tour of old colonial Merida which it was NOT at all. I complained about this to the Excursions desk, and they had had other complaints as well, plus one of them had been on that excursion and agreed with my feelings about it. To their credit, after we returned home they issued us a generous future cruise credit as a goodwill gesture. Viking is a newcomer to ocean cruises and I think they just need more experience with excursion vendors to weed out the bad ones - I don't think this was intentional, but we were definitely part of their "learning curve".