We have always wanted to visit Russia and took the plunge. The food was very good with plenty of choice and a chance to taste Russian cuisine as well as fairly standard fare. The 24hr coffee/tea/chocolate station was excellent. I am a discerning coffee drinker and it was of very good quality, better than the coffee served in the restaurant! The staff were all very friendly and the couriers, especially the local ones, were full of interesting information. There were a few concerns though mainly to do with sustainability/environmental policies. We did not require wash cloths to be changed twice daily - we used them and hung them on the pull out line provided but as the room was serviced twice daily, these and the shower mat were changed when not required to be. Also the use of plastic containers for the plentiful toiletries - this approach needs to be reconsidered to cut down on plastic. Also the disposable plastic water bottles handed out before excursions need to be abolished. We had brought our own containers and filled them from the glass water bottles replenished at least once daily. Perhaps Viking could provide reusable bottles and passengers could be encouraged to refill these. The excursions we participated in were all, bar one, excellent and of a very high quality. The one that was disappointing was the Folk Music evening whilst in St Petersburg - not worth the money we paid even if it did include some vodka. The music was OK, it was just the surroundings and the way it was presented after other excursions such as the ballet and music evening in Moscow. Not having been on anything like this before, I did struggle with not having anywhere really to walk so had to make do with going along each deck inside and up/down the stairs. Most days to be fair we had excursions so I tried to walk quickly but sometimes this was not possible as we were ambling in order to view and take photos.