We chose this itinerary because the ports of call and cities of embarkation and disembarkation were foreign (get it?) to us. It gave us an opportunity to explore lovely Amsterdam for 3 days before boarding. Well worth getting there early! We also chose to take advantage of seeing Switzerland after the cruise on our own- we went to Zurich, only an hour from Basel. We had been on previous trips to Europe, all land trips save one Baltic cruise. We were newbies to river travel and had heard many good things about Viking. We were not disappointed! Fabulous chef and tour director on the boat, nice comfortable, clean rooms and clean ship. It was very well run with a super friendly staff.We were a twosome and enjoyed meeting other guests. We were not assigned to a certain table every night, so it was a nice relaxed chance to mingle. The included tours were all excellent. We did not do any of the optional tours, but explored on our own, which we enjoyed. Seeing the castles on the Rhine was a highlight, one of the main attractions. One of the rive locks malfunctioned wand we did not reach Basel. No matter, they provided taxis to get there. Ditto for providing buses to get us to the expected town the day before we did not reach. No hiccups, all very smooth. We were impressed.
Very clean, modern and attractive. Nice bath and comfortable bed, quiet.