We had been on 3 Viking River cruises and had wonderful experiences. We were a little concerned about how Viking would manage a ship of 900 passengers versus the 200 from river cruises. Wow, do they know how to manage! We never felt we were in a crowd. There were plenty of public areas to choose from with plenty of seating. There was much more to do on board while sailing. We enjoyed going to the enrichment talks and port talks to learn about the areas we were traveling through. The food was delicious and there were so many options to have a wide variety of food choices and places to eat. We enjoyed all the restaurants and liked being able to sit at a table for 2 but have people on either side of us to talk to. We never had to wait in line to eat behind more than a couple of people. Food was available at practically all hours. We had the silver spirits package and liked having more choices for wine and liquors. I liked have the pools, hot tubs and spa. Again, no having to save seats there! All of the tours in ports were well organized and the tour guides were very knowledgable. There was a variety of big cities, medieval towns and small villages on the cruise. They took 700 of us by chartered train to Berlin on an included tour. It was the most organized and well run excursion I have ever seen! Viking thinks of everything to make the experience a great one. St Petersburg should be on everyone's must see list! We especially loved seeing the little fishing villages, like Dragor and Alborg. We loved learning the history of places like Gdansk which was so beautifully restored after the war. Norway was a favorite. The beauty of the fjords is breathtaking as are the mountains. We enjoyed it so much that we signed up for another Viking Ocean cruise, to Norway and Iceland, right then on the ship (you get a discount doing so). Don't hesitate to take this cruise...you will always be grateful you did!