We traveled with our good friends from Wyoming and decided to try an ocean cruise following a great river cruise we had to France about 2 years prior to this trip. We were overall very happy with the entire cruise with very few exceptions.

The ship was new so everything was wonderful from the cabins to the fitness area. We especially enjoyed the explorers lounge and the restaurants available each evening to enjoy wine and dinner with our friends. We were happy to dress up for the dinner each evening which added a special touch to the experience. In addition to the dining, we enjoyed the tours. We were especially happy that Viking provided plenty of education and information prior to touring each city on the cruise. We left feeling we knew so much more about the country and people. Our friends were a little disappointed with the reservation system for purchasing tours due to the fact there was limitation on numbers which did not allow us to choose the same tours for all of us on certain stops. They also were frustrated that exceptions were not made to accommodate adjustment to our tour schedules in order to allow us to be together even though we tried to call ahead of time within the guide lines and timelines. The consumer service department did help us at the last minute to grab a couple of spots on one of our tours and that was very helpful. We understand the priorities based on type of cabin, but the most popular options might be better to add additional seats rather than limit them based on a fixed number. Despite this issue we felt all the tour guides were very good and well prepared to deliver a quality tour experience. The buses and destinations for the most part were great and gave us a nice picture of the culture and people living in Italy. The entertainment was very good, however might have been geared more for an older group as we are all in our late 50s and early 60s and would like to see a bit more variety. Overall, however, we enjoyed most of the shows especially the opera night. We were very impressed with the detail to service throughout the entire boat. We had no bad service during the cruise and enjoyed being pampered during our stay. We plan use Viking every other year to allow us to tour more parts of the world. We feel that the cost is the only thing keeping us from traveling with you every year. We would have probably booked another trip, but we did not understand the savings of booking while on the boat until late in the process. We did not have time to get with your people and discuss due to the busy schedule at the end of the trip. Hats off to all the hard working people on the Viking ship!! we had a great time.