We wanted to try Viking Ocean and to cruise in the Baltic. It was a great itinerary good excursions. The Viking Star was the best ship we have ever been on, and we are long time Azamara fans. We were a bit concerned as it is a bit larger than the Azamara ships that we liked. But the increased size made it better, larger cabins and public spaces. The ship was right sized for the number of passengers. I never felt like I was in a crowd. The specialty restaurants , included drinks and excursions offset much of the higher cost. The food was excellent, perhaps not as good as the one Oceania ship we were on previously, but everything else was better. The crew were exceptional, the bar tender quickly learned our preferences and cabin #. We were not big customers of his either. We Returned home and within a month booked a second Viking Cruise