Ports of call in 8 countries on a small luxury modern ship. Only negative was that if we did it over again we would hire our own shore excursion guide in St. Petersburg and Berlin. The biggest problem with all cruise ships, and Viking is no exception, is that you never get enough time in port, arrive in morning and depart in evening. We would prefer to be able to spend an entire day or two in a port so we can see more sights and have dinner on shore. Also, we would have enjoyed more down time to be able to take advantage of all of the facilities on the ship.

We were advised by friends who had taken this exact cruise the year before to book the Explorer Suite, which is something we would definately recommend if you can afford it. Being in the Explorer Suite gave us first crack at the upscale restaurants for dinner reservations, free refills in the mini bar liquor, free laundry and dry cleaning and first on/first off embarkation and disembarking. Also, we had first choice in booking shore excursions.