We wanted to try the cruise ship and visit Rome. We were disappointed that we had to walk so far to get on the buses for the excursions. The excursions were ok, but not nearly as good as the river boats were. In fact, I can only remember a couple, so I guess they weren't too memorable. We stayed in Rome for a couple of days and were really disappointed in the Viking employees who were in charge. On other river cruises where we had pre/post cruise experiences, we were given opportunities for walking tours and also help in going to local tourist sights. We had to do everything on our own, and would have truly appreciated more help in this area. Needless to say, we are doubtful as to whether we will go on another cruise ship adventure. We truly love Viking, but will probably stick with the river cruises. In fact, we have one booked for March (our 5th Viking trip..