Small ship a big plus. Passenger to crew ratio very nice. Itinerary included most places we wanted to see. Reputation of Viking. Also the crew were awesome. Especially Igor and Komang in the Explorer lounge. They were very fun, and helpful with questions as well. Tammy was always out and about on the ship and making sure our needs were met. The restaurants were all very good, we appreciated that we did not have "designated" eating times, like on some big ships. Food was diverse (oftentimes tied to our destination, which was a nice touch) and always top notch. The excursions were all good. The included excursions were somewhat basic, but always had good experience with the tour guides. Only one of the coach buses was "dumpy" (on Corfu). We enjoyed Zeus and the gals on the Strings in the lounges. We did not attend any of the "shows". Found other things to our liking. It seemed like we could always find a quiet spot on the ship to converse with our friends. Not Viking's fault, but Customs and Immigration line in Barcelona was awful. 2 1/2 hrs in airport with no air conditioning.