We had an Oceania cruise cancel so we replaced it with this one. We signed up for the pre and post extensions. Our Cruise Director, Vanessa, was really great, perhaps the best we have had. There were lots of last minute cancellations due to the lockdown in Austria and all the COVID political things going on in this part of Europe, but almost all the lockdowns lifted, many markets opened, and we ended up having the opportunity to see 10 markets, if thats your thing. We had seen many German Christmas markets a few years ago, and they were cancelled in Bavaria, but the ship offered a bus trip to Salzburg to see a possible 3 there. We got a battlefield upgrade to a grand suite when a family of 5 cancelled last minute. The food was so good in the MDR that we skipped the Chefs Table. There were a total of 49 passengers on a ship for 198, so we had plenty of room. There were several TAs on board. Service was great, food was great, wine was great, and the ship was virtually like new. We did all the active tours, and loved them, especially the long bike ride in the Wachau valley. The post extension in Prague was also great because they lifted the lockdown right before we got there so people popped right back up with performances and "cultural markets", which were allowed but "Christmas Markets" were not. We managed to avoid most of the cancellation disaster coming home Dec 25, as we were largely on Lufthansa. Overall great trip and we may sail with her again in the summer to see the Wachau in full bloom.
The battlefield upgrade to the GS was unexpected, and I think our TA had a lot to do with that. The room was quiet at night and we did use the balcony, even in December. We got morning coffee in the room, and laundry came back quickly. The amount of storage was massive. Great room.