We have wanted to do a river cruise for some time based on feedback from friends. It was everything they promised. The small boat was much more user friendly and comfortable than large ships. The ports and free excursions were interesting. The food and service was outstanding. The entire event seemed much more relaxing than an ocean cruise. The French balcony cabin was small but a large lounge and upper deck were only steps away. If we do another river cruise though, we would explore getting a room with the veranda. At least a sense of more breathing space. We used Viking Air and the pricing seemed better than we could get. A strong suggestion though would be to require more than the minimum hour and a half between connections or push for a direct flight. We had to delay a day because a maintenance problem delayed our initial flight so much we would have missed the overseas flight. We would suggest 3 hours especially with the issues the airlines are having. Overall it was a fantastic experience that we would absolutely recommend.