This was our fourth Viking cruise. As all the outers have been, everything was perfect except for light rain one day (can't have sunshine all days). This area from Budapest to Bucharest is stunning. The included tours were wonderfun, informative and the people were very friendly. Except for an occational group of school children on a day outing, there were no crouds. Prices in souviner shops, if you could find one, were very reasonable. The history of the region goes back to the Romans and the have been preserved. As usual, I would put our chief up against any 5 star hotel chief in the U.S. and he would come out on top. The buildings are completely different from Western Europe since much of the area was under Nazi and then Soviet rule. The countries are bouncing back fast. It was not unusual to see a Soviet built building standing next to a morden, reciently built building.I would not hesitate to recomend this cruise to all of my friends.