To be honest, we chose the Baltic Cruise in June 22 as likely to be amongst the most COVID free in the world. This turned out to be correct, with few restrictions on board, though might have applied elsewhere. We also wanted to explore a new area, though we had previously visited Berlin, St Petersburg and Stockholm. So we did not take the included tour to Berlin, but the vast majority did and came back full of enthusiasm of their day out on a specially chartered train. We chose the alternative Molli railway, which was a delight, and explored the North German coast which was new to us. We couldn’t go to St Petersburg because of the Ukraine war, but Viking were punctilious in keeping us informed of changes, gave onboard credit as compensation and put in the beautiful mainland Sweden Karlskrona and fascinating semi-autonomous Finnish Mariehamn island which were both culturally enriching experiences. Stockholm was a great place to finish and we could make the most of our visit because the ship docked just over from old town Gamla Stan. I haven’t mentioned the seamless care in housekeeping, dining and entertainment because after 12 previous Viking cruises we take them completely for granted and have never been disappointed.