We Chose Viking because we heard a lot of positive comments about Viking. They really do care about your experience. The cruise was great except we did not realize how many locks we would encounter (lots of noise and bumps while cruising - especially at night). Food was quite good and staff most accommodating. Entertainment was not that great -- the best was music trivia night. Generally, it consisted of Charlie - on the piano or a father/son duo. We don't cruise for the entertainment and aren't impressed on larger ships with the entertainment any way. Our cruise director, Claudia, went above and beyond to help with my mobility issues. She placed us with a gentle or leisure group that recognized our challenges across uneven terrain and lots of steps. There was aways a provided excursion and we soon learned that you could choose to go your own way -- just making sure where to meet the bus. We took advantage of this option several times. Pre cruise was a bit of an issue as we did not get our documents until the week of the trip. Our flights were also problematic in that we never got accurate information. Our itinerary showed United and American as the carriers when it was actually Air Canada and British Airways. This mix up did not allow for early check in or the ability to track changes. I was not happy at all with British Airways or Heathrow as our trip was extended (not by choice) with an extra day in Miami.

Viking offers an opportunity to get vouchers for a future cruise and we took advantage of that offer -- indicating our positive opinion of the cruise. We also met several people who had taken multiple cruises with Viking -- some as many as nine. Their staff assistance at our departure airport was excellent. We were warmly greeted and helped through the airport including claiming VAT taxes refund.