We've been on many ocean cruises with a variety of cruise lines, but this was our first river cruise. We did a lot of research prior to booking with Viking, and the experience was everything we hoped it would be. An added bonus: The weather for late October/early November was warmer and less rainy than predicted, so we were even more excited that we'd opted for the veranda room. We used our balcony daily.

From our flights (booked via Viking Air) to our transfers to our experience in the hotels and on the ship, we had an excellent experience. The staff — particularly our program director — also exceeded our expectations. Because we hadn't traveled with Viking previously, when I saw that there was (what I interpreted as) a lecture before dinner each evening to go over the next day's port and activities, I imagined it would be a bit of a tedious presentation. I was happy to be wrong. Instead, it was a fun happy hour in the lounge with a brief explanation of what to expect the following day. It was helpful, interesting, sometimes a little funny, and always informative.

The only part of the trip we definitely would not recommend was the City Lights nighttime tour of Paris. We were on a tour bus, so we could see very little, and not much was lit up around town, so it was 2.5 hours of driving around in the dark and being told what we were driving past (but without seeing it). Yes, the stop at the Eiffel Tower for the light show was nice, but we definitely could have done that on our own and did not need to pay for this excursion. Not worth the money at all. Read more