We had thought about taking a river cruise and Viking’s anniversary sale provided s great opportunity to try the experience. We were going to Europe anyway and decided to start our trip with a river cruise. We chose the Rhine cruise because of the ports, and love traveling in the fall. We loved having everything taken care of (after pre-planning our excursions), and to be able to unpack for a whole week. The staff is tremendous, the cabin was comfortable and the food was excellent. The variety of shore excursions was very good and you could be as active or inactive as you wanted to be. The entertainment was really good, we especially enjoyed the local acts that came onboard and the educational aspect of the entertainment and talks. The bar was accommodating, we enjoyed trying new cocktails at the bartender’s suggestion. The embarkation and disembarkation was very smooth and the staff helped us with special requests.