This was our third Viking river cruise, and picking Viking is now a no-brainer: We know it's going to be terrific. From the minute we were met at the airport in Marseille by a Viking rep to the moment we entered the airport in Lyon, we were in great hands the whole time. All the land tours were wonderful (even the one the day it rained) and we can't say enough good things about the ship and crew. Three special things to mention: First, some river cruise lines brag about how posh and upscale and fancy-shmancy they are. Viking doesn't do that -- and that's one reason we love it so much. We don't WANT to treated like royalty (or to pay a small fortune extra for that questionable privilege' we don't need spa treatments and our own personal butler). If that makes it sound like Viking cruises are somehow inferior; they aren't. Like the Three Bears and Goldilocks, Viking is ":just right." No kids, no casinos, no luxury spa lah-de-dah, and reasonable, not exorbitant, prices. Second, the rooms. The rooms are great, and we have learned one thing aftyer many river and ocean cruises: We are only ever in the cabin to sleep and shower. All the rest of the time we're somewhere on the ship or on shore, so we don't need an upscale, expensive cabin we aren't going to be in, and we don't need a balcony we're not going to sit on, and a huge window we're not going to look out for more than two minutes. For us, the "worst" cabin on a Viking longship is just fine -- and there really is no such thing as a "worst" cabin anyway. The "duck view" cabin on the lower deck is just fine, and the French balcony cabins are great. Third, unlike on many cruise lines, the drinks upgrade package is well worth it on Viking, and not over-priced like some lines. And the staff, and the food ... all great. We love Viking cruises so much we almost don't even care where we go. If Viking had a cruise to Hell on the River Styx we'd go (we'd just skip the shore excursions).