We had never done a river cruise before. Viking was an excellent choice because they take care of everything and reduced the stress on the travelers. Several friends had gone on Viking cruises and highly recommended them. Our experience was AMAZING. We used Viking to book our airfare, which was wise since they met us at the airport and got us to our hotel (and also from the ship to the post-excursion and airport). We chose a pre-excursion. Wise, again, because we had time to adjust to the time change and also see other parts of Europe that weren't part of the cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. Absolutely beautiful! Our room was very well appointed, very clean. We had a Veranda room, good choice for just a little extra space. The included cruise excursions were all great. We chose some additional excursions, and in hindsight we will be more selective next time. Reason: we filled up our days and had no free time, plus some were not as exciting as we envisioned. All of the Viking personnel were helpful: the pre-excursion host, everyone aboard the ship, the cruise excursion tour guides, the post excursion host. We've already scheduled our next Viking cruise! My only wish for change: that the pre-excursion bus had delivered us to the ship earlier than 5:00pm, so that we had time to get unpacked and freshen up before dinner and sailing. We felt rushed that first evening aboard the ship.