My wife and I took our first cruise of any kind on the Viking Heimdal and could not have been more pleased. The friendliness, attentiveness, and assistance by the staff was extraordinary. As "newbies", we especially appreciated of having Viking staff take us in hand and accompany us during our entire journey from arriving at our embarkation airport (Marseilles) to our entry into airport security (Paris) on our journey home. Our cabin on the Viking Heimdal (Veranda Stateroom) was very clean and comfortable; I do not think that it could have been designed to be more utilitarian for such a relatively small space.

We found the excursions very interesting and educational and learned much about the history, people, and cultures of the area that we were visiting. The local guides were uniformly outstanding and the information that we were provided during the previous on-board evening preparatory sessions provided additional insights to what we would see the next day. Viking's focus on education and culture is well-deserved and is one of the reasons that we selected the company for our first cruise.

We enjoyed our cruising experience with Viking so much that we immediately booked a similar Viking cruise for the next year before returning home. We are greatly looking forward to our next new experiences river cruising.