We chose this cruise because of the locations visited and our desire to try a river cruise. This was our first trip to Europe and it was a check off of our bucket list. It exceeded all of our expectations and we can't wait to do another river cruise with Viking. Our only criticism is that Viking forces you to spend all evenings with strangers/company. Some of the other cruise ships offer more options of seatings for 2 or dining in your cabin. Although we met a lot of wonderful people because of this, we would have still like more opportunities to dine alone. There were 3 very distinguishing features of this cruise that I have to mention: (1) all of the staff that were unbelievably patient, friendly, and accommodating (2) the extraordinary efficiency of the design of the cabin space, not to mention the comfort, and (3) the exceptional organization of every aspect of the cruise with much praise to our program director (Chris) that not only made our lives so easy but also entertained us and made us laugh.