This was a first river cruise for my husband and myself. What a pleasure! I'm not a fan of ocean cruising on large ships as I am the type who gets sea-sick on a swing. I was also put off by the propensity of ocean cruises to hold cruisers hostage onboard to keep the $$ close to home. The Viking Tulips & Windmills cruise was a breath of fresh air in that arena: We spent most of our daylight hours on INCLUDED tours or on our own exploring the port city. There's was a great deal of walking, which we really enjoyed, but there were options for those less mobile. If the city center wasn't within walking distance, a shuttle was provided. One of our fellow cruisers was confined to a wheelchair. The only tour he couldn't attend was the windmill tour (and there was some trouble with the cobblestone streets). There were only a few optional tours, which we decided to skip and either enjoy the view from our balcony or wander about the port city at a more leisurely pace. As for dining, the food was fantastic with many options from the menu and buffet! The open seating on a small ship (compared to ocean liners) allowed for meeting many interesting people; by the end of the tour, there were many new Facebook friends. We had great fun dancing in the lounge some evenings. The entertainment makes good use of local talent and interest, but don't expect grand musical numbers (which we didn't miss at all). My take:

The excellent: The responsiveness of the staff; the quality of the food; the comfort & cleanliness of the rooms; great included tours; some tour guides were excellent and able to share a great depth of knowledge about the area; home visit; included headsets made it easy to hear the tour guide in large groups.

The not so good: The schedule was pretty tight and regimented (although cruisers can opt out and do their own thing); some tour guides rushed the group with little info (a great disappointment in Bruges); not suitable for young children (cabins are limited to 2 persons), but there were many families traveling together with their independent young.