This was a bucket-list cruise for me and I was not disappointed. We left for Amsterdam early and had two full days to spend there. We were amazed at the number of bicycles there (600,000) which made walking an adventure. We then boarded our ship, the Viking Hlin, and were personally escorted to our stateroom, which was very adequate regarding space and appointments. The best part was the spacious shower and bathroom area. The ship itself had a small library and computer area with Wi-Fi. I was born to eat and found the breakfast/lunch buffet to be excellent. The choices were well presented and very tasty. The scrambled eggs were the absolute best I have ever eaten ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. As for dinner, the choices were less than on an ocean cruise, but WAY BETTER. Very gourmet! The best part was there were only 184 passengers, compared to thousands on an ocean cruise. Having fewer guests and no loud music, made for a pleasant and relaxing atmosphere. With no huge stage productions, the entertainment was another surprise....consisting of local talent from the various ports. I won't tell you about it, but you will be pleasantly surprised. Very classy! Regarding port and shore excursions, there was a tour of each city visited. Be prepared to walk! I walk with a cane, but found two walking sticks to be my salvation. We were broken into three groups, with the third being the "leisure" group. Some of the tours included a motor coach and one had a taxi. Regarding the crew, we found them to be more than eager to assist and make our time onboard pleasant. I would have to say that my favorite part of the trip was cruising down the middle Rhine and seeing all of the castles. We were fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day to view them from the top deck. With all things considered, this (our first River cruise) was our absolute favorite cruise ever out of a total of eighteen. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, but not to worry. We left the ship in Basel and spent an extra two full days in Lucerne. It is a beautiful city, but very expensive. Would I do another Viking River Cruise? In a heartbeat. Well done VIKING!