Friends and neighbors have all recommended trying a river cruise instead of ocean cruise. We have sailed before (5+) and enjoyed all our trips. We prefer ships with 2,500 or less and 7-8 day trips with a short stay pre or post trip. It seemed most of our recommendations were with Viking and a short run for the first time - we took that advice. They were dead on with the recommendations. Our agent (Diana Randall) with Avoya made our selection and arrangements pain free - as usual! From pricing to selection of cabin, activities and post stay in Budapest were excellent. What we enjoyed the most; amazing-friendly and accommodating crew; excellent dinning and on board activities; enjoyed meeting new friends and not feeling like a cabin number, but a name and person; top notch excursions and plenty to select from - especially liked our own listening device for the trip which made it easy to hear and keep up with the tour; each crew member from cabin server to Concierge knew my name and made me feel as a "VIP"; attention to little details as: warm towel and drink upon returning for a day ashore, snacks and tea/coffee always available, fresh water always in the cabin, quiet places to relax - I can go on and on. In a nut shell - we are planning another Viking trip in September 2018 and trying an Ocean cruise on their new small ships in April 2019. Thank you Viking for the "VIP" treatment! Bob and Kathy Byrnes