This was our third Viking river cruise. The ship, staff and food met Viking's high standards. The itinerary was uninspiring and I would not recommend it. That's not Viking's fault - they can hardly recreate such awe inspiring countries as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia. They all seemed very much the same. One low light excursion was the Viking provided excursion when the contract tour guide the Balkan war by saying, "Remember, we (Serbs) were the good guys". He brushed aside the facts about Serb committed genocide. That "rewrite of history" was disappointing.
The best excursion was when we had tea and "cookies" with a Croatian family. it was a residence that was also a B&B. An authentic visit.
The ship's staff were amazing. They were attentive and has a great sense of humor. The daily briefings were always interesting and informative. I am now adding more words to meet the standard for submission.
This river cruise we chose not to have a room with a balcony - right decision! Room met the Viking standard with which we were familiar. Probably never would have used the balcony if we had one (which was the case on a past river cruise).