My wife and I had been wanting to do a cruise. We didn't favour the large floating hotels, but rather the smaller cruise ships. We were attracted to the Viking line with its fine reputation and we had a desire to visit the cities of Venice and Istanbul. Then we found the Viking Ocean cruise, The Empires of the Mediterranean, 10 days, sailing between Venice and Istabul. Our cruise was to start in Istanbul, staying there 2 days. Sadly, due to the situation in the Middle East, our ship sailed the same day we arrived in Istabul and we were not able to experience that city, other than the ride from the airport to the dock. We realize that this was not due to any arbitrary decision on the part of Viking, was most likely made with the safety of its passengers foremost in mind. Otherwise we found our first cruise to meet all our expectations. Our ship, the Viking Sea was making its maiden voyage and everything, accommodation, food, service, amenities, entertainment, shore excursions were super. We were so delighted with this 1st cruise experience that we have booked a Viking river cruise from Prague to Berlin on the River Elbe.