Our experience with Viking includes 4 prior river trips, so we wanted to try the ocean and see how it compared. For those Viking Veterans who have come to expect a certain standard of service and comfort during river voyages, the ocean (at least on Star) will not disappoint: the ship is clean and well maintained (in fact the crew are often seen working at various maintenance tasks during the cruise); the staterooms are small (as on all ships) but comfortable and the staff are very conscientious and professional in maintaining a clean and serviceable cabin; both the food and service on board are excellent and certainly meet the Viking standards; for my experience, the entertainment aboard was superb, although I must confess I spent most of my time sampling the musical offerings in the Explorer Lounge and sampling the libations (which were also excellent). The major difference between ocean and river cruising is the ocean ports are usually at some distance from the attractions one wants to see, so bus rides (often lengthy) and such are required, whereas on the river the Longships stop in the heart of the city and it is (not always but) usually an easy walk from the ship to points of interest.If you're not prepared for this difference it can be a bit of a distraction from the experience. The excursions were generally good-to-great with a couple of exceptions and that owing to the quality/fluency of the guides - I think Viking missed a couple of real opportunities for interesting excursions but one can't expect them to cover all the possibilities. Overall a superior effort and great value for money.