I do recommend this cruise but there were numerous shortcomings. I wish there was a rating of 3.5 stars as that is what I would have chosen. Overall Viking does do a very nice job. The lobby live music nightly was quite nice and relaxing and overall was excellent. I did not find the included wines to be particularly good. The food though was excellent througout the journey of 12 nights. The nightly official entertainment was pretty good and I cannot complain. The onboard spa was also very nice with the warm wave pool, snow room, and other pleasantries. The planetarium and astronomy/flying lectures were a very nice addition and appreciated. There are certain items I cannot explain like the failure to have a full size roller in the exercise room as opposed to half-size ones. Also, there were at least a half dozen times when servers brought me an ice-tea or ice coffee but failed to bring a straw or a spoon to stir in the Splenda or cream. This was particularly the case in the World Cafe where the staff generally appeared less experienced. There was also an issue of not refilling the water glasses promptly. The included excursions and some of the paid ones were not particularly compelling or that well executed generally speaking. I cannot say they were bad but they should be better. If we do another Viking cruise, I would likely independently book private excursions at each location. Also, other cruise lines we noted along the way had multiple stops for their shuttles to the city from the boat. Viking had one single stop and one had to find their way from there. To that end, it would have been most helpful if Viking had prepared potential walking itineraries for travelers taking the shuttle. This would have made it much easier on guests wishing to walk about the city without an organized excursion without the need to recreate the wheel. I also found prices on the optional pre-cruise stay and the price of returning to the airport at the end to have been excessive. I recognize Viking is a profit seeking enterprise but there is no need to gouge folks. This is especially so for guests not staying in the cheaper cabins on the boat. I also do not like the fact that gratuities are not baked into the cost of the trip and that modestly priced liquor and wine is also not baked into the cost. Internet access was not stellar but acceptable. I suspect higher speeds could be attained if Viking were willing to pay the price but I am not certain of this. This is not a bargain basement cruise line and they could do better in certain areas. Nevertheless, as noted, they do a nice job overall.