As their motto states, “Explore the World with Viking”. We recently embarked on our first Viking Ocean cruise. We previously experienced their river cruise and enjoyed that so much we decided to try their ocean. We were blown out of the water “pun intended”. For an adult only experience, it was amazing. The ships are smaller and accommodate 900 guests, therefore, it is a more intimate sailing than larger ships.
In my opinion, this is different than many cruise lines as it is more focused on the educational and port history experience through the exploration of the destination. It was a very relaxing way to gain knowledge of new destinations by attending guest Lectures & port talks, that provide the history and culture of the next destination.
Viking makes the travel as seamless and easy as you would like. Therefore, guests with little international travel experience, Viking will “hand hold” you from scheduling your air, picking you up at the airport, arranging your pre/post night hotel stays and transporting you to the ship and airport. Or, you can add the features you would like a la carte. For example, we booked our own pre-night stays and taxied to the port, but we used Viking air and transportation to the airport at the end of the cruise.
The restaurants were very good. The main restaurant does not require reservations which we thought was a refreshing change from other cruise lines. We could show up when we wanted to eat. However, there are 2 specialty restaurants that do require advance reservations, but we were able to secure a table once onboard. Even the World buffet has an excellent selection and everything was very fresh.
For those that are budget minded, you can leave home knowing that most of your expenses have been paid for before arriving at embarkation with the list of included.
Inclusions:
An included excursion in each port of call. In some ports, we were able to do 1 paid excursion before/after the included excursion which allowed us to get a great perspective of the port.
• Wi-Fi – we were able to make Wi-Fi calls onboard. Note this ability will depend on your location and is not necessarily reliable, but it worked for calling home.
• Drinks – Wine and beer at lunch and dinner
• Spa and Fitness Center Access – treatments are an additional cost.
• Tea and Coffee – an added treat was afternoon tea served in the Wintergarden.
• Mini bar with soft drinks, water & snacks (suites include alcohol)
• Laundry facilities – this was a huge benefit and allowed us to pack less.
If you are looking for an adult only voyage in a relaxed atmosphere, I highly recommend doing a Viking cruise, whether it is ocean or river.
