Nothing but superlatives for the first Viking Ocean Liner! Stunning design; beautifully outfitted; great open spaces with plenty of small places for a quiet cup of coffee or to read a book. The Club Torshaven, was a fabulous place for music, dancing or a late night drink. The Explorer's Lounge over two levels was a great place to watch the Baltic Sea roll by.
It's new and Viking is new to the Ocean idea and there were some learning curves to overcome on both sides - passengers and crew. All in all, it was pretty smooth, but they do need to fix a few things. There needs to be a 7x24 Reception Desk; someone needs to answer the phone at any extension at any time; there were many times we called various numbers, housekeeping or room service and no one ever answered. (That did get better as the cruise progressed.) And they need to publish a full phone directory - each dining venue needs it's own direct dial number; we spent too much time winding through the system to get to whom we needed to talk.
There needs to be much more clarity about tipping. We heard "stories" that a significant percentage of tips went to the officers and to Viking itself. Hard to believe, but the rumors were rampant. I'd like much more clarification regarding tip allocation. We were concerned enough to tip our two cabin stewards individually in addition to the "standard" tips added to our tab. They earned it, even if it was additional to the standard.
The Cabin was incredible. Spacious and beautifully appointed. Bed was very comfortable; we had plugs for our CPAP machines on both sides of the bed, which was a nice amenity. The bathroom was SPACIOUS - two people could actually use it at the same time!