Viking Star Review
What a wonderful small ship and great service!
Rating by category
Additional details
We love Barcelona so arrived three days prior to the cruise and stayed at the Hotel 1898 that is on Las Ramblas and easy walking distance to shopping, sites and restaurants. We chose the Gastronomic Package that included a beautiful buffet breakfast that had more choices than I can mention and one dinner that was a feast for the eyes and included a bottle of wine. This hotel is a short taxi ride to the ship.
In Barcelona, you might want to take the Hop On Hop Off bus.
Our cruise was for 20 days from Barcelona to Barcelona entitled "Mediterrean Holiday". Ports were Barcelona, Toulon, France, Monte Carlo, Corsica was cancelled due to political unrest. Instead we overnighted in Florence, Italy, then two nights in Civitecchia, Naples, overnight in Valletta, Malta, Trapani, Sicily, Cagliari, Sardinia, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia which is a city and the included tour that should not be missed, then back to Barcelona. Making it easy to hear your guide, in the stateroom there are "Whisperers" or "Vox's" so you can hear your guide.
Cabin Review
Spacious. For us, more than adequate storage, nice step in shower, Freya amenities.
Port Reviews
Toulon
Cassis & France's Seaside Scenery - Cassis is a small fishing village where you take boat, weather permitting, into the steep walled inlets and bays of Calanques National Park. This tour included a wine tasting in a wine shop that was quite good.
Florence (Livorno)
This was an included tour to Pisa that included a visit to the UNESCO site of the Leaning Tower, Cathedral and Baptistry.
Naples
This was an included tour and on New Year's Day and was nothing special. The best part of the tour was a stop at the Piazza del Plebiscito with time for coffee and some pizza.
Malta (Valletta)
We f'ound this tour to be interesting especially the medieval walled city of Mdina with it's narrow streets and Arabian feel. Not to be missed in Valletta is St. John's Co-Cathedral.
Sardinia
Ancient Ruins of Barumini is a UNESCO site and well worth a visit to the 15th century BC fortress where you can still see color and decoration.