I had never visited the West Indies and wanted to get a feeling for the Islands in the area. The Viking Star is a beautiful ship if you like a calm Nordic vibe, which I do. This ship is spotlessly clean. Also the food is absolutely fantastic. This bears repeating, the food, even the buffet is FANTASTIC. They carry a true sushi chef on board who served the best sushi I’ve ever tasted. Beer and wine are included with lunch and dinner. There are also 2 delicious specialty restaurants included on the cruise. There is also a free on board laundry on each floor. Those are the best things I can say about my recent trip.

IF you’ve taken a Viking River Cruise in Europe, you are used to having a varied itinerary daily with interesting stops included with your trip. This voyage does not have that. It’s a little misleading because there are excursions included. Sadly, each one involves a 2-3 hour bus ride around the island with a driver (sometimes a guide, sometimes not) who may or may not be knowledgeable about the island you are visiting. There is a quick stop for a photo or very short visit to a point of interest. No real guided tours except provided at the site if they have one. There was not even an included beach day. Sure, you can pay for extras, but for double the price of a usual cruise, I thought the included excursions would at least be a little varied. Alas, they were not and many, if not most, just gave up taking them.

Then there is the entertainment. If you love classical music in a chamber setting this is the cruise for you. The musicians very good, yet very boring. They did not interact with their audience, not even to say hello, talk a little about the piece or even introduce themselves. There was a nightly variety show consisting mostly of very old tunes. The stage did have a cool, huge LCD display that saved some of the shows. There was a lounge band who seemed very competent and fun, but their most recent song choices were from the Disco era. There was no DJ to keep the party going between sets. There was very quiet, peaceful music pumped throughout the ship, which included the lounge during breaks. It was a real vibe killer. Read more