Viking Sky Review
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I was invited to join a few other couples who booked this cruise. None of us had cruised with Viking and were looking forward to it. Viking sky was a beautiful, relaxing ship that was stellar in all ways. The cabins and bathrooms are roomy and relaxing. The open dining was still easy to get a group together and the food was very good. We also ate a few nights at the buffet after a long touring day. There were a few very unimportant service issues at the dining room and a bar but nothing to explain here as well as we understand it was only the second cruise for the Viking Sky and it takes time to get your team in sink. We liked most of the ports and excursions. Viking does an excellent job of the included tours. We loved one of the excursions to a Tuscany winery/farm while in Liverno, Italy -- one of the highlights of our trip. Did not love Toulon, France so much and the excursion to Cassis was fair. Embarking and departure was very easy. Unfortunately a large group of us did not get our luggage upon arrival. We flew British Airways through Viking Air. Viking Sky customer service stayed on top of it and kept us informed. Everyone 5 of us got their luggage the next day--unfortunately I was one of the five who did not get our luggage until THURSDAY! Viking laundered our clothes every night at no cost and comped us $150 to spend for needs purchased in the onboard store. Some of the ladies bought a few things in town which we had to turn into the travel insurance company which is still being processed. I don't blame Viking, but I do think they could have made a bit more effort in sending a Viking personnel to the airport a few miles away from port when told our luggage had come in and a courier was called. The courier never made it to the ship before we disembarked and continued to follow us from port to port until the 5th port and day. Would I travel with Viking again? Absolutely!
Cabin Review
The cabin was roomy and comfortable. The bathroom was particularly large and easy to accommodate two people compared to any other ship I have cruised with. The bed was extremely comfortable with lovely linens, etc. I was excited to have a coffee maker in our cabin; however, being American I would have preferred the option of coffee other than expresso or cappuccino. Since some tours are early departure, we ordered room service for breakfast a few days and it arrived hot and exactly on time.
Port Reviews
Barcelona
Barcelona was a clean, friendly city with beautiful architecture. Well worth visiting.
Toulon
Toulon was one of my least favorite stops. We did a paid excursion to the seaside town of Cassis where we did a wine tasting at a small cafe and took a boat ride into a few beautiful areas right outside of town. Being off season in March, the town was almost empty and some shops still not open. Other than being a quaint little town, not much can be said of this excusion.
Monaco (Monte Carlo)
It was so windy we couldn't dock at Monaco so we passed it and anchored outside the little French town of Villefranche. However, you were close to Monte Carlo (30 minutes) so you could take a shuttle bus provided by Viking, the local train or bus. Nice was also 30 minutes in the other direction which some excursions traveled to. We opted to have lunch outside by the water in Villefranche being a beautiful sunny March day. We then took the local bus to Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo and it's harbor is stunning with beautiful homes, parks and yachts! Everything expensive with high end stores, some pay- to- get -in casinos, but well worth the visit.
Corsica (Ajaccio)
We took the included tour which was fair. Very pretty island with some history about Napoleon as he was born there. Nice area to walk and stop by cafes or get lunch near the water.
Florence (Livorno)
We took a paid excursion to Tuscany to a winery and farm called Torre A Cenaia. It was one of the highlights of our trip! We were shown around the farm in horse drawn carriages and then stopped are an historic building with brick oven. The staff was wonderful and fun. They showed us how to make pizza dough and we each had a loaf to knead. Then we were served baked dough with olive oil and seasonings with prosciutto, salami and cheese to die for! All the while getting both white and red wine samples. Then, we made biscotti and sampled a dessert wine. We were taken back to where the bus was after stopping in their store which sold and shipped home any of the wines as well as olive oils made from their farm. Highly recommend this excursion.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
Rome like many large cities was fascinating and we only got a taste of it. We booked a Vatican City tour online and took the train into Rome from the port in Civitavecchia. If you do not take a paid excursion, the Rome included tour is a great way to see many things and you can end in Rome and continue to explore. It is fairly easy to figure out the train to get back to the ship. However, be aware that many say the train station is only "up the road a little", but it is far up the (confusing) road out of the port. It was well worth it to us to take a taxi from the port to the train station which I think was 5 euros each.