Everyone on the ships crew was amazingly helpful and friendly. Excursion/ cruise services people were really friendly, but not helpful. Everyone I asked them a question they couldn’t seem to help me - the answer was often ‘no’. I know they have a lot of people to move on excursions, but process was often confusing and people at the desk just didn’t seem helpful. That was the only (only) negative factor of the whole ship. Everyone else was about ‘yes’. The cabin Steward was excellent, Food was excellent. Nice touches all along the way: popcorn at the movie, blankets on the pool deck. Entertainment was good. Liked the classical musicians. Food was great and buffets were always stocked up until closing point. Embarkation was well organized and friendly. We have taken 12 cruises on RCCL. They became cattle cars where most everyone tells you No. we plan to stay with Viking now because of crew friendliness and helpfulness . Read Less

We have cruised many other cruise lines and were looking forward to this one because Viking was supposed to be a cut above, etc. It is not and we won't book another ocean cruise with them again. Food was average. Not much variety. Service both dining and cabin was great. We had booked an Explorer Suite in the aft portion. The Infinity Pool on the 7th deck sprung a leak with the seal breaking overflowing on two separate occasions. First time they said they fixed it but then it happened again a few days later. We were told management would be contacting us. We heard nothing. Very disappointed in the lack of communication and caring. The cabin-couch only allowed for two people to sit. Chairs were hard to sit on-no cushioning. Overall, a very uncomfortable, unrelaxing cabin for the $$ spent! Entertainment sparse and poor and at later times. The shore excursions were nothing outstanding. Regular like you'd find offered by other cruise lines. Too bad because we really wanted to like Viking. Lack of caring doesn't do much for future booking on their ships. We're sticking with Holland America and Celebrity! Read Less

I can only compare Viking to 2 other cruise lines, so I have a limited viewpoint. But just for the record, Viking continues to improve their overall experience with every cruise taken. The dining is superb and 99% of the food was excellent, hot and flavorful. The ship was beautiful and clean. Our cabin was cleaned 3 X a day we were provided daily snacks, drinks and iced. Our service was excellent. Some evenings our dinner was a bit slow, but the wine was always flowing freely while we waited. Entertainment was exactly as we expected - we are not big on shows and such, but what we did attend was very enjoyable. Shows were for mainly for people a little older than us and some were a little "corny". The ports and excusions are a mixed bag....some better than others. Everyone should do their homework beforehand to know where/what you want to see when you arrive at your port. Overall, the crew was very helpful and friendly, even the general manager was very accomodating. We will be back for more! Read Less

This cruise itinerary hit all the high points of the British Isles and Norway. As a first timer to each of the ports of call, it enabled us to sample the stops. We booked the pre-cruise extension in Oslo/Bergen and loved it. It would have been nice however, to spend several days at the larger stops like Edinburgh or Dublin as there were plenty of things to do at those locations. The ship itself was beautiful, clean and had many places to relax. They had several guest speakers on board that gave excellent educational presentations and if you missed them due to other commitments, you could watch them later in your room. The port talks were helpful and prepared us for the activities and sights we would see at the particular location. The food was fabulous. We took advantage of the many restaurants and especially enjoyed the Chef's Table with their rotating menu. Traveling with a group of 10 enabled us to book the private room where we felt pampered and special. The crew was delightful, they were pleasant and friendly and seemed to remember you each time they spoke with you, and servers tended to remember your drink and food likes and dislikes. The buffet area was always fully stocked and the food was always fresh. We booked the additional Kitchen Table dinner and totally enjoyed our evening preparing and eating our own food. My only complaint is the Shore Excursion booking process. As most passengers have the same date/time to book, it overloaded the website, bounced us out of our selections and was the worst booking experience of any cruise we've ever been on. Read Less

Viking provides their customers with top of the line service, amenities, cuisine, tours and entertainment. As our first cruise, we wanted a premier experience with ease of planning and execution. Viking met and exceeded our expectations. They make sure that you are treated with kid gloves from the phone call to their excellent customer service agents, to flight planning, transportation to/from the ship, and room accommodations. Our cabin was first class with a spacious veranda, bathroom/shower, amenities, king size bed, wide screen TV and closet. We toke advantage of all the entertainment and education seminars which were first class. The included shore excursions were perfectly executed and the right amount of time, allowing us to get off the luxury buses several times, and return to the ship for lunch and then take the ship side buses to the local town(s) for shopping and eateries. We have two other cruises and river cruises scheduled as a result, and Viking is providing excellent discounts for returning customers. Read Less

All values are excellent combined into very high rate of “VALUELITY”. Good shore excursions included in each of the port plus some free time for self exploration. We do not require ourself much regarding the cabin, but it was roomier than we need since we spent most of the time in and about. Food was unbelievable, especially at the specialty restaurants, and most surprisingly was from the GRILL. The experience talks onboard were somewhat not in our interests as the topics were not current. The entertainments were good and suitable to the level of audience and age. We had turned in several suggestions regarding more visual (such as videos) for us to compare the OPTIONAL excursions, about more channels choice on television (such as US news and sport channels) as well as the option for close-caption. We also suggested the use of phone notification to remind us the times for excursions and for entertainment shows. Read Less

We booked this cruise because of the itinerary and my wife's experience with Viking river cruises. Both the destinations and the hospitality were outstanding! The tour guides with real historical chops and the resident historians were stars. The food was on par with a legend of Valhalla (see what I did there?) We loved creativity of the Chef's Table, and were surprised it wasn't more packed. We were also pleasantly surprised by the excellent musical talent of the entertainment; they were professional and I would not be surprised to see them in first class musical theater productions or commercially successful in selling recordings. My only disappointment was the unavailability of spots on some shore excursions. In particular, we were unable to get in the Alhambra tour, and that was one of the top three reasons we picked this cruise. Bottom line, we loved it so much that we signed up (on the boat) for another ocean cruise in the eastern Mediterranean in 2020, and we are trying to get our extended family members interested. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary...Bergen Norway to Barcelona. Wonderful cruise except for the stormy seas and the bland food and the constant, annoying cello and violins! The food....the Restaurant took at least 2 hrs to complete a meal, but the food was better here than in the World Cafe (buffet). Mancini's was great, but not for all the time. We never did the Captain's Table, you have no control over what's on the menu. The World Cafe is where we ate most of our meals because it suits our attire, and hours. For breakfast, you at the same thing boring thing everyday. I tried to get an omelet once, but the "chefs" were too busy fooling around to pay attention to the customers waiting, plus it took forever when they did. Lunch and dinner were just boring and the desserts were all mini gel-filled things. Aweful stuff. In the dining room, you got a proper dessert, but again, we only went there sporadically because we hated how long it took. I will say that the gelato ice cream bar in the WC was very good. We love Viking generally, but the food was seriously lacking on this cruise. Even the "chocolate" show near the end of the trip was mostly unedible. I found lots of people throwing their stuff away, including us. Never gave hurricanes in the North Atlantic any thought in October, I thought they mostly stayed around Florida or up the eastern seaboard. I was wrong! The seas were very rough my friends! Nothing 'normal' people couldn't handle, but if you are at all prone to getting sick, this time of the year may not be for you. You take your chances, I guess. Our first port was Bergen..loved it! The North Sea, not so much. We love Amsterdam as well, but the included tour did not allow us to stay in town. The only time they allowed us off the bus was to look at up close at a windmill and take a canal cruise. Our absolute favorite stop was Brugges, Belgium!! Don't forget to buy chocolate!! LaHavre was a wasted stop. 3hrs from Paris left us weary from bus traveling all day...9hrs worth...and that was the INCLUDED tour! Wish we would have never done that one. I guess we could have done Normandy, but we weren't really interested. Portsmouth England was very windy, but had a great lunch at a local pub. We missed Falmouth England due to hurricane Michaels forces flooding the town. Porto was a great town, loved walking around there, even though it was raining on us! Malaga was beautiful, so was Cartegena! Barcelona's included tour was a huge disappointment! The fact that we didn't arrive in to port until 2pm was bad too. Only left with this scant few hours to see Barcelona, and as it turned out, we didn't really see anthing! Unless you stay a couple extra days at the end of this tour, you will not see much of Barcelona...except huge amounts of traffic! Sadly we can't really rate any of the entertainment in the theater because the seas were so rough we rarely went there. Tea! If your ship has "tea time" GO. It was fabulous! You might want to give it a day or two to slow down though. We didn't go the first week, but we did the whole second week with a lot fewer people! It was my sister's birthday and they brought her the most beautiful piece of cake and a bottle of champagne to her room! All ya gotta do is let them know! Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the ports of call- we had never been to Spain or Portugal. I love to visit beautiful places with lots of history. We had been on two Viking River Cruises and really enjoyed them. We had been dissatisfied with another ocean cruise line that we had used a few times. I decided I wanted to try Viking’s ocean cruises. I was worried that I would be disappointed- that many of the things that I loved about their river cruises would be missing on the ocean cruises. But I was wrong. They have retained the caring and personal service of the river cruises. We like that most of the amenities on the cruise are included in the price, and the things that are not included are named clearly ahead of time. There is a larger variety of entertainment on the ocean cruise, and we enjoyed going to the shows at night. There is a lot of activities that you can do according to your interests. The staff is always friendly,patient, proactive, helpful, and most try to learn your name if possible. The enthusiasm of the staff encourages friendliness and rapport among the people on the cruise. The food on the cruise was first rate. We always enjoyed our meals in The Restaurant. The only disappointment for us were some of the excursions. Many of the tour guides wanted to do a good job and tried to show us extra things, but often that meant that we had very little time on our own. We enjoy having a little time to wander around or shop. I would recommend that people carefully read information about the available cruises and read online reviews in order to make informed decisions. There are also port talks about the excursions to help your decisions. But the port talks were during the time we were eating dinner so we missed them. I felt that making better decisions about our excursions might have helped us be happier with our excursions. All other factors about our trip were excellent! Read Less

Chose the cruise to celebrate our anniversary. We are Viking River aficionados and had spectacular River Cruises on the Rhine, Danube. Moselle, Duoro. Wanted to try a Viking ocean cruise expecting the fantastic time we always had with Viking. The tours that were offered were shameful. Even the guides could not understand why the time was so short and why the best places were not included. I complained to the tour people but nothing changed. The offered tour in Barcelona did not include even the outside of the Sagrada Familia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Viking I knew would have taken us inside and around the tourist lines. Amazing for Viking. The food was OK except in the specialty restaurants not Viking level of excellence. In short for years I sent many friends and acquaintances to Viking River. Now I will make sure that I strongly do NOT recommend Viking Ocean cruises. It was not worth half what I paid for the trip. Thank God for the night lounge. The bartenders were fantastic as was the band!!!! They were really worth it. Humberto Cordero Read Less

We thoroughly enjoyed a two week Baltic cruise a year ago on the Star's virtually identical sister ship the Viking Sea, but were mildly disappointed on this repositioning cruise. Perhaps Viking is having some challenges keeping up with their rapid expansion. Perhaps nothing's quite as good the second time, even Viking's new Ocean Ships. Perhaps we shouldn't expect as much on a repositioning cruise. We still had a great time, and it was a very enjoyable cruise. The on board staff on the whole was as friendly and helpful as ever. The ship was clean, beautiful, well thought out with lots of gorgeous uncrowded spaces. And good discounts were available for the repositioning cruise. But Viking seems to be falling short in areas of logistics and overall experience, a thought we heard echoed by other passengers on this cruise. We especially heard lots of criticism of the flights arranged by Viking Air. Bergen is nice, but it takes an extra connection unless you live in Amsterdam or perhaps London. Why they couldn't figure out a non-stop from LAX to London, Copenhagen or Amsterdam is beyond me, but the nice lady at Viking Air spent a lot of time on the phone trying to do better. Fortuntely, both we and our luggage made it through the 50 minute connection in Copenhagen ok, but many of our fellow travelers weren't so fortunate. There were other logistical issues with the excursions and even docking as well: Months before the cruise we received an email notifying us of a dock change in Bergen, so I got online and discovered there was a major bicycle race in Bergen the weekend we disembarked after spending an overnight. Apparently the docking people never spoke with the excursion people, who didn't figure out they couldn't run their included panoramic bus tour or most other tours due to most City streets being closed for the concluding race our full day in Bergen. They did arrange a nice brief "Bergen by boat" alternative along with a $100 per passenger shipboard credit, but they never really had good info in print as to alternatives. And why not have an excursion that took advantage of the big bike race? When we had to skip our day at Fallmouth due to an approaching storm, our first notice was after the ship had left Portsmouth, supposedly en route to Fallmouth. A little advance warning of the possibility would have been helpful for those wanting to be sure to pick up souvenirs, gifts, fish & chips, or warm beer in England. And no compensation whatsoever was offered for the included excursions, let alone the afternoon of exploring Fallmouth on our own we had planned. And it appeared that only a minimum of extra activities were added on that unexpected extra day at sea--making a total of 4 days at see on a 14 day cruise. The cruise ended in Barcelona with an overnight there, arriving in Barcelona at about 1 pm as scheduled. Sadly, passengers had to begin disembarking as early as 3 am--Viking Air strikes again! That left many with only a few hours to explore perhaps Spain's most interesting city. For unknown reasons that I suspect had to do with the Catalonian Independence that had been held the previous Sunday, the ship had to take three hours to move from one docking location to another the afternoon we were there. Our excursion ended an hour before we could re-board the ship. Viking provided nothing for us at the terminal other than the seats already there while we waited. Again, the experience just didn't live up to what we had come to expect from Viking. Service was excellent, but the food itself wasn't as good as we might have liked. Actually, we felt the food on their river cruises was actually better than their ocean cruises. Of course, as Rick Steves likes to point out, travel inherently involves ups and downs and changes. Things certainly could have been much worse, and there were far more positives than negatives. We had a great time, we're very glad we went, and we enjoyed almost every minute. I'd recommend it to a friend. It just wasn't quite as good as I remembered or expected. Read Less

Love Viking & loved the itinerary! Many of the ports we had not visited before. Also loved the idea of a few sea days as this ship is so comfortable. We were just ready to enjoy all that Viking had to offer on this remarkable ship...as we had been on it just a year ago. However this was our 4th Viking cruise. I recommend Viking to everyone. We love the richly rewarding historic lectures on the culture of the areas we are visiting! No Casinos and picture pressure! Truly a relaxing adventure. The entire trip was so very enjoyable, from Bergen Norway to Barcelona Spain! Viking does everything to ensure your comfort & safety. We did have to forego our Falmouth England port because of weather but thanks Captain for thinking of our safety first! The employees/crew are so friendly and will go out of their way to help in any way. Need more hangers for your clothes, pillows...how many?...done! On other cruise ship I have had to pack extra hangers or layer everything! Food was for the most part outstanding! In each dining room we were treated like royalty! We didn't enjoy the Chef's Table so much and I heard the same from many other people, we were still hungry after 4 courses. The included wines served daily with meals were plentiful, excellent quality & variety. Also appreciated the plentiful water whether on ship or off! Entertainment & lectures were simply outstanding! Viking only fell short on the included tours in a couple ports. River included tours are handled much better & make provision for a "leisure" tour selection for folks who have walking issues. The free time in Knokke, Belgium was a waste, very little open, prices no one could afford in very exclusive shops that were! Couldn't wait to board the bus! I never heard a positive comment. Wish we could have just explored the historical little town of Damme, I think it was, that we drove though. Other tours were exceptional! Guess you can't win them all but I think Viking needs to re examine this aspect. These included tours makes Viking unique in the the cruise industry but that could change quickly. Also our last day in Barcelona lacked communication on the optional "An Evening of Flamenco" ( not worth the $139 pp) as we had to switch docks late in the afternoon and that caused all types of confusion. They combined our included city tour with it as we had to change the time 2 1/2 hours and we wouldn't have known this if we hadn't have ask! Thus our city tour ended up in the dark, with very low visibility, right before our dinner. Hated to disembark and head for the USA...Looking forward to cruise #5 soon! Read Less

My wife and I are nearing retirement and fortunately still have our health. We chose this cruise, because of the itinerary: we started in Norway, and visited the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, Portugal, finishing in Spain. This was interesting, and we visited many different and beautiful places. Our cabin, and the crew that supported us were top shelf. We probably will not go on a cruise like this again, though. The "style", the manner in which our time was occupied, was overwhelmingly about the boat. We attended lectures and enjoyed them. We watched TED talks in our room and in the cinema. The food was fantastic. Tibor and Andras, musicians, were enjoyable. We found the spa and the Nordic bathing ritual to be great. Much of our time was spent in the transfer to the next port in each case, and we would have liked more contact with the countries to which we went. Tours did not allow much down/exploration time. The ship moved too fast to sit on the Aquavit, drink a glass of wine, and enjoy the evening. Having said that, we DID enjoy the experience. The Explorers Lounge was a reasonable alternative, with the glass front facing the front of the ship. Activity in the docks was interesting: we had a ring-side seat for mooring and casting off. We saw dolphin, whales, and tuna along the way, and we met many couples with whom we enjoyed corresponding. Read Less

Everything was great during the cruise. It all went to pot on the day we disembarked. You had us meet at 4:45 am for a 10:20 plane departure. We arrived at the airport about 5:20, 2 hours before the window even opened, 5 hours before the flight. There was no food for us to eat before we left, we were exhausted before we even started a grueling trip home. We arranged our flights through Viking. I know Viking contracts that out, but that doesn't absolve you of all responsibility for the arrangements. Perhaps you need a better contract. There was no need for us to have 3 separate flights to reach Nashville. Two would have been enough, and perhaps saved us from having to spend a night in Chicago. Anyone with even a little knowledge of O'Hare would have known that 2 hours was not long enough layover, in that huge, poorly organized airport. After spending 10 hours flying from Copenhagen to Chicago O'Hare (we arrived an hour late), we spent over an hour collecting our bags, walking all over the airport, from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1, and going through customs, again. At every step, we were told that we would make the connection, even though it didn't seem likely to us. But we were hurrying too much to argue, so we moved as fast as we could, only to miss our connection. When we finally found someone connected with United, they told us we had to return to Terminal 5 to talk to SAS personnel to find a room for the night. It was nearly midnight when we finally got into a room, which we had to pay for ourselves. We should have been in at home hours before that. Then we had to get up at 3:30 again to catch a plane to Nashville. That experience ruined our whole trip. We got home Sunday morning, about 30 hours after leaving the ship. Our bodies didn't recover until Wednesday or Thursday. You really need to address this issue. Make sure our arrangements are humane. After all, most of your passengers are retirement age, and quite a few use canes or walkers. Our final experience was totally unacceptable and may very well keep us from going with Viking again, or recommending the trip to others. I would recommend that you never have connections in O'Hare again. Shore excursions were well planned. Entertainment was excellent, except that the venue for Beatles concert wasn't adequate. Service was ideal. Food was fantastic. But all that was overshadowed by our final experiences in returning home. Read Less

Cruise was fine. Service was great, food was great, and the entertainment was great. Ship was very clean and modern. Couldn't find any dirt on the entire ship and cabin. The excursions were just OK. Some were better than others. We had done a river boat cruise with Viking before this and noticed that you had more time in ports, since you didn't have to dock in industrial ports and bus thru the port areas. You don't get a lot of time in each port but you do see some of the main sites in each stop by bus. The worst part of the cruise was getting to the ship and back home. Beware of free air deal! We had to take three flights to get to the ship while other passengers only took two. Getting to the ship was tough but returning was terrible. Whoever booked the flights for Viking didn't allow us enough time between flights to make our last flight. When returning back into the United States you must clear customs, pick up your checked luggage, recheck your luggage for your domestic flight, clear security, and then find your gate in an international airport. This takes a considerable amount of time. We were one of the younger couples on the cruise and we just got to the gate as the plane was pulling out. The other people on our plane didn't make their flights either. Some of the passengers slept in the airport gates overnight. We were lucky to find a hotel at our own expense and get booked on another flight the next day. I was waiting for a response from Viking before posting this but have not heard from them. I think Viking is a good cruise line but waiting to hear from them before i would consider booking another cruise with them. Read Less

We chose this particular cruise because of its Itinerary. We've enjoyed Viking River in the past. The ship, its amenities and staff exceeded our expectations. The Service from all the crew was "over the top'. Everyone is so friendly and outgoing and it is very clear the entire crew is very happy to be with Viking. Viking is very good to their guests and apparently to the crew as well. There is a larger group of travelers on the Ocean Cruises and some of the included excursions were rushed and didn't provide much free time in a number of ports. Popular European destinations with tiny streets and lots of traffic are always going to have congestion and traffic delays. My only suggestion for improvement would be to build more travel time into the excursion schedule to allow more free time for guests to wander a bit. The local city guides were outstanding. Food was very good in all of the ship's venues. Our particular favorite - The Chef's Table! Read Less

We really enjoyed this cruise as our first Viking Ocean cruise. We had three disappointments, however. The one day we had for shore excursions in Bergen, Norway didn't occur because a major bicycle race was taking place which didn't allow for the various tour buses for the excursions. We found out about this a few days before the cruise. With Bergen being such a big port for Viking, we feel someone should have known about this disruption well in advance and warn us so we didn't waste time booking a shore excursion in addition to the "included" excursion. Disappointment #2 was having to miss our port stop in Falmouth. We had to sail directly from Portsmouth, UK to Porto, Portugal to avoid a storm coming to the UK. The onboard history lectures were really great and primarily focused on World War I and II events. The theme of the cruise was "Trade Routes of the Middle Ages", so disappointment #3 was the lack of lectures on that theme. Our stateroom, the food, the stafff, were all excellent and we really enjoyed our time onboard and in the various ports. Read Less

I absolutely loved the experience and everyone that worked to make my time enjoyable. From the moment we were greeted at the airport to how quick and painless the embarkation was. Once inside, the ship was breath taking and beautiful. The cabin and bath were fantastic, and our luggage arrived about 5 minutes after we did, with plenty of room for storage of our things. The Dining was simply over the top. I prefer everyday food as my comfortable food choices and what a treat to dine in a beautiful restaurant every evening for our supper serving luxurious items I love, but never indulge in. And the ships entertainers were polished and adorable, good enough to be America's got Talent finalists. I was led to believe however that excursions and tips were included, and when I found out differently I was dismayed. That is the absolute only reason for 4 stars rather than 5. I would have happily rated this 5 stars if there was an area to voice my feelings. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the amazing previous experience on a Viking river cruise. We were intrigued by the variety of ports offered and prefer a longer cruise. While the experiences ashore were not as leisurely as those experienced on the river cruise, they gave us a delightful peek into each country we visited. Obviously one day in each port gives just a taste, but now we know what we might expect if we were to return. The offshore tours we experienced were very well organized. The ship itself was beyond our expectations! From our comfortable state room to the beautiful atrium, pool deck, outside decks, we did not have enough time to fully enjoy even in 15 days. The availability of complementary laundry facilities was a real bonus! As a bit of a decorator I was so impressed with the attentions to detail in decor. Small details such as colour, accessories, subtle flooring changes from area to area, window treatments, and art work were amazing. Could have enjoyed my entire vacation just sitting in the atrium areas, listening to the Steinway. The service everywhere was impeccable, from our cabin steward, Elfreen, to the wait staff such as the lovely Vedrana, in all the restaurants. The staff were genuine, accommodating and lots of fun! The transfers at airports and hotels were seamless and worryfree thanks to the helpful Viking staff at each transfer point! The Renaissance Hotel for our extended stay in Barcelona was excellent as well. Great Viking reps there too,....so helpful. Our only negative would have to be the included air. From Canada we had a "milk run" to Bergen, when we know that British Airways does fly directly out of Vancouver. The worst part was the American Airlines flight to London. The seats were more cramped than any we had been on, and worst of all, the flight attendants were positively rude and unattendant. It was obvious they did not like their jobs. British Airlines needs to find a new US partner! We flew British Airlines back to Vancouver and it was a totally different story. The seats were roomy and comfortable and the flight attendants were outstanding. Our ocean cruise was a great experience! Thank you, Viking! Read Less

We chose this cruise for our 50th anniversary trip primarily because of the itinerary - we have travelled quite a bit but many of the ports on this journey were new to us. However, once we started the trip we realized that the highlight was the SHIP! The Viking Star was unbelievable - modern, light, beautifully furnished; so many spaces to read, relax, rejuvenate; dining rooms that were intimate yet bustling with energy; a spa that offered many options from luxurious hot tubs, sauna, and snow rooms to personal treatments in lovely, light rooms; an entertainment theater that was state of the art- really an immaculate beautiful ship! The next highlight were the Viking people - a management crew that was approachable, knowledgeable and communicated often with passengers; a housekeeping crew that was professional, kind, and courteous; a food and beverage staff that were fun, attentive, personal, and always one step ahead of whatever it is you might want or need; an educational group that offered multiple small and large opportunities for enrichment and education; an entertainment team that was brilliant, overflowing with talent, and so much fun! And then there were the Viking travelers- smart, curious, energetic, anxious to learn more, and super nice! We made a point to do everything- we swam in the pools, drank in the bars, danced every dance, took an excursion every day, went to the spa several times, attended lectures most afternoons, dined at all the different venues and slept hard at night! Truly this was an amazing experience and we were so impressed with Viking - for us, this was a perfect cruise and we would not change one thing! Read Less

On our first cruise aboard the Viking Star, we were totally impressed with this vessel. Beautiful lines; roomy cabins; happy, helpful staff; fabulous foods; great entertainment; soothing spa, etc. We took the Viking Star a second time when it cruised the Caribbean, simply because we were in love with the ship and, since we have been to the Caribbean over and over again, this time we took advantage of the spa and other shipboard delights rather than getting off at every port. This last cruise on the Star was totally fabulous ship-wise but excursion-wise, not so great. Many of the excursions took anywhere from one to three hour's bus ride to get to the destination we were touring and left us with little to no time to explore or browse shops or even have a glass of wine or cup of coffee in a local cafe. A number of the excursions dumped us in the middle of unfamiliar cities, leaving it up to us to find our own way back to the ship or the bus location. We're not sure why this happened so much on this particular itinerary but we hope they fix it before others begin to be discouraged. Our stateroom was gorgeous & very spacious. The dining and room services onboard are perfect! Lots of choices from the regular dining room to the many specialty restaurants onboard. The wait staffers on all levels and in all venues are all very happy and know your name and your drink preferences within the first 24 hours. Our sommelier, Zoran, has been on all 3 of the Star cruises we've taken and he has picked out some of the best wines we've ever had. All in all, we won't travel on cruises with any other cruise line.....ever. Viking does it right!! Read Less

Great value for an itinerary that covered several areas that we had not visited before. The offer of two guests for one fare with free air was too great a temptation. The trip was excellent except for somewhat rough seas for a couple of days. It could have been a lot worse! The excursions were well planned, and for the most part were interesting and informative. The service on the ship was excellent. Our cabin was kept spotless and the dining was always good. Most of the dishes were very good, but other options for special order were also available. One evening I ordered a New York strip steak that was as good as any I have ever had--even at some very expensive restaurants. The entertainment was also excellent, as were the informative talks about European history and environmental issues. We especially enjoyed the entertainers. The three young female vocalists were especially talented and performed in a most professional manner. The string trio also was an elegant touch to the trip. We have been on a number of ocean and river cruises, but the cruise director on this one was the best I have ever seen. Read Less

We were impressed by the cleanliness of the ship itself. Everything was in order. The staff was very friendly. The convenience of having room service and having a wonderful staff that waited on you at the restaurants was great. We took the cruise just to relax and visit Europe,which in this trip we have not seen these countries. The tours on land were enjoyable for the most part. The guides were articulate and knowledgeable about the city or town they spoke about. Of course they had a strong accent,which is not their fault. We would've taking more tours but it was expensive. Maybe you can work on getting that lowered. We are senior citizens and we value and save for this trip. So if we could have some kind of help in that way,it would be really appreciated. We definitely had a good time relaxing and enjoying the cruise. Good job Viking Cruises. We'll probably see you on a cruise to Egypt. Read Less

The very best of everything with the most efficient service and varied menu of any cruise we've taken including viking river cruise. Perfect amount of passengers at 300, kind and attentive staff, free coffee, soft drinks, bottled water, wine and beer with dinner. The most attentive escorts at the different ports even movies and tv series in the cabin tv for down time. Heavenly beds and pillows. Fabulous food. Even the smorgasbord had an outstanding array from sea food appetizers, a different soup and individually made pasta every night, fabulous ice cream and gelotti including sugar free desserts. PERFECT ARRANGEMENTS TO MEET OUR PLANE AND ESCORT US TO AND FROM SHIP WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO HAVING OUR LUGGAGE WHERE IT BELONGED Our air connections got us in late and they had dinner and horsdoerves in our room waiting with a bottle of wine. ONE WORD TO SUM UP FABULOUS THEY THOUGHT OF EVERYTHING Read Less

Imagine coming in very late at night the first night and finding your luggage in your room in minutes, 2 lovely trays of food and a bottle of wine waiting. Embarkation and disembarkation was a breeze - they've done this before. It took no time to aclimate ourselves to the lay of the ship and the elevators never had a wait time. Since I first saw HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, the movie as a child ,I always wanted to see Copenhagen. Yet it was the fabulous ports of Stavanger, Alborg and Bergen Norway, Gdansk Poland, Estonia, Roostock Germany that absolutely made our trip. The food is fabulous, the staff is exemplary, The World Buffet has everything the Restaurant (dining room serves). We wore our selves out touring in the morning and loved our beautiful cabin, balcony, large screen tv with tons of movies and even Downton Abbey, what a way to relax. The Infinity pool is not to be believed, the attention to detail of glassware, china etc add to the fine dining. It's a pleasure to go to the "fancy" dining venues and not pay extra. And we only had 1 day at sea. But what a lovely day for TEA! The tour directors are knowledgeable friendly and eager to please. Love the casual dress - leave the sport coat home and relax. It's the best cruise out there. Looking forward to another cruise maybe more of Norway it was our favorite. Read Less