Before the cruise we stayed in a Scandic hotel near the terminal of Hurtigruten. The embarkation went very smoothly and relaxed, no stress at all. You will receive good information before going on board. The ship was in Art Deco style and looks lovely. We had a cabin with a window and enough space for 2 people, 2 beds which could we turned into a cough. Enough space for clothes and your personnel stuff. Breakfast and lunch are buffet, enough to choose from, dinner sometimes buffet or 3 course menu. Good food, I do not like fish so much but tried it and it was good. We also had dinner in the a la carte restaurant and that was very good. On the ship the only entertainment is of the crew and the exploration team. Everyday there was a briefing with the highlights of the day and the highlights and temperature of the next day. The crew did the arctic passage and all funny things on deck with drinks to highlight the occasion. Ports are good, you could not from the ship in every harbor or you had to live there but were we went out it was good. Service on board is wonderful, very nice, kind people working on the ship. We did 8 excursions and they were excellent. There were people in the harbor to point out were you have to go, or in the reception when it was a small group. Sometime the exploration team did also the same tour to see if the tour was good and if alterations are needed. I traveled with my father and he liked also very much. After the cruise we stayed 2 more nights in lovely Bergen in the Scandic city Bergen hotel, also very nice people. Read Less

With over 300 sea days on Holland America, we felt it was time for a change, and wanted to try out Viking Ocean. We could not have been more pleased with the overall experience. Check-in was swift and easy, with our documents awaiting us. We were also able to access our cabin earlier than promised. Our cabin was a Deluxe Verandah - nicely laid out, great bathroom with heated floors (also useful for drying wet clothes!), modern and clean. The TV systems are state of the art, and extremely useful - an example being the replay of lectures, etc. shortly after they are done live. It would be nice if the system had real-time data on navigation items such as course / speed / wind etc. Be aware that drawer space is somewhat limited, even with the extra ones in the closet on Sun, but the beds are high enough that even large suitcases are easy to store there, and can be used as additional storage. Our only cabin knock was the proximity of the closet to the bed - somewhat awkward to get at. Larger cabins don't have either of these two issues. Dining was excellent - the quality of food was high, and there are multiple choices. The open faced sandwiches in Mamsen's are exceptional - except for the calories, you could live on them! World café is good, with limited crowding, and would be excellent when the weather permits dining outside on the stern deck. The Restaurant is fully open seating, but we never waited more than a few minutes, even at peak times. The serving systems in the Restaurant seem to have multiple "handoffs" between the staff, and occasionally resulted in a missed request, but they were speedily corrected. Of the two specialty restaurants, we loved Manfredi's (Italian) - be sure to reserve as early as you can, as it's very popular. The Chef's Table was good, not great - some excellent dishes, some mediocre. We largely relied on the included shore excursions, as they tended to do an overview tour, and allow personal exploration afterwards. The two optional tours we used were well organized. Service levels throughout the ship were outstanding - even on a short cruise, the staff quickly learned to recognize us, and were always eager to assist. While we missed the chance to get to know our dining stewards as well as we have previously in a fixed-seating environment, we were able to make a few connections over the trip. Being so new, the ship is pristine and very stable and quiet. Maintenance is discreet, and not intrusive. And, the internet service put every other cruise line that we've been on to shame - a real leg up for staying in touch. Bottom line - we've booked two more voyages! Read Less

Great cruise line. Awesome ship and service. One of the best designed ships we have ever been on. Wraparound Promenade deck. Thermal spa outfitted with more different treatment areas (whirlpools, snow room, dry sauna, steam room, etc). Great fitness room. Most rooms between the common areas on decks 1-2-7-8 limiting how many stairs to traverse to get between rooms and common areas. Ship had no feeling of crowding anywhere. Common services desks designed to address client needs. Ship was largely digital meaning that many things could be accomplished through television set in the stateroom. Service was exemplary in every way. Wait times throughout the ship were short or non-existent. Service was highly anticipatory. All administrative activities including embarkation and debarkation, as well as port visits were professionally and efficiently handled. Very good food, using fresh, high quality ingredients. Food was well prepared and tasty. Special requests were handled by the culinary staff with aplomb. World Cafe had most items of the Restaurant + some additional surprises. Mamsen's deli was okay, but the Pool Grill was outstanding. Both Manfredi's and Chef's Table were very good. Could have offered more traditional desserts. On-board activities, while not lacking, could have been more robust. Afternoon tea was great featuring more than 12 types of tea. Enrichment lectures were good also and were recorded for later viewing in the staterooms. No casino or bingo which was a plus. Read Less

embarking was quick and easy. once we were on the ship at 3.30pm we were advised that the ship would be leaving that night instead of the original plan of the next evening due to weather which meant we missed the port of Bergen as it was too late to do anything that day. Big seas means we also missed Shetland Islands and Faroe Islands. instead we made for Iceland and had 2 make up ports of Akureyri and Isafjordur. both tiny stops. We then had to forgo Nanortalik due to 'weather'. When we got to Dagueanay.....well it isn't it was the port town of La Baie, 20 kms from the main city. No shuttles were pour on. We had to find a local bus or taxi of we es bed to go into the city. We reached Quebec, the best port of all and we had to be back on board by 3.30? surely we could have stayed longer given the fact how much we had missed out on previously? into Montreal at 4am? that to me says we definitely could have had longer in Quebec. The included tours were ok. Need more for active people. Not everyone is over 75. The entertainment was average. The singer's were ok but only did 3 showed in 2 weeks. The magician was awesome. bring on more odd this stuff. Comedians etc Classical pianist? yuck. start catering for the 50 year olds. We are your future cruisers. The cabins are nice and clean but not enough storage in deluxe verandah. put more shelving in instead of so much hanging space. had to leave most of our stuff in our suitcase which was frustrating. Noise in the cabin is totally unacceptable. rattling and banging in the walls, creaking like we were on an old Spanish Galleon or on the first fleet to Australia. that is no exaggeration. I still couldn't sleep with earplugs and a pillow over my head. Who wants to be sleep deprived their whole holiday? It was brought to Guest Services attention the 2nd day and their response was" its the weather" not good enough. Even when the seas were calm it was the same. Everyone we spoke to said the same thing, their cabins creaked and rattled also. Italian ship builders obviously can't get that right. Staff were friendly enough but ask for anything out of the ordinary and it's like the biggest deal. Ask for small portion, can't do it. Ask for 2 scoops of icecream, can't be done. Communication was terrible. We never knew when the ship was getting into port or leaving until the night before. couldn't plan anything. when in Reykjavik we dashed back to the ship between ships tours to grab lunch and check the Tax refund process to be told the ship want leaving until 8pm so we would have plenty of time. We got back from our second tour to hear that the ship was leaving at 6 and no time for any last minute shopping at the terminal shops and that the VAT guy was leaving. Asked for assistance again from Guest Services to see if anyone could help us with a Garmin charger for our watches as ours had been left on the previous viking cruise we had gotten off to get on this cruise. never heard from them again. The food was quite good in quality and the head chef Paul was great. constantly checking the quality and his people. Took great pride in his food and his people. We have previously cruised mainly with Azamara. Hard not to compare the 2. I'd choose Azamara every time. We chose this cruise for the itinerary but at the end of the day it missed too many ports. Why not call it for what it is. Transatlantic repositioning cruise. Not one for the destinations. Read Less

We picked this cruise because of its itinerary - "In the Wake of the Vikings" - a northerly transatlantic crossing, and we had to book it a year and a half in advance because it's only offered once a year. (Although, we found out later that a 2nd Viking ship trailed this same itinerary by several days - so much for Viking's communications - more on that.) We did the 3-day pre-trip Iceland extension. Generally good, although we found out once there that there were 78 people on this pre-trip, and all but 8 of us had direct flights to Bergen to board the ship after Iceland. We were some of the unfortunate 8 - indirect flights thru Oslo. We asked the local Viking person (an independent travel guide, very helpful) "what did we do wrong to deserve this?" She said to call Viking, ask for direct flights, since another couple had done this, or have your travel agent do this for you. We emailed our US travel agent, asked her to to have Viking book us direct (like the 70 other people who had this done for them automatically). Viking's 1st response was that they would charge us $350/pp because this was a voluntary upgrade on our part! Gag me! We went back to our travel agent, she fought w/Viking and got the direct flights for no charge, like all the others (except a few who got stonewalled by Viking when they went direct to Viking). Other than that, the pre-trip was a nice way to explore Iceland - much more so than the planned one day shop in Reykjavik on the cruise. We did Blue Lagoon, Grand Circle tour, plus good tour around Reykjavik. Once we flew to Bergen, we found out (rumors among passengers on the bus ride to the ship) that we're not staying in Bergen, we're leaving a day early, i.e., right away, due to Hurricane Dorian, and we'll be skipping 1st two port stops (Shetlands and Faroes), in order to try and skirt hurricane on way to two new port stops in Iceland via two very rough sea days. Ironic, that we just left Iceland, flew to Bergen, to get on a ship and sail into a hurricane in order to go back to Iceland via rough seas. Why couldn't Viking let us know that back in Iceland and let us just rent a car and drive through scenic Iceland and catch up to the ship in 1st new Iceland port stop? This is 'classic Viking non-communication.' (Our only other Viking Ocean cruise was to go from Istanbul to Venice, only we found out 'by accident' that we weren't going to Istanbul, but cruise was going to start in Athens instead.) The Viking Sea ship is wonderful - small size - only 900+ passengers, great cabin attendants, great food, comfy beds, free wifi, free laundry, free beer & wine w/lunches and dinners, nice public areas. They offer two free specialty restaurants/trip - an Italian, plus a special Chef's Table. In keeping w/Viking's non-communications, we had booked one of each, only to find that Viking had somehow cancelled one of our reservations when we showed up for dinner. The two extra Iceland port stops were wonderful, but once we left Reykjavik, we were told that, due to storms off Greenland, that we'd be skipping the 1st Greenland port and have ... 2 more rough sea days! Prince Christian Sound (60 miles of interconnected fjords in S. Greenland) did make up for this, as it was a visual extravaganza. However, more of the same after Greenland - two more rough sea days due to bad weather off W. Greenland on our way to Newfoundland, and an alternative port once there. We heard from others on board that Viking has made this re-positioning trip 5 times, and has only made all port stops on its advertised itinerary only once! Seems like Viking needs to re-examine its repositioning trips - we understand that 2020 cruise goes in August, but I'm sure Viking is trying to maximize its profits with its Baltic cruises and didn't really want to leave that soon! Once home, we did receive a nice email from Viking saying, in effect, that they screwed up, and are offering a future voucher worth 40% of our trip cost on a future Viking cruise. We'll have to seriously consider whether we want to cruise Viking anymore. Their ships are great, and once onboard the crew and staff and accommodations are excellent, but Viking's communications with its passengers, especially pre-trip, STINK! Read Less

Viking Cruise Trans-Atlantic September 2019 Our cruises are always chosen for their itinerary, but after that, of course, the cruise line is a major consideration. We came across the “In the Wake of the Vikings” cruise with Viking Ocean Cruises, a line new to us, back in early 2018, but we were not free at the time, so we expressed an interest with Viking for the 2019 sailing, through our local Travel Agent. We were not so happy, therefore, when we were eventually contacted by Viking to tell us that the cruise was finally open to the UK market, but, because it had been on sale in the USA for some time already, we had the choice of only one room in the category we wanted, a Penthouse Veranda room. It was, fortunately, in a good position, on the starboard side and forward, so we booked it immediately. Flights are arranged through Viking and we were booked on Scandinavian Air Services from Manchester to Bergen via Copenhagen, which all went smoothly. Our return flights, from Montreal to Heathrow and then on to Manchester, were with B.A. Unfortunately, our return flight to LHR was cancelled because of the B.A. strike and was, during the cruise, changed firstly with Air Canada to LHR and then with American Airlines to Philadelphia and Manchester when the Air Canada LHR/Manchester connection wasn’t possible. Ironically, because the Philadelphia flight from Montreal was stuck in Philadelphia when the time came, meaning our connection would be missed, we ended up back on our original B.A. flight to Heathrow, after retrieving our luggage and going back through Departures, which wasn’t pleasant, but we did at least get home not too much later than planned; the Economy section of the plane was almost empty too, which helped. Back in Bergen Airport, we learned from the Meet and Greet team that an alteration to the itinerary was already in place. The remnants of Storm Dorian were to blame, as bad weather predicted for our first two stops in Lerwick and Torshavn meant we would almost certainly not be able to enter the ports and also experience uncomfortable conditions at sea. The solution was to leave Bergen immediately and head for Iceland instead, missing our scheduled overnight stay in Bergen and full day there. Once aboard, which was a speedy and friendly process as we were quite late reaching the ship, we found a letter in our stateroom explaining the situation fully. Additional ports, Akureyri and Isafjordur, would replace Lerwick and Torshavn, after which our schedule would return to normal and we would avoid the worst of the storm by leaving Bergen immediately. This made little difference to us, as we have visited all four ports before, but many American guests were naturally disappointed. Our sea days were indeed on the rough side, but nothing too serious. Our days in Akureyri, Isafjordur and Reykjavik were good, but there was further information about the next part of the schedule from the Captain before we sailed from Iceland, heading for Greenland. Once again, stormy weather on our route to Prince Christian Sound and Nanortalik was to be avoided by turning a little north, which meant that we would still enter the Sound, but at the more comfortable time of midday instead of early morning. We would then miss Nanortalik completely and head straight for Qaqortoq. Once again, this suited us well as we were particularly keen to pass through the Sound and we were delighted that the Captain understood that it was an important part of the cruise for most passengers. This plan worked well and we had a wonderful passage through Prince Christian Sound, but before leaving Qaqortoq we were informed of a further change to the schedule because of the bad weather; the anchorage for L’Anse aux Meadows, a Viking settlement in Newfoundland, would be far too exposed to allow tendering, so the Captain and the company had gone to tremendous trouble to reorganise our stop to St. Anthony, a fifty minute bus ride away. Once again, everything worked very well, despite the need to disembark a sick guest into the conveniently close-by hospital, which delayed our departure. That was the end of our itinerary problems, but we have great admiration for the effort and cost the Viking Company was prepared to put into making our cruise as good as possible and we enjoyed the itinerary very much, although issues raised by other Cruise Critic writers about the actual location of the Saguenay dock and the lack of time in Quebec are worth noting. Viking Sea (and her sister ships) should have suited us down to the ground, because we don’t need evening entertainment, preferring the scenery outside the windows and the guest numbers are low. However, our final survey for the ship before disembarkation (conveniently delayed until after lunch for the group of us who had later flights) had us indicating that we would not recommend the ship to our friends and we would be very unlikely to travel with Viking again through a combination of several reasons. Slightly souring our initial impression of the ship was our first view of our room, which was missing the separate door and large window shown in the brochure, having instead a sliding door, somewhat screened by the curtain, which made the room seem dark and reduced the view from the sofa. We spend a lot of time in our room and this was a disappointment. The ship was full, so we could not be moved. I was also concerned by a possible lack of soundproofing after clearly hearing coughing through the wall, but in fact this was not an issue. Our main area of disappointment was the food on board Viking Sea. This is a very personal issue, of course. We prefer to eat in the World Cafe for all meals because we like the relaxed atmosphere and the views from the windows. We did eat in the Restaurant on one occasion when we thought the Cafe would be taken up by an Indian buffet, but it was extremely busy and my view was of a wall, whereas outside it was a beautiful evening. We just made it outside in time for the sunset. We never tried the other eating opportunities, apart from the Pool Grill, which we enjoyed. We found the menu in the World Cafe pretentious and repetitive and frequently not to our taste, with plenty of seafood and underdone meat, although the chefs would willingly cook portions to our requirements. Food was frequently cool in its presentation trays even when freshly put out and we learned to ask for our plates to be reheated, but cooked-to-order food could be left out on the plate for collection, therefore cooling again. Even my individual portion of mashed potato in the restaurant was cool. We usually enjoy soup on our cruises at lunch and dinner, but more often than not we found it was either fish or spicy and we went without. Desserts were more tempting and we took advantage of the gelato bar too, but our overall impression was poor, not helped by items missing from the drinks area, cool water in the hot water jugs and empty milk jugs. Making a hot drink could be a slow and frustrating process at times. Our early departure from Bergen meant that some food items had not been restocked, so some individual breakfast cereals were soon unavailable, as were some yoghurts and finally bagels. Even the orange juice from the machines turned into something more like sour squash from Quebec and would be like that for the next cruise, we were told. My reply was that I was pleased to be leaving, in that case. For some reason which is hard to define, we also found the atmosphere on board ship very uninspiring. The pool area and the Winter Garden were both frequently chilly, but guests, despite all rooms having their own balconies and sea views, would lie on the loungers wrapped in blankets. Even during the scenic cruising periods, there were not too many people outside to appreciate it. The indoor pool was closed almost all the time, either from the bad weather or maintenance and the outdoor hot pool was also occasionally closed at times. The outdoor decks were frequently closed due to the strong winds. The ship felt like an uninspiring Retirement Home, with Baggo the main excitement of the day! Obviously, there were plenty of other activities available during the day, but this is how we felt overall, compared with our experience on many other cruise ships. We also disliked the atrium area because all the windows were screened by obscuring netting, preventing any view outside, which was disappointing as this was a popular place to sit. The World Cafe sliding doors were ill-filling and draughty, but otherwise we generally enjoyed this space, even though we were often almost on our own there out of meal times. Viking Cruises offer an included tour at most ports. We normally preferred to walk around on our own, but at Qaqortok we opted into a “self guided” tour, which we thought would include an idea of a route and information on what we would see. Wrong! We received a basic map and enquiries afterwards made it clear that our group timings were simply a way of organising and monitoring the tendering process. Fair enough, but that is not a self-guided tour in our opinion. However, there were many things about Viking Sea we did like. We were most impressed by and appreciative of the information we were given by the Captain on the various itinerary changes and the way the problems were resolved. The staff members were all friendly and eager to help with any enquiries and our room stewards continually asked if we needed anything. An early cruise survey, which they asked us to fill in to satisfy their superiors, gave us the opportunity to suggest a couple of future improvements to the room in terms of more bathroom hanging space and hooks for outdoor coats, as well as mentioning the food issues. This resulted in the delivery of extra towels and hangers, which we declined, plus a series of phone calls from various departments trying to resolve matters which were generally simply suggestions! Our stateroom grade, Penthouse Verandah, included a complimentary minibar which was replenished daily. We don’t drink either the spirits or sodas in the minibar, but the sommelier was happy to remove those and provided us with wine to our taste instead. Lectures and port talks were available to watch on the room TV as well as live in the theatre, which we preferred on the whole. There was a good range of live TV, plus recorded programmes and films to choose from and the internet was usually good for our location. We were both able to use our tablets at the same time, which is unusual in our experience. Finally, although we stated in our disembarkation survey that we were unlikely to travel with Viking again, a promotion too good to miss and an interesting itinerary have offered us the opportunity to revise our opinions early next year. Read Less

This was our first cruise. We wanted to see Norway without frenetic travelling. It suited a couple who like the quieter things in life. It didn’t fail to please. Lectures and points of interest calls made for an interesting trip aboard a ship with helpful, friendly staff. Accommodation was in clean, adequate cabins and there was plenty of really delicious food. The itinerary was amazing. The Norwegian coast is truly beautiful. The northbound trip allowed daytime trips to Trondheim, Tromsø and the North Cape, while an extra day spent in Bergen allowed us to take in the sights there too. All longer stops can be enjoyed as excursions or as we did, using local sources or just a map! Hurtigruten operate a well-oiled machine. Clear information was forwarded prior to the trip. Transfers were included, including the optional extra day in Bergen. It allowed us to take a truly relaxing break. The polar outside cabin pretty well always faced shore, northbound, though in fjords, cabin side did not matter. The ship offered a fairly smooth trip. The highlights - late night sail into the Trollfjord, the breathtaking North Cape and a glimpse of the northern lights. Read Less

We have taken many cruises over the years and Viking has always been the best. Now we only cruise with Viking due to their exceptional customer service, all of our Viking cruises have exceeded our expectations. The ship, cabin, dining, entertainment, services, ports and shore excursions were all excellent. Our cabin was promptly cleaned and restocked several times each day. The choices of food, whether it be in the dining room or buffet were outstanding and the food was always fresh. Embarkation and disembarkation were handled very smoothly with almost no wait time. The staff were all very helpful, professional and very friendly. The treatment we received while on our Viking cruise was outstanding, very positive experience and would highly recommend Viking Cruises, ocean and riverboat, we have been on both and they are equally a great value with all that is included, truly a relaxing, fun, remarkable experience. We will definitely be booking more Viking cruises in the future. Read Less

We chose the Viking Sea because we really liked the itinerary and had never sailed on Viking before. Our previous river cruising has been on Uniworld and Avalon. Trying the Viking ocean experience was a change for us. Embarkation in Bergen was easy and we were so impressed once we got on the ship. It is just lovely. Our stateroom was a PV1-Penthouse Veranda suite on deck 5 and it was great. The bed was comfortable and there was plenty of storage. Our only issue was with our shower head. It kept sliding down the pole and would not stay in place. We told our cabin steward and he had a plumber take a look at it...didn't fix it though...it was a pain to take a shower. Our cabin stewards were fantastic...Niko and Ariel were some of the best we've ever had. The laundromat onboard was a great perk. It was free to use and they also provided laundry detergent. Viking touts the free beer and wine with meals. What they don't tell you, is if you order a drink during lunchtime hours in The Living Room where they have muffins, small plates and various snacks to choose from, they will ask you for your room number and you get charged. They don't specify that you need to be in the dining room, buffet or one of the specialty restaurants. Sorry, but I think that's petty. The food overall was good. We enjoyed Manfredi's very much. The waffle with berries in Mamsen's was great. The buffet was good but some of the food servers could use an attitude adjustment....it costs nothing to smile. We ordered room service breakfast several times and have no complaints. One day from 9 AM-1PM they put on an amazing brunch in the Wintergarden area. It was a sight to behold. You could tell a TON of work went into planning and executing it! Our biggest disappointment was the lack of interesting (for us) entertainment. The enrichment seminars were never ending. The lack of varied entertainment was glaring. The best show we saw starred the Cruise Director...singing. During this cruise I read 3 books and took naps (which I rarely do) out of boredom in the afternoons. The included shore excursions were just okay. We loved the tour in Lerwick, Scotland but thought the included excursion in Reykjavik was awful. The first place our German tour guide took us was to a ditch where women washed clothes 100 years ago......zzzz Based on our experience on the Viking Sea, we don't feel we got the value for the amount of money we spent on this cruise. For the amount spent, we can get a Neptune suite on HAL along with many more activities. Read Less

We really enjoyed this cruise, our first Viking Ocean Cruise. It was nice not to have photographers, daily advertisements in our cabin and no gambling. Beautiful ship and excellent staff and the food was wonderful. Overall the premium excursions were excellent. I hope that the ‘included’ excursions improve to the quality that Viking River Cruises has provided for many years. Often these excursions were too short and we drove past sights but couldn’t go in to see and hear the history inside the buildings. On one day we did two different excursions which included a major cathedral. On the first one we drove through the parking lot and on the second one the bus parked and we walked around the cathedral and to the view point but never went inside. On the excursion to North Cape we didn’t even have a tour guide for the hour and a half drive (each way) that we could have received a lot of history of what we were passing and other details that make tours most interesting. I hope this improves. Read Less

Viking cruise line lived up their reputation as being extremely fabulous!! Great ambiance! Great staff- so eager to please! Wonderful food! Informative tours! Viking does it right!!!! We took advantage of every included excursion! It would have been nice if they were more than just a couple stops for photo ops though! We especially enjoyed many of the waiters in The Restaurant! They were so polite and eager to please! The food was very good and menu selections were very adequate!! We loved Manfredi’s and the Italian restaurant! Nice to have variety! The ship was very beautiful! It was kept impeccably clean by the very hard working cleaning staff! Our room steward was so friendly and always considerate and polite! We so enjoyed our first ocean cruise and have booked two more! We have and will continue to recommend the Viking cruise line the family and friends! It is a pricey cruise line but so much is included- which helps!! Giving sizable price breaks/incentives to repeat customers would be very appreciated! We flew SAS- as arranged by Viking! NEVER AGAIN!! Horrible flight home!!! They lost our luggage for 6 days!!! Many we spoke with shared our concerns! They agreed and advised - avoid SAS!!!!! Read Less

a very nice ship, enough chairs and space in the public rooms, marvellous lounge-bar in front of the ship on deck 7, and in the back on deck 7 there was a lovely coffe bar with nice norwegian furnitures. every day we had very delicious food (excellent fresh fish) and very friendly waiters - we enjoyed it! We also loved the free drinking water, and the wine selection was good, but a bit expensive. The expedition Team (Monica and Rebecca) was excellent! We heard a lot about the nature, the people, the animals, the language - it was very interesting and we just loved it!!! We saw the northern lights and the noth cape, the beautiful landscape of the norwegian coast - we had a great trip in Norway! Our cabin had only 2 portholes, but we knew it in advance and booked it with this restriction. The cabin was small, but there was enough storeroom and we estimated the many hooks for our coats. We had our own toilet and shower, and they changed the towels whenever we needed. 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

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 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

As a retired 35 year History teacher traveling alone, I was searching for a cruise that would be more appropriate to the classroom experiences I had with my students. The Viking SEA cruise "In the Wake of the Vikings" filled that bill and more for me. The cruise began in Bergen, Norway, and crossed the Atlantic to Montreal. I took advantage of pre and post extensions in Oslo and Montreal for two days each and was not disappointed. Bergen was also a joy, and the fact that this pro cycling fan was there during one day of the week long UCI World Championships was a pleasure that was unexpected when I booked the cruise. To get to the ship, I traveled by train from Oslo to Bergen. The views were amazing, and definitely a harbinger of things to come on the cruise itself. The Viking SEA was easy to get around, and the staff was the best part of the entire experience! Whether it was my Steward, Tito, the food staff, or the security and boarding staff for the three tendering situations, they couldn't have been more patient or professional. The food was outstanding! When I arrived on the first night, I went to the Buffet ("World Cafe") expecting to pick up a burger and fries. Imagine my surprise when the offerings included Duck a L'Orange and Lamb Shoulder...the excellence and variety of the food was unchanged for the next two weeks. I got my first taste of Venison, and Caviar as well. Breakfast and luncheon offerings were equally as good. The 'reservation restaurants,' Manfredi's Italian, and the Chef's Table, were above and beyond expectations. A cautionary note: If you intend to hit the Casino, buy art, rock climb, or see extravagant Broadway type shows with large casts; this cruise is not for you. The stage time is taken with lectures on the History, Geography, and politics of the area served. We had four lecturers who touched mainly on the Viking legacy (it was the theme, after all), but also included climate concerns, political policy issues regarding whaling, oil, and other natural resources, and more recent Historical events. There were also "Port Talks," led by the Cruise Director. If you missed any of the lectures, you could watch them later on your cabin television. Entertainment was controlled by an eight person troupe, who brought a different show each night to the theatre. Despite the small size of the troupe, they handled their assignments very well. They, like the rest of the staff, were also very gregarious and thoughtful to the passengers off the boat. The Spa and exercise areas were excellent! The Deck 2 walking area was a quarter of a mile around, which surprised me, because I have been on much larger Carnival and Disney ships where the walking distance was identical. How did Viking do it? The Shore Excursion opportunities brought unexpected visual experiences. The beauty of the Shetlands, the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, and Quebec were the highlights here. The local guides were all knowledgeable and easy to converse with. The views from the ship were also amazing, especially going through the fjords in all of these locations. Prince Christian Sound in Greenland was at least equal, if not superior, to the views in Alaska's Inland Passage. Three glaciers, icebergs, and mountains around every corner kept the camera busy! The included tours usually were of the "Panorama" variety, where we took buses to various areas as an orientation of the location, with opportunities for stops for photo opportunities. I was most disappointed with the included tour of Reykjavik, Iceland, because we spent an inordinate amount of time driving through residential areas and were not allowed to stop at key locations because "we do not have time." I was also a bit frustrated with one of the onboard consultants informing me that the 'excursions in Saguenay, Quebec, were very helpful, because there isn't much to see in the town.' Two opportunities to walk proved to me that this was a very charming town, and there was much that we weren't able to see otherwise. Perhaps a reevaluation of the opportunities in this region for excursion purposes would be helpful. The optional tours were tremendous! In my case, a walk through the Shetlands' capital of Lerwick, a ride around the Faroes, a visit to a fur house in Qaqortoq, Greenland, a walk around the L'Anse Aux Meadows Viking settlement in Newfoundland,and walking and carriage tours in Quebec City were stunning! On three occasions, we had to "Tender" from the ship to the shore. The crew was excellent in getting us on and off board, but suffice it to say, the term "Tender" is now an oxymoron in my book...remember that the North Atlantic in mid September is not easy on good days. We also had to miss the Nanortalik, Greenland port due to treacherous wind and waves. Kudos to the Security and Boarding crew who had to deal with disembarking so many in limited time in all of the ports. The cruise was exceptional, and, despite a few minor issues, I would go again...In fact, while onboard, I signed up for a future Viking Ocean Cruise. Read Less

My wife and I, both in our 70's made the cruise. Our pre-cruise visit to Bergen was great. We had Viking plan the air, which was a mistake. They routed us through Heathrow, which I avoid based on experience several years ago. It has gotten worse. It took over an hour standing in line with our carry-on luggage to get on a bus to take us from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. We had reserved the Hotel Oleana in Bergen. It was conveniently located, nice staff, but the furnishings were spartan. Good weather and we ate well in the 3 days there before we boarded the ship. I thought embarkation went smoothly but my wife disagrees. We both were very happy with our stateroom, especially the heated bathroom floor. Wish I had one at home. I screwed up, not having looked at the ships plans/specifications enough beforehand. I thought it would be too cool to use the pool, so didn't pack a bathing suit. But the main pool and it's hot tub were protected and there were two more hot tubs plus the two pools and the sauna in the spa. Dining was great, with several options. I regret that they did not offer more choices of joining others when we went into The Restaurant. We met fewer other cruise travelers than we have on other cruises. We both took advantage of the talks and enjoyed them a lot. One speaker was so good that I regretted I was not going to be on the next leg (to New York) to hear some scheduled for it. All of the crew were helpful and pleasant to deal with. Security process for exiting and reboarding at the port stops was very efficient. I appreciated the steps they went to to help us keep our hands clean and prevent the spread of disease. There were several locations outside of the staterooms where people could relax and read. An ample number of books were available at multiple locations. In many of these one could be close enough to the performing musicians to have the music in the background. All of the musicians were top notch. Portable hearing sets were available to help people hear the excursion guides but they were awkward to use and were unnecessary except on one tour I went on. The size of the ship is large enough to have great facilities but small enough to go places larger ships cannot visit. We were already book for a Spring 2018 cruise on the Viking Sea when we booked this one. We liked it enough to book a cruise on the Viking Orion in December 2018. Read Less

We chose this cruise partly for the Viking Route and partly to try out the Viking Ocean ship as we were also looking at another Viking cruise. On the whole we greatly enjoyed our experience. Customer service pre-cruise was not very good, in particular because we were never informed that the ship would not be docked where the cruise material said it would be! Fortunately we learned via Cruise Critic where it was, and saw it ourselves from the Maritime Museum. Embarkation after that was fine, as was disembarkation. Shore excursions were a mixed bag. Several places relevant to the Viking theme were not shown on the port maps, nor mentioned in the port briefings. Fortunately we had done our own research! Excursions in large groups on buses were not as enjoyable. Stops where you could spend some time exploring on your own - such as L'Anse aux Meadows, or Qaqortog in Greenland, were the best! And we appreciated our day in Quebec. Dining was mostly enjoyable. The World Cafe was packed at certain times, and service was stressed to get beverages to diners. We tried the restaurant and found it also could be very slow service. Book as many dinners as you can in the specialty restaurants - you can always cancel if need be. If you'd like to meet some of your fellow passengers, ask to join a table rather than dining by yourselves. Music throughout the day from the pianist, guitar player, and music groups was a lovely accompaniment to the cruise! The weather made walking or jogging around the deck ifffy at times, but the fitness center had plenty of equipment and I never saw it full. We booked another cruise while onboard! Now that we know the ship we expect to rate the next cruise "excellent!" Read Less

My husband and I chose this cruise for the itinerary as well as Viking's stellar reputation. We weren't disappointed. The cabin, food and service were exceptional. We've cruised with RSS and Celebrity but Viking outperformed them both in these areas. We enjoyed a few days in Oslo prior to the cruise staying at the Hotel Thon Opera. We were a bit unhappy that our rooms weren't ready when we arrived at 3:00pm and we had to wait in the lobby for a bit. Other than that, the hotel was very nice and the breakfast they offered was sensational. And because we were inconvenienced by the delayed check-in, Viking arranged a very nice coach tour of the Oslo area, which included a stop at the the very interesting Viking Ship Museum. We took a very comfortable and scenic train ride from Oslo to Bergen to embark the lovely Viking Sea. Excurions: We highly recommend the Fish Farming and Maritime History tour offered while at port in Bergen. We toured a facility that builds beautiful wooden boats and makes rope, then drove through beautiful Hardangerfjord to reach the fish farm. We were then taken to the mountains, to Voss, for a delicious lakeside lunch. It was a great day! It was fortuitous that our tour took us out of Bergen because Bergen was hosting an international cycling event the day we were in port so most of the Bergen city tours were cancelled. (A boat tour of Bergen was substituted.) Viking provided everyone with a $200 ship board credit for being inconvenienced. Very nice of Viking. While in Lerwick, Scotland, we opted for the walking tour, The Nature Trail of Mousa Island. After a brief coach ride through town, we boarded a small boat for a 10 minute ride to Mousa Island. It was a beautiful day for a walk; scenic, sunny and very breezy. The 'trail' is over uneven grassy ground and a bit slippery and wet, so be aware. Make sure you have the appropriate shoes. But it was a wonderful experience seeing the Moussa Broch. The guide was knowledgeable. We're glad we chose this tour. We booked the Sea Safari tour while in Torshavn, but due to high seas, the tour was cancelled. Safety first! So we walked through town and toured on our own. We opted for the all day, Golden Circle tour, while at port in Reykjavik. It was well worth the time and cost. And the guide was very knowledgable. Such fantastic scenery! We had a wonderful salmon lunch too. I wish I could have spent a bit more time shopping at some of the gift shops. The most spectacular sight on the entire cruise was waiting for us in Greenland. We cruised slowly through the magnificent Prince Christian Sound. Breathtaking, really. Mountains, glaciers, bergie bits, seals, whales, sun, snow - fabulous! And no other ships around. We saw one person, a kayaker, on the 5 hour sail. Unbelievably harsh beauty. Wow! Due to weather, we were unable to dock Nanotorlik. But the ship was able to dock in Qaqortok. There is not much to see there, but we walked around town in the sunshine and found the grocery store to be an interesting visit. L'Ans Aux Meadows - was interesting. It gives you a real sense of the Viking life there, hundreds of years prior. Saguenay, Ontario - our least favorite excursion. We opted for Zodiac in the Park tour. We felt we spent too much time on a school bus there and back. The actual tour on the zodiac was brief and just ho hum. And a very rough ride. There is no food offered, so Viking should arrange snacks somewhere along the line. (We were gone from 10:00 until 3:00.) The guide didn't really offer insights or history of the area on the long rides. Beautiful scenery though. Quebec City - Many ships in port that day (8?) so it was very a very busy, crowded port. We opted for the included tour, which was fine with us. The streets were clogged with people so sitting on a coach with a guide telling us all about Quebec City was just about perfect for us on our last day. Food - we loved Manfredi's; left the Chef Table after the second course - not to our liking. But enjoyed every other meal everywhere else on the ship. We especially enjoyed the fresh seafood the chef arranged for us in Bergen. Mussels were yummy. And Mamsen's deli for waffles in the morning. And High Tea daily! And drinks at the Explorer's Lounge! We look forward to our next cruise in April. Love you, Viking! Read Less

Our experience with a Viking river cruise was excellent and the ship's itinerary was what we wanted. The staff is excellent and is very friendly. The support staff works well together providing quiet and efficient service. I was always greeted with a hello and a smile. Service was outstanding and our cabin steward was the best. The dining experience was outstanding with great food, excellent food presentation and food choices. Due to a medical incident I needed to visit you ship's medical facility. The care I received by Dr. Soric and his staff was outstanding. The shore excursions were disappointing and not up to my standards. Not enough time spent at the different stops, Sometimes it felt like it was a march or die excursion. You need to learn from the river excursions on how to improve the shore excursion experience. The enrichment lectures were only OK and could improve. Overall it was an excellent cruise and we will take another cruise with Viking. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the itinerary, but 5 of 9 ports were skipped (2) or significantly delayed. Shore excursions were just ok, even the ones we purchased were just ok. Most of the staff and crew were excellent, friendly, and bent over backwards to please. Public areas were overcrowded at events or activities. Food was very good to excellent in main restaurant and especially Manfredis. World Cafe , pool grill, and Chefs Table just ok. Cabin was roomy enough but very limited drawer space in Deluxe Veranda. Bathroom was nice. A lot of people like the stark Scandinavian decor, but we found that the abundance of hard surfaces and minimal softening features made the restaurants and public areas very noisy. We chose the post cruise Montreal stay (Westin) and are very disappointed with the hotel. Waited 5 hours for room to be ready. Room looks into windows of adjacent building, have to keep drapes closed all the time. They refused to change the room. The flight Viking booked leaves at 8:30 am but the transfer leaves at 4 am. Airport is only 30 minutes away. Just adds to the misery of the Montreal experience. By contrast, the pre cruise in Oslo and Bergen were wonderful. We tried to book business class but Viking said they only have economy for this cruise. We found out later this was not true. We are too old for the discomforts of economy flights ( even though we managed to upgrade to premium economy through the airline) all the way from the west coast. It's definitely a deal breaker on any future cruise. Read Less

The Viking Sky is indeed a beautiful ship, tastefully decorated with wonderful art. The common areas are inviting, especially the Explorers Lounge on the 7th deck, which offers fabulous ocean vistas. The ship is spotlessly maintained. We have taken several other cruises and were excited about visiting new countries We should have had the best time ever! However, Viking dropped the ball on several fronts, First, the travel department is difficult to deal with. Be forewarned, if you use a travel agent, they will not speak to you. We finally got our itinerary resolved, and then Category 5 Hurricane Irma became a major player. We were booked on Delta to leave Miami at 12:20 pm on 9/8, and a the airport was scheduled to close that afternoon. Our connection time in Atlanta was only 1 hour. Days before, we tried to change our flight to leave earlier, but were denied, unless we wanted to pay Delta a change ticket fee of $3,000 per person. We offered to drive to Atlanta and pick up the itinerary there, but Viking did not go to bat for us. Apparently, they have no pull with Delta. Finally, we called them again on 9/6 and literally begged, and spoke with someone who was willing and able to help. We got grudging approval to begin our flight in Atlanta. The next day, we drove 20 hours to Atlanta in bumper to bumper traffic, normally an 8 1/2 hour drive, and slept at an airport hotel. We noted that our original flight out of Miami was delayed and we would have missed the connection in Atlanta. Then we flew to Norway to begin the cruise. We were exhausted. I had not really slept in 3 days and missed my tour in Bergen. Our room and bathroom were surprisingly small with no excess storage space, but again, tastefully decorated and with quality linens. The bathroom floors are heated, which was fantastic! There was a coffeemaker, but it was up too high for me to use. However, the cappuccino onboard was excellent, so we didn't mind scooting out to get it. The TV system, like most cruises, is not the best for live TV but offers a nice selection of movies. We were anxious to see news of the hurricanes. Most of the time it worked ok, but the live tv was not working the last several days of the cruise. Wifi: On previous trips, I had no problems downloading my photos from my phone to my iPad via iCloud, but the wifi was so slow that they could not download. I was surprised, given the newness of the ship. Several of my emails refused to send and I had to keep trying. Our cruise experienced a lot of rough seas, so they canceled port docking in the Shetland Islands and also one in Greenland. We already had many days at sea scheduled on this transatlantic cruise, but we can't blame Viking for bad weather. Days at sea featured lectures, some bland music, and movies, but not much in the way of interactive or physical activity if the weather did not cooperate, which it did not. It would have been nice to go to a class in the fitness center but they were not offered to my knowledge. The daily afternoon tea is in a particularly lovely venue. Lots of reading time and looking out the windows in the Explorers Lounge. We did see icebergs and a few whales, and a lot of people, myself included, got excited about a rock that initially looked like a whale. One couple went outside one afternoon and had to be rescued because the winds were so strong. The Faroe Islands and Reykjavik were fabulous and we enjoyed our tours there. It was great to be off the ship. Qaqortoq, Greenland was disappointing, as our private tour with Sagalands canceled without notice even though they had confirmed a just few days earlier. The town itself is not really worth a stop, especially if arriving early on a Sunday morning when the few establishments in town are closed. Quebec is a charming European style city for walking and touring. The food on board is very good. Dinner in the restaurant is slow, often taking 2 hours for a 3 course meal, but we had nowhere to go and not much else to do. Our primary waiter was friendly and personable. Thankfully, our friends are great conversationalists! The buffet restaurant was fresh and well presented, and was a good option when we did not want an overly long meal. Fellow passengers on the ship were generally highly educated, pleasant, and courteous. We almost missed our flight home. For a 10 am flight, our bus left at 8:15 for a 40 minute drive to the airport. We were unable to check in to our flights onboard because the internet was too slow and it timed out. We got to the check in desk, and were told that had we arrived 5 minutes later, we would have missed the cutoff for checking luggage for an international flight. Again, unnecessary stress should have totally avoidable, ending this long cruise on a questionable note. Do I recommend this cruise? Although this beautiful ship is 5 star rated and some people love endless days at sea, it was too sedate for me. The quality of the lectures was excellent, but I have had much more rollicking fun on other less expensive cruises where more varied and interactive onboard activities were offered. Even bingo, karaoke, disco, dueling pianos, a bad art auction, penny poker, flower arranging, Hawaiian theme night....none are great but something that makes you laugh! I also learned to NEVER book flights through a cruise line again. Maybe it was the weather..... Read Less

We purchased our trip in Fall 2016. My wife had double knee replacements and we were told we could get first class or business class seats on the flight over to Europe; we would pay the upgrade cost (fine with us!). We waited in July and had to call twice to get our flights. When we were finally able to get ahold of someone we were told that due to the “ CONTRACT” we were only permitted couch. We called the airlines to see if we could upgrade they referred us to Viking. When we called Viking we were told (from an unsigned anonymous email that: "This is a limit within our CONTRACT and likely a detail that your initial sales representative was not privy to, for this we apologize.” And for this we filed a complaint with the FTC for false marketing. We also wanted to go a day early so we could enjoy Bergen. Not possible (see the contract). So the two days we were told we would have in Bergen amounted to getting to the ship at 8 pm and we left at 6pm the next day (22 hours). 1) Shetland Islands - no go - too bad of weather to dock for “safety” reasons so we never got there. 2) Faroe Islands - We went on the cruise up a fjord. The advertisement for the trip said we had a chance to see Puffins. Except the guide told us the Puffins leave in August so no Puffins, nice scenery though. The ad did say a chance! 3) Rejkavik, Iceland - Fantastic Day with views of a huge waterfall and a national park and geysers. Although Yellowstone had better waterfalls and geysers 4) Nanortalik, Greenland - no go - too bad of weather to dock for “safety” reasons so we never got there. 5) Qaqortoq, Greenland - Five hour stay on a Sunday morning. One gift shop and a 45 minute wait to purchase an item. Most of the people were no where to be seen. Neat Church. 6) L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland - We were suppose to dock at 7 am but due to Canadian Customs, we were not able to get to shore until after 10 am. Of course that left us little time to visit the Viking village that had been found, in the pouring rain. 7) Saquenay, Canada - We went up from the St. Lawrence River through a fjord to get here. Beautiful scenery. At least we were told so. We could not see anything due to the fog. The ship had to go up the fjord slower due to whales in the area so we were 3 hours late. No we did not see any whales. The docking is not in the town but at a docking facility about 10 miles south of town (not mentioned in the tour guide - see the CONTRACT). We took a tour of four craft areas, goats for wool, glass blowing, and an artists who fit intricate paintings all over his house. The last was a lame aquarium and a stupid video the tried to be a poor example of a Disney ride. 8) Quebec City, Canada - Warm & sunny a nice walk around the old town. 9) Montreal, Canada - We were told we would get into port at 4 am. Of course AFTER we left Quebec City the Cruise Director Aaron announced the we would get into port at 6 am. We docked at 7 am and we were able to get off the ship at 7:30am. All “guests” were told they had to be off the ship by 8 am - read the CONTRACT. They collected our luggage at 10 pm the previous evening but all this meant was that we had to wait dockside for them to bring our luggage to us. This meant much lost time. We were told the night before that the trip to the airport would take 20 minutes. We we got on the bus we were told it would be 45 minutes. The bus driver went through town very very very slowly. Many people missed their flight due to this delay. The Viking people were of no help (see the CONTRACT) to those so affected. Some took taxis. Although the original plan was for us to dock at 4 am, the Viking flight staff put us on a Delta flight leaving at 3:20 and arriving home at 10:30 (7 hours) . We found a flight leaving at 9:30 and arriving home at 1:00 pm (3.5 hrs). There was another flight leaving at 5 pm and arriving home at 9 pm (4 hours). Of course we tried to change - Delta said to call Viking who said no dice - read the Contract. We were able to get out sooner due to a family member interceding - a big thank you to the Montreal Delta Airlines staff!!!! Other things to Note (in no particular order): A) I conclude that Viking does not consider your air travel to be part of the “Viking experience” so they spend little time on this area. We were so disappointed in our treatment that we will probably never us the company again. We had taken a similar Viking river cruise in Europe and had the same problems. We thought it was a one off problem. Apparently it is a corporate policy to short the customers on the air travel in and out of the cruise B) During high seas the toilets will back up and with the heated floors in the bathroom it gets pretty smelly - flush then often and keep you door open to the outside for better air. You can were a coat in your room since it is 40 degrees outside. C) No one seems to have used either of the pools or hot tubs D) The Viking time is very variable. When they say we dock at x time, add two hours at least E) The Crew that did all the work were wonderful F) I go the sense that the Ship Captain and his team were not letting us in on all the information we needed until it suited their purposes. G) Remember that THE CONTRACT rules everything, no exceptions, no allowances, no wavering. H) Average age of the customers is probably in the low 70s. There were a lot of handicapped people so allow for extra time getting on and off the boat. Read Less

We were fortunate to travel with friends who all wanted to see these sites of interest from Bergen to Montreal, most of which we had not seen before. Also, we had heard such positive feedback from other friends who had experienced the grandeur of Viking's new ocean liners. The ship was exquisite, modern and comfortable. Without exception, the entire Viking crew & staff were polite, considerate, smiling and most welcoming. Our cabin stewards were over the top in service, taking care of any of our needs and answering questions. The food was awesome. We appreciated the variety of dining options, the outstanding quality of everything from appetizers to desserts and the beautiful presentations of the meals. You felt like you did not want to mar the appearance of the dishes with a knife and fork. The excursions were handled in an organized way with the embarking and disembarking mostly flowing effectively, and our tour guides were very knowledgeable and informative. We thoroughly enjoyed the shipboard entertainment and shows in the evenings. Two of the highlights for us were the tour and scenery in Iceland, and the stop in Saguenay, Quebec, where the townspeople showered us with a grandiose welcome at the port and presented a fantastic musical and technological performance of the history of their community. It was a super trip. We have done Viking River Cruises previously, so it is quite difficult to say which we would opt for next. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of its itinerary. We cruised from Bergen to Montreal. To start with, we had booked air through the Viking Air department, something we will never do again. We had assumed they would be more proactive on our behalf than it turned out they were prepared to be. Just days before departure we were facing Hurricane Irma, and they made no effort to fly us out early. We spent a precious 48+ hours begging to be allowed to fly out of Atlanta and drop our Miami-Atlanta segment before they finally decided that yes, they would allow us to do that. If we hadn't persevered, we would have missed connections, and missed the cruise. As it was, because they delayed so long, it took 20 hours to drive to Atlanta as many of the mandatory evacuation orders (including ours!) had already been issued, and all of South Florida were on the roads north. The ship is gorgeous, and we found the food to be outstanding as well. But for me, a cruise is all about the EXPERIENCE and here they failed miserably. While there were a few outstanding staff, most were inept, and confusion abounded. Everyone was nice, but no one seemed to work as a team. In the dining rooms, we got wrong orders, we were asked repeatedly what the order WAS, and though we bought the premium wine package, we frequently had to wait a half hour at dinner before we got any wine. (if you stayed with the included wines it was much better--you got service immediately). One night my husband had to get up and speak to the maitre d' because it had been an hour between courses. We were constantly aggravated at dinner, which is NOT how you want to be! We liked our cabin, the heated floors in the bathroom, and the availability of free laundry. And I must say our cabin steward, Ronel, was the BEST we have had in over 30+ cruises! But the cabin really lacked storage space--2 drawers and a little space in the nightstands. We asked for, and got, about 30 extra hangers and ended up hanging just about everything. Wifi was slow, but we appreciated that it was available and complimentary, so no complaints really. The Spa was gorgeous. I didn't try spa treatments. Yoga was offered but as a long-standing yoga practitioner, I didn't think it was age appropriate. There was a serious miss-match between the demographics of the passengers and the yoga routine offered. They should be offering YIN or INYNGAR yoga, and instead, the teachers' background was Ashtanga. When she started out doing a jump-back chaturanga, I knew the class was doomed. The poor ladies in the class did their valiant best, but they could have really hurt themselves with the routine we were put through. Explorers Lounge was lovely, and here, the staff was lovely as well. Skilled, pleasant--really really excellent. Lectures were excellent and a feature we really appreciated was the ability to watch them later on recorded TV. We were frequently busy at the times the lectures were 'live' but we managed to watch/listen to every one of them thanks to the recorded TV. LOVED this! Very much enriched the voyage. The shore excursions: included ones were so-so, but the optional ones that we paid for were all outstanding. Our tour guide in Quebec, Marie, on the Quebec Discovery Day was absolutely outstanding. BUT!!! The WORST feature of the entire cruise was the daily disembarkation, which was TERRIBLE. Viking really needs to learn how to get 900 people off a cruise ship. We waited almost an hour to get on the tender at L'Anse Aux Meadows, and then sat on the tender for 45 minutes before we could get off. This was the worst, but even regular disembarkations were routinely a bottleneck.. And finally, our transfer to the airport at the end of the cruise. Again, the staff showed their inexperience, to be charitable. Our bus departure was scheduled for 8am. Our flight was at 10am. And it was a 45 minute drive to the airport. We only made our flight because my husband had status on the airline, so we were able to use an expedited check in--but even at that, the agent said we were the last to be able to get our luggage on board. These kinds of repetitive 'glitches' made me think that although we had paid a 5-star price for this cruise, we did NOT receive a 5-star cruise. We have cruised well over 30 times, at various price points, and many different cruise lines, and this is the first time we felt we did not get our money's worth. There were just too many issues overall. Read Less