We have cruised previously with both Seabourn and Silversea, as well as Viking River and we chose this cruise because we had read superb reviews and we were curious about Viking Ocean. The Viking Sun is a beautiful ship with absolutely stunning common areas. Housekeeping and cabin service is superb. Everything is clean and shiny and new. The problem is that service elsewhere on the ship is inconsistent. In the specialty restaurant, Manfredis, service was flawless. But elsewhere, it certainly was not. Buffets are often the only option and lines are long and slow. The buffets are set up so that there is a very small serving area resulting in a single line for all. If the main restaurant is closed (or full, as it was for us on a few occasions), the lines get very long. Pool service was downright poor. It seems there are not enough staff members to provide nearly the same level of service you get on Seabourn or Silversea. While the entertainment systems in the cabins ofter lots of choices, the other amenities in the higher end cabins are disappointing in comparison to similar cabins on Seabourn and Silversea. The mini bar Viking advertises in many of their pricier cabins consists of a few airline bottles of cheap liquor, a few beers and sodas, and not much else. There are only a total of two glasses of any kind available in the cabin. There are things that Viking does very well, but overall, if you have sailed on Seabourn or Silversea, Viking really doesn’t compare. Read Less

Looked for a hoilday cruise after Christmas. Chose Viking for a luxury experience. Embarkation a breeze at POM - on the ship in 15 minutes. No lines.No problems. Boat was not at location on paperwork but was easily found Room was not ready on time due to a prolonged immigration delay for staff. Understandable. PJS was very nice. A fantastic location. Very quiet. Meals on board were very good. Enjoyed every meal except the Chefs Table. The Asian Panorama was average. The wine selections was very good however. We had Silver Beverage package. Enjoyed all the different red wines, Spouse likes her Chardonnay.. Linda Clancey the Cruise Director was fantastic. The shows were very good, Also enjoyed the enrichment lectures. Port and shore excursions met our expectations, Really enjoyed the Lamanai Mayan site and Cichan Itza, Negatives: 1, Ship motion - seas were rough from Miami to Key West and first day at sea from Key West to Belize, Maybe small size of ship made this worse? 2, Key West port - Mallory Square was closed due to damage. Couldn't tender due to wind/waves. Got into a dock after another ship left. Port was very crowded. 3. Cozumel - short time in port. Overall would highly recommend Vking Read Less

The nicest part of our cruise on the Viking Sun was the polite, friendly, and very clean attention of our room steward. The stateroom is a little small, but sufficient. The veranda was nice, but that squeaking veranda door - and the inability to leave it open for even short periods of time without banging shut - was frustrating; needless to say, we lost some sleep due to squeaks. Food on the Viking Sun was ok. Not bad, there was always something that was at least satisfactory. Sometimes our choices were less palatable than we had hoped - and service, especially in the Restaurant, was lacking. No fault to the staff - there were too many people for limited staff to serve efficiently. Neither of the specialty restaurants were extraordinary, which we expected due to advertising and promotion and hearsay. We did manage time to relax, which was our goal. With better weather, that would have been more easily accomplished; can’t fault Viking for that. But if you are looking for elegance akin to the true luxury lines, pay the extra dollars for a first class experience. The elegant ads lured us in...to an average experience. And be prepared for crowded disembarkation and a game of “where’s our luggage.” Read Less

This was the sixth cruise my wife and I have taken with Viking--four river cruises and, now, two ocean cruises. We purchased the pre-cruise extension in Lisbon because we wanted to see it on the trip. Overall, the trip was excellent. We are accustomed to a very high standard of performance from Viking and our expectations, for the most part were fulfilled. The ship was immaculate, well maintained and well operated. Most of the time in a crossing is devoted to sea days and rest. The entertainers on this ship were truly extraordinary. They presented music that stretched from classical opera repertoire to Motown. There are no dedicated "dancers" but the singers danced and sang and did so very professionally. They entertained! The crew were friendly as well as helpful and accommodating, including the members of the deck department. They all seemed dedicated to helping passengers enjoy a great vacation--and they succeeded. Stateroom attendants were amazingly thorough and helpful. Our air arrangements were horrible however. We were booked on a United flight that operated an old Continental 737-200. Even though we booked suite accommodations on the ship, we were given some of the least desireable seats on this very over-crowded, filthy and old aircraft. On our return, free-air flight from Miami to Jacksonville we were charged $30 per bag by American Airlines and, again, assigned the very least desireable seats on the very cramped Embaer RJ-45. We could have driven from Miami to Jacksonville and arrive sooner than we did using our Viking Air booked flight. Do not use Viking Air. Be prepared for very leisurely meals in the dining room. Plan for a couple of hours or more at dinner if you choose to take your dinner in the dining room. Service is very slow, even on this ship of only 900 passengers. Or hope that more servers are hired to provide better service. The problem is not the waiters:the problem is that there are too few of them. Afternoon tea in the Winter Garden is a highlight of each day for us. With Viking, you also can expect a robust enrichment program presented by a "Resident Historian" as well as various "Guest Lecturers." Watch the schedule carefully to plan your days in a way that permits you to take advantage of these opportunities. They are wonderful and varied. We were particularly attracted to the presentations of a flautist who talked about music and its relationships to our trip and ports of call. We also heard from an astronomer and had the opportunity to learn about ocean sailing and rowing adventures. Viking is a welcome newcomer to the ocean cruise market. It provides a superior experience and, knowing its careful attention to detail in all its operations, I expect the delays in dining service will be resolved before our next trip, which most likely will be on Viking (but without its air option). Incidentally, there were no children among the passengers and there is no children's program. This is not an experience for children. Read Less

We love the size of the Viking Sun class ships and find the Viking staff very helpful welcoming.The Sun is a 2 yr old ships, which like others (e.g Viking Star) is extremely comfortable. This reposition cruise was a last minute decision to primarily to celebrate my spouse's recent retirement. Viking repositions this ship from Europe to MIA where Vikings starts its World cruise offering. Therefore, the crossing offers only two ports of call (Azores and Bermuda). While most people on board were seasoned travelers, a few people were surprised that even with all the greatest technical advances this ship could rock. While we had a variety of weather, the Atlantic is not a small pond and it can be quite rough. Although I heard some complaints, I was surprised about some very unrealistic expectations. Since, we actually treated the trip as an adventure we loved it and rod ecommend that you take some Dramamine with you on any cruise . We did not need ours and the medical center could provide some, if you got seasick. Based on our sailing history, we would not rate this past cruise as extremely rough. The cabins on board the Viking Ocean are very comfortable, clean and well layout. Plenty of space to move around in with many public nooks suitable for curling up with a good book! The Viking Staff is selected for their "yes, we can" attitude. Although each one us are very unique individuals, the Viking crew is overall very happy and proud to be working for a rapidly growing company which the staff likes with a 90% retention rate over any 10 yr period. Food as expected on a cruise, is abundant, diverse and always delicious. On Christmas Eve the SUN served large steamed lobsters and perfectly executed Osso Bucco in their regular dining room. There were a few caviar offerings at the bars with all daily events and menus for all meals posted on in-room tv monitors. A few times we needed to use room service and while it too was very tasty, it could have been delivered a bit hotter. Although this cruise had only two ports of call there was plenty of entrainment. We do like the fact that Viking does not have a casino onboard. There were some small poker games and Chinese Mahjong available for those so inclined. There are also video tables where you can enjoy playing a computer black jack dealer. In addition to excellent port of call talks, Viking has a number historians, technical experts (e.g driverless car engineering), and musicians discussing their expertise in very simple and interesting presentations. Viking requires that passengers be at 16 years or old, which we found the adults to be quite friendly and open to making new acquaintances. For us, most part we found tables for two available. Since our last cruise, the bars have a greatly expanded selection of quality brands. Since I favor Tanquary Ten, I was pleased that it was available at every bar. and covered by our drink package. There is a night club for dancing and a night cap, but we did not visit it this trip.The cruise director conducted a caroling sing along in the atrium on Christmas Eve, utilizing the classical pianists, the Viking band and even the on board acoustic guitarist. Unfortunately, I did scrap up my leg at the Lisbon Airport and I needed to used the medical staff to heal it. This inconvenience limited my ability to use the abundant spa fitness services on board. The Viking Norwegian spirt shines with very unique spa treatments and many pools located in the spa, in addition to the lap pools and hot tubs found on deck. On the SUN you can elect to start in a hot sauna and then cool down in an ice room with snow. If it is your thing, there are great gym machines exist and in the morning you are invited to yoga/pilates classes. Otherwise, weather permitting, you can take to the promenade and get your exercise by running or walking around the ship with instructions on how many laps constituted a mile. All in all we enjoyed ourselves and would consider going again. We find sailings of this duration suit our life styles very well and while we liked this crossing, there are so many other offers that we have not tried. For example we doing a Panama crossing this month. Happy Cruising! Read Less

We enjoy cruising with Viking. They are first class and do not “nickel and dime” you. The service is excellent and the crew is very good. Everyone working on the ship is friendly and says hello with a smile. The food is outstanding and the two specialty restaurants serve unique food . It is nice traveling with only adult passengers and also not getting harassed by photographers. The entertainment is average. We usually enjoy the lectures and classes , however, we did not enjoy them on this cruise. The topics were not interesting or relevant for us. I don’t care about somebody rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. The cruise port talks were not well done and the moderator seemed to be just reading his presentation. The two cruise directors were very friendly and personable- Mark and Heather. The two musical shows that Heather and her assistant, Brian Rodriguez, put on were very good. They both have beautiful voices . The glitches on our cruise were associated with the transition from one cruise to the other. It seemed that they forgot we were doing a B2B and we got no communication about the second half. There was a considerable change in the service for the second cruise and service wasn’t as good as the first part. There were long waits in the dining room for just service and food . Read Less

The cruise is advertised as off season which is great. The weather is still good and the crowds are significantly smaller. Only disadvantage is shorter daylight hours. It is a very busy cruise with no sea days and lots to see and enjoy. The service on Viking is always excellent. We enjoyed four dinners in the included alternate dining. The Chef's table is definitely a great experience with very tasty menus. They always have a wide variety of shore experiences which are also very informative and of good value. My only complaint is you are supposed to get an included tour , yet they do fill up and sometimes are not available which I feel is false advertising. The other suggestion I would have is schedule the tours so you could do both an included tour and an option tour if desired. The resident historian was great. If I had only had him in high school , I would have learned and retained a lot more about history. Read Less

We were on the ship for 14 days. It was very comfortable and we enjoyed the cruise very much. We never felt like we were crowded. The public spaces were lovely and our cabin was a nice size with an amazing amount of storage. We were given an upgrade to the Penthouse Veranda suite which was a wonderful surprise. The mini bar was generously refreshed daily and the linens were always crisp. We wanted to see Lisbon, Valencia and Lucca so chose this trip. It was very easy getting on and off the ship, there were no tenders which was fantastic. You could walk into most towns or Viking would provide a shuttle. Viking also provides included tours in all ports. Many ships do not. We did pay for a few extra tours. There were many to choose from. Unfortunately because of the protests in France we couldn't drive into Aix-in-Provence but we understand that those things happen when traveling. The Chef's Table is high end food cooked perfectly and presented beautifully with wine pairings. There is no cost for the special dining rooms which is unlike many other ships. We found that if we didn't have a reservation, if there was room you could be seated. The World Cafe buffet had many fresh and good tasting offerings for breakfast lunch and dinner. The Pool Grill had a surf and turf night that was delicious and the chocolate buffet in the beautiful Wintergarten was stunning. Although we did not try the free sauna and snow room other guests raved about it. Read Less

We have been Viking fans for many years but this was our first sailing on the Sun. Our biggest issue was intermittent sewer odors coming through the ventilation system (not from the bathroom area). Although maintenance and Engineering attempted to resolve, they did not resolve, possibly because this is a design issue or requires a bigger fix than they could do at sea. Either way, Guest Services management was totally unsympathetic and offered no apologies, etc. One really nagging concern is that we were upgraded from a Penthouse Veranda on deck 4 to a Penthouse Veranda Junior Suite on deck 8. I can't help but wonder if they had previous sewer odor issues with this room and this was their attempt to get by until they could get a permanent fix? Noise level in this room was unusually loud and apparently came from doors slamming immediately below the room in crew access corridors or ? Food service often was very lacking in the World Cafe (sometimes nearly had to tackle waiters for beverages) even though they appeared to be adequately staffed. Perhaps this was a training issue related to the rapid growth. The quality of entertainment from the on board musicians poor. Again, this was very different from all our previous Viking experiences. Optional excursions ranged from poor to good (but none "great") and most of our's were expensive (more than $200 pp). With tipping and other costs included, the Viking price point and value is not what it used to be. Although I left similar comments with Guest Services and on my end of cruise survey, I have yet to hear any response from Viking Management. We will likely stick to Viking river cruises going forward and look to other small ship cruise lines for ocean cruises. Read Less

We went with our son, daughter in law, & two grand children. They had never been to the Mediterranean. It was a great trip that they could afford, and everything was inclusive. The dining on board was exquisite. The entertainment & excursions were great. The ship was well appointed, and you didn't feel crowded. The service & crew were exceptional. This was our third Viking cruise, and needless to say they are great people. Our son and wife had a very enjoyable cruise. It was especially great , since their grown children enjoyed it immensely.It was our son & wife's second Viking cruise. Everything went very smoothly once we were aboard the ship. We had airline delays due to weather & mechanical problems. Flying is not as easy as it used to be; it has become stressful. But the Viking cruise definitely distressed us all. We highly recommend the Viking cruise line! Read Less