We sailed on the Viking Star for the Homelands tour. As with any trip, there were positives and negatives. The biggest positive was the Star itself. It was fun being on a new ship and it really is beautiful with a comfortable stateroom and lots of very nice public spaces. The crew was great. The food was good (not great) and they did a good job of accommodating my food allergy. The itinerary was interesting and we got to see a lot of beautiful countries.

The biggest negative was the excursions, both included and the optional ones that we paid extra for. We had a couple of good ones, but most were mediocre to downright bad. We soon learned to just head out on our own with a tour book in hand and had a much better time on our own. We even ended up skipping out on an optional excursion that we’d paid for, knowing that we wouldn’t get a refund, but not wanting to waste the time.

The ship in general seems geared toward an older crowd and that was reflected in many ways: the food, the excursions, the music, the entertainment, and the offerings on tv. We’re by no means spring chickens ourselves …well over the target clientele of 55+…but found there just wasn’t much to do. We’ve never been bored on a cruise before! Read more