We have been on several Viking river cruises and were excited to try the new ocean cruises. The ship was positively marvelous. We have been on other cruise lines, and we know that we like smaller ships, which offer better and quicker access to most ports without excessive tendering and long waits to disembark. The new Viking Star met all of our expectations and then some. The rooms are spacious and offer balconies, for which some cruise lines charge a premium. The ship is gorgeous and has all of the amenities we expected. Staff were courteous, friendly, and responsive to all of our requests. The restaurants were superb with a wide variety of options and suitable for all tastes. The ports of call on our Barcelona to Venice trip were all noteworthy and provided a good overview of each area. Highlights for us were Monte Carlo, Tuscany, Rome, Croatia and Venice.

The negatives of this trip involve the excursions. The process that Viking uses is not pleasant. The reservation system pretty much sucks. Those who pay more for cabins get first pick with the result that many excursions are no longer available to plebeians. Rather than arrange more buses or tour guides, Viking puts you on poorly managed excursions.

Our worst experience was the Barcelona panoramic tour in which we essentially rode our bus in circles through dense traffic for hours. We tried to change our previously reserved excursions on a few other occasions, but Viking could not manage it. Read more