My wife & I have been on 15 cruises including 3 Viking River Cruises. This was the 2nd sailing of the new Viking Star so we were sort of looking potential short comings since Viking is new to ocean cruising business. The ship size is just right from our perspective, that is, large enough to have good entertainment and activities, but, small enough to access small port without tendering. Additionally, the Viking philosophy of maximizing port time is right on target.

The food was absolutely the best we've had on any ship. The specialty restaurants (no extra charge) offered superb dining experiences. We also greatly enjoyed the Cafe which offered unhurried buffet dining with no sacrifice in quality or service. The Wintergarden area , adjacent to the pool, offered daily afternoon tea in a relaxing sunny environment.

The cabins were pleasant and well appointed, but, lacked much drawer or clothes shelf space, requiring us to partially live out of our suit cases. This could be improved by simply adding lower shelves or a half height cabinet to the large closet. We were unimpressed by the "travel department" that coordinated our flights. We were told one week before the start of the trip, that they issued our return ticket with separate, unconnected legs for our (minimum connect time) Heathrow connection. This left us with the potential of having to collect our luggage in London. This appeared to be a cost saving move, in my opinion, that is an unacceptable practice. The "travel department" representatives on the ship were unable to resolve the issue and left it to us (& similar to negotiate with British Airways). Fortunately, BA consented to check our baggage through, but, with no thanks to Viking. Read more