I looked forward to this cruise to visit countries not previously seen, especially the coastline of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and other Baltic countries. Previously, I had taken several Viking River cruises and I was enthusiastic about their approach to cruising. Alas, the ocean cruise experience did not quite measure up to the standard I had expected of Viking based on my experience with the river cruises.

Good points: the ship was comfortable and well-planned, with many nooks and crannies for privacy, if needed. I liked having books about the region interspersed in many places for browsing. The cruise director was outstanding.

Mediocre: the food was adequate and, at times good (the specialty restaurants), however, the menu grew boring. In fact it deterred me from considering a longer cruise with Viking. Read more