Viking Sea Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise for our 30th anniversary because of the WONDERFUL itinerary. Barcelona, Toulon, France, Monaco, Florence, Rome, Naples, Corfu, Greece, Dubrovnik and Split in Croatia and Venice. The ship is understated, clean and lovely, and the ports were outstanding - such a variety. The paid excursions we did were for the most part outstanding. We cooked in a Tuscan castle (THE BEST DAY!), had a gondola ride for two in Venice complete with ride in a wooden water taxi, shopped the streets of Aix en Provence, did one of the included excursions in Rome which was great and went off on our own quite a bit too. The staff on the ship was fabulous, and the junior penthouse suite was roomy and had extra perks like free dry cleaning. We said this cruise was a testament to marriage - most passengers were couples from 50-75 I would say and just very nice. Activities on board are geared toward travelers who want to learn, but we saw some fun entertainment, too and LOVED the spa. We had the 8th deck almost to ourselves many nights, and loved being outside on the comfy sectionals just enjoying the sea. I have cruised with Royal Caribbean and Carnival, and this is definitely a different experience and clientele. I like them all - this is just different. Less emphasis on entertainment and opulence, the food and wine selections allow you to experience the areas you are visiting (so it's not all geared towards American tastes), which could appeal to you or not. We packed in our visits to each port, so onboard entertainment was not our goal - we were usually ready to relax after walking all day. Overall, we had a wonderful experience and look forward to another Viking Ocean cruise.
Cabin Review
The cabin was lovely. The bathroom was roomy with two sinks and a HUGE shower. Bed was firm but comfy, tons of drawer space. The only thing I wished was different were the outdoor chairs on the balcony - not very comfortable. Free laundry and dry cleaning was awesome.
Port Reviews
Barcelona
LOVED Barcelona and it was an easy city to do on our own. We walked up La Rambla and strolled through the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria - my favorite!! Amazing! Walked to the Sagrada Familia which we loved - Gaudi park is right next door. Buy tickets online before you go to avoid the lines and take a taxi back to the ship!
Toulon
We did a paid excursion to Aix en Provece with an included lunch. We didn't feel comfortable going that far on our own and being late on the retur, but wish we had just been able to do Aix on our own once we got there. Tour guide was lovely and informative, but the lunch was not great and we missed the open air market's closing because we didn't know they closed up at 1:00. Just ok.
Monaco (Monte Carlo)
You don't need an excursion here - just get off the boat and walk to the Oceanographic Museum - it's gorgeous on the outside and very interesting on the inside. Then walk up the hill a little to the beautiful St. Paul's church where Ranier and Grace are buried - you can walk past their burial places inside. The palace is right past there, and the changing of the guard is at 11:30. Definitely go in and do the palace tour - the headset lets you go at your own pace. Then we took a taxi and asked him to drive us around a little on the way to the casino. Ate lunch outside at Cafe de Paris right next door and hit the casino for a little bit. Relaxed dress code during the day. Walked back down the hill to the ship, and had a wonderful day!! The cleanest place I have ever been. :)
Corfu
Walked to the top of the Old castle (quite a hike but worth the view) and had the best shopping of the trip here. Good place to just do on your own.
Dubrovnik
LOVED Dubrovnik. Heard so many people say this was their favorite port. Definitely walk the ancient city walls around the old town - the views are amazing. We took a boat ride (one of the little old fashioned ones) that went around the islands and then dropped us for an hour at a pebble beach called Sveti Jakov and picked us up later. Wish we had done the kayaking - perfect way to see everything.
Naples
We did the hop on hop on hop off bus tour which I highly recommend here. One line took us through the older parts of the city and then another line took us out of the city to see the cliffs, views of Vesuvious and some amazing homes on the cliffs. It was a beautiful day and we rode on the open air top deck - perfect> We then strolled along the waterfront where families and couples were enjoying a Saturday evenine - had the best meal on land at a cafe overlooking the water and got back to the ship almost at time to depart.