Overall, my family and I were extremely impressed by this Viking Cruise.

First, the highlights:

The ship: Viking Star is an absolutely beautiful ship. It's still new and kept immaculately clean. The decor is Danish modern - I loved the furniture, especially in the public spaces. While it's a definite bonus that each room has it's own balcony, we also found ample places to sit in the public areas. The shaded poolside seats with ocean views went first, but unlike other cruise lines, we found ample shaded (and indoor, air conditioned, if you wanted) seating areas. Because there's no casino, there's no wafting cigarette smoke. There are two small pools, but they were never crowded (and our ship was at, or near, capacity). Even though the ship is small (930 passengers max.), it never felt crowded. Read more