We had been on Viking River cruises before, which were fabulous, so we signed up for this Caribbean Island hop on one of Viking's ocean ships, with just under 1000 passengers. The ship is lovely, and our cabin was excellent. Food was good as well.

After the charming old San Juan, there the first couple of islands on our itinerary didn't have much to see. Things improved though as we moved along. The entire cruise director / activities thing was very different from any other cruise we had been on. The cruise director participated in evening entertainment as a singer and emcee, but we didn't see or hear much else out of her. The port talks in the theater, which she hosted, were scheduled right at 6 PM when dinner started. Whose idea was that?

There is much reliance on their snazzy electronics to support the evening entertainment in lieu of traditional props, etc., so it was always singing and dancing by a small group against a projection screen backdrop. A comedian, or mime, or juggler, or something different would have been a nice addition. The pop tunes cover band was mediocre at best, but the classical trio (cello, violin, flute), classical guitarist, and pianist were all superb. Couldn't get enough of them as they rotated through several venues every evening. Read more