Research for any vacation is key, and luckily there are lot of passenger videos (YouTube) and reviews of not only the Viking Kara, but also what to expect from each of the tours offered. Don’t go on Viking if you are expecting a “Carnival Cruise” experience, want to party with a bunch of 20- or 30-somethings, or want lots of entertainment options on board. Anyone that has seen a commercial for Viking knows the age group skews a bit older. But, with any cruise, you always roll the dice wondering not only who your fellow passengers will be, but also the staff that you will be spending incredible amounts of time with over the course of 8 days.

With that in mind, we had done our research and decided this was the cruise we were looking for – a getaway not only to spend quiet time together, but also meet different people in a less populated setting as well as ample time to explore different places on our own outside of pre-planned activities. We sailed from Basel to Amsterdam.

Fellow Passengers: As opposed to another reviewer, we had a great set of passengers. Sure, there were a fair number of senior citizens on the ship, but also a good number of 35-50 range. We developed a great friendship with another couple, and we rotated our dining table to meet others throughout the journey. A few older passengers did have some difficulties in movement, but most were doing the tours without complaint. While there were quite a number of people that retired early (and not all for reasons of being old :-) ) many of us stayed up in the bar until the very late (or more often than not) early hours. More about that below. Read more