We chose this cruise partly for the Viking Route and partly to try out the Viking Ocean ship as we were also looking at another Viking cruise. On the whole we greatly enjoyed our experience. Customer service pre-cruise was not very good, in particular because we were never informed that the ship would not be docked where the cruise material said it would be! Fortunately we learned via Cruise Critic where it was, and saw it ourselves from the Maritime Museum. Embarkation after that was fine, as was disembarkation.

Shore excursions were a mixed bag. Several places relevant to the Viking theme were not shown on the port maps, nor mentioned in the port briefings. Fortunately we had done our own research! Excursions in large groups on buses were not as enjoyable. Stops where you could spend some time exploring on your own - such as L'Anse aux Meadows, or Qaqortog in Greenland, were the best! And we appreciated our day in Quebec.

Dining was mostly enjoyable. The World Cafe was packed at certain times, and service was stressed to get beverages to diners. We tried the restaurant and found it also could be very slow service. Book as many dinners as you can in the specialty restaurants - you can always cancel if need be. If you'd like to meet some of your fellow passengers, ask to join a table rather than dining by yourselves. Read more