Viking Sea Review
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We went on the same cruise last year and wanted to repeat it. We loved the cruise and we love Viking. I would like to see more instructions on what NOT to put in the toilets as twice the toilets on decks 7 and 8 were plugged for 3-4 hours.
Last year, the minute we returned home, my husband called Viking and booked the same cruise with the same room for this year. This year, because of the hurricane damage, we visited a different island, St. Croix. It certainly gave us an idea of the great differences in the economies of the islands. St. Croix had the poorest economy of all the islands we visited. However, we went on the excursion to the Botanical Gardens. That was amazing. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we learned a great deal. The guide pointed out the benefits of the hurricane, in knocking down branches of big old trees which allowed more sun light to penetrate the gardens and caused many of the plants that had never blossomed, to burst forth with flowers. The visit to the Captain Morgan Rum Factory was not good- we stood for a long time in the sun and couldn't hear the guide.
The excursions on the other islands were marvelous. On St. Lucia we attended the cooking class. That was a real highlight. The garden and the house were superb. The food on the ship was something people can only dream about. The presentation in the World Cafe- which is the best place to eat, was always attractive and appealing. We loved having a laundromat where we could do our own laundry. On our floor they would have done it for us, but we prefer to do our own. WE have 4 more Viking trips booked as of now!
Cabin Review
Very lovely, roomy and comfortable. The suitcases fit under the bed leaving lots of room. The shower worked really well. Only the toilets were plugged by people putting facial wipes in them- so twice we were without toilets working in our cabin. There is only a little picture of someone throwing something into the toilet. That needs to be very specific as some people just don't understand that kind of a toilet. The balcony was big and comfortable. We are nearly 80 years old, and everything about this was convenient.
Port Reviews
San Juan
We came 3 days early and stayed in the Vanderbilt Hotel. San Juan is a nice place to visit and the 3 days meant that the horrible weather on the East Coast didn't prevent us from making it to San Juan . We have friends who were called 2 hours before they were to fly and told their flight was canceled. Getting there early is always a good idea.
Tortola
We did not visit Tortola because of the hurricane damage. Instead, we docked at St. Croix. We walked around the town by ourselves in the morning, and in the afternoon we went on the Botanical Gardens tour and loved it. The guide was extremely knowledgeable. He explained how the hurricane had HELPED the gardens by knocking down some big branches of very old trees. The added sunlight made a lot of plants that had never bloomed, burst into flowers! The following tour of Captain Morgan's Rum Factory was a total waste of time- we stood in the hot sun while the unpleasant guide told things and we couldn't hear her.
Barbados
WE took a taxi around the island and ended up in a charming restaurant in a hotel for lunch.
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe might be interesting but our experience and that of other cruise members was the same. The people were rude and refused to smile even if we smiled at them. The colors are great- they have a plaid of orange and red and yellow that is quite striking, but they would not let us take pictures of them.
St. Maarten
We walked by ourselves into the town. It was interesting but not our favorite island.
St. Thomas
We took a taxi into town. There they have jewelry stores back to back and the owners begging you to come in and browse. I had no idea so many jewelry stores could be supported by cruise passengers but in one miscellaneous shop the owner explained that some people come yearly to the same shop and buy thousands of dollars of jewelry each year. And these are people who deliberately take cruises that wills top at St. Thomas. The hurricane damage was still very evident- fences held up by 2x4 boards and blue covering on many roofs. Electricity was restored 3 weeks before we arrived.