Viking Star Review
Ship, rooms and entertainment great, but more work needed on food and excursions
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The ship is beautiful, and never seems crowded. Rooms were roomy and room service was a treat. We caught a couple of nights of the bands playing and had a great time! Lots of dancing and singing. ABBA night had everyone singing along whether they liked ABBA or not! We did not manage to catch much of the lectures as they often conflicted with excursions or other activities.
We were disappointed in the dining experience on the ship. The first night we were rushed throughout our meal in the Restaurant, and the steaks were very overcooked. The next nights were an improvement, but the food was never of the same caliber as the river cruises. When you are on the ocean cruise you do not get to have the same servers each night, so they cannot get to know you and your preferences--that was a bit of a luxury on the river cruises! The World Cafe was a bright spot. The food was very nice and it was a wonderful place for lunch with a view of the port.
The visit to St Tropaz should be changed to another port, or at least have the included excursion go somewhere that isn't shut down. We were in St Tropaz on a Sunday in the middle of winter...it looked like a ghost town. We were told of a beautiful park up on the bluff, but not taken there. Instead we were taken to Grimaud which is a planned community on the coast--no one is there during the winter. Other than a couple of restaurants that were open, there was no where to go in the cold while you waited to get back on the bus. Quite unimpressive, not sure how this became a sight worth traveling by bus to see! Barcelona's included excursion was by bus, but didn't take us any further into town than we could (and did) walk. Would have been much more valuable if it had shown us the area developed for the olympics that the guide talked about but we did not see. We were not able to go to Marseille due to high winds and the alternate port was also too windy so we stayed on the ship that day. Generally, the excursions were at best OK-- not at the same level as the river cruises. Even though this cruise says it includes Florence, it is only included if you pay extra to go on one of the Florence excursions. That's something I expect from other cruise lines, not Viking.
Cabin Review
Cabin was roomy and the service was excellent. We used the room service for breakfast--what a treat! The ship is beautiful, and never seems crowded.
We were disappointed in the dining experience on the ship. The first night we were rushed throughout our meal in the Restaurant, and the steaks were very overcooked. The next nights were an improvement, but the food was never of the same caliber as the river cruises. When you are on the ocean cruise you do not get to have the same servers each night, so they cannot get to know you and your preferences--that was a bit of a luxury on the river cruises! The World Cafe was a bright spot. The food was very nice and it was a wonderful place for lunch with a view of the port.
The visit to St Tropaz should be changed to another port, or at least have the included excursion go somewhere that isn't shut down. We were told of a beautiful park up on the bluff, but not taken there. Instead we were taken to Grimaud which is a planned community on the coast--no one is there during the winter. Other than a couple of restaurants that were open, there was no where to go in the cold while you waited to get back on the bus. Quite unimpressive, not sure how this became a sight worth traveling by bus to see! Barcelona's included excursion was by bus, but didn't take us any further into town than we could (and did) walk. Would have been much more valuable if it had shown us the area developed for the olympics that the guide talked about but we did not see. We were not able to go to Marseille due to high winds and the alternate port was also too windy so we stayed on the ship that day. Generally, the excursions were at best OK-- not at the same level as the river cruises. Even though this cruise says it includes Florence, it is only included if you pay extra to go on one of the Florence excursions. That's something I expect from other cruise lines, not Viking.
Also, we found it difficult to get any time with the counselors-- even after waiting nearly half an hour, we had no idea how many people were ahead of us and just sitting in the area. They need some system, perhaps appointments for some of the counselors since some folks were spending over half an hour with questions from a single traveler. There was no one for quick questions. Also, very haphazard about asking for feedback on the excursions--handed out review forms on some and not others, with no directions of what to do with them.
I have booked another ocean cruise for Alaska in 2019 and am a little nervous about it. I talked a lot of my family into going this time. I want them to think well of Viking, but I am not as confident of these ocean cruises as I am of the river cruises. I've always told friends and family how wonderful Viking is, and have referred several to cruises. I am very hopeful that these ocean cruises will soon be at the same quality level as the river cruises in all areas, not just the room service and the beautiful ship design.