We chose Viking Sea because of the Amazon itinerary and of its excellent reputation as a newer ship. Because of port problems in San Juan, Puerto Rico due to the hurricane, we chose the cruise line's airfare and didn't spend any time in San Juan prior to the cruise, which we usually do when on a cruise. Connections being what they are, we arrived to the ship at about 11 p.m., and had been told by the greeters that a snack had been prepared and it would be happy hour for us. After stumbling about, we found where the snacks were, and the bar was still open. It hadn't been longer that 15 minutes when it was announced that the snack bar was closing. The next day, I checked on our room TV, and I had been charged for my wine, which I thought was complimentary. The charge was subsequently removed. Quite an interesting start to the cruise!
The ship itself is beautiful, with plenty of public area. Our room on the stern of the ship was well thought-out, and incorporated items which we have found lacking on other cruise lines. Any minor needs were quickly taken care of by the extremely efficient and personable crew. We continued to have a "vibrating safe" which we shimmed with cardboard...not big thing. A big thing, however, was the sliding door to the verandah. If you are both out on the verandah at sea, there is no way to secure the 200+ pound sliding glass from the outside. Consequently, when the ship rolled (as it does on the stern), this huge door would slide from side to side. This was extremely dangerous, and we ended up placing a rubber door stop in the track.
Dining was nice, with efficient waiters and good food. We ate at The Restaurant a few times, and always had to wait at least 15 minutes. This was a mystery to us since they would have sections of the restaurant closed off while we sat there waiting. The specialty restaurants were excellent, except for one night in the Italian restaurant when the swordfish was like shoe leather. I continue to be disappointed by the casual dining experience of virtually every ship that we have cruised on (about 15), and especially by this new ship. The trend for casual dining continues to grow, and the ships haven't kept up with this trend. Consequently, if you are eating at "prime time", there aren't enough tables. We ended up eating late dinners, early breakfasts, and lunches out by the pool.
We went on lour own and explored all of the stalls and vendors. Of course, bought lots of souvenirs.