Viking Star Review

5.0 / 5.0
2,051 reviews

Good Cruise Overall, Itinerary Issues

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Viking Star
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nofema
10+ Cruises • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Jan 2018

We chose this cruise first of all because of the itinerary. Secondly, we like Viking Cruises in terms of ship size, service, included amenities and overall quality. This was our second cruise on the Viking Star and we like the ship very much. It is the right size and the crew is outstanding. Our cabin attendant , Caroline, provided exceptional service. She was responsive to all our requests and went out of her way to make us feel welcome. The dining staff was also a treat. We usually had dinner in the dining room and we always requested the Turkish Hero, Selcuk to be our waiter. He and his staff of assistants took care of us with great care and some humor, as well. It was a treat. We also took advantage of the specialty restaurants and the meals were so enjoyable and the service was invariably outstanding.

One item however, that wasn't so satisfying deals with the itinerary. We have been on enough cruises to understand that there are no guarantees about ports of call and safety has to be the prime concern for the cruise line and we appreciate that. But this Mediterranean Explorations cruise, which I thought had an outstanding itinerary, turned out to be a completely different cruise. We were excited about visiting the African ports. They of course were cancelled just prior to our departure so that was a major disappointment. I thought at the time, at least we are stopping at Trapani, Sicily (where my mother's family is from) and Cagliari, Sardinia, a place that we've never seen. Then, during the cruise, both of those ports were cancelled due to high winds. This was another downer. The places substituted were in most cases fine but with the exception of Majorca, we had visited those locations at length on previous vacations. Certainly, one of the reasons we like Viking is that most of the services you could wish for are included in the basic cruise package, but it seems like there must have been something that could have been offered to make up for what can only be termed, a complete change of itinerary during the first week of the cruise.

Again, I want to emphasize that we enjoyed our cruise and, overall it was a positive experience. We particularly enjoyed attending Fenella Bazin's discussions. Included shore excursions are a plus with Viking although they typically provide a quick overview of locations. But they also typically an opportunity to explore some areas alone.

Cabin Review

Cabin balcony

The cabin tended to be a bit small but given the size of the head and a balcony, it worked out well

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