Zhao Shang Yi Dun (Viking Sun) Review

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Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Zhao Shang Yi Dun (Viking Sun)
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BMWrdr
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
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Dining
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Entertainment
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Sail Date: Nov 2017

This was a Trans Atlantic Cruise, the first for The Viking Sun, but not the first for my spouse and I. The ship is lovely in every way. It's comfortable, uncrowded, quiet, and supremely well appointed. If it were rated as a hotel (and after all an ocean cruise ship today is a floating hotel/resort) it would be 5 star. The spa is beyond belief. It is open to all passengers unlike on most other cruise ships we have been on. The spa pool is wonderful, as are the hot and cold rooms. The fitness center overlooks the side of the ship instead of the front or rear. It took a bit of getting used to this view while using some of the exercise equipment. The equipment was all new and very state of art. The service in the room was outstanding, with water and towels being provide without needing to ask. What was lacking were daily classes such as a morning stretch class, or ab class, or something such as this. There were classes, but they did not take place daily and weren't specifically stretch, or something like that. The main dining room, called "The Restaurant" needs a new name. The service was excellent, the quality was very good, but the preparation was not up to the standards that one expects on a luxury cruise cruise or fine hotel. As for the alternate dining at Manfredi's Italian was marginal and way too noisy. We dined there twice and both meals were not very good and most certainly not very Italian except by name. The Chefs Table is best described as silly dining. The menu items were interesting and a few of the dishes were quite good. But the dishes didn't work together to make a meal. I would not waste my time eating a dinner in this restaurant. The World Cafe offers the best prepared food on the ship. We don't enjoy buffet dining. But we found ourselves eating at the Cafe one evening after a long day ashore. We had to go back there a few more times because their menu was the same as in "The Restaurant" and was prepared better. As for "The Restaurant" my recommendation is to change the name to "The Dining Room" Fine hotels don't serve fine meals in a restaurant!

Cabin Review

Cabin V1

Loved the cabin, especially the bathroom and large shower, the comfort of the bed, the lighting (especially for reading in bed) and our cabin service. That being said, there were a few things that are worth noting. One is how little space there is between the bed and the closet and the way the sliding doors work on the closet. Two people could not access the closet at one time, nor could a person be sitting on the bed near the closet while the other is trying to access the closet. The other thing is for those of us who have the need to charge our electronic gadgets (phones, tablets, etc). The room has dedicated plus for these items on the night stand next to the bed. But TAKE NOTE, when one leaves ones room and removes their ship card from the device that turns on and off the power in the room, one turns off the charging for ones electronic gadgets. How stupid! So in order to avoid this from happening one must plug the charging device into a plug on the desk because those plugs do not power off.

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