We had been wanting to try Viking Ocean as an alternative to our previous favorites, Windstar (yachts, not sailing ships) and Regent, so we chose this one week itinerary from Venice to Rome and were joined by long time friends for the voyage. We were aware that this was only the second sailing for the Orion and that there might be some rough edges still to be worked out. Indeed there were. For starters we got three different versions of when cabins would be ready. The first was in the cruise documents that were mailed indicating that because we were in a Penthouse Veranda stateroom we would have access by 1 PM. The second was at the embarkation desk in the terminal where we were told we could get in by 12. The third was at guest services where we were told no, it would be 2 PM. It finally turned out that a mass PA announcement about 2 PM was the only way we, and presumably all the other guests, knew that all the cabins were ready. To back up a step, the reason we were at guest services right after boarding was because a large portion of the cruise cards that were created at the terminal desk at check-in didn't work! A large group of people had to have their cards re-issued which temporarily overwhelmed the guest services desks. The next, admittedly small, irritant was when our cabin steward oriented us to the stateroom and pointed out that the Nespresso machine would only dispense hot water. Bummer. I had been looking forward to some tasty coffee selections without room service or going out of the cabin. I would simply say don't advertise in your marketing materials that there is a Nespresso machine in each cabin if all they do is spew out hot water for the instant Nescafe provided.

Our biggest ongoing hassle during the entire cruise was in regard to the Silver Spirits drink package. Most of the wait staff were simply not familiar with it. They would try to locate something on their high tech tablets they use and then would say it's not available or "we've run out of it". Had it not been for an extremely competent wine steward, Enea, this might never have been straightened out. Admittedly, things did get better as the week progressed. But this feeling of disorganization and lack of familiarity with things carried over into the main dining room. Every evening we ate there I would characterize the scene as frenzied...waiters rushing around, staring at their hand-held devices. Just not calm and relaxing. That's not a knock on the people themselves. All of them were friendly, helpful, and a delight to talk with. The comment is really directed at management and the prior training of the staff in such things as the drink package.

At sail away time the Explorers Lounge was understaffed, at times near impossible to get a drink. I observed one bartender who was so harried and overwhelmed that he picked up the phone and told his supervisor he needed more help. Then he decided it was time for his dinner break, I guess to escape the confusion. Read more