We took our cruise on Viking Sun on July 7th leaving from Amsterdam, sailing to Bergen. Overall it was a wonderful cruise on a spectacular ship with a friendly crew to see unbelievable sights.

The positive: We enjoy sailing on smaller boats (less than 1,000 passengers) and have sailed with Princess, and Azamara. This, by far, was the best ship we have been on. Throughout the ship, it was just simple little touches that made everything so wonderful. There are plenty of spaces to intermingle and meet people, but also quiet nooks to escape and enjoy the solitude. The Explorer’s Lounge at the front of the boat is outstanding. We had a Penthouse Veranda suite and again, the little touches made it our best cabin ever. Everything from a heated bathroom floor, to a shower you can actually turn around in, to light switches beside the bed, everything was laid out with you in mind. We dined at Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant, the main dining room and the World Café. Mandredi’s was good, but not outstanding. The food in the main dining room and the World Café was very good. We found the main dining room too loud and took most of our meals at the World Café – with the outdoor seating. As we may not get back to Norway, we went on two excursions most of the days in port. Some guides were better than others but on the whole, all but one or two of the excursions were very good to outstanding. It was annoying that there was a last minute time change to one of our tours that made us miss going on both for that day. All of the crew members were friendly and helpful. They always took that extra step to see that you enjoyed your time on board.

The less than positive: We signed up for the post cruise excursion of three days in Iceland. As it was considered part of the cruise, Viking made the travel arrangements. I do not think I will ever let Viking book air travel for us again. On Viking’s air web site, it states the best flights available, minimum connections standards of 60 to 90 minutes, most arrival and departure times ranging from 9:00am to 5:00pm local time and automatic seat request. None of that was true for our flights. Direct flights were available from Bergen to Iceland but we were routed through Copenhagen. We only had a 40 minute layover in Copenhagen. We had to leave the boat at 3:45am for a 6:00am flight and we were never given the opportunity for requesting seats. Also, you should note that when Viking makes the air arrangements, you still have to pay extra for luggage. Read more