I picked this cruise for the itinerary and the port stops. They were all pleasant and somewhat different from other cruise lines. For most of the stops, the included shore excursions were walking trips and did not go far from the port area. The optional tours were awesome though, a very good selection of sightseeing, historical, culinary, and all very reasonably priced. The Viking Ocean ships are very lovely, great public spaces, great food, beautiful spa and fitness areas, beautifully decorated. I particularly liked the quiet reading areas located throughout the ship and the nice selection of books. The cruise director Aaron was great. The entertainers were good, very enjoyable. The lecturers were good, knew the subject matter and gave informative and interesting talks. In Naples, some local singers were brought on board and they were great!

The clientele is middle age and older, well traveled, and knowledgeable, and on both my Viking Ocean cruises.seemed mostly American, There are no facilities or activities for children.

Bookings for the specialty restaurants are open based on the category of cabin (the more expensive the cabin, the earlier you can book) and I believe, based on what I have read, that certain cabin categories are also able to book multiple nights, an option not available to my cabin (Deluxe Veranda DV2, 5th level) . Both the specialty restaurants were fully booked - all times, every day - although I tried to book online as soon as I was able, a few minutes after midnight on the first day booking was available to me. I was able to eat one night at Manfredi's on my previous cruise and it was pretty great, so not happy that that option was not available to me on this cruise. Read more