We spent a few days ahead of this cruise "doing" New York city -- seeing a couple of outstanding plays and touring the 9/11 Memorial. Ironically enough, that time became even more memorable and enjoyable in some ways than the cruise on Viking Star itself. Embarkation was a hassle only because the precise location of the ship was not made known to us, so our Uber driver had to drop us a quarter-of-a-mile away and we had to drag our luggage to the check-in location.

I chose this cruise because it would take me back to where I grew up -- spending the first eighteen years of my life on the island of Aruba (part of the then Netherlands Antilles). I also wanted to share more with my wife what it was like to live on one of those islands in the southern Caribbean.

As with every cruise that we've made with Viking (and this was our third -- the last through Europe and the Mediterranean on this same ship), our time aboard ship was enjoyable and the ship's staff were extraordinary in their service and care of us. One glaring exception, however, were the ways in which passengers, themselves, laid practically permanent claim to lounges around the pool area -- even when they were not there -- by leaving pieces of their clothing or miscellaneous properties on or around the lounges. They effectively made whole areas around the pool extensions of their staterooms which the rest of us, then, could not use. Read more