Viking Sky Review
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We'd been thinking about a Baltic cruise since we returned from our journey on the Viking Sea's 2016 shakedown cruise from Venice to Istanbul. I am a Peterson so it made good sense to head to my homeland, if only to sail by. In addition, visiting Russia with Viking seemed like a great idea. We arrived a day early in Stockholm to wander the streets of the old city. We flew Lufthansa Premium Economy (worth the price), with an easy change of planes in Munich. We took the speedy train into city center from the Stockholm airport, walking the short distance to the Stockholm Sheraton. The hotel is well located, moderately priced, very, very comfortable, and has a great restaurant. The next morning we wandered the streets of the old city but were a wee bit early for shop opening. We came upon a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop in the old city, of all things. Closed until 11. Rats.
We embarked on the Viking Sky the next morning at 11 since we had upgraded to a PS3 Penthouse Jr Suite on the sixth deck - Cabin 6018. Embarkation was a breeze, especially because our one larger than carryon bag had already arrived by Luggage Forward, arranged through Viking. 6018 is a great cabin - plenty of room for a sitting area with couch, two chairs, coffee/champagne table, and dresser with TV. The verandah was very large and comfortable when the wind didn't howl. The bedroom was large and comfortable since the added square footage meant the closet wasn't right next to the bed. Both the bedroom and bath were precisely what we expected. Perfect in all regards. Gretchen, our cabin steward, was quite friendly and very attentive to our needs.
Dining was, as one would expect, delightful with great food. The Viking "buffet" is anything but a buffet. When we sailed the Royal Viking Sea ages ago we dressed for dinner, tuxedo included. Since we're Californians, the tux stayed home though I preferred to wear a jacket at dinner, adding a tie when we dined with Captain Toni Fast and Hotel Manager Wendy Gous. Dining room service everywhere was near impeccable. The dining staff was very friendly (cordial) and very attentive.