Been on dozens of cruises on NCL, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Crystal, Regent, Celebrity, And Windstar but this was our first Viking. We had heard about river cruises with them but recently learned of their entry into the ocean voyage market and heard great things. Ours was a Mediterranean trip from Barcelona to Venice - many ports we had previously visited but there were several new options if we were willing to travel a bit which we were. I’ll cover excursions later, but first the Viking Jupiter. This ship is brand new this year. It is beautiful. And they’ve worked out the kinks described in prior reviews. First, the crew is fabulous. Extremely hard working, pleasant and professional. They strike the right balance, not too aloof and not too obsequious. Friendly and attentive but mostly invisible until you need them. The Norwegian style is casual and luxurious with a living room environment rather than grandeur. We loved the cozy nooks with many gaming tables, puzzles, libraries, theme areas around opera, symphony, science ( we went to all 3 shows in the 3-d planetarium and a lecture by the resident astronomer astrophysicist). The cruise director is also a professional opera singer and WOW! There is no casino, included excursions at every port, included good wine and beer at lunch and dinner, no children programs, in fact no children, no formal nights. This isn’t for everyone. But it suited my husband and me. We are in our 50s and were definitely of the younger cruisers. The name that tune games that were hosted by the super talented 4 singers/dancers were tons of fun although a bit before our time(50s and 60s music).

Buffet was top notch. tea time was not to be missed with live music in the beautiful winter garden next to the pool area every day at 4. The dining room is more intimate than the usual giant rooms on other lines. The 2 specialty restaurants are included. We liked the Italian but weren’t huge fans of French night at the Chefs Table. We aren’t big on fixed menus. We like to choose. The dining room we found to always have plenty of excellent options.

Our favorite shore excursions were to Cassis France, Split Croatia, and Lucca Italy.