First time on Viking, but already booked on the Jupiter for March 15, 2020

We chose a 2-week trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise on the Viking Sea largely based on positive reviews from various sources. Although, none of our friends had cruised with Viking so we had no direct testimony.

We were attracted to this particular cruise because we received free Air and because of the many days at sea. We we're not all that interested in visiting numerous ports; we wanted to relax and enjoy the ship......which we certainly did. Having cruised previously on much larger ships we also liked the fact that it was a mid-sized ship and did not allow children under 18.

We spent two days in San Juan before experiencing a smooth embarkation and introduction the the ship. We appreciated being able to bring alcohol on board.

Every staff member from the Captain to the Cruise Director to our cabin staff were excellent. Restaurants were very good and we were never disappointed. We enjoyed Manfredi's more than the Chef's Table, where we found the selections to be a bit over the top. We appreciated the beer and wine selections with lunch and dinner. We found Mamsen's to be less inviting. The times we wanted to spend time i the Explorer's Lounge and have some food, the service and offerings seemed spotty; as well, we thought it closed too early.

Other standout things we liked:

- Cabin. Large, well-appointed and serviced cabin/balcony. At times we wanted the heated bathroom floor to be turned down but that was not possible. We had to call maintenance to have the sliding glass door to the balcony adjusted.....it was never really fixed. A small issue.

- Spa. We spent a good amount of time in the Spa and enjoyed the modern/clean facilities, sauna, steam room, ice room, jacuzzi pool, heated lounges, etc.

- Enrichment Presentations. All were excellent and Mick Dawson's presentations were superb, as were the several presentation by the British woman about Planet Earth.

- Entertainment. The four singers were enjoyable and it was interesting to hear their backgrounds and how they were selected and prepared by Viking. This was nothing like the entertainment we have experienced on board the larger ships, but nevertheless not disappointing.

- Common areas. All beautiful and relaxing. We especially liked the artwork and we used the app to learn about the various pieces.

- Poolside Bar. We discovered it too late in the cruise Great burgers and beer!

- Port excursions. All were good to very good. We especially enjoyed the Levada Walk in Madeira and the Requena Winery lunch in Valencia.

- The Ship's Chef. The tour of the galley and our interaction with the Chef was great.

- The Atrium, afternoon Tea and special food presentations were outstanding.

We spent 3 days in Barcelona after disembarking and enjoyed revisiting that beautiful city.

Overall a 5-star experience and we are booked to board the Jupiter in Buenos Aires on March 15, 2020, about 6 weeks from now. We selected another repositioning cruise, this time 21-days. We're looking forward to spending 3 days in BA before embarking. And, we hope the Coronavirus problems do not interfere with our plans.