Chose this cruise as way to see South America as land tours involved a lot of flights. Silversea was my first choice but it was sold out. We have done the Hurtigruten Norway fijords but otherwise this was our first cruise.

The good stuff first: Viking Jupiter is beautiful ship--well-designed and top-notch finishes. Stateroom was spacious and comfortable. Staff were attentive and helpful and service overall was first rate. Dining was good not great as I felt it should be given our cost. Chef's Table excellent and Manfredi's very good. The Restaurant was a mixed bag as I found many of the dishes cold when they should have been piping hot--strip steak came with dollop of parsley butter which was ice cold--steak should have been hot enough to melt the butter.

Now the not-so-good: Cruise Critic stated that Viking was a " highbrow " experience--I would hate to see " lowbrow "--we found the Entertainment mediocre. Shore Excursions were for the most part disappointing, especially the included ones. Sitting in a coach for 2 or 3 hours listening to a guide is not my idea of a shore excursion. We were unable to tender in to Falklands so my promise to send photos of penguins to my grandson went up in smoke. The lectures were unsophisticated--took 45 minutes to tell me what I could find out from Google in 10 minutes--again not up to my expectations given our cost. Read more