Viking Jupiter Review
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We had to jump through lots of hoops (apps, covid tests, proof of vaccination, etc) to get on this cruise, but it was worth it! This was our first Viking cruise, having cruised on Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean in the past, and now we're pretty spoiled. The Jupiter was beautiful and spotlessly clean. The crew were so friendly and helpful (of course, it did help that there were only 640+ passengers, so the crew to passenger ratio was over 1:1). The food was some of the best we've ever had on a cruise and the service was exceptional. The only thing I could say was not perfect was the onboard activities - not a whole lot going on if you're not into sitting in the theater and listening to history or culture lectures. But since this cruise had port calls every day, we weren't bored.
We knew of the potential for quarantine or covid exposure, but feel that Viking did an exemplary job in keeping us safe - as far as we know, our cruise had zero covid cases. We did carry "trackers" but they didn't track our movements, they just registered when we came into close contact with other trackers (Viking doesn't know where you are, it just knows if you've been next to another tracker). It is a gamble that you could be sitting near a covid-positive case for an extended time, thus potentially having to quarantine, but we took the chance and had an amazing cruise.
Embarkation was very smooth. We had Viking pick us up at the airport and, because we got there early, they took our luggage directly to the ship and us to the Harpa Concert hall where they had breakfast set up for us and we got our key cards there. Around 11am they took us to the ship. In the past with other cruise lines, if you get in early, you end up sitting in a warehouse at the terminal, waiting to check in. I thought Viking went above and beyond in this instance, especially considering we only paid $49/pp for the transfer! The itinerary was great, and we took a couple of the included tours (very good) and a couple optional tours (also very good) and have no complaints whatsoever with the port calls.
Cabin Review
The ES2 Explorer Suites are located on the stern of the ship. They are huge, with a great wrap-around balcony, with a table for 4, a side table, 2 individual lounge chairs and a two-person chaise. On a sunny day we loved laying in the chaise, watching the sea. The room we were in didn't have a standard table for 4, it had an oval table placed next to a cushioned bench, which was great for room service. The only negative of the suite was the odd tub/shower room - when you took a shower, the water splashed right into the tub (but, since I didn't have to keep it clean, no problem for me!). We were on the 5th deck - I wouldn't want to be on the 6th deck because it's a little too shaded by the 7th deck overhang.