We did back-to-back 7 night cruises with Viking in October / November 2022. We selected the cruise because the stops were places we hadn't been before and we wanted to see the antiquities in many of the cruise stops. The overall itinerary was excellent and Viking did a great job of sticking to the schedule. Our cabin was excellent, we stayed in a Penthouse Junior Suite and there was plenty of room and the amenities were excellent. The heated bathroom floors and heated towel rack were greatly appreciated and double vanities and the large shower were great. Viking ocean ship layouts are excellent, with lots of public space, lots of restaurant options, and we never felt crowded or had to stand in lines at any point on the cruise. If you like pre- and post- dinner cocktails and premium wines, the Silver Spirits Drink Package is absolutely worth it, we will always purchase that option in the future.

The cruise staff is absolutely fantastic, from the room stewards, to the bartenders, to guest services, to all the restaurant staff, they were simply great. Within a day they remembered our names and our favorite drinks and made life onboard the ship easy and pleasurable.

Even though Viking offers a free shore excursion at every port, we usually selected an option that we had to pay for. The free excursions were generally short and not particularly useful. There were plenty of choices for the paid excursions, and for the most part they were good value for the money. The biggest issue we had with the excursions was with passengers showing up late, and making everybody else wait for them, and passengers signing up for excursions that required moderate to strenuous activity, even though they were mobility impaired. Again, this was a big negative impact to those passengers who read the requirements for the excursions. Viking needs to do a better job of staying on schedule for the majority of the people on the excursion and honestly, just leaving people behind who shouldn't even be on the particular excursion. Next time we will likely make our own private arrangements in most ports to maximize the positive experience. Read more