The expedition experience that Viking is selling with this ship is definitely different from the typical ocean cruise experience. There are about two dozen staff members who are assigned to bring the expedition experience to life. The ship shares many of the design elements of the ocean ships. The cabins are nice and feature a floor to ceiling window instead of a balcony. The room darkening shade that lowers in front of the window was a chronic source of noise in our cabin. The bathroom setup is excellent. There are power ports on each end table and on the desk. Storage is very good. Our cabin was near the central stairwell and that proved to be a very good location for moving about the ship. All four of the dining options did a fine job. Our only complaint was the uneven service in the World Cafe (some of it attributable to design flaws).

There is a walking surface around deck 5 that does require some steps, both fore and aft. The staff were hard working, friendly and competent, more or less a Viking hallmark.