We recently came back from the 10-day West Indies Explorer on Viking Sea. Overall, we had a great time, and we have an appreciation of both what Viking offers and what it does not offer. It’s a contender for us for certain, but not one we felt spoiled us for any other cruise line. Lots of detail from our perspective in this very long review.

Background and Overview: my wife (41) and I (47) have cruised 10 times—3x on Princess and 7x on Celebrity—since our first cruise back in 2007 (all our prior cruises have reviews on CC). Viking was new to us, and so our review is through this lens and how it differs from those lines in ways both expected and not.

Why we chose Viking: We wanted to go on a cruise to the Caribbean over the holidays. We liked the itinerary, but we had been to every port but Antigua before at least once. The main itinerary allure was that it would allow us to visit friends who recently moved to Puerto Rico in advance (and after, it turns out) of the sailing. But we wanted to try Viking for several other reasons too: the enrichment, the upscale atmosphere, more personalized service, and the smaller ship size. Most compelling: adults only (during the Christmas holidays), more inclusive amenities, and what they call “no nickel and diming.” In almost all respects, they truly do live up to these claims, but there were some glitches (or oddities) that I will touch on. Read more