My husband and I did the Western Mediterranean Viking Cruise that began on Dec. 20, 2023. We had previously taken two river cruises with Viking and this was our first ocean cruise experience with this cruise line. The service was amazing on the ocean liner, same as they offer on their river cruises. The biggest difference was that the ocean cruise has hundreds of more passengers than their river cruises, so you do not get the same intimate experience or get to meet most of the other passengers like you do on the river.

WHAT WE LOVED MOST. I loved the spa, pools and gym. I also loved having more dining choices on the ocean cruise and the entertainment was nice too. It was nice having in-room dining available and the included mini bar was a nice perk. Freshly made gelato was the best part - who cares that it was December! The destinations were AMAZING. We really saw some of the most amazing places and we loved each destination immensely. I highly recommend this cruise in terms of the sites and excursions offered. We loved the lectures about each destination too.

WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED. We were not able to get dinner reservations at the specialty restaurants because they filled up as soon as they opened practically. The flights through Viking were awful. Our return flight had TWO connections from Rome to Los Angeles. I was looking forward to purchasing half price vouchers for our next voyage, but they were not offered on this cruise. Read more