We chose this cruise because of the many ports and countries, and ZERO at-sea days. Our primary reason for cruising is to see as much as we can, off of the ship. Viking delivered.

The food was great for the most part, though we thought the Chef's Table was overrated, and much preferred Manifredi's. The buffet was pretty good, with only a few dishes that we didn't care for. Lots of seafood, sushi, and other meats from which to choose, including MTO meats and other dishes, and they did their best to keep the buffet as germ-free as possible (but there will always be at least one person who reaches into the pile of cookies with their bare hands, or the guy who blows his nose while in line, then handles the serving utensils!). The buffet restaurant has two sinks/soap/towels at each end, and my advice is to use them every time after you have plated your food, and before you touch your utensils, glassware, etc. to keep yourself as protected as possible.

The real downside to our cruise was the average age/ physical limitations of our fellow cruisers (65+). We are active and mid-50s, and though Viking rates their excursions for physical difficulty, we always had at least 1 out of the 25-ish in our groups who couldn't keep up, and thus slowed down the entire group. We saw 2 or 3 people fall, one who was injured badly enough that he couldn't get up (ankle injury). I also feel that at least some of our fellow cruisers were beginning to lose some common sense/ mental acuity (the guy who blew his nose at the buffet) which caused us and others some discomfort, as far as our health and safety. I was coughed on multiple times by people who didn't bother to cover their mouths, saw people coughing into their hands (who still doesn't know any better than that, post-Covid???), people who didn't cover their sneezes or coughs at all, and many who were definitely suffering from cold-like symptoms, seemingly without regard for their fellow travelers. There was even a group of four people sharing a bag of beef jerky on an excursison bus, two of whom were actively coughing, and no sanitizer or sani-wipes were in sight. Read more