This was a wonderful cruise While the weather was not the best the food staff and ship more than made up for it. Love the cruise line and will definitely do again . It was my birthday during the cruise and I ended up with 4 huge pieces of cake and three bottles of the bubbly!! I The cabin was clean and efficient. The staff were VERY attentive! I can't say enough about the food and the wait staff. The food choices were excellent and met any special needs that we needed. The staff remembered us and were very attentive without being obnoxious. The shore excursions that were included in the price of the tour were very good The ports of call were what we wanted to see and in the cities there was enough time to enjoy the sites I highly recommend Viking cruises and look forward to taking another in the future Read Less

Highly rated and many other satisfied customers. Found it all to be true. Ship was amazing, everything was thought out and crew was always attentive and prepared. Staterooms were clean, well appointed and plenty of room. Food on the ship was excellent - plenty of selection and variety, regional dishes served, service was outstanding. Manfredi's (Italian restaurant on ship) was our favorite place to dine, excellent food, service, selection. Tours (with one exception) were well planned, educational with well informed guides, always some free time after the tours to explore, eat or relax. Evening entertainment on ship was outstanding, young performers that I would not be surprised to see on Broadway one day. There were also good lectures and discussions about the ports of call and related subjects. Without exception, all the staff working on the ship were friendly, courteous, attentive and efficient. Met a lot of enjoyable passengers as well, enjoyed meals together. The extension trip was wonderful, the best part being the Viking appointed hostess. She was well above all our expectations! Scenery, tours, restaurants and hotels were most enjoyable. Will definitely be taking another Viking cruise in the future. Read Less

We've been on 8 Viking cruises over the past 15 years. The 5 river cruises were truly excellent, as were the 2 ocean cruises (Mediterranean and Baltic) which we took in 2015 and 2016 when the ships were brand new. As a result, we were very surprised to see how much the quality of the onboard experience has fallen over the past 3 years. There have been numerous cutbacks that affect guests, at the same time that Viking has channeled huge amounts of money into advertising and new ship construction. That's why, despite a beautiful ship and superb service, we have given our recent cruise on the Viking Sea merely a "Very Good" rating. Viking no longer provides an "Excellent" cruise experience despite what their TV advertising says about their past awards. Here are some examples of the cutbacks we experienced: 1) Included excursions -- With the exception of one port where we were taken to a very interesting stage show, all the included excursions were bus tours with one local guide and about 45 passengers. Viking never sent one of their staff members on the bus to troubleshoot problems (eg. Quietvox system not working) or check on excursion quality. Most excursions were too rushed (eg. 15 minutes to see a museum) and were just plain boring. On 2 occasions, we were taken to places where most of the attractions were closed. Obviously it's cheaper to send guests on bus tours in groups of 45 than it is to offer walking or biking tours with groups half that size. 2) Food choices -- In the buffet restaurant, the food choices are fewer and there is more repetition from day to day. For example, at any breakfast there were only 4 cereal choices and on most days those were of junk food quality (Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies, etc.). We asked for granola on the first day but it wasn't provided until the last 3 days of the cruise. 3) Evening entertainment -- It was the worst we have encountered on any cruise ship. Shows in the theatre were 100% music and the singing was mediocre. We never saw a comedian or magician who could have added some variety. In the lounges, there was no string quartet, merely a thin-sounding violin/cello duo. Nor was there a jazz trio. There was only one lounge pianist who was classically trained and sounded very stilted when she tried to play pop tunes. 4) Enrichment classes -- Many were free on past cruises but on the Viking Sea, all had fees. Yoga classes were $10, cooking classes were $59, and to attend a scarf-tying workshop, you had to buy a scarf from the boutique at a ridiculously high price. 5) Temperature control -- There wasn't enough heat provided in the theatre and it was always uncomfortably cold. Instead of having staff turn up the thermostat, guests were offered blankets to keep them warm during the stage shows or lectures. 6) Drinks -- There's no bottled water provided in staterooms any more. Instead, there is a flask of warm water sitting on the desk all day because it's too large to fit in the room's bar fridge. Despite Viking's very high cruise fares, soft drinks are not provided free of charge except at meal times. Nor is the stateroom fridge replenished with soft drinks as on other luxury cruise lines' ships. 7) Loyalty -- There are minimal rewards for loyalty to Viking. We've probably spent around $100 000 on Viking cruises. However, we still just receive $200 off our cruise fare as a past client and get a free drink at an onboard reception with the captain. To add insult to injury, someone who books a Viking cruise for the very first time and pays for one of the more expensive staterooms is allowed to reserve excursions and specialty dining weeks before us. It's very obvious that Viking values how much you spend onboard much more than it values loyalty over many cruises. 8) Prices on missing stateroom items -- Probably all cruise ships experience theft of items provided in staterooms but Viking has recently responded by posting a ridiculous price list of what they will charge your credit card if something is missing when you disembark. (eg. tissue box - $280; toothbrush holder $145). The prices bear no resemblance to the actual value of those cheaply-made items. 9) WiFi -- It's included in all areas of the ship according to Viking's advertising. However, that doesn't mean it resembles in any way the service you receive from your home internet provider. Viking's WiFi comes from a low-quality system that obviously hasn't been updated to meet the current needs of cell phone and laptop carrying passengers. During much of every day, it was extremely slow, taking up to a minute to access any web page after clicking the mouse. Moreover, on one at-sea day, no WiFi was available and the system broke down again on the second last and final day when guests needed to print boarding passes. Instead of assigning a couple of staff members to print boarding passes for guests, using staff computers, Viking did nothing. In summary, people who had previously cruised with HAL or NCL and were first-time Viking guests, seemed to think the Viking Sea experience was a step up. We, on the other hand, found all the cutbacks to be disappointing and annoying. We've already booked our next 3 cruises, and all of them are with Oceania, --- a cruise line that doesn't make the mistakes mentioned above. Read Less

All the Viking cruises are of an excellent standard and all ships seems to be the same design so you feel at home very quickly. Staff are excellent, cabin spacious and well maintained. Wifi access good, food good. The only poor thing we have found on Viking recently is the quality of the musicians who play, usually as a duo or sometimes pianist. Do Viking not listen to them before they are engaged? The standard is so poor, the repertoire so limited and mostly more of a funeral type of music that we have found that we 'dodge' these 'musicians' who play in the open areas. Excursions are always excellent and well organised. Viking appear to be expensive, and their prices seem to be increasing considerably, but you do on the whole get good value for money. Viking do look after their customers well and pay attention to detail. Would recommend Read Less

My husband really likes the Viking experience, and we liked the itinerary. Although I see that no opportunity is provided for negative comments, I will do so here. We were extremely disappointed to be kept "in the dark" about arrangements for our post-tour excursion via train to Oslo. A few days before disenbarkation we went to the guest services and the asian lady with shorter hair would NOT give us ANY information!! She merely pointed to the information in the Viking today flyer and started reading that aloud to us. Of course, we had already read that! Although she wasn't actually rude to us, she was cold, detached and disengaged. Obviously she couldn't have cared less about us. Sadly, I didn't look at her name badge. After disembarkation, we had NO IDEA what was going to happen to us, other than we would board a train. We were taken on a surprise tour of Bergen, which turned out to be our 3rd time past many of the sites. Most of the folks on that bus and later on the train were griping about not receiving any information. Furthermore, when we arrived in Oslo, we didn't know that we would be going on another bus tour there and didn't even know the name of the hotel! I vomited on the bus due to the rough bus ride. One couple on the train had been given a paper outlining the post-tour excursion. Why didn't the rest of us receive that??? My other complaint is about local currency. We knew that the ship did not provide local currency. I had called ahead and learned that Euros would be accepted by our tour guides in some countries and US dollars would be in another. However, I felt bad giving different currencies to these folks, and we had nothing to pay for restroom visits, either. Local guides shouldn't have to keep exchanging the currencies. And we would hardly want to get zlotys when we are only in Poland for 1/2 day. I wrote out a detailed suggestion to guest services, summarized as follows: Guests could pre-order packages of local currencies, paid in advance. I suggest providing roughly $10 of local currency for each country visited. These could be bundled in manila envelopes for us to pick up. Then we would have enough local currency to be able to tip our local guides appropriately, pay for use of restrooms, and maybe have enough leftover to buy a few postcards or something. Guest services left a message on my phone, summarily rejecting my suggestion by saying that they don't provide local currencies. I feel that this is a valuable and practical suggestion that I wish would be considered. I got kind of tired of the buffet food in 15 days. The Asian food at the Chef's table was disgusting. We didn't go to any of the entertainment events. Shore excursions were mostly good, but I regretted not knowing about the museum of hardanger fiddles before we got to Stavanger. I did not enjoy to train ride to Berlin - too long, and city is kind of ugly. I think that shorter excursions to charming villages closer to the port would have been better. Excellent service by wait staff, most were pleasant and engaging. Read Less

I hadn’t been to any of the destinations on this cruise but the destination I was really excited about was Eidfjord, and I wasn’t disappointed. We flew to Bergen and were met by Viking representatives at baggage reclaim. As soon as our luggage appeared we were escorted to the waiting transfer minibus. As we arrived late afternoon we went straight up to our cabin after a very smooth check in and welcome glass of champagne. Our cases arrived a few minutes later with our cabin steward, who introduced himself and was very helpful and friendly throughout the cruise, as were all the ships company, from cleaners and maintenance engineers to the officers and entertainment team. Our cabin was a deluxe veranda, and very spacious and well equipped. The wardrobe was very roomy with extra hangers available from the cabin steward. All cabins have a balcony, which is not only great for early evening drinks, but also early morning sailing into port. We got up at 6 on the morning as we sailed into Stockholm, to see all the tiny islands. Spectacular! And it was wonderful in Eidfjord to be able to sit and relax with a drink in such a beautiful setting. There were several very gifted classical musicians on board who rotated around the public areas- pianist, guitarist and string duo. They provided a very pleasant atmosphere to relax in. A resident singing group performed in concerts in the theatre accompanied by the resident band , all excellent value. There are several restaurants which all provide a very high standard of service and a wide range of choices, with special menus to reflect the port being visited. I am vegetarian and there was always plenty of choice. Hygiene is very important on a ship, and there were wash basins and sanitisers at the entrance to the World Cafe, which is a buffet. The toilets around the ship were spotless and were checked very regularly. Handrails were also often cleaned during the day and I felt that the standard of cleanliness at all times, throughout the ship, was extremely high. The public areas of the ship never felt overcrowded- never any need to reserve a lounger in the pool area! Although most of the passengers were of an age, there was plenty to appeal to the younger end of the range including the gym, a wonderful spa and range of entertainment. We were very lucky to have such good weather throughout our cruise. It was only raining on the last couple of days, and even then we managed to dodge the showers on our shore excursions. As local guides were employed by Viking, it was fascinating to hear their personal experiences as well as learning so much about our destinations. We had a wonderful holiday and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in experiencing interesting places in an inspiring setting , and not to those expecting entertainment 24/7. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we loved the Riverboat cruise that we took back in 2017 and though we would try the ocean line. The food and service was amazing -- rooms were lovely -- and I enjoyed the free wi-fi The entertainment is geared to an older crowd - there wasn't enough entertainment and with a lot of wasted space on the ship -- I felt there should have been more to choose from. Spent most of my time watching TV in the room. One of the most popular ports was missed due to weather -- not the ships fault -- but we didn't get any extra time at any other port -- The included excursions were very boring and the timing left you with no time to do any other ones -- which was extremely disappointing - because the included excursions with the Riverboat cruise were amazing -- Finally we traveled with a group of people -- which 6 of us was escorted to the airport when it was time to leave -- but the last person traveling with us was told to leave an hour past us - then was just left to find her own way to the airport - having to take a train and a bus - not knowing where she was going and was extremely upset -- In closing - I will never travel with Viking Ocean line again - This was the most I have ever paid for a vacation and was left very underwhelmed Read Less

We liked the venue: Athens to Venice. The accommodations were good. Cabin nice and clean. Balcony and pools were great. Food wasn’t what I expected is all. I’m not fond of cafeteria style. We ate at The Restaurant was good. As was The Chef table. Manifrdis was ok. The Explorer bar was our favorite! Great bartenders and view! We felt service was slow even with so many employees mulling around. Many times we would have to go find someone. Excursions were excellent, though places were extremely crowded especially Dubrovnik. Too many cruise ships allowed at a time so guided tended to rush you through so other guides could get in. We would of signed up for our third cruise but thought down payment was high. We want to go on another river cruise possibly Portugal/Spain. Hopefully in 2 years. We loved the river cruise Paris to Zurich 2 years ago. More personal. See you in 2 years Viking! Read Less

The cruise hit several locations we wanted to visit. We were glad we started in Greece then Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and went to Italy. We did extend our trip 2 days in Venice which was a must. The locations seemed to improve as we headed north. The food was outstanding and the daily wine choices were great. We should have taken more advantage of the onboard entertainment. The crew were outstanding. They were very attentive and funny. We appreciate their efforts and service. The excursions were great we did upgrade a few. The history and culture were amazing. Great cultural enrichment and wine! We overpacked. Having the onboard washers and dryers were great to recycle and bring less. We recommend being self aware as a traveler. We were disappointed by the rudeness of some of the other travelers. When something did not go perfect the ship crew always worked hard and quickly to correct it. Be patient. Read Less

I wasnt quite sure what to expect for our Viking Star Ocean voyage after six previous Viking river cruises. Needless to say I was extremely pleased. Everything about the ship from our 3rd deck veranda stateroom to the excellent service and friendly crew was great. You would never know that the ship had over 600 passengers aboard as there was plenty of space to relax and enjoy being not on a crowded larger cruise ship. Our shore excursions more often than not had superb guides, we chose to take several extra charge trips and are glad we did. The weather, except for the very first day, was spectacular. Unfortunately, the winds off of Santorini were too high to allow tenders to be used so we missed that trip. Food aboard the Viking Star was always good, ranging from excellent (Mamsens and Manfredi) to very good choices at the breakfast and lunch buffets. The main dining room was also usually good, but got extremely noisy after 730 pm. I used the very large fitness center a couple of times and we certainly were surprised by the free laundry room and 24 hour room service. Read Less

Having loved our Viking River Cruise in 2017, we decided to try the Viking Ocean Cruise. So glad we did. Everything about the ship and the crew was exceptional. The atmosphere, the food, wine, shore excursions, on board activities, it was all marvelous. With only 930 passengers, one never felt crowded and we never had to wait for a table or any type of service. The crew was super professional, courteous and friendly. They helped to create an atmosphere wherein it was easy to make friends with fellow passengers. The cabin design was streamlined and gave a sense of space. Having all cabins with balconies is a huge bonus. Having room service breakfast on our balcony a couple of time was a lovely luxury. The staff in all the restaurants, bars and spa were fabulous. We attended several shows, all of which were fun and entertaining. We have already booked our next Viking Ocean cruise and can't wait for it. Thank you Viking! Read Less

We wanted to visit this part of the world and this itinerary gave us the perfect opportunity to see several places in one holiday. We enjoyed all the stops, and loved everything about the onboard experience. The ship design, decor and upkeep are excellent. Food and drink are fabulous. We especially loved Manfredis restaurant, but we enjoyed the Chefs Table too although we selected our menu carefully because not all of them appealed to us. The Restaurant was consistently high standard, Mamsens deli has a limited selection but us great for a simple breakfast or lunch. There are bars everywhere so you don’t have to go far for a drink. The Explorers Lounge bar was our favourite spot because of the stunning views. There is a main pool with covered and uncovered loungers and sofa style seating, and and aft infinity pool with loungers that shares space with the Aquavit terrace. We hung out at the aft pool. There is a sun deck too. Absolutely no problem finding somewhere to chill out. Every staff member was great to interact with. Read Less

Recommendation from friends. The ship was clean and efficient. The staff were truly great - responsive and polite. The food was excellent at Manfreds but could only get a reservation one night - very disappointing. Some meals at The Restaurant were good and others not so - for example, Sword Fish over cooked. The public places on board were very comfortable. The optional excursions were great. The optional Silver Beverage Package was well worth it. The cabin Stewart, Josephine, was so good. So was Jean Paul at The Restaurant. We used the Explorers’ Lounge a lot and found it so comfortable and the service excellent. We particularly enjoyed the guitarist. When we book another cruise we will use Viking again - smaller ship, no children, no casino, etc. we are considering a river cruise, particularly the Danube. Thanks to the crew of the Viking Star for such a pleasant experience. Read Less

This was luxury. The ports were all delightful to visit. Excellent guides in every port who knew all about the places we were in. Ship lectures were very good, again the speakers were extremely knowledgeable. All the staff seemed genuinely happy and ready to please. Nothing was too much trouble. Drinks included with meals were plentiful and good quality wines. Restaurant food was first class.. Melt in the mouth steaks, lobster, oysters. Eggs so fresh. We were disappointed that they did not make a fuss of sail away but the captain was good. Shipped left port without us feeling a thing. Entertainment good. Young group were professional. Cruise director had a great voice. Ship ba d good too. Leaving the ship went smoothly although we were very early at the airport. Flight delayed and then the airline lost our baggage but we got it delivered to home three days later. Read Less

With over 300 sea days on Holland America, we felt it was time for a change, and wanted to try out Viking Ocean. We could not have been more pleased with the overall experience. Check-in was swift and easy, with our documents awaiting us. We were also able to access our cabin earlier than promised. Our cabin was a Deluxe Verandah - nicely laid out, great bathroom with heated floors (also useful for drying wet clothes!), modern and clean. The TV systems are state of the art, and extremely useful - an example being the replay of lectures, etc. shortly after they are done live. It would be nice if the system had real-time data on navigation items such as course / speed / wind etc. Be aware that drawer space is somewhat limited, even with the extra ones in the closet on Sun, but the beds are high enough that even large suitcases are easy to store there, and can be used as additional storage. Our only cabin knock was the proximity of the closet to the bed - somewhat awkward to get at. Larger cabins don't have either of these two issues. Dining was excellent - the quality of food was high, and there are multiple choices. The open faced sandwiches in Mamsen's are exceptional - except for the calories, you could live on them! World café is good, with limited crowding, and would be excellent when the weather permits dining outside on the stern deck. The Restaurant is fully open seating, but we never waited more than a few minutes, even at peak times. The serving systems in the Restaurant seem to have multiple "handoffs" between the staff, and occasionally resulted in a missed request, but they were speedily corrected. Of the two specialty restaurants, we loved Manfredi's (Italian) - be sure to reserve as early as you can, as it's very popular. The Chef's Table was good, not great - some excellent dishes, some mediocre. We largely relied on the included shore excursions, as they tended to do an overview tour, and allow personal exploration afterwards. The two optional tours we used were well organized. Service levels throughout the ship were outstanding - even on a short cruise, the staff quickly learned to recognize us, and were always eager to assist. While we missed the chance to get to know our dining stewards as well as we have previously in a fixed-seating environment, we were able to make a few connections over the trip. Being so new, the ship is pristine and very stable and quiet. Maintenance is discreet, and not intrusive. And, the internet service put every other cruise line that we've been on to shame - a real leg up for staying in touch. Bottom line - we've booked two more voyages! Read Less

Great cruise line. Awesome ship and service. One of the best designed ships we have ever been on. Wraparound Promenade deck. Thermal spa outfitted with more different treatment areas (whirlpools, snow room, dry sauna, steam room, etc). Great fitness room. Most rooms between the common areas on decks 1-2-7-8 limiting how many stairs to traverse to get between rooms and common areas. Ship had no feeling of crowding anywhere. Common services desks designed to address client needs. Ship was largely digital meaning that many things could be accomplished through television set in the stateroom. Service was exemplary in every way. Wait times throughout the ship were short or non-existent. Service was highly anticipatory. All administrative activities including embarkation and debarkation, as well as port visits were professionally and efficiently handled. Very good food, using fresh, high quality ingredients. Food was well prepared and tasty. Special requests were handled by the culinary staff with aplomb. World Cafe had most items of the Restaurant + some additional surprises. Mamsen's deli was okay, but the Pool Grill was outstanding. Both Manfredi's and Chef's Table were very good. Could have offered more traditional desserts. On-board activities, while not lacking, could have been more robust. Afternoon tea was great featuring more than 12 types of tea. Enrichment lectures were good also and were recorded for later viewing in the staterooms. No casino or bingo which was a plus. Read Less

This is our first cruise with Viking and we are converts! We have cruised with most other lines and while we don't consider ourselves "cruise people", we do end up taking a fair amount of cruises. We really enjoyed the low key luxury decor of the ship. I read an interview with the CEO of Viking and he described his line as "the thinking man's cruise rather than the drinking man's cruise." I think that this sums it up perfectly. The library on the ship was amazingly well thought out and the educational presentations were outstanding. We also were blown away by the thoughtful touches on the ship - like a free laundry room on each floor. A special shout out goes to all of the staff - they were so helpful and friendly. I never felt like they were chiseling for tips. Truly, Viking felt like a Four Seasons Hotel at sea. We will definitely be back. Read Less

I choose this cruise primarily for the ports of call. I ended up being a fan of Viking. The ship was neat and clean. The staff (all of the staff from the cleaning staff to the Captain) we friendly and helpful. The lectures were fantastic. The food excellent. (I did have an early hiccup with the food. I am allergic to garlic and although I made all the proper notifications I was still served garlicky food the first 2 nights. I spoke to the the head of client services after I was unable to eat the second dinner and she was extremely helpful. She spoke to the head of all food services who then spoke to me. Every night after that I could eat safely and deliciously.) The facilities from the Spa to the pool were clean, neat and excellent. (I had the best massage ever!) There was lots of variety in food, entertainment and options for at sea days. My only little quibble was with the shore excursions. I would have liked more "demanding" options. I found that most excursions were not as active as I would have liked. Read Less

Room: Had Deluxe Veranda that, per Viking, was 270 sf. As soon as we opened the room door, it was a shock. I measured: 193sq not including the balcony. Storage: Three drawers in cabinet, one drawer in each night table - and the closet. Hardly enough. Communication: Abysmal. In the first three days (yes, three days) I had to go to Guest Services (GS) 15 times - I finally stopped counting. Some reasons for these trips to GS: 1) Viking description of one tour vs TripAdvisor description differed. When questioned, rep told me that 'their screen' was quite different from what they wrote in their brochure when I signed up. 2) Returned to room to find paper that showed they had cooking classes "first come basis". We had arrived early, so I went back. Rep took my info and said we were in it. We never got tkts. I went back and was told we were on a wait list. 3) Found out there were wine classes. Went back to sign up. 4) Went to the wine class and signed up for more but then at designated time, the room was empty. - back to GS - was told class was cancelled and everyone was called . (no one called me) 5) Another wine class. and another GS trip - class was cancelled because no one showed up. (I was there and the room was dark). 6) The fan in the room was so loud, I had to wear earplugs -- and I am hearing impaired! etc, etc... Future cruise sales: Misleading. Prior to departing, I saw that their 'anniversary sale' was extended thru end of month. I had the USD amounts and wanted to check their deal for booking onboard. When presented with a price that was 1K more than the 'anniversary sale' price (before discounts), I questioned the sale. I was told that 'the sale was no longer in effect'. When I returned to USA and was able to access USD prices, I saw that it was in fact still on. Good points: Chef's Table was great. Wine stewards were great. One floor tenders werre great. Excursions: Ok, we missed ports due to weather - but, to depart Quebec at 3:30....really? In Iceland, we had a $109 tour that been delayed due to road construction - and the guide was ready to extend our time a bit. However one guest (the lecturer) said he had to be back on board and could not have the extension. There had been this same tour in the morning -- shouldn't the speaker have been advised to take that tour instead of making the entire bus return early? I have been on over 30 cruises w/ SilverSea and Oceania -- and what they advertise is what you get. I will stick with them. Read Less

We picked this cruise because of its itinerary - "In the Wake of the Vikings" - a northerly transatlantic crossing, and we had to book it a year and a half in advance because it's only offered once a year. (Although, we found out later that a 2nd Viking ship trailed this same itinerary by several days - so much for Viking's communications - more on that.) We did the 3-day pre-trip Iceland extension. Generally good, although we found out once there that there were 78 people on this pre-trip, and all but 8 of us had direct flights to Bergen to board the ship after Iceland. We were some of the unfortunate 8 - indirect flights thru Oslo. We asked the local Viking person (an independent travel guide, very helpful) "what did we do wrong to deserve this?" She said to call Viking, ask for direct flights, since another couple had done this, or have your travel agent do this for you. We emailed our US travel agent, asked her to to have Viking book us direct (like the 70 other people who had this done for them automatically). Viking's 1st response was that they would charge us $350/pp because this was a voluntary upgrade on our part! Gag me! We went back to our travel agent, she fought w/Viking and got the direct flights for no charge, like all the others (except a few who got stonewalled by Viking when they went direct to Viking). Other than that, the pre-trip was a nice way to explore Iceland - much more so than the planned one day shop in Reykjavik on the cruise. We did Blue Lagoon, Grand Circle tour, plus good tour around Reykjavik. Once we flew to Bergen, we found out (rumors among passengers on the bus ride to the ship) that we're not staying in Bergen, we're leaving a day early, i.e., right away, due to Hurricane Dorian, and we'll be skipping 1st two port stops (Shetlands and Faroes), in order to try and skirt hurricane on way to two new port stops in Iceland via two very rough sea days. Ironic, that we just left Iceland, flew to Bergen, to get on a ship and sail into a hurricane in order to go back to Iceland via rough seas. Why couldn't Viking let us know that back in Iceland and let us just rent a car and drive through scenic Iceland and catch up to the ship in 1st new Iceland port stop? This is 'classic Viking non-communication.' (Our only other Viking Ocean cruise was to go from Istanbul to Venice, only we found out 'by accident' that we weren't going to Istanbul, but cruise was going to start in Athens instead.) The Viking Sea ship is wonderful - small size - only 900+ passengers, great cabin attendants, great food, comfy beds, free wifi, free laundry, free beer & wine w/lunches and dinners, nice public areas. They offer two free specialty restaurants/trip - an Italian, plus a special Chef's Table. In keeping w/Viking's non-communications, we had booked one of each, only to find that Viking had somehow cancelled one of our reservations when we showed up for dinner. The two extra Iceland port stops were wonderful, but once we left Reykjavik, we were told that, due to storms off Greenland, that we'd be skipping the 1st Greenland port and have ... 2 more rough sea days! Prince Christian Sound (60 miles of interconnected fjords in S. Greenland) did make up for this, as it was a visual extravaganza. However, more of the same after Greenland - two more rough sea days due to bad weather off W. Greenland on our way to Newfoundland, and an alternative port once there. We heard from others on board that Viking has made this re-positioning trip 5 times, and has only made all port stops on its advertised itinerary only once! Seems like Viking needs to re-examine its repositioning trips - we understand that 2020 cruise goes in August, but I'm sure Viking is trying to maximize its profits with its Baltic cruises and didn't really want to leave that soon! Once home, we did receive a nice email from Viking saying, in effect, that they screwed up, and are offering a future voucher worth 40% of our trip cost on a future Viking cruise. We'll have to seriously consider whether we want to cruise Viking anymore. Their ships are great, and once onboard the crew and staff and accommodations are excellent, but Viking's communications with its passengers, especially pre-trip, STINK! Read Less

embarking was quick and easy. once we were on the ship at 3.30pm we were advised that the ship would be leaving that night instead of the original plan of the next evening due to weather which meant we missed the port of Bergen as it was too late to do anything that day. Big seas means we also missed Shetland Islands and Faroe Islands. instead we made for Iceland and had 2 make up ports of Akureyri and Isafjordur. both tiny stops. We then had to forgo Nanortalik due to 'weather'. When we got to Dagueanay.....well it isn't it was the port town of La Baie, 20 kms from the main city. No shuttles were pour on. We had to find a local bus or taxi of we es bed to go into the city. We reached Quebec, the best port of all and we had to be back on board by 3.30? surely we could have stayed longer given the fact how much we had missed out on previously? into Montreal at 4am? that to me says we definitely could have had longer in Quebec. The included tours were ok. Need more for active people. Not everyone is over 75. The entertainment was average. The singer's were ok but only did 3 showed in 2 weeks. The magician was awesome. bring on more odd this stuff. Comedians etc Classical pianist? yuck. start catering for the 50 year olds. We are your future cruisers. The cabins are nice and clean but not enough storage in deluxe verandah. put more shelving in instead of so much hanging space. had to leave most of our stuff in our suitcase which was frustrating. Noise in the cabin is totally unacceptable. rattling and banging in the walls, creaking like we were on an old Spanish Galleon or on the first fleet to Australia. that is no exaggeration. I still couldn't sleep with earplugs and a pillow over my head. Who wants to be sleep deprived their whole holiday? It was brought to Guest Services attention the 2nd day and their response was" its the weather" not good enough. Even when the seas were calm it was the same. Everyone we spoke to said the same thing, their cabins creaked and rattled also. Italian ship builders obviously can't get that right. Staff were friendly enough but ask for anything out of the ordinary and it's like the biggest deal. Ask for small portion, can't do it. Ask for 2 scoops of icecream, can't be done. Communication was terrible. We never knew when the ship was getting into port or leaving until the night before. couldn't plan anything. when in Reykjavik we dashed back to the ship between ships tours to grab lunch and check the Tax refund process to be told the ship want leaving until 8pm so we would have plenty of time. We got back from our second tour to hear that the ship was leaving at 6 and no time for any last minute shopping at the terminal shops and that the VAT guy was leaving. Asked for assistance again from Guest Services to see if anyone could help us with a Garmin charger for our watches as ours had been left on the previous viking cruise we had gotten off to get on this cruise. never heard from them again. The food was quite good in quality and the head chef Paul was great. constantly checking the quality and his people. Took great pride in his food and his people. We have previously cruised mainly with Azamara. Hard not to compare the 2. I'd choose Azamara every time. We chose this cruise for the itinerary but at the end of the day it missed too many ports. Why not call it for what it is. Transatlantic repositioning cruise. Not one for the destinations. Read Less

Viking Cruise Trans-Atlantic September 2019 Our cruises are always chosen for their itinerary, but after that, of course, the cruise line is a major consideration. We came across the “In the Wake of the Vikings” cruise with Viking Ocean Cruises, a line new to us, back in early 2018, but we were not free at the time, so we expressed an interest with Viking for the 2019 sailing, through our local Travel Agent. We were not so happy, therefore, when we were eventually contacted by Viking to tell us that the cruise was finally open to the UK market, but, because it had been on sale in the USA for some time already, we had the choice of only one room in the category we wanted, a Penthouse Veranda room. It was, fortunately, in a good position, on the starboard side and forward, so we booked it immediately. Flights are arranged through Viking and we were booked on Scandinavian Air Services from Manchester to Bergen via Copenhagen, which all went smoothly. Our return flights, from Montreal to Heathrow and then on to Manchester, were with B.A. Unfortunately, our return flight to LHR was cancelled because of the B.A. strike and was, during the cruise, changed firstly with Air Canada to LHR and then with American Airlines to Philadelphia and Manchester when the Air Canada LHR/Manchester connection wasn’t possible. Ironically, because the Philadelphia flight from Montreal was stuck in Philadelphia when the time came, meaning our connection would be missed, we ended up back on our original B.A. flight to Heathrow, after retrieving our luggage and going back through Departures, which wasn’t pleasant, but we did at least get home not too much later than planned; the Economy section of the plane was almost empty too, which helped. Back in Bergen Airport, we learned from the Meet and Greet team that an alteration to the itinerary was already in place. The remnants of Storm Dorian were to blame, as bad weather predicted for our first two stops in Lerwick and Torshavn meant we would almost certainly not be able to enter the ports and also experience uncomfortable conditions at sea. The solution was to leave Bergen immediately and head for Iceland instead, missing our scheduled overnight stay in Bergen and full day there. Once aboard, which was a speedy and friendly process as we were quite late reaching the ship, we found a letter in our stateroom explaining the situation fully. Additional ports, Akureyri and Isafjordur, would replace Lerwick and Torshavn, after which our schedule would return to normal and we would avoid the worst of the storm by leaving Bergen immediately. This made little difference to us, as we have visited all four ports before, but many American guests were naturally disappointed. Our sea days were indeed on the rough side, but nothing too serious. Our days in Akureyri, Isafjordur and Reykjavik were good, but there was further information about the next part of the schedule from the Captain before we sailed from Iceland, heading for Greenland. Once again, stormy weather on our route to Prince Christian Sound and Nanortalik was to be avoided by turning a little north, which meant that we would still enter the Sound, but at the more comfortable time of midday instead of early morning. We would then miss Nanortalik completely and head straight for Qaqortoq. Once again, this suited us well as we were particularly keen to pass through the Sound and we were delighted that the Captain understood that it was an important part of the cruise for most passengers. This plan worked well and we had a wonderful passage through Prince Christian Sound, but before leaving Qaqortoq we were informed of a further change to the schedule because of the bad weather; the anchorage for L’Anse aux Meadows, a Viking settlement in Newfoundland, would be far too exposed to allow tendering, so the Captain and the company had gone to tremendous trouble to reorganise our stop to St. Anthony, a fifty minute bus ride away. Once again, everything worked very well, despite the need to disembark a sick guest into the conveniently close-by hospital, which delayed our departure. That was the end of our itinerary problems, but we have great admiration for the effort and cost the Viking Company was prepared to put into making our cruise as good as possible and we enjoyed the itinerary very much, although issues raised by other Cruise Critic writers about the actual location of the Saguenay dock and the lack of time in Quebec are worth noting. Viking Sea (and her sister ships) should have suited us down to the ground, because we don’t need evening entertainment, preferring the scenery outside the windows and the guest numbers are low. However, our final survey for the ship before disembarkation (conveniently delayed until after lunch for the group of us who had later flights) had us indicating that we would not recommend the ship to our friends and we would be very unlikely to travel with Viking again through a combination of several reasons. Slightly souring our initial impression of the ship was our first view of our room, which was missing the separate door and large window shown in the brochure, having instead a sliding door, somewhat screened by the curtain, which made the room seem dark and reduced the view from the sofa. We spend a lot of time in our room and this was a disappointment. The ship was full, so we could not be moved. I was also concerned by a possible lack of soundproofing after clearly hearing coughing through the wall, but in fact this was not an issue. Our main area of disappointment was the food on board Viking Sea. This is a very personal issue, of course. We prefer to eat in the World Cafe for all meals because we like the relaxed atmosphere and the views from the windows. We did eat in the Restaurant on one occasion when we thought the Cafe would be taken up by an Indian buffet, but it was extremely busy and my view was of a wall, whereas outside it was a beautiful evening. We just made it outside in time for the sunset. We never tried the other eating opportunities, apart from the Pool Grill, which we enjoyed. We found the menu in the World Cafe pretentious and repetitive and frequently not to our taste, with plenty of seafood and underdone meat, although the chefs would willingly cook portions to our requirements. Food was frequently cool in its presentation trays even when freshly put out and we learned to ask for our plates to be reheated, but cooked-to-order food could be left out on the plate for collection, therefore cooling again. Even my individual portion of mashed potato in the restaurant was cool. We usually enjoy soup on our cruises at lunch and dinner, but more often than not we found it was either fish or spicy and we went without. Desserts were more tempting and we took advantage of the gelato bar too, but our overall impression was poor, not helped by items missing from the drinks area, cool water in the hot water jugs and empty milk jugs. Making a hot drink could be a slow and frustrating process at times. Our early departure from Bergen meant that some food items had not been restocked, so some individual breakfast cereals were soon unavailable, as were some yoghurts and finally bagels. Even the orange juice from the machines turned into something more like sour squash from Quebec and would be like that for the next cruise, we were told. My reply was that I was pleased to be leaving, in that case. For some reason which is hard to define, we also found the atmosphere on board ship very uninspiring. The pool area and the Winter Garden were both frequently chilly, but guests, despite all rooms having their own balconies and sea views, would lie on the loungers wrapped in blankets. Even during the scenic cruising periods, there were not too many people outside to appreciate it. The indoor pool was closed almost all the time, either from the bad weather or maintenance and the outdoor hot pool was also occasionally closed at times. The outdoor decks were frequently closed due to the strong winds. The ship felt like an uninspiring Retirement Home, with Baggo the main excitement of the day! Obviously, there were plenty of other activities available during the day, but this is how we felt overall, compared with our experience on many other cruise ships. We also disliked the atrium area because all the windows were screened by obscuring netting, preventing any view outside, which was disappointing as this was a popular place to sit. The World Cafe sliding doors were ill-filling and draughty, but otherwise we generally enjoyed this space, even though we were often almost on our own there out of meal times. Viking Cruises offer an included tour at most ports. We normally preferred to walk around on our own, but at Qaqortok we opted into a “self guided” tour, which we thought would include an idea of a route and information on what we would see. Wrong! We received a basic map and enquiries afterwards made it clear that our group timings were simply a way of organising and monitoring the tendering process. Fair enough, but that is not a self-guided tour in our opinion. However, there were many things about Viking Sea we did like. We were most impressed by and appreciative of the information we were given by the Captain on the various itinerary changes and the way the problems were resolved. The staff members were all friendly and eager to help with any enquiries and our room stewards continually asked if we needed anything. An early cruise survey, which they asked us to fill in to satisfy their superiors, gave us the opportunity to suggest a couple of future improvements to the room in terms of more bathroom hanging space and hooks for outdoor coats, as well as mentioning the food issues. This resulted in the delivery of extra towels and hangers, which we declined, plus a series of phone calls from various departments trying to resolve matters which were generally simply suggestions! Our stateroom grade, Penthouse Verandah, included a complimentary minibar which was replenished daily. We don’t drink either the spirits or sodas in the minibar, but the sommelier was happy to remove those and provided us with wine to our taste instead. Lectures and port talks were available to watch on the room TV as well as live in the theatre, which we preferred on the whole. There was a good range of live TV, plus recorded programmes and films to choose from and the internet was usually good for our location. We were both able to use our tablets at the same time, which is unusual in our experience. Finally, although we stated in our disembarkation survey that we were unlikely to travel with Viking again, a promotion too good to miss and an interesting itinerary have offered us the opportunity to revise our opinions early next year. Read Less

Interested in learning about how the Vikings got to North America and to see some of the sites that have been on the History Channel; such as, L'anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland. In Greenland, visited with a local family (with translator) to learn about their life. Also visited three sites in Iceland, Akureyri, Isafjordur, and Reykjavik, as well as Saguenay, Quebec and Quebec City, Quebec. In Quebec City, visited Huron-Wendat Reservation, to learn about the culture and history of the Huron. Saw re-creations of a longhouse, sweathouse, and teepee. The Viking Sea is a lovely vessel accommodating 930 passengers. However, one would never know there were that many people because there are several eating and lounging venues. Disembarkings for land excursions were handled with great efficiency so that everyone is not exiting for a land excursion at the same time. Embarkation meant going through immigration at the port where Viking Sea was docked. It was very smooth. Next room had many booths at which each individual checked in with Viking, receiving room keycard, and verifying credit card and other vital information. That was very quick. Then boarding, one is greeted by several crew, and were given instructions for how to "check in" and "check out" with room keycard. Disembarkation was seamless for me since I had private transportation. The only thing that is annoying (which is typical of most disembarkation procedures), is having to vacate cabin by 8 a.m. Of course, for others who need to wait a while, there are many lounges in which they can wait. All staff and crew are very friendly, yet professional. Even the upper-level staff engaged with the passengers in playing crew vs passenger games. Because of Hurricane Dorian, we were in Bergen, Norway only one day, instead of two, departing to get above the hurricane's fringe winds and rough seas. This also meant two ports of call were cancelled because of hazards that can be incurred when going through very rough seas. Despite running into fringes of Hurricane Dorian, the captain and staff ensured that while some of the stops had to be cancelled, others were put in their place, with land excursions arranged, as well. Only concern was the buffet-style eating venue, World Cafe, had food that was bland and lukewarm at best. They had a great salad bar and desserts. But most of the fish were dry (except salmon and cod), some having the consistency of mashed potatoes. The hot vegetables were usually mixed cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. Always baked potatoes and potatoes fixed in a variety of ways, which were good. And, one or two meats/poultry. If one wants food that has flavor (apart from salt and pepper), it would serve one well to eat at The Restaurant, Chef's Table, or Manfredi's, where attention is given to flavor and food temperature. There is also the Pool Grill with a smaller version of a salad bar, as well as made-to-order hamburgs, hotdogs, fries, and daily specials. All of the food venues are free. Excellent entertainment - professional musicians were outstanding, particularly the pianists, violinists, cellist. Not all lectures were related to the Vikings. Besides land excursions to Viking sites, it would have been good to have on-board lectures talking about their history. Did not use the spa, exercise facilities, or room service. Would do it again. Read Less

Numb, as in unbelievable, Numb as in over whelming, Numb as in booked another cruise with Viking for next year. We had seen the TV documentary "Mighty Ships" showcasing the "Viking Sky" and a week later were booked for our cruise on the "Sea", I had Viking do all our bookings for our transportation to Oslo, as well as our Oslo and Bergen extensions. We were not disappointed, as everything went well, with ground transportation, the 2 hotels we stayed in, as well as the train trip between Oslo and Bergen. I beloved they saved us about $4,000 Cdn, (for 2 people) as I booked the airfare using a dummy account, and was well satisfied with the outcome, and that didn't include booking hotels or train trip. Upon our arrival at the cruise terminal, we were informed we would leave Bergen a day early (disappointed) and miss the Shetland and Faroe Islands (disappointed), but would have two extra ports in Iceland (Wow), due to stormy seas as the remainder of Hurricane Dorian hit the area. A few other changes were made due to rough seas, but Viking and the Captain made the changes ahead of time, allowing replacements and relocations so our cruise wasn't days at seas. This allowed us to cross the Arctic Circle, and spend extra time in Iceland, a place we might have never returned to, as well attended to the safety of the ship and passengers / crew aboard. I have mobility issues and use a walker. The tours we took, were OK for our limits, as we were allowed to wander at our own speed and were given a time and place to meet, which we adhered to. Getting on and off the ship was a breeze, except at Quebec City. I knew, as Viking stipulates in their "FAQ" area, you are responsible for getting yourself off and on without crew assistance, but at Quebec City no wanted to take my walker on or off, and it was a long stand waiting while the walker sat on the pier. The boarding ramp also in Quebec City was not handicap friendly due to the small steps (my ability of using steps, not the port or ship or anyone else's ability). All other ports, crew couldn't have been nicer or more obliging getting the walker on and off, and assisting on ramps and tenders. The ship was beautiful, simple lines but very elegant. We had so much space and a good choice of areas to sit, depending the mood and what we wanted to see or the hear the music provided by the onboard musicians. The "Living Room" was divided into smaller sitting rooms (about 8 to 10 seats), each with art work, a multitude of reading material, ornaments on tables and shelves and thro-blankets and cushions giving a very warm and at home feeling. The food overall, was very good, sometimes things weren't great or what we expected but that's standard wherever you go or even at home. The "Restaurant" had wonderful choices, with standard fare on the left side of the menu and seasonal / regional choices on the right side. We mostly ate from the right side, and enjoyed what we ordered. Service was professional, and the odd time things did get dis-jointed, but we always got what we wanted, and if something was forgotten, it was there in seconds. We never left hungry. "World Cafe" had a nice choice of foods, and they would prepare to order. We only had lunch there, as we preferred the "Restaurant" where portions are controlled, as we always filled our plates way to much, and hate to waste food. "Manfretti's" was wonderful, especially the rib-eye steak, but learned we can order or split portions if we choose. We were very pleased we could have 4 dinners there. We had one dinner at the "Chef's Table", which was Asian and wonderful, but we choose not to return for the Mexican themed dinner. At both specialty restaurants, the servers explained the menu to us in great detail, as well as the wines we ordered. We paid for the "Silver Spirits" package which included upgraded wines at meals, and any alcohol or soft drinks on board. The jury is still out, whether we would get it again. I kept of tally of what we ordered, and we broke even. The upgraded wines aren't a big deal for us, and we are not big drinkers, but ordered a few specialty drinks we wouldn't of had if we were paying for each drink. However, it was nice knowing you wouldn't get a large bill at the end. The crew were "amazing" and everyone on board made our holiday special, from their hellos in the hallways or greeting us by name in the food and bar service areas. They remembered our likes or dislikes or could predict whether we were having 2 black coffees or 2 Absolute and tonic. High Points: 1) no children 2) no up-selling 3) included internet (worked well most of the time) 4) no photography or photographers in your face 5) treated like responsible adults (not to many party people on board) 6) no pushing future cruises, it was made known you could book on ship (which we did because we wanted to, not because of pressure) There is much more to tell, bu the highlight was, Viking did us well, and we look forward to our next cruise in June 2020. Read Less

We chose this cruise because we have always wanted to see Iceland and wanted to go back to Bergen. So this was the perfect cruise for us. This itinerary was perfect as we got to visit Greenland, Newfoundland and Canada. We have been to Antarctica so this was our chance to go to the Artic Circle. The service from the staff was great especially our cabin stewards and Ronald our waiter at Dinner. Every night at dinner he would go over the menu and discuss each dish by telling us what was in the dish and how it was prepared. We especially enjoyed the talks given on the Human Planet. What beautiful pictures and very interesting about how the photography was done. The excursions were very interesting to visit some of the old Viking villages to see how they lived. Also got to see a replica of an old Viking ship. Couldn't image how the survived in those boats. Read Less