We did the 15 day Baltic cruise from Stockholm to Southampton. The itinerary was great and the shore excursions excellent. We choose not to take the long bus/train rides into Berlin, Paris or Brussels but instead enjoyed exploring the smaller cities near the ports. The Norwegian Spirit is in need of refurbishing but we didn't spend much time on it. The food was mediocre but adequate. Unfortunately the dining availability did not match the excursions and sail away times. We came back late from excursions twice to find only a very small cafe open to get any food at all. Another issue was that the ship docked in many industrial port areas away from the nearest cities. There were cruise ships docked much closer to the ports but it seemed that we always were docked much farther away requiring shuttles and such. It also seemed that some of the entertainment was repeated or at least the blurbs about the shows were identical. We enjoyed one group and were looking forward to seeing them again but it was the same show. Read Less

First, our impression of the ship. The ship is not the newest or largest so usually it did not have priority to tie up a the closest piers and we almost always had to take a shuttle.The entire ship is decorated in a Chinese style. Even Cagney's steakhouse looks more like a Chinese restaurant than the Sushi Bar. La Trattoria is a section of the Raffles Buffet that is closed off in the evening and not very cozy. It appears as though Norwegian tried to adopt the ship to their style and include their restaurants. The Bier Garten consists of some picnic tables by the pool. The Blue Lagoon and Shanghai Bar are only some wide spaces on a main fore and aft passage. The Pub is nice, but small and crowded. Le Bistro is pleasant and Raffles works well. Rooms were up to par and very clean. The staff was very professional, helpful and friendly The fitness room was well equipped, clean, and quite empty. Dining at le Bistro, Cagney's Steakhouse and Teppanyaki was outstanding. The food was always delicious, properly prepared and served. I can't say enough good things about them. The Main Dining Rooms, not so much. They were very spotty. A good meal was a pleasant surprise. Examples were waiting over half an hour for an cold appetizer, fish being served lukewarm or dried out, a salad with cheese that had no cheese in it, a picatta dish with mystery white sauce on it with no capers or lemon seasoning, bananas foster with raw bananas. You get the idea. Although we were in port every day, the ship was out of things that were on the menu (fresh eggs, sorbet, baked potatoes) and not always for only one day. Salt and pepper shakers were missing from sections of Raffles Court. Small things, but that what you pay for and not up to Norwegian standards. Would I take this cruise again? Yes. Our reason for making this cruise was for the ports of call and they were terrific, but as expected, not long enough. Hope this helps you. Read Less

We’d booked the Mediterranean cruise onboard Freedom of the Seas & wanted to try out the Baltic & Russia cruise with Royal Caribbean. We found the ship smaller but enjoyable but having been on the larger ship Freedom of the Seas it felt like a downgrade. No soda dispenser machine & awkward to be asking at a bar for soda top ups. Highlight was the cinema & the excellent movies. Hardly anyone ever went into the crown pub it was also awkward walking through casino to get to other places. Onboard entertainment in Tropical theatre was average. The one shore excursion we booked via RC wasn’t great. The independent tours we did book online were more superior. A charge of about €245 was taken from my account despite having paid a final statement of over €600. Waiting to get this back. Overall I’ll consider trying another cruise company or going on a bigger ship with more facilities Read Less

We visited Stockholm, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki. This was a beautiful cruise that is very well organized in every aspect. I think it also gives you a great sense of Italy and their way of life and partying. The only bad thing that I have to point out is that they have VERY small swimming pools on the ship, and this is a real problem when 3000 people want to swim at the same time. I loved the food, Italian cuisine is famous worldwide and I think there is something to eat for everyone. :))) And they have a WONDERFUL entertainment team which made me dance and stay awake every single night till God knows which hours. Important to know: - You can link your credit card to your ship card and then don't have to worry about payment. - They have totems now, so you can book your excursions there. - Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly and without any crowds and problems. I will definitely travel with Costa again! Read Less

In 2015 we journeyed on the Grand European river cruise and within that short 15 day trip we fell in love with Vikings’ high level of hospitality and service. That cruise led us to the Majestic Fjords & Vibrant Russia Viking Ocean cruise on July 11, 2019 aboard the Viking Sky. This cruise was to celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary and Viking made it the most impressive holiday that we have ever experienced. Viking did a great job in planning our entire trip including airlines, transfers and the pre-cruise in Iceland. Our airline flights were well timed and comfortable. At our age handling baggage can be a chore but the Viking transfers took that burden out of the picture. The Iceland experience was great as Viking booked us into the Canopy by Hilton right in the center of old town Reykjavik. Some of the other people on the same cruise were in the Grand or Hilton Center which was a pricey taxi ride into old town. The Iceland tours were really interesting and the Blue Lagoon was extra special. The Sky is a well-designed ship with exquisite decorations that was constantly being manicured by a proficient crew. Everyone on the Sky needs a heart-felt thank you for a job well done but there are some that stand out. General Manager Forian Kibgilka runs a fine hotel and his hospitality places him at the top of his chosen profession. His “celebrations-by-the-crew” at the brow to welcome guests back aboard made everyone happy and exhibited pride in the Viking traditions. Charaine Hadeed, the onboard Viking agent, was exceptional in her service to the guests. After seeing how much we enjoyed the cruise she assisted us in booking our next Viking cruise in 2020. Narendra Singh, the Restaurant Supervisor performed his magic in accommodating our party of eight and made our anniversary evening special. As in any service industry, one customer will talk to others about their involvement. In our case we will talk to “hundreds” of people and happily share our memories. On other cruise lines they constantly have their hand in your wallet; money for water, money for dinners, money for excursions, money for drinks at meals, etc. In most cases you will spend more on these extras than you originally paid for the cruise. On Viking you put your wallet in the safe and enjoy your holiday in a stress free environment. We now consider ourselves to be part of the Viking family. There is no doubt in our mind that no one can even come close to the high standards of the Viking Cruise line. Read Less

We had taken a Viking River cruise and loved. I wasn't sure what to expect on there smaller ocean ships. It was and incredible surprise. They offers so much entertainment and the staff was prefect, after several days you were on a first name basis, every staff member spoke English which was very nice, you wanted for absolutely nothing. Port excursions were excellent and well organized. Being 67 I appreciated this is not a cruise line for children nor is it a cruse line for gamblers who spend there day in a casino. Minus kids and gamblers made for a great atmosphere of fun and conversation. On a late arrival back to the ship after and all day trip to Berlin were were greeted by 200 of the ships crew in line out side the ship with a welcome back, music, champagne and horderves. Upon arriving at our cabin we found a plate of finger sandwiches, deserts and a bottle of win which a letter from the captain apologizing for the German train system delay, they did this for all 600 people who were on that train. Tell me what other cruise line would do that. I will continue to be a loyal Viking customer. Big ships with 5000 of your closest friends are not necessarily better Read Less

This was my second criuse with Viking. Did Grand European Tour that was a river cruise and wanted to try an ocean cruise. Baltic cruise was very interesting with many ports of call. Just seeing how other cultures live will open your eyes.Viking does cruising the best! Always attentive and best value for the money. No hassle vacation. Everything included, you just have to show up. Food is amazing, great quality and variety. Staff are great and go above and beyond. Ship is comfortable with plenty to do. You won't be bored. Entertainment is professional quality. One performance received a standing ovation! Staff said this was a first for them but it was well deserved. You get front of the line to every side trip. We never waited. VIKING's passenger capacity is lower than the big ships which I like as you get to know the crew and make friends. You are catered to. You have to try Viking, either a river cruise or ocean cruise. You won't be disappointed, promise! Can't wait to go again! Read Less

I wanted to see Scandinavian countries and i felt a cruose was a good way to sample many of them. The Viking ship was beautiful, the service perfect, and i felt i had a very magical wonderful experience. I was pleased with th itinerary because it included all the countries i wanted to see. I was on the ship with 3 friends and we shared beautiful meals together, had fun tea time, did the excursions together, and met in beautiful lounges on the boat. All the crew was helpful, respectful, and and extremely competent. I am a musician and i felt the on board entertainment was exceptional. Our cruise director Brian impressed me grearly. He was easy to understand and well organized. He had a wonderful and versital voice and great stage presence. I would have enjoyed hearing him even more. The exercise facilities were well done. I enjoyed the deck 8 exercise track. Read Less

Loved the itinerary. Viking Sun is a beautiful new ship with fabulous service, food, and included excursions. We loved the fact that there were fewer passengers. It wasn’t a cattle car that other larger cruise lines have. We loved not having young children running down the hallways like other cruise lines. No children under 18 are allowed. Highlights were the optional excursions- St Petersburg Ballet. And Norway’s Flam Railway. We loved the fact that everything is included. Such as fine wines and beers for lunch and dinner. Other cruise lines charge per soda, water bottle, glass of wine or beer. The staff are super hard workers who are very nice and friendly. The spa was beautiful and it was such a wonderful experience to treat myself to a massage and facial. Our cabin was super clean, quiet, and comfortable. We loved the heated bathroom floor. I look forward to taking another Viking Ocean cruise. Read Less

I chose this cruise because there were many different ports and countries - and it included places we have never been like St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Helsinki, Berlin, Gdansk. The service was OVER the top! Everyone went out of their way to make our cruise memorable. And although I was worried about seasickness in the Baltic, the sailing was perfect. Our cabin was much larger than we have had on other cruises and very comfortable. The ship was just immaculate as well. The many dining options offered so much variety - and the specialty restaurants do not incur an additional charge for a real gourmet treat! There were always things to do as well - use of the spa facility also did not carry an additional charge, and we loved the experience of "Nordic bathing." There were many enrichment lectures, activities, and fabulous entertainment that rivaled anything we have seen on Broadway! Read Less

We wanted to see countries we had never seen before: specifically Norway, Sweden and Russia. We also wanted to try an ocean cruise, we had only been on a river cruise previously. And of course we chose Viking because we had such an amazing time on our last cruise with Viking. The crew was above and beyond attentive, friendly, professional, entertaining, and personable. They anticipated and met every need we could possibly have had. The food was also more than 5 star, an outstanding variety prepared and served in a most excellent manner. Our room was very comfortable and kept immaculate all the time. All of the excursions we took were very well planned and brought us a most intimate and educational view of all of the countries we visited. The tour guides were knowledgeable and friendly. We have recommended this tour specifically to all of our family and friends. Read Less

We chose the “Viking Homelands” trip. The ports of call were wonderful — Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Poland, Germany, Denmark and Norway. (Norway is my favorite country to visit — coming back in February on Vinking to see the Northeren Lights). The shore excursions were geared to your liking — easy, moderate and demanding— they covered all range groups. I always wanted to see the Fabrege eggs, which was a dream of mine as a youngster, and I finally got to see them! It was easy traveling with Viking to all these countries — never a problem getting on and off the ship, including Russia. The ship was beautiful. Our cabin was very nice. Dining was never a problem. A selection of places to eat. The food was delicious — the best of any ship that I have sailed on. The entertainment was wonderful — enjoyed the singers. I would recommend this trip and Viking to all my friends. I can’t stop raving about it since I returned home. Read Less

We chose this cruise because it stopped in countries we wanted to see. We had never been to any of these countries and we liked the option of seeing all of them. We spent several days in Stockholm prior to departing. We were able to leave our luggage at the port as we were too early for arrival, and visited a lovely photography museum at the port. We were very happy with our cabin; it was comfortable, plenty of room for our luggage. Loved the bathroom. The ship was beautifully appointed. We spent some time exploring the ship, all levels to get our bearings. The ship offers quite a few amenities: a spa, massage, two pools, quiet spaces for reading, The dining options were excellent. Two dining restaurants require a reservation, but you can go in if there are openings. The main dining room offered menu options and seating for 2-4-6 and 8. We enjoyed the company of several couples on board and hooked up with them for our evening meals. Shipboard entertainment was also excellent. The artists were quite good, the seminars by the historian were very helpful when preparing for a shore excursion. We took advantage of shore excursions at each port. The guides, the transportation, were all first class. We were able to sign up for most of the excursions we wanted. We would especially recommend the two day excursion in St. Petersburg. It included most of the sites covered by other excursions i that city and you don't have the overhead of leaving and returning several times in a day. You head out in the morning and return in the evening. Finally we want to commend Viking for their staff. They are friendly, knowledgeable; if they know what you like to drink, it will be brought to youj without your asking. Cabin staff make sure your room is always clean, towels and bedding are clean, and any particular needs have been addressed. Awesome. We will definitely travel with Viking again. Read Less

We had researched cruises and felt Viking would be a good fit for us and the Homelands itinerary of great interest. We met wonderful people, the service was unbelievable and the overall ambience was perfect for us. We felt the variety of excursions offered was good. Two of our excursions fell a bit short of expectations due to time constraints and train breakdowns. Our room steward was exemplary as was our favorite waiter in The Restaurant. All of the wait staff and bartenders were very professional and accomodating. Our only disappointment in staff was the spa director and sone of his staff were silly and into themselves with banter and revelry instead of taking care of their guests. A couple of the Customer Service staff seemed a bit disinterested in us. The staff directly involved with us on a daily basis were THE BEST, which made up for the ones we felt fell short. We were celebrating our 40th anniversary and our children and also our TA had alerted the appropriate dept of this ahead of time, but we were not acknowledged in any way. That was a bit disappointing, but ok. Read Less

This is the second time we cruise with Viking. Bit this Scandinavian cruise is beyond our expectations. Every shore excursion, every lecture, every musical performance is well thought of, well planned. The ship is sparkling clean. The meals are awesome. The staff is courteous and helpful. My husband and I had a wonderful time, an unforgettable experience. We will choose Viking over any other cruise. The food is beyond our expectations. The staff is always courteous, no matter how busy they are The lectures by Mr Patterson about the Vikings and the Hanseatic trades are so interesting. We learned a lot from his talks. The embarkation and disembarkation are extremely well organized, and we do appreciate that. That made our travel much easier. About the food, there are so much varieties to choose from. The food presentation made the whole experience much better. We can either eat at the buffet on 7th floor or eat in the dining room. We love it Read Less

The staff on the Star was wonderful. They were always courteous, helpful and went beyond their assigned duties. Other than cutting our food and feeding us they did everything within their power to make our journey memorable. The Spa was a great place to relax when we had down time. The size of the ship made it easy to go from place to place without going out of the way. The food in the buffet was excellent, there were so many choices it was difficult to make a decision. It was also great having wine/beer included in our lunches and dinner. They say you get what you pay for and every dollar we spent was worth it. I've never had a more enjoyable cruise, I felt like a pampered princess. The walking and included tours gave us an overview of the many countries we visited. It was a great way to see several different countries, learn about their cultures and not have to constantly be packing and unpacking. Read Less

This cruise was the best We loved the places it went. The shore excursions were great. We did go on a couple extra ones that were fantastic. The food was above expectations and we expected the best. The crew were fantastic could not have had better. The dinning staff were the best we have ever had on any cruise.Our room staff did everything and went above and beyond. The cabin was beautiful and every cabin had a veranda. The entertainment was excellent. the ship was new and it was a beautiful, easy to get around. Everyone was very helpful and attentive. We met a lot of really nice people on this trip We did not have children but it would be or older children who would enjoy seeing the world. I would recommend this cruise to everyone. I would absolutely go again. We loved it.We havealready told all our friends about it. Read Less

We had ports of call to cities around the Baltic Sea that my wife and I wanted to visit. We were very pleased with all our shore tours. We took part in all inclusive tours and chose many of the extra charge tours and we were delighted. Our cabin was a Jr suite that had plenty of room and was very comfortable. It was always well maintained by the housekeeping staff. The restaurants and the food choices were superb. The musical entertainment was so well performed and always a delight for me. The musicianship was at a superb level. The variety of musical entertainment always provided a new and fresh value. From popular to jazz to opera themes, watching and listening was a treat. To say again, the level of musical talent was of the highest caliber. The service was outstanding and the enjoyment to simply walk about the ship will be remembered. Read Less

Since Viking has been rated #1 Ocean Cruise, we wanted to compare it to Crystal, Oceania, etc. Great ship - very good food - friendly staff. Entertainment was superior on Crystal (Broadway shows). The ship was quite comfortable and smooth sailing. Hoped to visit Poland but the poor weather did not allow us to dock there. The cruise director was extremely friendly and easy to reach. Liked the sessions on jewelry. Especially liked open seating for dining and easy to reserve specialty restaurants. Would have liked more Broadway Shows although the entertainment was very good. The shops provided great assistance. Crystal does have more interesting designer clothing on board, however. Sometimes had a bit of a wait for land tours and could have used more seating for disabled or elderly guests. Overall, we would recommend Viking to anyone looking for a luxury cruise. If it were more affordable, we would sign up again! Read Less

Realized how important the optional tours were. Some of the tours need new descriptions. The food was really good at every meal. the ship included fun for our whole group of six. Several used the sauna and gym facilities, a couple like the destination highlights, and several took in the entertainment until midnight. It was nice that the ship was smaller and only held 900 passengers and so many staff members in all areas of the ship. The staff members were friendly and did their best to accommodate special requests. They could even understand and "take a joke". That is important to Midwestern travelers. My husband and I have signed up for another excursion and are exited about going although it will be 2019. I was pleased with the loyalty discounts that are available to passengers on the ship. I hope that Viking Lines continues to grow and prosper because Viking would be my ship of choice. Read Less

We were looking for the chance to see multiple cities in the Baltic Sea area, with a focus on St. Petersburg. We also wanted to try the ocean cruise experience with Viking after having been on their river cruise. While we did take some of the Viking tours, we booked with SPB for the tour of Berlin and with ALLA tours for the tour of St. Petersburg. The ALLA two day tour we took was excellent with Demitri as our guide. It was well worth the few extra dollars to have a guide to take 16 of us around. It was also nice that Viking hosted a social for all of the Cruise Critic folks to meet early in the cruise. View wise, the fjords were outstanding - find space on the back deck as you are leaving Eidfjord for great views. While there was a lot of hype for the speciality restaurants, we found that the food was just as good in the World Cafe (with the Sushi Bar being the best food on the ship in my opinion) - freshly prepared right in front of you. Overall, would definitely recommend this cruise to folks who have not spent any time in the region. Read Less

I'm of Swedish and Danish ancestry and my wife has Swedish blood so we've wanted to see that part of the world. We had a bad start as our flight to Sweden from Chicago was cancelled. We missed the first day but Viking had someone pick us up at the airport the second day and got us to the ship in time to make our tour of Stockholm. From there on everything was great. The food, at home we never eat 3 meals a day but on board it seems we never stop eating, and man it is good! The service, everyone treats you like royalty, from the room steward who calls you by name to that special server you keep going back to. The activities and accommodations were all what we've come to expect from Viking. We booked our next cruse (France) while on board which will be our 4th trip with Viking. We haven't been disappointed yet. Read Less

This was out fourth cruise on the Journey. Loved the redecorating. The crew was very friendly and accommodating. Thank you for providing us with what we needed to have Sabbath services onboard. The apple tarts were delicious. Would have liked to have a more private setting for the services. There was a lot of noise from the bar and another reception happening. It was wonderful to meet Lek Waleska. The Azamazing Evening was a real treat. Very well organized. The Cruise Critic reception allowed us to meet other couples right away. The food was excellent and we really appreciated accommodating my husband's food allergies. The wine tasting was very good. The wine steward was very knowledgable and did a great job of explaining things to us. Our cabin steward was very thoughtful and helpful He obtained an extension cord for the CPAP machine. We made some wonderful new friends on board. Read Less

First and last time with Costa. The ship is well-designed but poorly operated and all was costly and of bad quality. The food was very poor, hygiene non-existent, which gave us stomach problems for weeks to follow, only eatable at dinner (with the right choice). The ship is billed as Italian, but the cook missed out on everything Italian. As the crew comes from all over the world, one has an excellent chance of contracting some unknown virus (happened to me). Our "All included" ticket did not include drinks. When we asked Client Service about it we got the answer of "We have many kinds of All included". When we kept on pressing how they can exclude drinks from All included, we got the answer of "Too bad". When we asked to see the responsible we got the answer of "I decide who sees the officer and I decide you will not". One can buy drinks one-by-one for an exorbitant price, or buy a "deal", for example for 20 coffees (for those who can drink 20 cups in 5 days). We settled for stocking up on drinks in a supermarket on our first stop. Entertainment was poor, although the poor singers were working hard each evening. TV was extremely limited for non-Italians. Internet was extremely costly but of extremely poor quality. Shopping was offered many "special deals", which mostly consisted of doubling the price and then giving 10-20% discount. Excursions are reasonable, although the prices are double what you can find on the Internet from local companies (which we dared not do). Read Less

We originally did this cruise in 2015, but the transformer on one of the engines blew, leaving us stranded for 6 days in Tallinn. Viking pulled through and provided us with wonderful excursions while in Tallinn, then flew us to Bergen where we were settled in a hotel, and were taken on excursions in that area. They also refunded our cruise price, which allowed us to have a do-over to see everything we'd missed. It was well worth it! The dining experience on board has improved since our first trip. It was extremely easy to book reservations for the restaurants that required them by calling down to the restaurant or even booking on the TV. They also accommodated an increase in the number at the table. The only suggestion I could make is that in the cafeteria restaurant, they should have salad as well as gelati on both sides rather than only on one, or else move the gelati station elsewhere. The single side for each created queues. We mainly ate breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria dining area (World Cafe) and dinner in The Restaurant. There was quicker service and fewer queues at The Restaurant than on our previous trip. Taking the trip over allowed us to take excursions we didn't have room or money for previously. The absolute best trips were the Soviet Bus Tour in Tallinn, which they didn't have on the previous trip, and the Kayaking trip in Eidjfjiord. The bus tour was hillarious. I highly recommend it. The service, as always, was excellent. The only disappointments were not the fault of Viking. Our flight to Stockholm was cancelled for reasons that we have never been told. Viking scrambled to get us a flight and did manage to get us onto a flight to Copenhagen, and from there to Stockholm. The problem was that there was an 8-hour layover in Copenhagen, which meant instead of arriving on board at 2 pm, we arrived at midnight. We lost our boarding day, which was when we were going to do some exploring on our own, including the Abba Museum (yes, there is one!). So we never got there. The other was due to weather. Because of bad weather, we were unable to dock in Gdansk. I was really looking forward to going there. Now I will probably never get to see that city. I would suggest that if weather is frequently an issue with that port, it should be taken off the itinerary and replaced with either an extra day somewhere like Helsinki or Copenhagen, or find a more habitable port. I would also like to suggest that they have a karaoke night on board. This way, those who would like to perform would have the opportunity to do so, rather than having the emcee going around during a performance, shoving the microphone in people's faces and expecting them to perform unasked. Read Less