I recently returned from “Viking Shores and Fjords” cruise on the Viking Star and wanted to share my thoughts. First of all, I wanted to think many of the posters on this board who provided great information to me over the past year. Except for a couple of people whose main goal seems to be criticizing Viking whenever possible, I found this board filled with a bounty of helpful information and handy tips that contributed to my cruise. So again, thank you.
A few weeks ago, during a comparison of cruise lines on this board, someone said they thought Viking was not really a luxury line, but was a premium line. I agree with that assessment. A premium line was perfect for me and my wife, as often “luxury” brings with it a certain pretension. We appreciated high standards and service, but also a level of informality and comfort.
So overall, we were very pleased with the cruise. A survey sent to us at the end of the cruise seemed to hope we rated many things as “far exceeding expectations”, but we really couldn’t check that box. We had rather high expectations going in, and felt for the most that Viking met them. So here’s more detail:
Embarkation
The port in Amsterdam was a bit chaotic due to multiple ships (Ocean and River) in the port, but once we got to the Viking area it was very smooth. I’d say total time from getting to the port to getting on the ship was 15-20 minutes.
The Ship
I was mildly concerned going in when I learned that the Star was Viking’s oldest ship. But, I shouldn’t have been concerned. The ship was in great shape and looked beautiful. My previous cruise experiences were with Carnival and RCCL, so bigger ships. To me, the size of the Viking ships are perfect—large enough to have sufficient amenities, but small enough to easily get around. We found the ship very comfortable and going from Deck 7 forward to Deck 1 rear (for example) was not difficult at all. Prior to a cruise, you look at the different areas, but can’t really know where you’ll end up spending a lot of time. We ended up spending very little time in the Living Room, but much more time in the Explorer’s Lounge. Just our preference.
Stateroom
We had a Penthouse Veranda on deck 5 and found the stateroom was just as described on the website and videos. It was comfortable and spacious with plenty of storage. Our stateroom attendant was outstanding. I cannot think of anything he could have done better. He was friendly and efficient.
Fellow Passengers
There has been a fair amount of discussion on the age of Viking cruisers, and the more I read, the more concerned I became (we are in our 60’s). I was worried about a literal army of walkers and wheelchairs. We were pleasantly surprised that the demographic was younger than we expected. The majority of the people were in their 50’s and 60’s. True, there were some 70’s and 80’s, but there were a surprising number who appeared to be in their 40’s, 30’s, and even 20’s. Most of the 20 and 30 somethings appeared to be with parents or grandparents. All in all, the mix in ages was pleasant for us (I have nothing against people in their 70’s and 80’s, I will soon be there myself, but the diversity was nice). I’d guess that about 80% of the passengers were American, with the most of the rest Canadian, British, and Australian. As a whole, the cruisers were amiable and pleasant. We did not observe any kind of drama from anyone on the cruise.
Food
We found the food to be very good. For dinner we ate twice at World Cafe, Manfredi’s, and Chef’s Table and once at the Restaurant. Lunch was split between the Pool Grill and the World Cafe, with one lunch at Mamsen’s. Breakfast was twice at the Restaurant and the rest at the World Cafe. There has been a lot of angst and differing opinions on this board about Manfredi’s, but we found the food and service there exceptional. We also really enjoyed the Chef’s Table. The World Cafe was always very good with varied options, but was occasionally crowded. The Pool Grill was outstanding and our one meal at Mamsen’s was also very good. The laggard in this area was the Restaurant. The food was fine, but the only hiccups we had in service on the entire cruise happened there. On our first breakfast, it took 20 minutes to bring two sunny side up eggs. The waiter apologized and said the kitchen was having a hard time keeping up. On our only dinner we had to wait 15 minutes for a table (we went in at 7:45pm). Then, following a lengthy wait after ordering, I was brought the wrong appetizer. Our second breakfast was without incident. The food there was fine, but the venue always had the feel of being understaffed. But, that was 2 meals out of 20, and service was excellent everywhere else.
I am not a heavy drinker, so we did not get the Silver Spirits package. The wine at dinner and the offerings in the stateroom minibar were totally sufficient for me. I do not claim to have a sophisticated wine palate, so am definitely not an expert, but found the offered wines perfectly acceptable. I especially liked the red they were pouring in Manfredi’s (Remole Toscana).
Entertainment
We, like most Viking cruisers, don’t come for extravagant shows, so we knew what to expect. We went to two shows in the theatre and found them to be good entertainment. Mainly it was 4 singers and/or the Cruise Director (Cornelia) with a 4 piece band. They were all talented.
The ongoing live music was either solo piano or solo guitar. They were perfectly fine, but we missed strings (as in violin/viola).
The real draw was the lectures and they were outstanding. There were two historians on board—one presented more of the overview of areas or time periods and the other was more of a story teller. They complemented one another beautifully. They were also extremely accessible throughout the cruise, whether during meals or on excursions, and it was very nice to have that personal contact.
Spa
I was really looking forward to the Spa and it did not disappoint. I went almost every day and used the steam room, snow grotto, jacuzzis, sauna, and plunge pool. The only time the Spa was remotely crowded was during the sea day. My wife had a treatment at the Spa and said it was wonderful.
Excursions
We did all the included excursions (and added one in Flam that I booked independently). There’s been a lot of commenting about the quality of the included excursions, but we found them to be very good and better than expected. That may be because only one was the dreaded “panoramic tour”, the rest were walking tours. We found the guides to be excellent and the sights and information interesting. The excursion staff did an excellent job of coordinating everything.
Communications
Between the Viking app, the Viking Daily, Ship announcements, and the interface on the Stateroom TV, we found communication excellent. We always knew exactly what was happening on our cruise.
Disembarkation
Always the saddest part of a cruise, but we felt Viking did this about as well as possible. We were staying in Bergen an extra day (on our own), so we chose to keep our luggage in the room and simply walk off the ship with it. We left our stateroom at 7:45am and were out of the port by 8. I only wish cruise lines could make the disembarkation time a little later. I personally would prefer a 12pm embarkation time and a 9am deadline for vacating the stateroom, rather than the current 11am and 8am, but I know they must have their reasons.
Conclusion
We felt Viking did an excellent job of setting our expectations for the cruise and an excellent job of meeting them. We’re looking forward to our next Viking cruise.
