West Indies Explorer on Viking Star: A Detailed Review

As far as I know, when the owner of Viking Cruises is not planning on being onboard (and they told me that he's only onboard about once or twice a year) you can book the owner's suite just as you would any other cabin. I don't even want to think about how expensive that would be! I don't think it shows up on their web site when you look at the cabin choices. I'm pretty sure you would have to call and talk to someone to make special arrangements to book a cruise in the owner's suite. And while yes, I've had a good run in the stock market and with YouTube over the last few years... no, I won't be staying here, ever. I suspect it takes a real high roller to be able to afford this suite!

I've scanned a few documents that were given to me during the cruise, which I think you might find useful. Just click on the links to view them, or right click on the link and choose "Save As" to save a copy to your computer.

Special note about the Viking Star Daily Newsletters:

I have scanned all 10 days of the newsletters in to one big PDF file. It's 26 megabytes to download it. You might not want to try that with a slow Internet connection... for example, from a cruise ship. But as long as you've got a decent high-speed Internet connection, you should be able to view and download them without any problem.

Unlike every other cruise line I've ever sailed with, unlimited Internet access is offered to all Viking Star passengers at no extra charge. Before the cruise, the big question in my mind was whether the Internet connection would be any good. Things have come a long way since the early days of ocean-going Internet access. I've been on some ships where it was totally slow and flaky... and then there's the newest Royal Caribbean ships that have an amazing system using the O3B network of low-orbit satellites to provide a surprisingly decent Internet connection.

At the beginning of the cruise, I was startled at the results when I ran a Speedtest to see how Viking Star's Internet connection measured up...

The ping speed tells you that they're using a standard satellite system like most of the major cruise lines use... not the super-fast O3B network that Royal Caribbean uses on their newest ships. If they had been using the O3B network, that ping time would have been about half that.

The download speed is astoundingly fast for a cruise ship. In fact, almost unbelievably fast... as in I really don't believe that number is accurate, because in my normal use of the Internet onboard Viking Star on the day I took that measurement, it really seemed kind of sluggish. The upload speed was surprisingly high, too... but I do have to say that at one point during our cruise I did upload a video to YouTube, and it did work. It was slow... like 20 times slower than it would have been at home... but it did work. I really don't believe the accuracy of those upload and download speeds, though.

I have a nephew that works in I.T. and he told me once that all Internet service providers game the system. If a request to access SpeedTest.net comes through, it is given the highest priority, bypassing all bottlenecks and put ahead of all other access requests. But if you just try to access a regular web page, or upload or download a file to some regular server, you don't get any of that priority treatment and you end up with much slower throughput. So, I think that's what was happening with those Speedtest results. It never seemed that fast to me in my real-world use of the Internet on Viking Star. And in fact, as the week went on, things seemed to get slower and slower.

I think on the first day or two, some of the passengers on Viking Star had other things on their minds besides using the Internet... and then as the cruise went on, more and more people started using it, which slowed things down. There were certain times, like during game 7 of the world series... when Viking didn't carry the game on their TV system... that the Internet was slowed to a crawl. So, it seems to me that how well the Internet worked on Viking Star was completely dependent on how many people were all trying to use it at the same time. When I used it at 5 AM, it worked pretty well. When I used it at 11 AM, when most of the passengers were off on shore excursions, it worked pretty well. But at 5 PM, or 8 PM... not so much.

But hey, the price was right! Thank you, Viking!

I also want to say that Viking is totally ready to help you if you have any problems getting your device connected to the Internet. I had made a change to a network setting on my laptop about a week before our vacation... and then totally forgot about it. When we got onboard, I couldn't get the laptop to connect to the Internet. It frustrated me for quite a few hours, and then finally I went down to the Atrium to see if the guest services people could help me. Within a matter of seconds, they had their I.T. expert looking at the settings on my laptop, and within about a minute, he had it all working. Fantastic customer support from Viking! Thank you.

Now there was a little funkiness involved in using the Internet at sea. Your device connects to the ship's wi-fi, which connects via satellite to some site somewhere in Europe or Canada or Indonesia, depending on some factors that are completely unknown to me. So, my smartphone had one heck of a time trying to figure out where I was on any given day. Sometimes it would display a weather report for Canada... sometimes the Netherlands... sometimes Jakarta, Indonesia... sometimes for the island that I was really on. It would give me alerts of "heavy traffic in your area" when I was in the middle of the ocean. It was kind of funny, actually!

• VERY un-crowded with far fewer passengers onboard than other cruise ships I've been on
   
  
• Adults-only... no children allowed onboard
  
  
• No nickel and diming... almost everything is included at no extra charge
   
  
• All cabins have a balcony
   
  
• The thermal suite in the spa
   
  
• The mid-ship pool can be enclosed under a glass dome during bad weather
   
  
• Extremely happy and friendly staff, offering excellent customer service
   
  
• Internet access is free
   
  
• Self-service laundry facilities are free
   
  
• Movies on the cabin TVs are free
   
  
• Our flight to San Juan was free
   
  
• Room service is free
   
  
• Free bottled water in the cabins and when entering or leaving the ship
  
  
• Free beer, wine, and soft drinks at lunch and dinner
  
  
• A free shore excursion in every port
   
  
• All but the lowest cabin category have free soft drinks and snacks in their refrigerator, replenished daily
   
  
• All but the two lowest cabin categories have free alcohol in their refrigerator, replenished daily
   
  
• You can bring your own alcohol onboard without fear of it being confiscated
   
  
• Bar prices are more reasonable than most other cruise lines
   
  
• An unlimited alcoholic beverage package is available at a reasonable price, and both people in the cabin do not have to sign up for it.
   
  
• The quality of the food is excellent
   
  
• Beach towels are abundant and there is no check-in and check-out system for towels
   
  
• Umbrellas are available for borrowing as you exit the ship
  
  
• NO smoking, except for in one small remote area of the ship
  
  
• No formal nights
   
  
• No casino
   
  
• No bingo
   
  
• No staff photographers trying to sell overpriced photos to you
   
  
• No sea days
   
  
• No announcements over the PA system to try to entice you to do something they'll make money on
  
  
• No electric scooters allowed onboard for the mobility-impaired
   
  
• No extra charge to eat in their Italian specialty restaurant
  
  
• No extra charge for a tour of the bridge
   
  
• If you order a drink from a bar server, you don't have to present a card or sign a receipt. Just give your cabin number. That's it.
  
  
• The interior decoration of the ship is gorgeous
   
  
• There are numerous comfortable places within the ship where you can sit and have a quiet chat with someone
   
  
• The cabins are tastefully decorated and nicely designed, especially the bathrooms
   
  
• Because there are so few passengers, shore excursions tend to be less crowded
   
  
• The background music that plays in public areas of the ship is perfectly tailored to the type of passenger that sails on Viking Star
   
  
• If you get a massage or other spa treatment, they will not pester you to purchase additional products or services
   
  
• The passengers tend to be VERY well traveled and you can learn things from them if you get them talking

• The aft swimming pool and the mid-ship swimming pools are too deep
   
  
• It gets way too hot and humid at the mid-ship pool when the glass dome is closed
   
  
• The big pool in the thermal suite should be heated MUCH warmer
   
  
• Not enough storage in Deluxe Veranda cabins
   
  
• Not enough entertainment
   
  
• Some entertainment is scheduled at the same time as other entertainment
   
  
• Not as many food choices in the buffet as I'm used to on the mega cruise ships
   
  
• Not as many shore excursions offered as the big cruise lines
   
  
• Not as easy to eat gluten-free as it is on a mega cruise ship
  

That completes my review of the Viking Star. I hope you enjoyed it! It truly was one of the best cruises we've ever been on.

My hesitation in sailing with Viking Ocean cruises again is only that they don't offer a variety of Caribbean itineraries. If they were to offer a Western Caribbean cruise, or a Caribbean cruise that made it all the way down to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao... I would definitely sail with Viking again. I don't want to do the exact same itinerary over again, though, and I really have no interest in a Mediterranean or Scandinavian cruise... so I think it may be a while before I sail with Viking Ocean cruises again. Perhaps a few years from now, when they have more ships, they'll offer some different Caribbean itineraries.

Our cruise on Viking Star presented a clear contrast to all the things that annoy me about the other cruise lines: the constant nickel-and-diming, the crowding, and the way they won't let you bring your own alcohol on board... just to name a few.

Going forward, unless there's some amazing thing I want to see on a specific cruise ship, I think I'm more likely to book a suite within The Haven on Norwegian Cruise Line... to get some of the benefits of an uncrowded, pampered cruise experience plus all the benefits of the huge number of dining and entertaining choices of a mega cruise ship.

For 2017, we've got four cruises booked already, and it wouldn't surprise me if we added a sixth at some point.

In January, we'll be sailing on Royal Caribbean's "Allure Of The Seas". The reason I booked this particular cruise was simply to see the stage show, "Mama Mia, The Musical". Mama Mia is a favorite movie of mine... so I thought it would be fun to see the stage version.

The day we disembark from Allure Of The Seas in Ft Lauderdale, we'll be driven down to the Port Of Miami where we'll immediately board another cruise ship! What the heck, it's cheaper to do two cruises out of Florida back-to-back rather than doing one and then flying back out a month or two later to do another. The second cruise is going to be especially cool because we're going to be crossing an item off of my bucket list: we're going to be staying in a deluxe owner's suite (on Norwegian Pearl) which will feature a private Jacuzzi out on the balcony. I've seen a few cruise ships where the fanciest suites have a private Jacuzzi on the balcony, and I've always wanted to experience that for myself. So, this will be my big opportunity to do so!

Because I've made a surprising amount of money from the advertising revenue on

Carnival has a new ship: the Carnival Vista. There's an interesting new experiment they're trying with this ship... creating a special oasis at the back of the ship called the Havana area, with its own pool and Jacuzzis... but limiting access to only the people paying extra to stay in one of the nearby Havana cabins. Count us in! In order to get the special type of cabin we wanted (with its own hanging/swinging chair on the balcony!) we have to wait all the way until the third quarter of 2017 to cruise on her, though.

Other cruises I'm interested, but haven't booked yet, would be a Panama Canal cruise, and a cruise within The Haven on Norwegian Epic.

As you can see, we've got some interesting cruises to look forward to! If you subscribe to my YouTube Channel, you'll get notified anytime I post a new video from one of my cruises.

Thanks for reading this very long review, and I hope it was worth it to you! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. Fire away!

If you're interested in reading the reviews I've written about my previous cruises, click on the links in my signature, below.

Can you clarify a point for me please? You say on your "pro's" list that both passengers in a cabin do NOT have to purchase the Silver Beverage Package, yet on your downloads with the Viking details about the alcohol package, it says both passengers DO have to purchase the package.

Many thanks for all your hard work .....this review is fantastic.

Oh! I see what you mean, Lottie. It looks like I was wrong. Apparently, both people in the cabin DO need to purchase the beverage package. I read somewhere that they didn't, and accepted it as fact. But that handout about the Silver Spirits package leaves no room for doubt on the subject.

Thank you for catching that!

Love reading your reviews. So detailed and thorough. We're on Carnival Miracle out of Long Beach on Nov. 26/16 heading to Hawaii and enjoyed your review of that ship. Great work.

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Thanks for the fantastic, detailed review! We are on the same Viking Caribbean cruise leaving in January and I am even more excited after reading all of the details. Beautiful photographs also!

Thank you Jim Zim for this very detailed review and for the excellent video too. I have been a professional photographer for around 40 years and appreciate the quality of the visual content!

They were both very useful to us as we are at the other end of the cruising scale to you and looking forward to our very first cruise (on Viking Sea) early next year.

What made them especially helpful was you putting your trip in the context of your experience with other cruise lines.

This has helped confirm for us that Viking really is doing something different and is likely to suit us in a way that other cruise lines probably would not.

Thanks again and enjoy your tube rides and jacuzzi :)

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Really have enjoyed all you had to say about your Viking cruise.

We get on board their newest ship tomorrow and cruise from Rome to Israel then finish in Athens and are getting pretty excited about it.

Have done 2 river cruises with them this summer and they were excellent so we knew their ocean going vessels would be great too and you have made us so eager to get started.

Thank you for all your hard work in putting your review together.

Thank you very much for taking the time for such an in depth review. Very helpful even though we will not be sailing your itinerary.

Great review , can't wait to show my friends what they will enjoy. I also am happy that the silver spirits package is better than I thought. Thanks

Embarking on same cruise Jan 16[emoji3]. How did you handle currencies on different islands? Think we can just use credit cards or will we need to visit ATMs?' I see 3 ports for East Caribbean Dollar, 1 or 2 for Euro, 1 Barbadian $, and rest US$.

Also, re spa. Is the tipping policy any clearer? First time on Star, I gave masseuse a really nice tip and then added another 15% to bill at check out. I won't feel obliged to do that again. Guess I was in a really good mood after massage. [emoji3]

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How did you handle currencies on different islands?

The US dollar is accepted everywhere you'll go in the Caribbean. I'd suggest that when you're paying for something in the Caribbean (other than on the ship) you pay with cash, just to be safe. The risk of getting your credit card number stolen in a situation like that is too great. Just bring some cash with you for tips and spending money... and lock it in the safe when you are onboard the ship.

Thank you so much for your detailed review. It is very helpful in our planning.

My wife and I will be sailing this itinerary next month. I did have a couple questions that you may be able to assist with

1) What was your experience with the included excursions? Did you go on any of them? Did you find them worth taking or better to explore islands on your own? Which optional excursions did you go on?

2) Did you notice the mosquitos being worse on specific islands? Were you bit at all? We've got to avoid the Zika

3) Along same lines of earlier post about currency, are you able to exchange USD into local currencies on the ship?

Thanks

 

 

3) Along same lines of earlier post about currency, are you able to exchange USD into local currencies on the ship?

 

Thanks

From Viking's FAQ:

For the Caribbean itinerary, there is no need to worry about currency exchange. Just bring US dollars with you. They will be accepted everywhere you go in the Caribbean during the cruise.

What was your experience with the included excursions? Did you go on any of them? Did you find them worth taking or better to explore islands on your own? Which optional excursions did you go on?

The only included excursion we took was the walking tour of Old San Juan, which we liked VERY much.

At the other ports of call, we did mostly beach excursions. 3 days, we stayed on the ship and did no excursions.

Other than the San Juan walking tour, most of the included excursions appeared to me to be a bus tour of whatever island we were in, with a guide explaining the history and highlights of the island. That didn't appeal to us at all, so we didn't do any of those. I'm sure a lot of the passengers loved them, it just wouldn't be for us. But we're not really typical Viking passengers. We were probably in the youngest 2% of the passengers onboard.

Did you notice the mosquitos being worse on specific islands? Were you bit at all? We've got to avoid the Zika

We were VERY worried about this, before the cruise, due to all the talk about Zika in the news. However, we never saw a mosquito during the entire vacation. Not even one.

Just wanted to tell you my wife and I really enjoyed your review. We sailed the Viking Star the summer of 2015 in the Baltic and will be boarding it again (a week from today!) for The West Indies tour. EXCELLENT Review.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I went to all the trouble of putting it together just for people like you... someone with an upcoming West Indies Explorer cruise, curious about what to expect.

Cruise Critic has been a great source of information for me over the years... this is my way of paying that back.

Plus, it really was one of the best cruises I've been on, and I want to help get the word out about what's so special about a Viking Ocean cruise. I was a little worried that I wasn't going to fit in with the Viking crowd, but I'm a fan now!

Just wanted to add that I agree completely. My wife and I LOVE the ship's size and layout and the added bonus of the EXCELLENT service the crew provides. We are some of Viking's biggest fans! After this West Indies cruise (which we begin in 5 days!) we will be taking our first river cruise this next summer. Our first river cruise.

But again, I'd like to thank you for all the time and effort you put into your review. Excellent job!

For taking the time for sharing your experience.

P.S. Try Celebrity's Aqua Class on a Solstice ship, preferably Equinox. (the only Celebrity I have been on.

Ken/sweetpk

Thank you so much for your detailed review. It is very helpful in our planning.

 

My wife and I will be sailing this itinerary next month. I did have a couple questions that you may be able to assist with

 

1) What was your experience with the included excursions? Did you go on any of them? Did you find them worth taking or better to explore islands on your own? Which optional excursions did you go on?

 

2) Did you notice the mosquitos being worse on specific islands? Were you bit at all? We've got to avoid the Zika

 

3) Along same lines of earlier post about currency, are you able to exchange USD into local currencies on the ship?

 

Thanks

Just to add that if you are visiting Guadeloupe as we did, then you will need Euros, they will generally not accept dollars. We only walked into town but didn't buy anything.

Viking provided mosquito spray as we left the ship at each destination so we could spray arms and legs before going for a walk.