Considering Viking Ocean for Med Cruise

[TwinMamainMN]

Hubby and I are in our mid-late 40s. We are curious about the average age of Viking passengers (obviously they must be over 18). We would do a Med cruise in May/June 2025 and figure with such a port intensive schedule a small ship with limited venues and activities would suit us just fine. We envision touring during the day, coming back to the ship, having dinner, and getting ready for the next day and going to bed at a decent hour. We like to see and do things on our own and aren't much for bus "hop on, hop off" tours with very limited times to actually see and experience things, but we also recognize with limited port times that might sometimes be the best way to see a port city. Viking has an included excursion in every port. What do they typically include?

[FetaCheese]

On Viking website:

 

Find cruise you are interested in.

 

Find Itinerary tab -- will list itin each day.

 

Open each day -- will show list of all possible tours -- not every one usually offered.  Open each for tour description.  Does not show cost.

 

Usually 1st tour listed -- will show as included -- open for tour description.  

 

Hope this helps.

[Clay Clayton]

You will likely be among the youngest guests onboard but most of us old folks are fun and interesting. 🤞😂

 

The included tours can be awful to great. Usually they are somewhere in between. If you see “panorama” in the description that means bus tour. Usually include one to three stops and sometimes free time. We find them fine for places we have never visited but if we need more than an overview, we try to book an independent tour with others on our rollcall. 
 

If you haven’t already found this thread, I highly recommend it:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

 

To maximize your value, you may want to find a travel agent that provides the maximum kickback of their commission that Viking allows-$150pp on cruises up to 7 nights, $300pp on 8-14 night cruises, and $500pp on cruises of 15 nights or more. This is enough to cover the daily service charge/gratuities and leave a little left over for the bar tab. 🍸
 

Hope you will like Viking as much as we do!

[Cruising Domer]

1 hour ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Hubby and I are in our mid-late 40s. We are curious about the average age of Viking passengers (obviously they must be over 18). 

 

 

My wife and I are in the same age group and sailed with Viking for the first time last year.  We did the Arctic Explorer itinerary.  Many of our port stops had more active excursion options - sea kayaking, RIB rides, horseback riding, ATV adventures, etc.  There were a handful of other cruisers about our age, and a few families with their children who appeared to be in their late teens / early 20's, but we were in the minority age-wise.  Our itinerary might have had a slightly different demographic as compared to others that may be less active.

 

I only mention that to answer your specific question about the age of passengers and provide context, but we didn't see it as a negative at all.  Our fellow cruisers were, for the most part, very active (as we noted by those that were also on the more "strenuous" excursions with us and observing people around the ship and in town) and also friendly, social folks.  

 

We wouldn't hesitate to book another Viking cruise if we like the itinerary, as we enjoyed the overall Viking experience and time spent with our fellow cruisers -- and in fact have our next cruise booked with Viking this July.

[OneSixtyToOne]

2 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

Hubby and I are in our mid-late 40s. We are curious about the average age of Viking passengers (obviously they must be over 18). We would do a Med cruise in May/June 2025 and figure with such a port intensive schedule a small ship with limited venues and activities would suit us just fine. We envision touring during the day, coming back to the ship, having dinner, and getting ready for the next day and going to bed at a decent hour. We like to see and do things on our own and aren't much for bus "hop on, hop off" tours with very limited times to actually see and experience things, but we also recognize with limited port times that might sometimes be the best way to see a port city. Viking has an included excursion in every port. What do they typically include?

“Port intensive” is what Viking does best. This is especially true of their river cruises, which is where the company started, and that philosophy has carried over to their ocean product. The river product is as you describe, go, go, go, eat, sleep, repeat, with occasional scenic sailing. River ports are typically in the town center so you are right where you want to be without having to take an extended bus ride inland to see the city (docking on the coast to see Rome, Florence is an example of spending almost as much time driving as being in the city). So you may want to look at the river product and IMO the age skews younger. River and ocean cruising are much different experiences. We have done both and both have pros and cons.

 

That being said, I find the included tours that are mostly walking tours tend to be the best of the lot. The “panoramic” tours are bus tours that are just a drive by with a few photo stops. 
 

We tend to take a mix of optional and included excursions. One of the best included walking tours we ever took with Viking was our stop last year in Monaco. Here is a link to the writeup to give you a flavor of what to expect. It starts at post 49 but reading the whole thread will give you a general sense of what to expect on a Viking Mediterranean cruise.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2927474-almost-live-viking-sky-mediterranean-odyssey-april-2023/?do=findComment&comment=65245954

 

Edited March 14 by OneSixtyToOne

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

If you haven’t already found this thread, I highly recommend it:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

 

Agreed but start with post #1115 on page 45.  Anything earlier is stale information and will just confuse things.

 

1 hour ago, TwinMamainMN said:

We envision touring during the day, coming back to the ship, having dinner, and getting ready for the next day and going to bed at a decent hour.

 

Sounds very much like what we do. Viking is not a party ship and many folks follow the same plan. Viking is our floating hotel -- unpack once and see a lot of places.

 

1 hour ago, Clay Clayton said:

You will likely be among the youngest guests onboard but most of us old folks are fun and interesting. 🤞😂

 

I say, so what if you are among the youngest. Age is just a number.  It is attitude that counts.

 

2 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

We would do a Med cruise

 

First questions to ask yourselves: What part of the Med do you want to see first and how long do you want to be away?

 

For the most part, Viking divides the Med in to four segments: Barcelona to Rome, Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens and Athens to Istanbul-- and you can do as many contiguous one week segments as you want. Each1, 2, 3 and 4 week combination has a name. Then there are the rest Med of the itineraries.

 

If you want a more intensive stay in one of the cities named, consider a one week cruise bookended with 3 or 4 nights in the embarkation and disembarkation ports (which can be done with a Viking extension or on your own -- and in the Med "on your own" can usually get you more nights than a Viking extension).

 

BTW, even if you choose a one-week cruise, plan to arrive at least a day early just in case there are snafus with the airlines.

 

 

[CCWineLover]

3 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

First questions to ask yourselves: What part of the Med do you want to see first and how long do you want to be away?

 

For the most part, Viking divides the Med in to four segments: Barcelona to Rome, Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens and Athens to Istanbul-- and you can do as many contiguous one week segments as you want. Each1, 2, 3 and 4 week combination has a name. Then there are the rest Med of the itineraries.

 

If you want a more intensive stay in one of the cities named, consider a one week cruise bookended with 3 or 4 nights in the embarkation and disembarkation ports (which can be done with a Viking extension or on your own -- and in the Med "on your own" can usually get you more nights than a Viking extension).

 

BTW, even if you choose a one-week cruise, plan to arrive at least a day early just in case there are snafus with the airlines.

 

 

100 % agree !!   

YOU have to decide what ports you want to see in the Med.  There are quite a number of choices - and there certainly are other itineraries than the 4 segments mentioned above.  (Note - we just got finished with Legs 2&3 Rome to Venice to Athens of the 4 segment cruises).

Ahh  the age old issue - we want to explore ports but via a cruise there isn't much time in a port....   We also always make it a point to stay many days ahead of time and many days afterwards when we take a Viking cruise.  If you have that time, it can allow you to see so much more!   Even if you don't, I also heartily encourage you to arrive at least 1 day preferably 2 days early - there've been too many snafu's with airlines cancellations and delays.  Relative to the whole cruise spending, the cost of another night or two is not that much.

 

So - take a look at the various Mediterranean itineraries offered on Viking's web site.  You can filter by location like "Mediterranean", plus others such as month/year and length of cruise.

 

Happy hunting!  You'll enjoy and never look back.

You sound like perfect Viking cruisers!   Tour all day, rest and get ready in the evening, and ready for another fun day!

[carolinetodd]

3 hours ago, TwinMamainMN said:

 Viking has an included excursion in every port. What do they typically include?

The standard answer people give is that the included tours are usually bus trips to look at the highlights of the port city, and maybe most are, but we had several very good experiences with included tours.  All three included tours in Turkey were excellent, and things we would have paid extra to see - a boat trip on the Bosphorous, Troy (didn't really need the part where we got to see the Trojan Horse from the fairly recent movie, but the ruins were worth the side trip,) and Ephesus.  The walking tours of Rhodes and Chania were also worthwhile.  Of course, much of the quality of the tour depends on your guide, and that's kind of a crap shoot.

[katlew]

My husband and I were your age when we first started cruising with Viking (& he still is). Yes, we were younger than the majority of the people on board, but we weren't the only younger people on board. We've rarely felt like we were held up by others being older. That said, we are not people who want big shows, our photos taken for sale all the time, casinos, and so on... We like playing trivia & also bring our own card games. If we felt like a late night out Torshaven was typically hopping and a lot of those people were older than us. Viking is just more our vibe, there is less of that forced fun feeling.

 

As for the tours, like everyone else has mentioned it can be hit or miss. A lot depends on your guide. Most of the walking tours on the river cruises have been really good & we typically had plenty of time to explore on our own. On the ocean cruises, yes the included tour is often a bus ride. Some of them have been a great overview of an area we've never been. We had great ones in places like Shetland and Orkney. We've mainly done ocean with other family members, so have started to do a mix of included tours, extra cost tours, & independent tours. You can often save a bit doing a tour independently, for example we booked a Highland Park tasting & tour on our own for much less than Viking charged. Same thing with Zeelandia in New Zealand. Or course, that meant we had to be confident getting places on our own & getting back to the ship on time.

[CDNPolar]

Our first Viking cruise was the Empires of the Mediterranean and we are a younger couple.  This was the cruise that sold us on Viking and we also met what are now life-long friends on that cruise that we have traveled with many times since.

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, carolinetodd said:

The standard answer people give is that the included tours are usually bus trips to look at the highlights of the port city, and maybe most are, but we had several very good experiences with included tours.  All three included tours in Turkey were excellent, and things we would have paid extra to see - a boat trip on the Bosphorous, Troy (didn't really need the part where we got to see the Trojan Horse from the fairly recent movie, but the ruins were worth the side trip,) and Ephesus.  The walking tours of Rhodes and Chania were also worthwhile.  Of course, much of the quality of the tour depends on your guide, and that's kind of a crap shoot.

I agree - many included tours are quite good - and are NOT panorama bus tours.  Especially in the Mediterranean.  On our past recent cruise we had some absolutely excellent included walking tours in the following cities:

Barcelona - wonderful - 4.5 hours   lots of walking around the city after a short bus ride

Sete (France) - stunning - all walking - got to see so much of this city

Pisa - above expectations - decent walking, learned a lot

Naples - again a great, demanding walking tour around Naples downtown

Cortone (Italy) - a see Cortone walking "tour" on your own - decent

Chioggia (Venice) - wonderful walking tour through the center of the "little" Venice town

Sibinek (Croadia) - excellent guide - decent amount of walking.  great.

Split (Croatia) - another excellent guide - another major walking tour - Diocletian Palace too

Dubrovnik (Croatia) - lots of good walking through the old city walls - excellent

Kotor (Montenegro) - the best walking tour through the old town w/ excellent guide

Olympia (Greece) - another good walking tour through the ancient Olympics site

 

Note - NONE of these were that old traditional panoramic bus tour.

[rmalbers]

The things that come to mind for me are not the age thing.  It more about pricing, there are so many ships that do that cruise that you really have a lot of options, like you could get into a large suite on some lines for the price of VO.  One advantage to VO is with tendering, it's a lot better on their small ships.  Having said that I'm not sure I would spend VO prices to go to those ports, there are just so many less expensive options and you are on shore for a lot of time.   

[CDNPolar]

1 hour ago, rmalbers said:

The things that come to mind for me are not the age thing.  It more about pricing, there are so many ships that do that cruise that you really have a lot of options, like you could get into a large suite on some lines for the price of VO.  One advantage to VO is with tendering, it's a lot better on their small ships.  Having said that I'm not sure I would spend VO prices to go to those ports, there are just so many less expensive options and you are on shore for a lot of time.   

 

I get what you are saying, but... I don't want to be on a ship with 2500 or more guests, and pardon me for saying this, but kids too.  

 

We pay for Viking for many reasons above these two things, but these are two of the most important things to us.

[lackcreativity]

One extra hint about the included tours: in many ports, Viking provides free shuttle bus service to and from a designated spot throughout the day. We often have taken the included tour and notified the guide we would return on our own (so they aren't waiting for you to get back to the bus). Then we wandered on our own or had a local meal before taking the shuttle back to the ship. 

[Breckski]

We were in your age range when we had our first cruise with Viking.  Certainly, one of the younger ones on the cruise, but our days were essentially what you describe.  Get off at port, get on ship to eat and early to bed.  We had a couple sea days but found a way to stay busy/entertained.  We've always felt very welcomed on Viking cruises.

 

For the Med, I'd certainly look at some of the smaller ship lines as they visit places Viking can't/doesn't.  May or may not matter to you - just depends on what you want to see.

 

 

[TwinMamainMN]

9 hours ago, Peregrina651 said:

 

Agreed but start with post #1115 on page 45.  Anything earlier is stale information and will just confuse things.

 

 

Sounds very much like what we do. Viking is not a party ship and many folks follow the same plan. Viking is our floating hotel -- unpack once and see a lot of places.

 

 

I say, so what if you are among the youngest. Age is just a number.  It is attitude that counts.

 

 

First questions to ask yourselves: What part of the Med do you want to see first and how long do you want to be away?

 

For the most part, Viking divides the Med in to four segments: Barcelona to Rome, Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens and Athens to Istanbul-- and you can do as many contiguous one week segments as you want. Each1, 2, 3 and 4 week combination has a name. Then there are the rest Med of the itineraries.

 

If you want a more intensive stay in one of the cities named, consider a one week cruise bookended with 3 or 4 nights in the embarkation and disembarkation ports (which can be done with a Viking extension or on your own -- and in the Med "on your own" can usually get you more nights than a Viking extension).

 

BTW, even if you choose a one-week cruise, plan to arrive at least a day early just in case there are snafus with the airlines.

 

 

We are absolutely spending time pre and post cruise on our own. Likely with lots of help from Rick Steve’s guide books. Rome for sure. Maybe Barcelona or Athens depending on the exact itinerary.

[TwinMamainMN]

Wow! Thanks everyone for all your help. Lots to consider. I appreciate your kind responses.

[tobique33040]

14 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

I get what you are saying, but... I don't want to be on a ship with 2500 or more guests, and pardon me for saying this, but kids too.  

 

We pay for Viking for many reasons above these two things, but these are two of the most important things to us.

My travel companion and I just turned 70. Our cruise last month had so many more what we consider younger people, than we have seen in past. My first cruise with my late husband  was a river cruise in 2009, and we were not the youngest, but in the minority. Age made no difference. Also took my 38 yr old daughter on a cruise and she found plenty of active excursions in Norway. Plenty of hiking. So I think you will find plenty of «younger «  people on the cruise. 

But I agree with above comment. We want an all adult, smaller ship. The other smaller ships seem to be more expensive than Viking in my research, and a bit froufrou for us. 
As you can see, whatever you want to know can generally be answered by the lovely people on this forum. There are so many regulars with amazing breadth of knowledge about Viking and cruises in general. You were smart to find this source of information. 

[Breckski]

6 hours ago, tobique33040 said:

The other smaller ships seem to be more expensive than Viking in my research, and a bit froufrou for us. 
 

 

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this comment.  Viking certainly appears to be pricing themselves more up-market.  Sure, some are more froufrou but not all.  And, to me, one needs to compare apples to apples relating to room selection if comparing price. 

 

Then there's always Windstar - very basic cabins but roughly 1/3 capacity of Viking.  Certainly, a lot of differences between lines including price, size and luxury.

[taiwan_girl]

We took a recent Viking cruise over the holidays - 4 YA kids (late teens to early 20's) 2 middle age, and 2 seniors.  Every body had a good time.  As others mentioned, excursions were variable, but we enjoyed the vast majority of them that were provided by Viking, with the seniors taking more the leisurely ones most of the time.

 

There isn't a whole lot of late night activities, but Torshaven always had a fairly good crowd and it was where the Star Theater performers would end up and continue entertaining there on most nights.  

 

Would definitely take another cruise with Viking.

[tobique33040]

59 minutes ago, mwike said:

 

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this comment.  Viking certainly appears to be pricing themselves more up-market.  Sure, some are more froufrou but not all.  And, to me, one needs to compare apples to apples relating to room selection if comparing price. 

 

Then there's always Windstar - very basic cabins but roughly 1/3 capacity of Viking.  Certainly, a lot of differences between lines including price, size and luxury.

I get a bit seasick so Windstar might not be right for me. Regent Seven Seas, Seaborne and Silversea seemed more expensive, but maybe I’m wrong. Oceania seems to have raised their prices. What other small lines do you recommend?  We love Viking but almost did an Oceania so we are definitely open to trying other lines if the atmosphere and price are amenable. 

[Breckski]

2 minutes ago, tobique33040 said:

I get a bit seasick so Windstar might not be right for me. Regent Seven Seas, Seaborne and Silversea seemed more expensive, but maybe I’m wrong. Oceania seems to have raised their prices. What other small lines do you recommend?  We love Viking but almost did an Oceania so we are definitely open to trying other lines if the atmosphere and price are amenable. 

On certain itineraries, Regent and Seabourne are cheaper especially if comparing similar rooms.  I think a lot of times people compare DV or V cabins to the other lines where the staterooms are larger.  I don't think Regent and Seabourne have cabins the size of DV or V.  And obviously, cabin size may not be important to some - like the basic cabins on Windstar.

 

I'm not saying Regent and/or Seabourn are better.  Pointing out that Viking pricing isn't always lower and there's other options.  Variety is a good thing. 

 

But we've certainly started sailing the smallest ship that visits the ports we're interested in.

 

 

[1985rz1]

4 hours ago, tobique33040 said:

What other small lines do you recommend?

You might want to look at Azamara.  Their ships are the same size as Oceania's R-ships...about 650 px +/-

[tobique33040]

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

You might want to look at Azamara.  Their ships are the same size as Oceania's R-ships...about 650 px +/-

Ah interesting. I’ve seen adverts for them a few times but didn’t look further. Thank you. I will check them out. 

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, 1985rz1 said:

You might want to look at Azamara.  Their ships are the same size as Oceania's R-ships...about 650 px +/-

 

Azamara Quest is one of the old R ships (R-7).