First of all, kudos to you both for embracing the life you were given (cheers worthy). My wife and I enjoyed a Viking S. American cruise and are booked on 2 more. We love Viking. I agree with much of your comments especially given your ratings vs your expectations. I would rate the food better than the entertainment while your expectations for food over entertainment impacts your ratings. All in all a well balanced review of an excellent cruise line. Happy life to you both.
I do not know what sort of food you folks like, but we found the food excellent. Fresh, locally sourced, simple. You could identify what it was. Not drowned in disguising sauces. The wok station was first-rate. (Most of my cooking at home is in my wok.) P.s. we like firm beds. We had the same cabin, same ship.
Having taken about 5 Viking Ocean cruises, I really agree with your review, especially my last 2 cruises. I especially agree about the food, which has decreased in quality since the pandemic. Your review was spot-on and very complete.
Thanks. Although I wish you had said the food was amazing on all 5 cruises. Hopefully Viking improves in these areas now that they have a couple years of sailing after the pandemic. -K
We are considering a Viking Ocean cruise and appreciated your honest review. You both do a great job of explaining in detail the reasons for your score. Plus, you both seem such pleasant and likable people. Good luck with this site!
For me the food is everything. If it’s not stellar it’s a dealbreaker for me, especially for the money. We love Oceania - “the finest cuisine at sea” is their mantra. We’ve done 3 cruises with them now and love them! (BTW, kudos to you both for embracing reality and moving forward in a positive way - God bless you!)
hello, we already got a Viking cruise for next august england isles but we booked as well for first time Oceania next year for inagurate Allura ship from Lisbon to New York. We haven´t travel never in both of them. Which one you think is better option? Thanks and regards from Spain
Shout out to you two!🥂My wife & I have lived your journey - & ended up stopping our treatments & after consideration, did not pursue adoption. We've now been happily married for 31 years - and we are SO HAPPY WITH OUR LIFE & OUR DECISION! We'll both be retired before 60 (5 years away) & we travel all the time now. We've done 2 Viking trips - about to do South America trip in Dec on Viking. Agree with your review. Thank you for sharing your story & adventures. Wishing you a lifetime of love & adventure! Patrick & Sharon
We did the same cruise last year in a penthouse veranda stateroom (PV2), which is one category lower than yours. Loved the trip so much we are doing in again next May. We fine the beds on Viking trip fine, so it's a personal thing. We have sailed on several of the ultra-luxury lines, and find Viking is our favorite line. We felt the food was as good as the higher end ships. We do about 3 to 4 cruises with Viking a year and always love the experience.
We can’t wait for our next Viking cruise. We just booked an Alaskan cruise but it’s through NCL in their Haven area. We look forward to comparing it to Viking. -K
I loved your honest evaluation of Viking Cruises. We have been on 13 Viking, we are both 59. I was just so surprised you never mentioned that the clientele is a bit older. We always feel like we are in the youngest group. We have taken our adult children and their spouses on a Viking River and Ocean, and they just loved both. So kuddos!
Thanks. Yes, we were some of the youngest on the cruise but had so many great conversations with many guests that we rarely even thought about it. That’s amazing that you’ve been able to take your family with you. I’m sure it made it that much more special.
EXCELLENT review. On most reviews we get the marketing photo video, but this one was specific, detailed, and VERY credible. THANK YOU, because we are about to take our first Viking cruise and this helped SO much.
Nice presentation on Viking. We are long time cruisers. We only travel on small ships--400-750 passengers. We love Silversea, Seabourn, and Regents. For the $’s you spend on this 15 day cruise, on your next cruise you might consider these cruise lines😅. FYI--We sailed on Silversea for 21 days in South America for the same rate you spent--and the beds are great and the restaurants are superb.
Good review overall, but if anyone is trying to decide whether to book a Viking Cruise based on this, I feel the need to offer some additional context and perspective: - The whole bed thing is indeed subjective. I thought they were very comfortable. Agree that the pillows were not (too poofy and bulky), so next time we’re bringing our own. - They rightfully noted how fantastic the crew is. Everyone on the staff is fantastic, and you feel treated like royalty, no matter what cabin you have booked. (And yes, please tip them extra.) - We thought the excursions were excellent overall, both the included and the optional ones we splurged on. If your whole objective is to have only more personalized experiences in each port, I’m wondering if a cruise is the best choice for you overall, anyway. - Agree with their comments on the entertainment overall. Have to mention that the house musicians (classical players, soloists, and especially the house band) were terrific. Interesting they did not even mention any of the lectures (from scientists, academics, historians, naturalists, etc.), which are a core part of Viking’s whole approach as the “thinking person’s cruise.” Most of these are really good and offer lots of background, context, and extra appreciation for each port destination. - My biggest difference of opinion is about the food. I think that overall it is excellent, although it varies by venue. The World Cafe (buffet) is about as good as a buffet gets, if you like that sort of thing. Not my favorite type of dining venue, and I often avoided it, because of the general busyness and noise level that is typical of a buffet. The restaurant was excellent most nights, with good food and lovely presentation. Manfredi’s was very good, especially for a cruise ship specialty restaurant. Not the greatest Italian food I’ve ever had (I’m Italian), but very good and a great experience overall. The BEST food experience on the ship is at the Chef’s Table, where the food is fantastic, creative, and beautifully served. Too bad they didn’t try it more than once, which tells me they are a bit picky or not very adventurous as eaters. Also, I thought the wine pairings were excellent, and just because a bottle may not cost more than $20, that doesn’t mean it’s not tasty. Not everything has to have a “top shelf” label to be good. One final thing to keep in mind: while they kept saying that the food was disappointing given “what they paid” for their trip, keep in mind that they booked one of the highest category cabins onboard, one that cost literally double the price of the more prevalent Deluxe Veranda (a perfectly lovely cabin). I understand that they prioritized having more space, but the people who paid 50% less than they did were served the very same food and may have had a different expectation and perspective of the value they received.
My husband and I have been on several Viking Ocean and River cruises, and we were recently on the Star from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale. We've had the room you were in when we went to Panama, and we loved the space and the couch. We were in a DV level room most recently, and I felt squeezed in, but I knew that when I booked it. We love the gym too, and used it daily. I think they offered yoga classes for $10, but I never saw anyone in the gym teaching classes. We also like taking the stairs just to work off some of the dessert calories, and I walked on the 2nd deck daily around the ship. I also agree with your thoughts about the piano player and, for us, a flute player. Such nice music while you sit around and play games, read, or have a drink. What I liked about the food (and we primarily eat in the World Cafe) is that I can get fresh greens for a salad at lunch, add freshly grated carrots, then top it with a lentil salad, and whatever other kind of interesting salad they have. I also loved their cut up fruit selection daily. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat a lot of meat, so I enjoyed various vegetarian dishes they offered that I would never make at home. I also liked the sushi, along with the shrimp. I tried the pizza for the first time, and like you, did not find it very exciting. My goal is not to gain weight, and I didn't, even though I sampled desserts for lunch and dinner. The espresso/latte/cappuccino machine in the World Cafe was our favorite place to get a beverage. We drank tons of those all day long. What we love are all the educational presentations in the Star that we always attend. My final observation is that you are both much younger than the demographic on some of their cruises. The one we were just on had many people who were on walkers and were using canes. Thanks again for your thoughtful and detailed review.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Viking Ocean cruise you had. Ｉ agreed your rating to Viking food. I just had one Viking River cruise. I think the food was same as HA or Princess Cruise lines. I don't mind having house keeping once a day that may help less stress on their house keepers. I like the included excursions and the warm floor in the bath room.
Thanks. Their bathrooms are incredible, especially for a cruise ship. We can’t wait for our next Viking cruise. Next up though is Christmas in Vegas. We look forward to sharing that experience too. -K
Thank you for the in depth and honest review! This is what we all want. For 20k the bed, lack of options, food, and laundry issues helped me decide to X this. Thank you!
Hey dlmk…you may want to reconsider. As long as you don't require gourmet, the food on Viking is excellent. Better than 95% of all cruise ships. The beds are firm…that’s for sure. Have cruised with them five times now and that hasn’t changed. But the $25k price tag included two first class tickets costing over $10k. Took a lovely 12 day cruise to the Caribbean with Viking for $10k. It’s all about expectations.
@@dlmk429 We have some experience with other lines but most of our cruising has been with Viking. The best food right now, without getting into ultra lux lines like Regent, Seabourne and Seven Seas, is Virgin, Viking and Oceana. May want to check out a video on UA-cam from two years ago. Search for “ Ben and David Viking food”. They’re pretty honest about their reviews. All the best.
Keep in mind that our cost included an upgraded room that most people don’t need - we loved it though. Although the food didn’t meet our expectations, most everything else blew us away so we will definitely sail with them again. Our next one though is on NCL in their Haven for Alaska … then maybe Viking again after that. Thanks for watching. -K
I really enjoyed your review, I’ve been on three ocean cruises, and I only disagreed with you on the food and bedding. I thought the food was excellent. and I thought the beds were more than comfortable. But that is a personal choice and I respect your opinion. We are all rescheduled for two more ocean cruises. And we’ve been on three river cruises as well. You need to try one of those. Only 180 people on the ship. I know you would enjoy it. Thanks for entertaining review.
We travelled with Viking for 16 days but only bought 7 changes of clothes. The free laundry might not be a big deal to some but it was for us. For the record anyone, in any cabin, can use the free laundry. Also, the $25 per person beverage package is a good value if you drink cocktails or like premium wines and beers.
Also keep in mind that if you want a beverage (including even a sparkling water or soft drink) outside of lunch or dinner, there is a charge (about $4, I think). Viking does NOT nickel and dime you, but having the Silver Spirits is one add-on that is totally worth it. It was fun working our way through the entire wine menu during our cruise. Some were better (or worse) than others; it was still fun!)
Having been on a number of Viking River cruises and Viking Ocean cruises, we rate Viking food around 4.5. Recently we did a HA cruise for 3 weeks and found it difficult to rate the food up to 3.5. We have more Viking cruises booked for the much better quality of accommodation, food, lectures and overall comfort.
My wife and I just returned from our first Viking Cruise of the Mediterranean. I watched your video prior to leaving and thought you guys were being tough on the food. However, upon return, I realized you nailed it. Every comment you made was spot on. The food was comparable to the Norwegian cruise I was on last year. However, I also agree with you that the trip was worth the money. In our opinion the best part was the meeting so many great people on board with the excursions coming in a close second.
So glad you enjoyed your cruise. The food is what it is. I think having proper expectations will help us next time. The Med is definitely on our list at some point. Thanks for watching.
I was hesitant to start a 40 min video. You two are adorable! Thank you for sharing your experience... Very helpful for planning our upcoming Viking cruise!
Thanks for the review. We are looking at stringing together 3 consecutive Viking "ocean" cruises, all on the same ship and in the same cabin, through the Mediterranean and up to Norway for the Northern lights. It will be over a month long, so it's a good thing we can do our own laundry. Your review reassures me that Viking will offer the experience and ambiance we want.
Sounds like an amazing month! The laundry is awesome and will make it very easy on you. Just have plenty of books/movies downloaded to entertain yourselves during sea days. Because it’s a smaller ship, you don’t have nearly the entertainment options the larger ships have. So 2 days in a row at sea can become boring very quickly. -K
Your experiences with the food exactly as mine when I wrote up my Tripadvisor and CruiseCritic reviews of our Viking Mediterranean Odyssey. World Cafe food was often cold under the warming lights, could play frisbee with the waffles, and nothing special but the desserts and gelato were fine, as I noted in my own review! :-) We were under-impressed by Manfredi's and ate their only once because the menu never changed and the food was just OK. The Restaurant was nice to sit at, didn't open until 8 am for breakfast so we ended up at the World Cafe for most breakfasts because we were always up early. At least The Restaurant offered some new options each day and whatever they did provide I thought was fairly good. But yes, as you noted, the food was not what I had heard Viking excelled at. And while we found the beds just fine, the pillows were not pillows, they were so soft and mushy that we ended up lying flat even though we asked for extra pillows. Again, as you noted, will take some of our own pillows. Our travel friends are looking for another cruise to go on and we're thinking British Isles. We were there on Viking in August 2024 and are looking at something for Fall 2025. Thanks for the reviews and best of luck to you in your personal quests...
We love the small ships too. Since you seem to be foodies 😀 I would suggest you look into Oceania. The food and wine is amazing. Beds are wonderful. No line ups for anything. Great itineraries, going to places the big ships don’t.
Hi Shauna & Kevin - Wonderful review! You hit the nail on the head. I've sailed seven Viking Ocean cruises & couldn't agree more about the dining. Very strange that for an otherwise perfect product, the dining is the weak link. Nothing bad, & I always eat full meals. Yet the food certainly isn't gourmet fine dining. For Viking's price point, I expect better. The crew, ship design, & chill relaxed vibe are why I love Viking! The gym rocks! Has everything a person needs.
Thanks. We will happily look past the food to enjoy everything else Viking offers. Worst case, I can just live off their gelato on our next cruise. What was your favorite itinerary? -K
@ShaunaAndKevin Gelato, gym, pool, lol. My favorite itinerary with Viking are the repositioning trans-Atlantic crossings. I live for sea days! The ship is the destination. Have another aboard Viking Mars coming up in March! Any itinerary focusing on Norway is on the bucket list! Enjoy your next Viking cruise!🛳🌊
You two are awesome and I loved your 'Cheers' review moments! 🤣 My wife and I are thinking about using Viking and your review was a great help! Loved the detail of the items that were important to you as many of them matter to us as well. Thanks for creating such a wonderful review video, VERY HELPFUL! Keep up the cruising and I agree with a previous post, kudos to you for embracing the life in front of you! Being together and creating/enjoying life is what's important. Thank you again... 😊
We did the same cruise on Venus ship in June 2024. Good review overall. Our bed was way to soft, instead of too hard. I agree with food in main restaurants, it was ok but not great. I disagree with Chefs Table. We went 4 times and tried every menu option. We did 1 premium wine and regular wine at chefs table and found that one of us would like the premium better a d the other would like the standard wine that came with dinner. We don't drink a lot and never get silver spirits package isn't cost effective for us. Even with premium wine at chefs table and an after dinner drink most nights we spent well under the $700 the silver package costs, approximately paid $250. Great review. Other than what is listed above the review is spot on
Transparency in your experience is greatly appreciated here! Our Viking experience will be 13 days with 2 additional days pre embark and 2 days post disembark - May 2024- Mediterranean Odyssey. We will bring our memory pillows!.dont care if that consumes clothing packing space after your insights on bedding! Read an earlier post about smaller ship/ value and lux experience. Duly noted and worth researching. Your baggage : you mentioned back pack , 2 carry on, 3 checked in? On the length of your cruise was 3 checked in baggage excessive or just about right? Congrats on moving on!...You both seem like a lovely couple! Toast/ Salud!
Your pillows will help tremendously. We used all of our luggage. We had to pack for all 4 seasons - Norway got down into the 40s with rain, then London/Scotland were high 70s and sunny, plus we went on a 12 mile hike before the cruise started. It was 22 days in total and we used everything - multiple times thanks to the ease of using Viking’s laundry facilities. -K
Ahhh... you remined me of the details of our trip on Viking. The amazing thing about Viking is that although there was no show stopper, I do agree about the wine being just so so... Unfortunately, the Viking Steak (supposed to be a ribeye) was less than 1/2 inch thick, grizzly, and I think breaded. I opted out of that steak and asked for the New York Steak that was perfect. Overall, I still give the food a great rating, I just avoided the strange stuff and simply picked the things I know I liked. Referring to the entertainment, I loved the lounge, found that the classical music in the main hall became mundane and lacked life. It is important that the choice of music build up to a crescendo in tone, rate, and volume to make the music feel alive - thank goodness for earbuds and headsets and my own music. Overall, I am happy enough to book another cruise but would love to offer my assistance / experience in picking wine, doing tastings, and timing entertainment a little better.
Looking forward to my first Viking cruise. I understand food comments, but I am not that picky. I also understand that there is only so much space to store food. If your favorite food gets gone, they can’t run to the store or have a delivery. The bed would not bother me. Love a firm mattress.
Very fair call on the mattress. It is very important and it is very difficult to accommodate everyone’s preferences, however there is no excuse to not have a quality mattress topper for those who prefer a softer base.
Thank you both for your coments. We will be going on the Mars on a Med cruise in 2026. Just got back from a Viking River Cruise in Europe. Loved the experience. As you experienced, the crew were fantastic and the ship layout was awesome. We actually thought the food on the River Cruise was actually quite good......certainly as compared to the RC Alaska cruise we were on last year. The beds on the River ships are firm as well (which is what we like), but understandable if you don't. Maybe they have them that way for older folks who prefer firmer beds. At alost 60, we were some of the youngest on the boat. I cannot imagine going on a Viking cruise and not taking advantage of any of the thrown in excursions. We did a mix some of theirs and some of our own as well as just toodling around the various towns. Thanks again for the honest review....very insightful!
I once did a price comparison of a traditional cruise vs Viking and found the price difference wasn't that much. Of course you have to price in the balcony room, all the included specialty dinning, spa, wifi, free laundry facilities, and an included basic excursion....so if you do those, the price is no bad
Totally agree. One thing we love about Viking is that it’s very easy, unlike most cruise lines, to understand what you are getting for your cruise price. Love that they make it easy to budget for. -K
Hello Shauna and Kevin, thank you for your detailed review. Very sorry, that not everything was according to your expectation. I just came back from a 32 day journey with Viking to the South Pacific and I had no problems to give Viking 5 stars for each category. Now, was I lucky ? I do not think so. It was my 7th journey with Viking on its ocean ships and every time, I was able to allocate 5 Stars in the different sections , although not everything can be always 100%. I have already booked the Atlantic Crossing with Viking next year and I am looking forward to it. There is no cruise ship on earth where its passengers are happy all the time. But I appreciated your honest review and hope that Viking will look into your concerns to make things better in the future.
I love Viking!! I have been on 4 cruises. No problem with the beds. I do agree about the food. The food is good, but not excellent. Everything else is excellent. Service is oustanding! Like how everything is in the price.
Are you high. There is no coming back from a soft mattress- it’s phucks up your back, meaning you can’t walk. Older adults need firmer mattresses. Look, here’s how to handle this. Sleep on the floor for a night and then use the bed. It will appear a hell of a lot softer.
We had the same problem with hard bed. Our steward put the egg-crate foam topper the following night which helped, I was able to sleep, could be softer. We are 70 plus y/o but prefer soft mattress.
The flip side: a mattress that is too soft can be just as bad for people who need a firm bed. A hard bed can be made softer, but it’s difficult to make a soft bed more firm.
Thanks for posting your review….we took a 15 day cruise with Viking and concur with your observations, although we didn’t mind the bed so much….we are foodies and since our Viking cruise we have been on 2 Oceania cruises and a third one booked….we would urge you to try them as your preferences and likes seem completely aligned with the Oceania experience….enjoy your cruises!
Hello Shaunna and Kevin...We are frequent Viking Cruisers (11 so far) and we enjoyed your thoughts. We always travel in the Penthouse Junior Suites because we love the extra space and especially the double sink bathroom with heated towel rack. Suites below that level only have a single bathroom sink. We use the included laundry and dry cleaning everyday so we can really cut back on the packing. In fact we've done trips of up to 25 days with nothing but 2 carry on suitcases, one backpack for me, and an over the shoulder bag for my wife. That being said, we do understand your issue with the laundry tags. We have not tried this since we only heard about it when we were disembarking our last cruise in September. While we were waiting to get off the ship, several people were talking and the subject of laundry and the tags came up. One women said that she was told that if you take your hair dryer and put it on high heat on the tag for about a short time (I thought she said about 20 seconds), that the tags would come off fairly easy. We're looking forward to trying it soon. As far as the bedding.......as you said, to each their own. We enjoy the firm bedding but it certainly isn't for everyone. Anyway, enjoyed your thoughts and maybe see you two someday on another Viking cruise.
Our favorite was Mediterranean & Italian Sojourn from Barcelona to Venice. It's the one that makes a stop in Sicily. But try to do it semi off season. We did it in mid April. We spent about 4 days in advance in Madrid, and the extended on yhe end from Venice to Verina and Lake Como. Absolutely fantastic. And by the way, we did about 24 days with carry on only. No checking bags for us.
You guys are adorable! Thank you for your honest review! It's a dream of ours to go, and I also prefer not to eat gluten, so I appreciate your insight!!
Thank you Shauna and Kevin. My wife and I are about to embark on the 15 day Med cruise. Your comments were very helpful. I didn’t catch the link to your magnetic hooks but will find some.
My late wife and I have done 4 Viking trips. 2 European river cruises, Alaska and China. She had celiac so gluten free was required. Every trip the crew excelled in providing her food. The river trips were better than the Alaska ocean trip for gluten free. She learned to ask for a manager and they always got it right. However the buffet was hit or miss for her. The dining room was 100%. They would make her custom meals and deserts. We ended up eating breakfast only in the buffet. Mamsens even made her gluten free waffles. She trusted Viking which is why were were repeat customers. Our next trip was to be this one you are reviewing so thanks for your video. Oh and i agree about the hard beds though on our Alaska trip they did have decent toppers. One afternoon the kitchen manager had the grill cleaned at the poolside grill and monitored the prep with clean utensils to make her a gluten free burger. She gave him a big hug and we took photos with him. He was a star. So my best advice for gluten free is to be sure to let them know before the cruise and speak up once on board. They gave her a kitchen tour on every trip. The ocean boat to Alaska even has a separate allergy free section in the kitchen.
Thanks for the insight. Sorry about your wife but very glad you got to share in some great Viking cruise memories. The crew is so exceptional at creating memories for a lifetime and catering to their guests. -K
You both have great charisma together and I like your format. But, would prefer much more video of what you're talking about. Would like details of the cabin, putting your hand down on the uncovered mattress demo'ing the hardness, close-ups of the food. A little of the music, etc. Maybe I'm expecting too much?
Good video, but for me, and at 25K, if the bed sucks and the food sucks, then that is going to be a deal breaker. I appreciate the honest review. You all should try a Virgin Voyages Rockstar/Mega Rockstar trip next at a comparable price. Food is excellent and the bed is comfortable.
Judging by how good you all look in your video, I would say that we probably have you beat by about ten years age wise. To each their own, but you should have an open mind. Virgin Voyages is not a party ship at all, unlike Carnival and some other lines. I've found that there are many places onboard for peace and quiet, especially in our suite. Plus the food is amazing.@@ShaunaAndKevin
This is a great review. Very insightful. The best cruise review I’ve seen. Viking is definitely my aesthetic. Disappointed the food isn’t better but it isn’t an ultra luxury cruise line like say Regent and Seven Seas. The price for your cabin type seems high but assume a basic cabin would be more reasonable. Look forward to your next review!
Thanks! Yes, we splurged on the room but we typically do that on vacation. We are the couple that likes to relax in their room so it’s important to us. Totally agree on the aesthetic - Viking ships are incredibly beautiful.
Thank-you so much for such a well put together video. As others commented, I have done 3 river cruises with Viking and in March will be my first ocean cruise - South America, Chilean Fjords and Galapagos. I appreciate your candid reviews, though I am hoping that my food experience will be better! I have found on my many trips with other lines, generally that the food quality has decreased over the years. Finally, thanks for your transparency and wish you the best - you are a lovely couple. I resonate with your fertility experience, it’s good you have each other to navigate a new path. Cheers!
Awe, thanks. We are very lucky to have one another and don’t take a single day for granted. I’m so excited for your Viking Ocean experience. You will love it! The Chilean Fjords are on our bucket list. I’m sure it’s going to be amazing. -K
My wife and I took 2 Viking cruises in 2023, one a river cruise from Amsterdam to Basil Switzerland, and the 2nd a ocean, the Journey to Antiquities from Athens, to Turkey and to 3 stops in Italy. Both cruise was less than satisfactory for variety of reasons including food quality, food choices, the quality of matress especially on ocean cruise, lack of room temperature control on the river cruise and mis-management of guided tours on the ocean cruise. On the river cruise one of us became ill with cold and fever and the compasion of the crew was very minor. In the past my wife and I have been traveling on tours for about 8 years and its not clear to us why so many friends of ours rave about these Viking cruises. Each cruise was a let down for us.
My opinion choose a standard room on a lower floor don't waste your money on one of the mini suites. The rooms are just another 30" wider enough for 2 dressers yet you might pay $5000 or more for this. Once your in the room you really don't even know what floor you are on. As far as the excursions the suites get preference but for the most part you won't have trouble getting on am excursion.
My wife & I are about to depart on a Viking Ocean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles, through the Panama Canal. We were very disappointed when they pulled one of six scheduled port visits, in Nicaragua. No compensation or other stops offered. They sold us an 18 day cruise with six port visits. Losing one is a major loss in value. I am pretty mad at them.
😡That would be very frustrating. I’ve heard of other locations, like Iceland, experiencing the same issues … typically for weather. I hope the rest of your cruise blows away your expectations. -K
Boy, do I agree with your review, we did the In Search of Northern Lights cruise on the Viking Venus. My husband and I always want to go on the smaller ships, of course they are pricey but not having a large city disembarking in a port with us is worth it. While the cruise price does seem higher, if you compare other bare bones fares with the added cost to Vikings fare with those added costs included, they come out comparable. The plus side is you know what you paying up front. Viking does offer a lot more speakers talking about history or about the port you will be visiting than entertainment show with dancing or singing. This is their niche, if you want to go on a theme park cruise there are others out there for you. We chose Viking for next cruise to Mediterranean, allowing us to be able to visit Venice this trip because of being a smaller ship. Our last cruise with Viking we needed a recharge so the relaxing atmosphere on Viking did that. I know Viking does ask for some of your preferences before sailing, in there you maybe able to request extra bedding needs and dietary needs so that they can have them on board when placing their food supplies. Since they have to their food supplies well in advance. If everyone tells them dietary restrictions once they board they can only accommodate with limited amount of supplies. It is a major deal for them to acquire supplies during a cruise that is not pre-ordered.
Love how easy Viking makes it to price a cruise. Much easier than almost all other cruise lines. We also totally agree on the small ships. Seeing videos and photos of the packed pools on those floating cities makes us sick. Can’t wait for our next Viking cruise.
Nice review! We feel like we know you personally now and relate. We took the 18 day Chile-round the Cape - voyage to Buenos Aires. The views were mostly on the Chile side, with rugged scenery and a run up the Amalia fjord to within a few hundred yards of the glacier face. Spectacular. If you go, remember to book a cabin on the left side of the of the ship, as that faces 43:43 the shoreline which is in view most of the time. BTW: the food and the included wines were quite good, we thought. We will favor Viking again. Happy sailing!
We are taking our first Viking Cruise the Panama Canal trip in October. I am so happy I discovered your Viking cruise review. I can live off gelato and good waffles and properly cooked bacon. As for the bed issue I like a semi hard bed so will see if too hard. So waiting to see how experience is compared to yours. This will be our first cruise in about 20 years, we are retired and have more time to travel.
So glad it was helpful. You will LOVE your cruise. And I think the bed will be great for you too. It’s a personal preference but if you like a firm bed it should work well. You will love Mamsen’s. It’s the perfect place to enjoy waffles bc it’s in the Explorer’s Lounge which was our absolute favorite part of the ship. Enjoy!
We took our 1st Viking cruise (12 day Norway/Iceland) in 2022 and the food was absolutely delicious! I am also a true Celiac and they accommodated me like nobody ever has. We will be taking our 2nd Viking Cruise later this year and are very much looking forward to it. Everyone's dining preferences are different; I think you will be pleasantly pleased with your dining choices. Also, we had the Silver Spirits package and while we are not big drinkers, we felt it was worth it as we do like the additional wine choices that come along with that package. If you each like a cocktail or two throughout the evening, and enjoy a good glass of wine (or two) with your dinner, it is well worth it. The package also includes specialty coffees such as cappacino, macchiato, expresso, etc. As for sleeping, we had a DV2 stateroom and we slept like babies! We are retired also; I think you will have an absolute wonderful cruise experience!
An excellent and candid review of the Viking ocean cruise experience. We have been on two Viking Ocean cruises (5 weeks total). I thought you were a little hard on the food but generally a reasonable review of VIking's dining experience -plentiful but really nothing to write home about. The beds are fairly firm (which we liked) but that is like you mentioned a personal preference. We did find that most all the passengers were older couples. My guess is you might have been the youngest couple on the cruise. Good job.
This was an incredbile video to watch. Thank you for your very honest review of Viking. We have just booked our first Viking ocean cruise for next year - and all the reasons you've listed as 'why you loved Viking' is why we chose Viking for our special occasion. I do hope to have a better food experience than you did (because others have raved about the food) - but its not the reason I am booking Viking. The ship size, the itinerary (We are doing in search of the northern lights, so similar itinerary to yours, except in the winter) , the inclusions, and the lack of kids are top reasons we picked Viking for our special occasion.
We are so excited for you. I just looked at your itinerary and you will love the scenic sailing along Norway’s coast. They get so close to land, it’s really hard to pull yourself away and go to sleep at times. I’m hoping that Viking figures out their food over the next year. They launched 4 new ships in 2022, including Mars which we went on, so it could be that they just need a little time to iron out all the details. Thanks for watching. -K
In my case, I grew up in Norway (and moved to the US 3 decades ago) - and I've been to some of the ports before (like Tromsø, where my mom grew up) - but I've never actually done a coastal cruise of my native country, nor seen the northern lights (been in Tromsø with my wife and kids in the summer, so seen the midnight sun) - very excited to see this part of my home country from the ocean at a spectacular time of year (and fingers crossed the northern seas is behaved) - we will be on Venus, the only worry my wife has about this cruise is that it will ruin her for other cruise lines. I think that is a real concern I have too .(and we have cruised others, just never any of the small ship / luxery lines)
@@erikjoha ha. This is definitely going to ruin you for other cruise lines. I, Kevin, am also Norwegian. Born in US but all 4 grandparents were from Norway. Part of the reason we chose this itinerary. -K
If you like a firm bed, I think it will be fine. Our tempur pedic at home may have just ruined us for any type of firm bed. I will say that Viking has some of the most amazing itineraries of any cruise line. If you have the opportunity, we would still highly recommend Viking. -K
Currently struggling through a cruise on the Viking Star. This is an old ship badly refitted in my view. I took a junior penthouse and haven’t had a decent night’s sleep yet. For the first few days windows were creaking and noisy. Now the ship’s airconditioning (I think) is sending a high pitched hum through the room constantly. The refit of the room is just strange. The room is split into a bed and sitting room (curtains not a wall as in the river cruises but the lights are either turned on for all or turned off for all. There is a single separate light in the sitting room which is so dark it’s useless. You can see the add on wiring which is exposed. The hair dryer can’t be used in the bathroom because there is no plug. I could go on. Of course guest services aren’t interested. I had positive experiences with Viking river cruises so this is a terrible diappointment.
The story continues - they know how to fix the Airconditioning and did it a couple of times. Then they just forget and we’re back into guest services limbo. A waste of a lot of money. Don’t sail Viking. Just my opinion but just don’t. Holiday ruined can’t wait for this to finish so I can get off this damn ship.
Finished on the Viking Star now. Just got the final insult: three Ralph Lauren polo shirts shrunk beyond wearable in their laundry. Now touring Northern Spain and need to leave the tour long enough to buy some shirts. If I was negative before now I just fed up. I will never go near another Viking ship. Their performance for me was almost so far below par it’s ridiculous.
Excellent, detailed review. The hard mattress, with no topper available, was surprising. But criticism of the food was VERY disappointing. I am not a big fan of headline shows, but the food had better be high quality.
We love the sushi at the World Cafe... that's all I need there...and Manfredi's is some of the best Italian I have ever had. My husband is IItalian and loves it. We think Viking loses money when we cruise!😂
We have taken two Viking river cruises and recently an Ocean cruise, 15 days. Agree with this assessment, except for the bed which was fine for us. The food assessment is accurate. For the price, the regular dining was mediocre. Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s were both good. We thought the World Cafe was so-so. Mainly hot food was never hot. Like this couple we thought gelato was best. The restaurant was good depending on the menu. Actually, my husband and I preferred the river cruises.
This is an itinerary we are def interested in doing. Have been researching viking for months. Only hurdle for us is cost and the final payment due date. Your channel is just perfect, you hit all the buttons without any silly gimmicks or click bait. Well done!
Viking is expensive but it’s worth it. Everything is included even wine. There’s sushi, sashimi, anything you’d want. There’s no children. No gambling. No horrible wild shows. Just some low key type performances. And educational speakers. I never had any competition in the spa. Hubby isn’t into it. For our next 15 day trip to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, he booked 2 spa massages for me. They also have speakers in the smaller auditorium talking about the animals, geology, culture etc. it’s called a Thinking Persons Cruise. Antarctica was an over the top cruise. The basic room was perfect for us. We like supportive beds so enjoyed the bed. Plenty of outlets for our iPads, iPhones and battery chargers. Room service is also offered. We will always book with Viking.
I totally disagree with their reviews of the food. I found it delicious. There were so many types of food to select. The Restaurant served great food. I don’t eat Pizza so I can’t say anything about that. Manfredi’s was really good. We didn’t do the Chef’s Table due to the types of food they prepare. Neither of us eat meat. Hubby eats chicken and fish. I eat fish and tofu but tofu wasn’t served. We didn’t gain weight as we did a lot of deck walking. Many miles a day. We won’t cruise with any other line except Viking. We cruised Antarctica last year. That was over the top. We had 25 ft waves when we crossed the Drake Passage. When we arrived at some of the places we took zodiacs to the glaciers. We even got to go in a 6 person submarine down 60 feet below penetration of ultraviolet light. Millions of penguins, humpback whales, sea lions, albatross. In February we’re going on a 15 day Viking cruise to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Another plus, no children, gambling or over the top shows. All inclusive. Viking is called the Thinking Person’s Cruise line.
Found you folks whilst searching for Viking Ocean cruise reviews since my Wife and I have our first one coming up in a few months. Good review over all, and you covered all the major points I was interested in. The only surprise I guess was your critique of the food on the cruise. Every other review I've seen has raved about the cuisine on the Viking ocean cruises. I get it, taste is personal and subjective, but I'm hoping I'm more on the "Loved it!" side during my cruise since I'm a bit of a foodie at heart. Otherwise, thanks for the videos and honest opinions.
Thanks for watching. We don't consider ourselves foodies. I'm guessing if we were, we may have been more disappointed. We do try to avoid or limit dairy. At times, it was difficult or impossible to find almond/soy milk for lattes instead of regular milk. You will definitely have some great meals on Viking, but we didn't experience the level of consistency we expected.
Thanks! You will love it! I think that route starts or ends in Bergen. If you need a Bergen hotel, we highly, highly recommend Hotel Norge. The absolute best breakfast we have ever had - and it’s included with the room. -K
@@ShaunaAndKevin Thank you both so much! Yes, we fly from JFK to Bergen, we plan to stay in Bergen for at least one night as the flight is L-O-N-G, and I do not want to be late getting to ship. Is Hotel Norge close to Viking Port? I am crazy psyched to visit Svalbard. Have you two been there? I hear there are more Polar Bears than people😂 Thanks again!
Excellent video guys - very comprehensive- I’ve just finished the Bangkok, Bali & Beyond cruise and I have to agree with everything you have said - i agree the beds are extremely average - even the hotel in Bangkok the night before we left had 100% better bed ($102/night!!) and I totally agree with you about the food in the World Cafe - the MOST irritating thing was that the food was always only warm(sometimes cold) not very appealing at a buffet - and one other thing (first world problem) I was disappointed that at dinner time it was very difficult to find just a plain garden/green salad anywhere - they had Caesar but never just a plain salad - in the hot Asian climate I was really needing salad other than just at lunchtime- I think everything else you have said is spot on! Having said that I got such a great deal (discount) for booking whilst onboard I went ahead and booked a back to back ocean & river cruise in 2025! Hopefully some of these things will be rectified by then….
Thanks. We also hope things get better re: the food and bedding. Hopefully it’s just a Covid hangover that’s taking them a couple years to rectify. We also are planning more Viking cruises … just with our own pillow and a plan to grab a mattress topper at our first port. -K
Thank you for the detailed review. We booked a Viking cruise for an upcoming anniversary and selected a Penthouse Veranda. This will be our first trip with Viking. When we chose our room location, we were concerned that a room on the sixth floor might be subject to sound transmission through the ceiling from the public spaces on the 7th floor (below the World Cafe, for example). We are curious about any noise you may have heard from adjacent rooms and decks.
Great question. We never heard even the smallest sound from foot traffic above or either room beside us. They built these ships so well you won’t have any issues. We LOVED deck 6 and that’s the deck we would go back to. -K
Hi, another a Viking regular here. We also do PV cabins, but only on Decks 4 and 5, with cabins above and below us. If your cabin is forward on deck 6, you won’t hear anything. But if you’re aft, there will be some noise from pool loungers being moved, as well as chairs in the World Cafe when they are vacuuming carpets. We haven’t experienced this ourselves, nor do we know which cabin areas hear the most noise, but have read posts on FB group pages. The cabin location discussed here is right by the forward stairs, which is a quieter area than you might think.
We are considering our first Viking cruise. Our experiences have been with the larger cruises ship in which we believe are too much with the kids and the crowds. We have done a Mississippi River cruise on a small boat which was awesome. Your review was exactly what we were seeking to learn about Viking. We had many questions and you both answered most of our concerns. I do have a couple of questions if you wouldn't mind helping us with. I do laundry. Does the laundry include soaps and dryer sheets? Do we need to bring our own? Food... Is there seafood. I am a lobster person. Do they offer shellfish? Otherwise, everything you touched upon has us better informed of our choice. Thank you.
Yes, laundry has everything you need. All you need to bring is dirty clothes (and maybe a few laundry bags if you have delicates). Also, plenty of seafood so you will be fine. Thanks for watching. Glad it was helpful.
Great review! We are considering a Viking cruise with friends in a year or so. We are "Oceania" people at the moment. Very educational! By the way, love your thoughts about the crew. We always bring extra cash and tip our favorite staff!
Very comprehensive review but definitely need more photos rather than narrative, especially when you are talking about food items. Personally, for what you paid,I would think that the food would have been much more memorable. Also more photos and/or video of the ship and your excursions. All in all I enjoyed the review and your attitudes. Thank you very much! 🙂
We are taking a Viking cruise in October- so excited. Loved your review. When you tipped the staff additional money, what was the process? Did you give them cash or add it at the end? What amount would be appropriate?
We paid the prepaid gratuities on the front end (roughly $500) that gets charged to your card, then tipped both our room stewards on the first day an extra $200 USD total, then tipped on the second to last day another $500 USD to room stewards (again, they were amazing) and some of our favorite wait staff/bartenders. We gave cash for the additional. This was for a 15 day cruise. I think a good rule of thumb is pay the prepaid gratuities then bring the same amount in cash for additional tip -basically doubling the minimum gratuity amount. -K
Thanks for your vlog. We are trying to decide what cruise line to gone on in Sept 2025. Currently we are use Regent Seven Seas and love them, but might see what Viking has to offer. Your information really helped us. Thanks. P.S. I wish you would have shown us the balcony.. 🙂
After several Viking Ocean cruises, I tell people that the experience is between a large cruise ship and a yacht. Go on Viking for the "discovery" experience.
A Celebrity Edge Class ship is a choice I would make 4 out of 5 times when choosing cruise ship vacations (versus Viking). It comes down to the food because most would expect a higher quality, given the price, on the Viking ships. Comparing, let's say, a similar 7-night itinerary in Europe = even if you upgrade the Celebrity ship with the 7-day drink& wifi package and choose 4-5 specialty restaurants (upgrade price) for dinner and maybe lunch, you are still saving $ 500-700 per person on most similar itineraries over the 7 days. At that price difference, I would still usually choose Viking more IF the food was fantastic all the time, but since I have now guaranteed great food with cuisine variety 5 times on the Celebrity, I would choose that ship a bit more than Viking. There is more to do and see on Celebrity, which I also like…….but I also really like the layout and common areas on Viking ships. Hard to beat being able to go to almost any public area and not worrying about having many people taking up all available chairs. Fantastic review, and thanks to Shuana and Kevin!
Hi Shauna and Kevin, This was a fantastic review! We have always done river cruises and next year we have booked our first ocean cruise with Viking for a special anniversary celebration. . We are very excited ! I have 1 quick question for you. Kevin, you said at first Viking did your laundry, but then you decided to do your own laundry. Did Viking provide the detergent and softener or did you have to bring your own?
Great question. It’s all provided. The only item you may want to bring are a few laundry bags to wash delicates in. I’m (Kevin) a bit of a control freak (true type A personality) so I really didn’t mind doing my own laundry. I actually preferred it because it was so easy with their free self serve machines. When you send it off, it’s at least a full day before you get it back.
Thank you for your quick response. I watched another you tube video which showed the detergent dispensers connected to the back of the machine. All you have to do is push the button. Thank you Kevin for the idea of the laundry bags to wash delicates in. One additional question. Are fabric softener sheets provided?
I am disappointed that you did not even take one of Viking's excursions so you could provide a review of the guides, the locations etc. Viking promotes that one excursion is included in every port. They also have some excursions that you may not find on other ships such as having dinner with local families or getting behind the scenes at museums.
Sorry. We aren’t going to drop 3-4x the price of booking direct at tour operators just to experience a similar excursion through Viking. We like a more intimate, customized experience. Not a big fan of getting on any bus … even a “luxury” coach (it’s still a bus;). -K
Thank you for making such a thorough and informative video. My wife and I have a Viking cruise planned this summer. We just turned 40. I’m curious if you had any thoughts on cruising with a ship of mostly senior citizens? Were there other younger couples onboard?
We loved it … been a while since we were the youngest couple at something. We went with another couple our age but other than them, we were the only 4 in our 40s. The one thing to think about are the Viking excursions. If you want something strenuous, like a hike, you are likely better booking it outside of Viking and direct with tour operators. Although there is some additional planning and risks associated with booking direct, we much preferred that approach and did it at every port. We also loved that it was adults only. Not having kids running around while you’re reading or relaxing was a big plus for us. It also helps to minimize the risk of catching a virus while on vacation. Let me know if you have any other questions. -K
Thank you for your review. Very helpful. One question regarding your comments about the Crew: you recommend tipping for services "above and beyond." How did that work? You'd give individuals cash at the time of recognition? Trying to get a sense of that...say $5-$10-$20? Could you expand a bit on this?
We tried asking about this at Guest Services, and they indicated that $10/week for someone who went above and beyond was considered a very good extra tip and as K&S said, was very much appreciated. (They have envelopes at Guest Services for this purpose.) We slipped an extra $20 (for 2 weeks) to our room steward and favorite waiter(s), and they were over the moon. Even an extra $5 or $10 to a special person on the staff (bar, cleaning, etc.) was meaningful, not so much for the $ but for the recognition.
Nice review. We are off on Viking ocean next week to the Western Caribbean. We did Viking river (Rhine) in July. I totally agree with your food rating. Very little Viking river cruise food was exceptional, mostly average-good. 3 stars (7 on a 10 pt scale). My expectations were much higher. Croissants were supermarket quality, at best. The creme brule was a 10, but this and other desserts are to be expected to be of high quality. The poke bowl for lunch was a total joke. In contrast, the food at the pre-cruise hotel in Como (Albergo Terminus) was outstanding....far exceeding anything on Viking. We're hoping for a better ocean cruise food experience with Viking. Otherwise, all your other ratings for the ship and crew matched our experience on Viking river.......excellent. BTW, the pre-trip bus transfer from Como to Basel with a 2-3 hr stop in Lucerne w/ lunch was a better scenery and excursion day, than anything on the Rhine. Strasbourg was the only Rhine city that I would return to again.
The Chef’s table on Viking Ocean will be great. That was our favorite meal. We haven’t been drawn to any of the river cruises but have so many other Viking Ocean routes that we plan to enjoy. We’ve heard from many that the Viking Inside Passage through Alaska was their favorite. We plan for that to be our next one. Enjoy the Caribbean! Great time of year to go. -K
Funny! I was really disappointed with the waffles (the only thing I didn’t care for whole cruise- and we cruised on the same ship but on the Iconic Mediterranean tour) - I loved!!! ❤️!!! the food and was comfortable in the bed.
in case no one else mentioned it, next time bring a collapsible air mattress to unroll - and I don't own stock in the company or anything like that, but what do you expect from a buffet?
First of all, kudos to you both for embracing the life you were given (cheers worthy).
My wife and I enjoyed a Viking S. American cruise and are booked on 2 more. We love Viking. I agree with much of your comments especially given your ratings vs your expectations. I would rate the food better than the entertainment while your expectations for food over entertainment impacts your ratings. All in all a well balanced review of an excellent cruise line. Happy life to you both.
Thanks Paul! -K
Pleased to see this, as we also thought the food was only okay. Had better food on Oceania, Azamara and even Celebrity
I also prefer to do my laundry. Was on Viking for three weeks-- loved how I could just wash my own clothes as needed--- at no charge!
They do make it very convenient. -K
I do not know what sort of food you folks like, but we found the food excellent. Fresh, locally sourced, simple. You could identify what it was. Not drowned in disguising sauces.
The wok station was first-rate. (Most of my cooking at home is in my wok.)
P.s. we like firm beds. We had the same cabin, same ship.
Thanks
Having taken about 5 Viking Ocean cruises, I really agree with your review, especially my last 2 cruises. I especially agree about the food, which has decreased in quality since the pandemic. Your review was spot-on and very complete.
Thanks. Although I wish you had said the food was amazing on all 5 cruises. Hopefully Viking improves in these areas now that they have a couple years of sailing after the pandemic. -K
We are considering a Viking Ocean cruise and appreciated your honest review. You both do a great job of explaining in detail the reasons for your score. Plus, you both seem such pleasant and likable people. Good luck with this site!
Awe, thanks for the kind words. This is a hobby for us that we both enjoy and creates an outlet for the normal stresses of life. Glad you enjoyed it!
For me the food is everything. If it’s not stellar it’s a dealbreaker for me, especially for the money. We love Oceania - “the finest cuisine at sea” is their mantra. We’ve done 3 cruises with them now and love them! (BTW, kudos to you both for embracing reality and moving forward in a positive way - God bless you!)
Thanks for the kind words and the suggested cruise line. We will check it out. -K
hello, we already got a Viking cruise for next august england isles but we booked as well for first time Oceania next year for inagurate Allura ship from Lisbon to New York. We haven´t travel never in both of them. Which one you think is better option?
Thanks and regards from Spain
Shout out to you two!🥂My wife & I have lived your journey - & ended up stopping our treatments & after consideration, did not pursue adoption. We've now been happily married for 31 years - and we are SO HAPPY WITH OUR LIFE & OUR DECISION! We'll both be retired before 60 (5 years away) & we travel all the time now. We've done 2 Viking trips - about to do South America trip in Dec on Viking.
Agree with your review. Thank you for sharing your story & adventures. Wishing you a lifetime of love & adventure! Patrick & Sharon
We did the same cruise last year in a penthouse veranda stateroom (PV2), which is one category lower than yours. Loved the trip so much we are doing in again next May. We fine the beds on Viking trip fine, so it's a personal thing. We have sailed on several of the ultra-luxury lines, and find Viking is our favorite line. We felt the food was as good as the higher end ships. We do about 3 to 4 cruises with Viking a year and always love the experience.
We can’t wait for our next Viking cruise. We just booked an Alaskan cruise but it’s through NCL in their Haven area. We look forward to comparing it to Viking. -K
You two are so cute together! Thanks for video.
I loved your honest evaluation of Viking Cruises. We have been on 13 Viking, we are both 59. I was just so surprised you never mentioned that the clientele is a bit older. We always feel like we are in the youngest group. We have taken our adult children and their spouses on a Viking River and Ocean, and they just loved both. So kuddos!
Thanks. Yes, we were some of the youngest on the cruise but had so many great conversations with many guests that we rarely even thought about it. That’s amazing that you’ve been able to take your family with you. I’m sure it made it that much more special.
EXCELLENT review. On most reviews we get the marketing photo video, but this one was specific, detailed, and VERY credible. THANK YOU, because we are about to take our first Viking cruise and this helped SO much.
We happened to love the bed. I gave it a 5 star rating! And we were on board for 20 days and booked 2 more cruises.
We just did a Seaborne cruise and our bed, pillows and food was spectacular! Well worth the money!
Nice presentation on Viking. We are long time cruisers. We only travel on small ships--400-750 passengers. We love Silversea, Seabourn, and Regents. For the $’s you spend on this 15 day cruise, on your next cruise you might consider these cruise lines😅. FYI--We sailed on Silversea for 21 days in South America for the same rate you spent--and the beds are great and the restaurants are superb.
Sincerely, THANKS! That’s great insight. We also like the small cruise experience. -K
Good review overall, but if anyone is trying to decide whether to book a Viking Cruise based on this, I feel the need to offer some additional context and perspective:
- The whole bed thing is indeed subjective. I thought they were very comfortable. Agree that the pillows were not (too poofy and bulky), so next time we’re bringing our own.
- They rightfully noted how fantastic the crew is. Everyone on the staff is fantastic, and you feel treated like royalty, no matter what cabin you have booked. (And yes, please tip them extra.)
- We thought the excursions were excellent overall, both the included and the optional ones we splurged on. If your whole objective is to have only more personalized experiences in each port, I’m wondering if a cruise is the best choice for you overall, anyway.
- Agree with their comments on the entertainment overall. Have to mention that the house musicians (classical players, soloists, and especially the house band) were terrific. Interesting they did not even mention any of the lectures (from scientists, academics, historians, naturalists, etc.), which are a core part of Viking’s whole approach as the “thinking person’s cruise.” Most of these are really good and offer lots of background, context, and extra appreciation for each port destination.
- My biggest difference of opinion is about the food. I think that overall it is excellent, although it varies by venue. The World Cafe (buffet) is about as good as a buffet gets, if you like that sort of thing. Not my favorite type of dining venue, and I often avoided it, because of the general busyness and noise level that is typical of a buffet. The restaurant was excellent most nights, with good food and lovely presentation. Manfredi’s was very good, especially for a cruise ship specialty restaurant. Not the greatest Italian food I’ve ever had (I’m Italian), but very good and a great experience overall. The BEST food experience on the ship is at the Chef’s Table, where the food is fantastic, creative, and beautifully served. Too bad they didn’t try it more than once, which tells me they are a bit picky or not very adventurous as eaters. Also, I thought the wine pairings were excellent, and just because a bottle may not cost more than $20, that doesn’t mean it’s not tasty. Not everything has to have a “top shelf” label to be good.
One final thing to keep in mind: while they kept saying that the food was disappointing given “what they paid” for their trip, keep in mind that they booked one of the highest category cabins onboard, one that cost literally double the price of the more prevalent Deluxe Veranda (a perfectly lovely cabin). I understand that they prioritized having more space, but the people who paid 50% less than they did were served the very same food and may have had a different expectation and perspective of the value they received.
My husband and I have been on several Viking Ocean and River cruises, and we were recently on the Star from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale. We've had the room you were in when we went to Panama, and we loved the space and the couch. We were in a DV level room most recently, and I felt squeezed in, but I knew that when I booked it. We love the gym too, and used it daily. I think they offered yoga classes for $10, but I never saw anyone in the gym teaching classes. We also like taking the stairs just to work off some of the dessert calories, and I walked on the 2nd deck daily around the ship. I also agree with your thoughts about the piano player and, for us, a flute player. Such nice music while you sit around and play games, read, or have a drink. What I liked about the food (and we primarily eat in the World Cafe) is that I can get fresh greens for a salad at lunch, add freshly grated carrots, then top it with a lentil salad, and whatever other kind of interesting salad they have. I also loved their cut up fruit selection daily. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat a lot of meat, so I enjoyed various vegetarian dishes they offered that I would never make at home. I also liked the sushi, along with the shrimp. I tried the pizza for the first time, and like you, did not find it very exciting. My goal is not to gain weight, and I didn't, even though I sampled desserts for lunch and dinner. The espresso/latte/cappuccino machine in the World Cafe was our favorite place to get a beverage. We drank tons of those all day long. What we love are all the educational presentations in the Star that we always attend. My final observation is that you are both much younger than the demographic on some of their cruises. The one we were just on had many people who were on walkers and were using canes. Thanks again for your thoughtful and detailed review.
Thank you for sharing your experience with Viking Ocean cruise you had. Ｉ agreed your rating to Viking food. I just had one Viking River cruise. I think the food was same as HA or Princess Cruise lines. I don't mind having house keeping once a day that may help less stress on their house keepers. I like the included excursions and the warm floor in the bath room.
Thanks. Their bathrooms are incredible, especially for a cruise ship. We can’t wait for our next Viking cruise. Next up though is Christmas in Vegas. We look forward to sharing that experience too. -K
Not only warm floors but a heated, steam-free mirror. The lighting around the mirrors is awful, though.
We’ve been on 5 Viking cruises. Never had an issue with the bed.
Thanks
Thank you for the in depth and honest review! This is what we all want. For 20k the bed, lack of options, food, and laundry issues helped me decide to X this. Thank you!
Hey dlmk…you may want to reconsider. As long as you don't require gourmet, the food on Viking is excellent. Better than 95% of all cruise ships. The beds are firm…that’s for sure. Have cruised with them five times now and that hasn’t changed. But the $25k price tag included two first class tickets costing over $10k. Took a lovely 12 day cruise to the Caribbean with Viking for $10k. It’s all about expectations.
Appreciate your feedback. Have you sailed as much with other lines too?
@@dlmk429 We have some experience with other lines but most of our cruising has been with Viking. The best food right now, without getting into ultra lux lines like Regent, Seabourne and Seven Seas, is Virgin, Viking and Oceana. May want to check out a video on UA-cam from two years ago. Search for “ Ben and David Viking food”. They’re pretty honest about their reviews. All the best.
Keep in mind that our cost included an upgraded room that most people don’t need - we loved it though. Although the food didn’t meet our expectations, most everything else blew us away so we will definitely sail with them again. Our next one though is on NCL in their Haven for Alaska … then maybe Viking again after that. Thanks for watching. -K
I really enjoyed your review, I’ve been on three ocean cruises, and I only disagreed with you on the food and bedding. I thought the food was excellent. and I thought the beds were more than comfortable. But that is a personal choice and I respect your opinion. We are all rescheduled for two more ocean cruises. And we’ve been on three river cruises as well. You need to try one of those. Only 180 people on the ship. I know you would enjoy it. Thanks for entertaining review.
We travelled with Viking for 16 days but only bought 7 changes of clothes. The free laundry might not be a big deal to some but it was for us. For the record anyone, in any cabin, can use the free laundry. Also, the $25 per person beverage package is a good value if you drink cocktails or like premium wines and beers.
Totally agree! The free laundry is a game changer.
Also keep in mind that if you want a beverage (including even a sparkling water or soft drink) outside of lunch or dinner, there is a charge (about $4, I think). Viking does NOT nickel and dime you, but having the Silver Spirits is one add-on that is totally worth it. It was fun working our way through the entire wine menu during our cruise. Some were better (or worse) than others; it was still fun!)
Having been on a number of Viking River cruises and Viking Ocean cruises, we rate Viking food around 4.5. Recently we did a HA cruise for 3 weeks and found it difficult to rate the food up to 3.5. We have more Viking cruises booked for the much better quality of accommodation, food, lectures and overall comfort.
Thanks for the additional insight.
My wife and I just returned from our first Viking Cruise of the Mediterranean. I watched your video prior to leaving and thought you guys were being tough on the food. However, upon return, I realized you nailed it. Every comment you made was spot on. The food was comparable to the Norwegian cruise I was on last year. However, I also agree with you that the trip was worth the money. In our opinion the best part was the meeting so many great people on board with the excursions coming in a close second.
So glad you enjoyed your cruise. The food is what it is. I think having proper expectations will help us next time. The Med is definitely on our list at some point. Thanks for watching.
I was hesitant to start a 40 min video. You two are adorable! Thank you for sharing your experience... Very helpful for planning our upcoming Viking cruise!
Haha I was hesitant to make such a long video. We are glad you found it helpful! -K
Thanks for the review. We are looking at stringing together 3 consecutive Viking "ocean" cruises, all on the same ship and in the same cabin, through the Mediterranean and up to Norway for the Northern lights. It will be over a month long, so it's a good thing we can do our own laundry. Your review reassures me that Viking will offer the experience and ambiance we want.
Sounds like an amazing month! The laundry is awesome and will make it very easy on you. Just have plenty of books/movies downloaded to entertain yourselves during sea days. Because it’s a smaller ship, you don’t have nearly the entertainment options the larger ships have. So 2 days in a row at sea can become boring very quickly. -K
Your experiences with the food exactly as mine when I wrote up my Tripadvisor and CruiseCritic reviews of our Viking Mediterranean Odyssey. World Cafe food was often cold under the warming lights, could play frisbee with the waffles, and nothing special but the desserts and gelato were fine, as I noted in my own review! :-) We were under-impressed by Manfredi's and ate their only once because the menu never changed and the food was just OK. The Restaurant was nice to sit at, didn't open until 8 am for breakfast so we ended up at the World Cafe for most breakfasts because we were always up early. At least The Restaurant offered some new options each day and whatever they did provide I thought was fairly good. But yes, as you noted, the food was not what I had heard Viking excelled at. And while we found the beds just fine, the pillows were not pillows, they were so soft and mushy that we ended up lying flat even though we asked for extra pillows. Again, as you noted, will take some of our own pillows. Our travel friends are looking for another cruise to go on and we're thinking British Isles. We were there on Viking in August 2024 and are looking at something for Fall 2025. Thanks for the reviews and best of luck to you in your personal quests...
We love the small ships too. Since you seem to be foodies 😀 I would suggest you look into Oceania. The food and wine is amazing. Beds are wonderful. No line ups for anything. Great itineraries, going to places the big ships don’t.
Thanks! -K
We loved the firm bed. Food not spectacular but very good. Overall loved it.
Thanks
Hi Shauna & Kevin - Wonderful review! You hit the nail on the head. I've sailed seven Viking Ocean cruises & couldn't agree more about the dining. Very strange that for an otherwise perfect product, the dining is the weak link. Nothing bad, & I always eat full meals. Yet the food certainly isn't gourmet fine dining. For Viking's price point, I expect better. The crew, ship design, & chill relaxed vibe are why I love Viking! The gym rocks! Has everything a person needs.
Thanks. We will happily look past the food to enjoy everything else Viking offers. Worst case, I can just live off their gelato on our next cruise. What was your favorite itinerary? -K
@ShaunaAndKevin Gelato, gym, pool, lol. My favorite itinerary with Viking are the repositioning trans-Atlantic crossings. I live for sea days! The ship is the destination. Have another aboard Viking Mars coming up in March! Any itinerary focusing on Norway is on the bucket list! Enjoy your next Viking cruise!🛳🌊
Who the [expletive] told you it was going to be "gourmet fine dining"???
You two are awesome and I loved your 'Cheers' review moments! 🤣 My wife and I are thinking about using Viking and your review was a great help! Loved the detail of the items that were important to you as many of them matter to us as well. Thanks for creating such a wonderful review video, VERY HELPFUL! Keep up the cruising and I agree with a previous post, kudos to you for embracing the life in front of you! Being together and creating/enjoying life is what's important. Thank you again... 😊
Thank you for such kind words. We loved the small ship experience with Viking. It’s truly a memorable cruise that we will always cherish. -K
We did the same cruise on Venus ship in June 2024. Good review overall. Our bed was way to soft, instead of too hard. I agree with food in main restaurants, it was ok but not great. I disagree with Chefs Table. We went 4 times and tried every menu option. We did 1 premium wine and regular wine at chefs table and found that one of us would like the premium better a d the other would like the standard wine that came with dinner. We don't drink a lot and never get silver spirits package isn't cost effective for us. Even with premium wine at chefs table and an after dinner drink most nights we spent well under the $700 the silver package costs, approximately paid $250. Great review. Other than what is listed above the review is spot on
Thanks for sharing!
Transparency in your experience is greatly appreciated here! Our Viking experience will be 13 days with 2 additional days pre embark and 2 days post disembark - May 2024- Mediterranean Odyssey.
We will bring our memory pillows!.dont care if that consumes clothing packing space after your insights on bedding! Read an earlier post about smaller ship/ value and lux experience. Duly noted and worth researching. Your baggage : you mentioned back pack , 2 carry on, 3 checked in? On the length of your cruise was 3 checked in baggage excessive or just about right? Congrats on moving on!...You both seem like a lovely couple!
Toast/ Salud!
Your pillows will help tremendously. We used all of our luggage. We had to pack for all 4 seasons - Norway got down into the 40s with rain, then London/Scotland were high 70s and sunny, plus we went on a 12 mile hike before the cruise started. It was 22 days in total and we used everything - multiple times thanks to the ease of using Viking’s laundry facilities. -K
Ahhh... you remined me of the details of our trip on Viking. The amazing thing about Viking is that although there was no show stopper, I do agree about the wine being just so so... Unfortunately, the Viking Steak (supposed to be a ribeye) was less than 1/2 inch thick, grizzly, and I think breaded. I opted out of that steak and asked for the New York Steak that was perfect. Overall, I still give the food a great rating, I just avoided the strange stuff and simply picked the things I know I liked. Referring to the entertainment, I loved the lounge, found that the classical music in the main hall became mundane and lacked life. It is important that the choice of music build up to a crescendo in tone, rate, and volume to make the music feel alive - thank goodness for earbuds and headsets and my own music. Overall, I am happy enough to book another cruise but would love to offer my assistance / experience in picking wine, doing tastings, and timing entertainment a little better.
Looking forward to my first Viking cruise. I understand food comments, but I am not that picky. I also understand that there is only so much space to store food. If your favorite food gets gone, they can’t run to the store or have a delivery. The bed would not bother me. Love a firm mattress.
Thanks for watching.
Very fair call on the mattress. It is very important and it is very difficult to accommodate everyone’s preferences, however there is no excuse to not have a quality mattress topper for those who prefer a softer base.
We are hopeful they add some additional topper options before our next Viking cruise. If not, we will just sneak a pool cushion to our room 😜
Thank you both for your coments. We will be going on the Mars on a Med cruise in 2026. Just got back from a Viking River Cruise in Europe. Loved the experience. As you experienced, the crew were fantastic and the ship layout was awesome. We actually thought the food on the River Cruise was actually quite good......certainly as compared to the RC Alaska cruise we were on last year. The beds on the River ships are firm as well (which is what we like), but understandable if you don't. Maybe they have them that way for older folks who prefer firmer beds. At alost 60, we were some of the youngest on the boat. I cannot imagine going on a Viking cruise and not taking advantage of any of the thrown in excursions. We did a mix some of theirs and some of our own as well as just toodling around the various towns. Thanks again for the honest review....very insightful!
I once did a price comparison of a traditional cruise vs Viking and found the price difference wasn't that much. Of course you have to price in the balcony room, all the included specialty dinning, spa, wifi, free laundry facilities, and an included basic excursion....so if you do those, the price is no bad
Totally agree. One thing we love about Viking is that it’s very easy, unlike most cruise lines, to understand what you are getting for your cruise price. Love that they make it easy to budget for. -K
Thank you for a very detailed review. We plan to go on Vikings cruise next year.
Hello Shauna and Kevin, thank you for your detailed review. Very sorry, that not everything was according to your expectation. I just came back from a 32 day journey with Viking to the South Pacific and I had no problems to give Viking 5 stars for each category. Now, was I lucky ?
I do not think so. It was my 7th journey with Viking on its ocean ships and every time, I was able to allocate 5 Stars in the different sections , although not everything can be always 100%. I have already booked the Atlantic Crossing with Viking next year and I am looking forward to it.
There is no cruise ship on earth where its passengers are happy all the time. But I appreciated your honest review and hope that Viking will look into your concerns to make things better in the future.
Thanks. Enjoy cruising!
We have taken two Viking river cruises. I could not ask for a better experience.
That’s great. We agree. They create a memorable experience. -K
I love Viking!! I have been on 4 cruises. No problem with the beds. I do agree about the food. The food is good, but not excellent. Everything else is excellent. Service is oustanding! Like how everything is in the price.
The food isn’t great but the waffles are lol. Wish they would serve them 24/7!
The bed is everything. If the mattress is hard, there's no coming back from that. A hard mattress alone is enough of a deal-breaker for me.
That’s understandable. Hard to enjoy yourself if you can’t get a good night’s sleep.
You can request a pillowtop cover for the bed if needed. We found the bed comfortable as is.
Are you high. There is no coming back from a soft mattress- it’s phucks up your back, meaning you can’t walk. Older adults need firmer mattresses. Look, here’s how to handle this. Sleep on the floor for a night and then use the bed. It will appear a hell of a lot softer.
We had the same problem with hard bed. Our steward put the egg-crate foam topper the following night which helped, I was able to sleep, could be softer. We are 70 plus y/o but prefer soft mattress.
The flip side: a mattress that is too soft can be just as bad for people who need a firm bed. A hard bed can be made softer, but it’s difficult to make a soft bed more firm.
Good review. Shauna is quite the princess.
I think I like a medium bed. Just came back from the Viking Polaris in Antarctica. I had no problems or complaints about the bed or pillows.
I’m so glad it worked for you. How was Antarctica? That’s on our bucket list too. -K
Thank you for the comment about gratuities! We’ve been on Viking a few times…..the crew is fantastic!
The crew was our favorite part. Each one of them was amazing. -K
Hi from Australia. What a wonderful couple you are. It was a pleasure watching your excellent review.
Awe, thanks. We both feel very fortunate to have found each other.
Thanks for posting your review….we took a 15 day cruise with Viking and concur with your observations, although we didn’t mind the bed so much….we are foodies and since our Viking cruise we have been on 2 Oceania cruises and a third one booked….we would urge you to try them as your preferences and likes seem completely aligned with the Oceania experience….enjoy your cruises!
Thanks for the recommendation! Happy cruisin’.
Best food we have had was on Regent. Going on Oceania in January hoping that it is as good.
I’ve heard those are both great cruise lines but haven’t been … yet. Where is your January cruise to? -K
Hello Shaunna and Kevin...We are frequent Viking Cruisers (11 so far) and we enjoyed your thoughts. We always travel in the Penthouse Junior Suites because we love the extra space and especially the double sink bathroom with heated towel rack. Suites below that level only have a single bathroom sink. We use the included laundry and dry cleaning everyday so we can really cut back on the packing. In fact we've done trips of up to 25 days with nothing but 2 carry on suitcases, one backpack for me, and an over the shoulder bag for my wife. That being said, we do understand your issue with the laundry tags. We have not tried this since we only heard about it when we were disembarking our last cruise in September. While we were waiting to get off the ship, several people were talking and the subject of laundry and the tags came up. One women said that she was told that if you take your hair dryer and put it on high heat on the tag for about a short time (I thought she said about 20 seconds), that the tags would come off fairly easy. We're looking forward to trying it soon. As far as the bedding.......as you said, to each their own. We enjoy the firm bedding but it certainly isn't for everyone. Anyway, enjoyed your thoughts and maybe see you two someday on another Viking cruise.
11?! That’s awesome. Which has been your favorite? Also, couldn’t agree more on the double sinks. -K
Our favorite was Mediterranean & Italian Sojourn from Barcelona to Venice. It's the one that makes a stop in Sicily. But try to do it semi off season. We did it in mid April. We spent about 4 days in advance in Madrid, and the extended on yhe end from Venice to Verina and Lake Como. Absolutely fantastic. And by the way, we did about 24 days with carry on only. No checking bags for us.
You guys are adorable! Thank you for your honest review! It's a dream of ours to go, and I also prefer not to eat gluten, so I appreciate your insight!!
Thank you Shauna and Kevin. My wife and I are about to embark on the 15 day Med cruise. Your comments were very helpful. I didn’t catch the link to your magnetic hooks but will find some.
My late wife and I have done 4 Viking trips. 2 European river cruises, Alaska and China. She had celiac so gluten free was required. Every trip the crew excelled in providing her food. The river trips were better than the Alaska ocean trip for gluten free. She learned to ask for a manager and they always got it right. However the buffet was hit or miss for her. The dining room was 100%. They would make her custom meals and deserts. We ended up eating breakfast only in the buffet. Mamsens even made her gluten free waffles. She trusted Viking which is why were were repeat customers. Our next trip was to be this one you are reviewing so thanks for your video. Oh and i agree about the hard beds though on our Alaska trip they did have decent toppers.
One afternoon the kitchen manager had the grill cleaned at the poolside grill and monitored the prep with clean utensils to make her a gluten free burger. She gave him a big hug and we took photos with him. He was a star. So my best advice for gluten free is to be sure to let them know before the cruise and speak up once on board. They gave her a kitchen tour on every trip. The ocean boat to Alaska even has a separate allergy free section in the kitchen.
Thanks for the insight. Sorry about your wife but very glad you got to share in some great Viking cruise memories. The crew is so exceptional at creating memories for a lifetime and catering to their guests. -K
You both have great charisma together and I like your format. But, would prefer much more video of what you're talking about. Would like details of the cabin, putting your hand down on the uncovered mattress demo'ing the hardness, close-ups of the food. A little of the music, etc. Maybe I'm expecting too much?
Good video, but for me, and at 25K, if the bed sucks and the food sucks, then that is going to be a deal breaker. I appreciate the honest review. You all should try a Virgin Voyages Rockstar/Mega Rockstar trip next at a comparable price. Food is excellent and the bed is comfortable.
We are much too old for a Virgin cruise. Not really into the party scene and nightclub vibes lol. -K
Judging by how good you all look in your video, I would say that we probably have you beat by about ten years age wise. To each their own, but you should have an open mind. Virgin Voyages is not a party ship at all, unlike Carnival and some other lines. I've found that there are many places onboard for peace and quiet, especially in our suite. Plus the food is amazing.@@ShaunaAndKevin
This is a great review. Very insightful. The best cruise review I’ve seen. Viking is definitely my aesthetic. Disappointed the food isn’t better but it isn’t an ultra luxury cruise line like say Regent and Seven Seas. The price for your cabin type seems high but assume a basic cabin would be more reasonable. Look forward to your next review!
Thanks! Yes, we splurged on the room but we typically do that on vacation. We are the couple that likes to relax in their room so it’s important to us. Totally agree on the aesthetic - Viking ships are incredibly beautiful.
Thank-you so much for such a well put together video. As others commented, I have done 3 river cruises with Viking and in March will be my first ocean cruise - South America, Chilean Fjords and Galapagos. I appreciate your candid reviews, though I am hoping that my food experience will be better! I have found on my many trips with other lines, generally that the food quality has decreased over the years. Finally, thanks for your transparency and wish you the best - you are a lovely couple. I resonate with your fertility experience, it’s good you have each other to navigate a new path. Cheers!
Awe, thanks. We are very lucky to have one another and don’t take a single day for granted. I’m so excited for your Viking Ocean experience. You will love it! The Chilean Fjords are on our bucket list. I’m sure it’s going to be amazing. -K
I’m doing the South American cruise with the Chilean fiords on December 6. Hoping the food is as good as I remember from our last Viking cruise.
My wife and I took 2 Viking cruises in 2023, one a river cruise from Amsterdam to Basil Switzerland, and the 2nd a ocean, the Journey to Antiquities from Athens, to Turkey and to 3 stops in Italy. Both cruise was less than satisfactory for variety of reasons including food quality, food choices, the quality of matress especially on ocean cruise, lack of room temperature control on the river cruise and mis-management of guided tours on the ocean cruise. On the river cruise one of us became ill with cold and fever and the compasion of the crew was very minor. In the past my wife and I have been traveling on tours for about 8 years and its not clear to us why so many friends of ours rave about these Viking cruises. Each cruise was a let down for us.
Ugh, I’m sorry for your experience. That sounds terrible. Definitely not the experience you expect at their price point. -K
My opinion choose a standard room on a lower floor don't waste your money on one of the mini suites. The rooms are just another 30" wider enough for 2 dressers yet you might pay $5000 or more for this. Once your in the room you really don't even know what floor you are on. As far as the excursions the suites get preference but for the most part you won't have trouble getting on am excursion.
Thanks
As they said if you want to spend more time in room mini suites are perfect. 2 TVs 2 sinks and and 70 sq feet more
Can’t believe you didn’t go on any free tours
My wife & I are about to depart on a Viking Ocean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles, through the Panama Canal. We were very disappointed when they pulled one of six scheduled port visits, in Nicaragua. No compensation or other stops offered. They sold us an 18 day cruise with six port visits. Losing one is a major loss in value. I am pretty mad at them.
😡That would be very frustrating. I’ve heard of other locations, like Iceland, experiencing the same issues … typically for weather. I hope the rest of your cruise blows away your expectations. -K
Boy, do I agree with your review, we did the In Search of Northern Lights cruise on the Viking Venus. My husband and I always want to go on the smaller ships, of course they are pricey but not having a large city disembarking in a port with us is worth it. While the cruise price does seem higher, if you compare other bare bones fares with the added cost to Vikings fare with those added costs included, they come out comparable. The plus side is you know what you paying up front. Viking does offer a lot more speakers talking about history or about the port you will be visiting than entertainment show with dancing or singing. This is their niche, if you want to go on a theme park cruise there are others out there for you. We chose Viking for next cruise to Mediterranean, allowing us to be able to visit Venice this trip because of being a smaller ship. Our last cruise with Viking we needed a recharge so the relaxing atmosphere on Viking did that. I know Viking does ask for some of your preferences before sailing, in there you maybe able to request extra bedding needs and dietary needs so that they can have them on board when placing their food supplies. Since they have to their food supplies well in advance. If everyone tells them dietary restrictions once they board they can only accommodate with limited amount of supplies. It is a major deal for them to acquire supplies during a cruise that is not pre-ordered.
Love how easy Viking makes it to price a cruise. Much easier than almost all other cruise lines. We also totally agree on the small ships. Seeing videos and photos of the packed pools on those floating cities makes us sick. Can’t wait for our next Viking cruise.
Nice review! We feel like we know you personally now and relate. We took the 18 day Chile-round the Cape - voyage to Buenos Aires. The views were mostly on the Chile side, with rugged scenery and a run up the Amalia fjord to within a few hundred yards of the glacier face. Spectacular. If you go, remember to book a cabin on the left side of the of the ship, as that faces 43:43 the shoreline which is in view most of the time. BTW: the food and the included wines were quite good, we thought. We will favor Viking again. Happy sailing!
We are taking our first Viking Cruise the Panama Canal trip in October. I am so happy I discovered your Viking cruise review. I can live off gelato and good waffles and properly cooked bacon. As for the bed issue I like a semi hard bed so will see if too hard. So waiting to see how experience is compared to yours. This will be our first cruise in about 20 years, we are retired and have more time to travel.
So glad it was helpful. You will LOVE your cruise. And I think the bed will be great for you too. It’s a personal preference but if you like a firm bed it should work well. You will love Mamsen’s. It’s the perfect place to enjoy waffles bc it’s in the Explorer’s Lounge which was our absolute favorite part of the ship. Enjoy!
We took our 1st Viking cruise (12 day Norway/Iceland) in 2022 and the food was absolutely delicious! I am also a true Celiac and they accommodated me like nobody ever has. We will be taking our 2nd Viking Cruise later this year and are very much looking forward to it. Everyone's dining preferences are different; I think you will be pleasantly pleased with your dining choices. Also, we had the Silver Spirits package and while we are not big drinkers, we felt it was worth it as we do like the additional wine choices that come along with that package. If you each like a cocktail or two throughout the evening, and enjoy a good glass of wine (or two) with your dinner, it is well worth it. The package also includes specialty coffees such as cappacino, macchiato, expresso, etc. As for sleeping, we had a DV2 stateroom and we slept like babies! We are retired also; I think you will have an absolute wonderful cruise experience!
An excellent and candid review of the Viking ocean cruise experience. We have been on two Viking Ocean cruises (5 weeks total). I thought you were a little hard on the food but generally a reasonable review of VIking's dining experience -plentiful but really nothing to write home about. The beds are fairly firm (which we liked) but that is like you mentioned a personal preference. We did find that most all the passengers were older couples. My guess is you might have been the youngest couple on the cruise. Good job.
Yes, we were the youngest on the cruise . . . and we loved it lol.
This was an incredbile video to watch. Thank you for your very honest review of Viking. We have just booked our first Viking ocean cruise for next year - and all the reasons you've listed as 'why you loved Viking' is why we chose Viking for our special occasion. I do hope to have a better food experience than you did (because others have raved about the food) - but its not the reason I am booking Viking. The ship size, the itinerary (We are doing in search of the northern lights, so similar itinerary to yours, except in the winter) , the inclusions, and the lack of kids are top reasons we picked Viking for our special occasion.
We are so excited for you. I just looked at your itinerary and you will love the scenic sailing along Norway’s coast. They get so close to land, it’s really hard to pull yourself away and go to sleep at times. I’m hoping that Viking figures out their food over the next year. They launched 4 new ships in 2022, including Mars which we went on, so it could be that they just need a little time to iron out all the details. Thanks for watching. -K
In my case, I grew up in Norway (and moved to the US 3 decades ago) - and I've been to some of the ports before (like Tromsø, where my mom grew up) - but I've never actually done a coastal cruise of my native country, nor seen the northern lights (been in Tromsø with my wife and kids in the summer, so seen the midnight sun) - very excited to see this part of my home country from the ocean at a spectacular time of year (and fingers crossed the northern seas is behaved) - we will be on Venus, the only worry my wife has about this cruise is that it will ruin her for other cruise lines. I think that is a real concern I have too .(and we have cruised others, just never any of the small ship / luxery lines)
@@erikjoha ha. This is definitely going to ruin you for other cruise lines. I, Kevin, am also Norwegian. Born in US but all 4 grandparents were from Norway. Part of the reason we chose this itinerary. -K
I am sure it will. There are so many VIking itineraries that I want to try - so if we fall in love, guess we'll just have to do more :)
Oh wow. Good food and sleep are kinda important =}. Ty for the review
If you like a firm bed, I think it will be fine. Our tempur pedic at home may have just ruined us for any type of firm bed. I will say that Viking has some of the most amazing itineraries of any cruise line. If you have the opportunity, we would still highly recommend Viking. -K
Thank you for such a detailed and CANDID review! About everything. I totally agree with your evaluation of Viking food as very mid.
Thanks
Currently struggling through a cruise on the Viking Star. This is an old ship badly refitted in my view. I took a junior penthouse and haven’t had a decent night’s sleep yet. For the first few days windows were creaking and noisy. Now the ship’s airconditioning (I think) is sending a high pitched hum through the room constantly. The refit of the room is just strange. The room is split into a bed and sitting room (curtains not a wall as in the river cruises but the lights are either turned on for all or turned off for all. There is a single separate light in the sitting room which is so dark it’s useless. You can see the add on wiring which is exposed. The hair dryer can’t be used in the bathroom because there is no plug. I could go on. Of course guest services aren’t interested. I had positive experiences with Viking river cruises so this is a terrible diappointment.
The story continues - they know how to fix the Airconditioning and did it a couple of times. Then they just forget and we’re back into guest services limbo. A waste of a lot of money. Don’t sail Viking. Just my opinion but just don’t. Holiday ruined can’t wait for this to finish so I can get off this damn ship.
Finished on the Viking Star now. Just got the final insult: three Ralph Lauren polo shirts shrunk beyond wearable in their laundry. Now touring Northern Spain and need to leave the tour long enough to buy some shirts. If I was negative before now I just fed up. I will never go near another Viking ship. Their performance for me was almost so far below par it’s ridiculous.
Excellent, detailed review. The hard mattress, with no topper available, was surprising. But criticism of the food was VERY disappointing. I am not a big fan of headline shows, but the food had better be high quality.
Thanks for watching. Hope it was helpful.
We love the sushi at the World Cafe... that's all I need there...and Manfredi's is some of the best Italian I have ever had. My husband is IItalian and loves it. We think Viking loses money when we cruise!😂
We have taken two Viking river cruises and recently an Ocean cruise, 15 days. Agree with this assessment, except for the bed which was fine for us. The food assessment is accurate. For the price, the regular dining was mediocre. Chef’s Table and Manfredi’s were both good. We thought the World Cafe was so-so. Mainly hot food was never hot. Like this couple we thought gelato was best. The restaurant was good depending on the menu. Actually, my husband and I preferred the river cruises.
Thanks. That’s great insight. -K
This is an itinerary we are def interested in doing. Have been researching viking for months. Only hurdle for us is cost and the final payment due date. Your channel is just perfect, you hit all the buttons without any silly gimmicks or click bait. Well done!
Thanks! Are there any questions you have? Happy to answer them. We loved it. -K
Viking is expensive but it’s worth it. Everything is included even wine. There’s sushi, sashimi, anything you’d want. There’s no children. No gambling. No horrible wild shows. Just some low key type performances. And educational speakers. I never had any competition in the spa. Hubby isn’t into it. For our next 15 day trip to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, he booked 2 spa massages for me. They also have speakers in the smaller auditorium talking about the animals, geology, culture etc. it’s called a Thinking Persons Cruise. Antarctica was an over the top cruise. The basic room was perfect for us. We like supportive beds so enjoyed the bed. Plenty of outlets for our iPads, iPhones and battery chargers. Room service is also offered. We will always book with Viking.
I totally disagree with their reviews of the food. I found it delicious. There were so many types of food to select. The Restaurant served great food. I don’t eat Pizza so I can’t say anything about that. Manfredi’s was really good. We didn’t do the Chef’s Table due to the types of food they prepare. Neither of us eat meat. Hubby eats chicken and fish. I eat fish and tofu but tofu wasn’t served. We didn’t gain weight as we did a lot of deck walking. Many miles a day. We won’t cruise with any other line except Viking. We cruised Antarctica last year. That was over the top. We had 25 ft waves when we crossed the Drake Passage. When we arrived at some of the places we took zodiacs to the glaciers. We even got to go in a 6 person submarine down 60 feet below penetration of ultraviolet light. Millions of penguins, humpback whales, sea lions, albatross. In February we’re going on a 15 day Viking cruise to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. Another plus, no children, gambling or over the top shows. All inclusive. Viking is called the Thinking Person’s Cruise line.
Maybe if you let them know in advance of your dietary needs, they would’ve accommodated you. I’d give Viking 5 stars.
Viking even curates the books they have in the library according to the places you cruise.
Found you folks whilst searching for Viking Ocean cruise reviews since my Wife and I have our first one coming up in a few months.
Good review over all, and you covered all the major points I was interested in.
The only surprise I guess was your critique of the food on the cruise. Every other review I've seen has raved about the cuisine on the Viking ocean cruises.
I get it, taste is personal and subjective, but I'm hoping I'm more on the "Loved it!" side during my cruise since I'm a bit of a foodie at heart.
Otherwise, thanks for the videos and honest opinions.
I’m with them. I’m vegetarian and it was a very limited menu for me. And not that great
Thanks for watching. We don't consider ourselves foodies. I'm guessing if we were, we may have been more disappointed. We do try to avoid or limit dairy. At times, it was difficult or impossible to find almond/soy milk for lattes instead of regular milk. You will definitely have some great meals on Viking, but we didn't experience the level of consistency we expected.
Thank you for bed info as that is important when you are on longer cruises. The chairs on balcony also looked uncomfortable and no foot stools.
Glad it was helpful.
Thx for yr review. I'm with you, I expect top notch food on a luxury cruise.
Yeah, we were hoping for a little better food experience. Most of everything else blew us away.
You two are very sweet! My family has booked Viking Neptune to Norway-Iceland and we are really looking forward to it!
Thanks! You will love it! I think that route starts or ends in Bergen. If you need a Bergen hotel, we highly, highly recommend Hotel Norge. The absolute best breakfast we have ever had - and it’s included with the room. -K
@@ShaunaAndKevin Thank you both so much! Yes, we fly from JFK to Bergen, we plan to stay in Bergen for at least one night as the flight is L-O-N-G, and I do not want to be late getting to ship. Is Hotel Norge close to Viking Port? I am crazy psyched to visit Svalbard. Have you two been there? I hear there are more Polar Bears than people😂
Thanks again!
Excellent video guys - very comprehensive- I’ve just finished the Bangkok, Bali & Beyond cruise and I have to agree with everything you have said - i agree the beds are extremely average - even the hotel in Bangkok the night before we left had 100% better bed ($102/night!!) and I totally agree with you about the food in the World Cafe - the MOST irritating thing was that the food was always only warm(sometimes cold) not very appealing at a buffet - and one other thing (first world problem) I was disappointed that at dinner time it was very difficult to find just a plain garden/green salad anywhere - they had Caesar but never just a plain salad - in the hot Asian climate I was really needing salad other than just at lunchtime- I think everything else you have said is spot on! Having said that I got such a great deal (discount) for booking whilst onboard I went ahead and booked a back to back ocean & river cruise in 2025! Hopefully some of these things will be rectified by then….
Thanks. We also hope things get better re: the food and bedding. Hopefully it’s just a Covid hangover that’s taking them a couple years to rectify. We also are planning more Viking cruises … just with our own pillow and a plan to grab a mattress topper at our first port. -K
Thank you for the detailed review. We booked a Viking cruise for an upcoming anniversary and selected a Penthouse Veranda. This will be our first trip with Viking. When we chose our room location, we were concerned that a room on the sixth floor might be subject to sound transmission through the ceiling from the public spaces on the 7th floor (below the World Cafe, for example). We are curious about any noise you may have heard from adjacent rooms and decks.
Great question. We never heard even the smallest sound from foot traffic above or either room beside us. They built these ships so well you won’t have any issues. We LOVED deck 6 and that’s the deck we would go back to. -K
Hi, another a Viking regular here. We also do PV cabins, but only on Decks 4 and 5, with cabins above and below us. If your cabin is forward on deck 6, you won’t hear anything. But if you’re aft, there will be some noise from pool loungers being moved, as well as chairs in the World Cafe when they are vacuuming carpets. We haven’t experienced this ourselves, nor do we know which cabin areas hear the most noise, but have read posts on FB group pages. The cabin location discussed here is right by the forward stairs, which is a quieter area than you might think.
The beds are wonderful!
Thanks
We are considering our first Viking cruise. Our experiences have been with the larger cruises ship in which we believe are too much with the kids and the crowds. We have done a Mississippi River cruise on a small boat which was awesome.
Your review was exactly what we were seeking to learn about Viking. We had many questions and you both answered most of our concerns. I do have a couple of questions if you wouldn't mind helping us with.
I do laundry. Does the laundry include soaps and dryer sheets? Do we need to bring our own?
Food... Is there seafood. I am a lobster person. Do they offer shellfish?
Otherwise, everything you touched upon has us better informed of our choice. Thank you.
Yes, laundry has everything you need. All you need to bring is dirty clothes (and maybe a few laundry bags if you have delicates). Also, plenty of seafood so you will be fine. Thanks for watching. Glad it was helpful.
Love the reasoning behind your trip.
Thanks. -K
Thank you for the review. The video was very professionally produced.
We just went on Viking Osiris to Egypt and the food wasn’t well-made.
I hope you still had an amazing time. 🤞Viking can improve the food experience. -K
Great review! We are considering a Viking cruise with friends in a year or so. We are "Oceania" people at the moment. Very educational! By the way, love your thoughts about the crew. We always bring extra cash and tip our favorite staff!
Thanks! We love the Viking ship, crew and routes (and that it’s adults only). We hope to try Oceania soon. -K
@@ShaunaAndKevin Do try Oceania! It's a fantastic line.
Very comprehensive review but definitely need more photos rather than narrative, especially when you are talking about food items. Personally, for what you paid,I would think that the food would have been much more memorable. Also more photos and/or video of the ship and your excursions. All in all I enjoyed the review and your attitudes. Thank you very much! 🙂
Thanks.
We are taking a Viking cruise in October- so excited. Loved your review. When you tipped the staff additional money, what was the process? Did you give them cash or add it at the end? What amount would be appropriate?
We paid the prepaid gratuities on the front end (roughly $500) that gets charged to your card, then tipped both our room stewards on the first day an extra $200 USD total, then tipped on the second to last day another $500 USD to room stewards (again, they were amazing) and some of our favorite wait staff/bartenders. We gave cash for the additional. This was for a 15 day cruise. I think a good rule of thumb is pay the prepaid gratuities then bring the same amount in cash for additional tip -basically doubling the minimum gratuity amount. -K
What were the options or modifications for plant based/vegan diets? Would I be eating a lot of raw fruits and veggies only?
You guy are great! Completely informative. Exactly what makes or breaks a cruise! Nicely done 👏👏👏
Thanks! -K
Thanks for your vlog. We are trying to decide what cruise line to gone on in Sept 2025. Currently we are use Regent Seven Seas and love them, but might see what Viking has to offer. Your information really helped us. Thanks. P.S. I wish you would have shown us the balcony.. 🙂
Ask and you shall receive. Fast forward to 18:25 of this video - ua-cam.com/video/tVHzSNWc3P0/v-deo.htmlsi=dZyV-VXPeC_vzM2g
After several Viking Ocean cruises, I tell people that the experience is between a large cruise ship and a yacht. Go on Viking for the "discovery" experience.
Very true. It was a great way to discover a part of the world we have never been to.
A Celebrity Edge Class ship is a choice I would make 4 out of 5 times when choosing cruise ship vacations (versus Viking). It comes down to the food because most would expect a higher quality, given the price, on the Viking ships. Comparing, let's say, a similar 7-night itinerary in Europe = even if you upgrade the Celebrity ship with the 7-day drink& wifi package and choose 4-5 specialty restaurants (upgrade price) for dinner and maybe lunch, you are still saving $ 500-700 per person on most similar itineraries over the 7 days.
At that price difference, I would still usually choose Viking more IF the food was fantastic all the time, but since I have now guaranteed great food with cuisine variety 5 times on the Celebrity, I would choose that ship a bit more than Viking. There is more to do and see on Celebrity, which I also like…….but I also really like the layout and common areas on Viking ships. Hard to beat being able to go to almost any public area and not worrying about having many people taking up all available chairs. Fantastic review, and thanks to Shuana and Kevin!
Thanks for the additional insights.
That’s an unusual experience with the bed, I’ve been on several Viking ships and usually it’s so comfy… hate you had that experience…
Although we hoped for a better bed, it was a small inconvenience and is overshadowed by how great everything else was.
Looks like you are perfect for each other. Also seems that you are bound for a private cruise. Thx
What a delightful couple
Hi Shauna and Kevin,
This was a fantastic review! We have always done river cruises and next year we have booked our first ocean cruise with Viking for a special anniversary celebration. . We are very excited ! I have 1 quick question for you. Kevin, you said at first Viking did your laundry, but then you decided to do your own laundry. Did Viking provide the detergent and softener or did you have to bring your own?
Great question. It’s all provided. The only item you may want to bring are a few laundry bags to wash delicates in.
I’m (Kevin) a bit of a control freak (true type A personality) so I really didn’t mind doing my own laundry. I actually preferred it because it was so easy with their free self serve machines. When you send it off, it’s at least a full day before you get it back.
Thank you for your quick response. I watched another you tube video which showed the detergent dispensers connected to the back of the machine. All you have to do is push the button. Thank you Kevin for the idea of the laundry bags to wash delicates in. One additional question. Are fabric softener sheets provided?
You should try Azamara. The beds are sumptuous and the food is great.
Thanks. We will take a look. -K
I am disappointed that you did not even take one of Viking's excursions so you could provide a review of the guides, the locations etc. Viking promotes that one excursion is included in every port. They also have some excursions that you may not find on other ships such as having dinner with local families or getting behind the scenes at museums.
Sorry. We aren’t going to drop 3-4x the price of booking direct at tour operators just to experience a similar excursion through Viking. We like a more intimate, customized experience. Not a big fan of getting on any bus … even a “luxury” coach (it’s still a bus;). -K
$25k and a mattress topper? I tuned our after that... Thanks for saving me the pains of a Viking cruise...
Thank you for making such a thorough and informative video. My wife and I have a Viking cruise planned this summer. We just turned 40. I’m curious if you had any thoughts on cruising with a ship of mostly senior citizens? Were there other younger couples onboard?
We loved it … been a while since we were the youngest couple at something. We went with another couple our age but other than them, we were the only 4 in our 40s.
The one thing to think about are the Viking excursions. If you want something strenuous, like a hike, you are likely better booking it outside of Viking and direct with tour operators. Although there is some additional planning and risks associated with booking direct, we much preferred that approach and did it at every port.
We also loved that it was adults only. Not having kids running around while you’re reading or relaxing was a big plus for us. It also helps to minimize the risk of catching a virus while on vacation.
Let me know if you have any other questions. -K
Thank you for your review. Very helpful. One question regarding your comments about the Crew: you recommend tipping for services "above and beyond." How did that work? You'd give individuals cash at the time of recognition? Trying to get a sense of that...say $5-$10-$20? Could you expand a bit on this?
We tried asking about this at Guest Services, and they indicated that $10/week for someone who went above and beyond was considered a very good extra tip and as K&S said, was very much appreciated. (They have envelopes at Guest Services for this purpose.) We slipped an extra $20 (for 2 weeks) to our room steward and favorite waiter(s), and they were over the moon. Even an extra $5 or $10 to a special person on the staff (bar, cleaning, etc.) was meaningful, not so much for the $ but for the recognition.
Nice review. We are off on Viking ocean next week to the Western Caribbean. We did Viking river (Rhine) in July. I totally agree with your food rating. Very little Viking river cruise food was exceptional, mostly average-good. 3 stars (7 on a 10 pt scale). My expectations were much higher. Croissants were supermarket quality, at best. The creme brule was a 10, but this and other desserts are to be expected to be of high quality. The poke bowl for lunch was a total joke. In contrast, the food at the pre-cruise hotel in Como (Albergo Terminus) was outstanding....far exceeding anything on Viking. We're hoping for a better ocean cruise food experience with Viking. Otherwise, all your other ratings for the ship and crew matched our experience on Viking river.......excellent.
BTW, the pre-trip bus transfer from Como to Basel with a 2-3 hr stop in Lucerne w/ lunch was a better scenery and excursion day, than anything on the Rhine. Strasbourg was the only Rhine city that I would return to again.
The Chef’s table on Viking Ocean will be great. That was our favorite meal. We haven’t been drawn to any of the river cruises but have so many other Viking Ocean routes that we plan to enjoy. We’ve heard from many that the Viking Inside Passage through Alaska was their favorite. We plan for that to be our next one. Enjoy the Caribbean! Great time of year to go. -K
Funny! I was really disappointed with the waffles (the only thing I didn’t care for whole cruise- and we cruised on the same ship but on the Iconic Mediterranean tour) - I loved!!! ❤️!!! the food and was comfortable in the bed.
Haha. Maybe we can agree on the gelato being great 🤷🏻♂️
in case no one else mentioned it, next time bring a collapsible air mattress to unroll - and I don't own stock in the company or anything like that, but what do you expect from a buffet?
Better food 🤷♂️