My Viking Cruise Experience

My husband and I went on a Viking Ocean cruise for our honeymoon and it was an amazing experience, a truly luxurious experience. We picked Viking because we wanted a nice experience and, most importantly, we wanted something where there would be no guessing game as to the cost - Viking’s all inclusive pricing was what won us over. 

Our Viking Ship, the Viking Sky.

Most cruises, nickel and dime you from the moment you book your stateroom. On other cruise lines guests have to paying extra for excursions, WiFi, specialty dining experiences, and even entertainment on the ship costs extra. We did not want that.  Viking includes so much value we couldn't say no! On Viking, every stateroom has a balcony; all of the restaurants (even specialty restaurants and room service that most cruise lines are now charging for); one shore excursion in every port; free WiFi onboard; free wine, beer and soft drinks at lunch and dinner; and greatly priced airfare that includes transportation to the port. 

Welcome to your Viking cruise!

We sailed on the Viking Sky for Italian Sojourn cruise that goes from Rome (Civitevecchia) to Venice (or vise versa). Upon arrival to the port getting on the ship was a very easy and streamlined service. The first thing I noticed, which would be a theme for our week on the ship, was not having to wait. We didn’t have to wait to get our luggage taken by porters; did not have to wait to check-in; we did not wait to go through security; nor was there a wait to get on the ship. I love not having to wait, my husband loves it more. (This was something that made our experience that much better and it was also something we didn’t even think about when contemplating which cruise to with.) 

No lines!

After a fast check-in and receiving our security key card we made our way directly to the non-existent security line.  Security was fast, allowing us to to headed directly onto the ship. Right before the ship was a red Viking tent with a few chairs, a basket of apples for guests to take and a pamphlet that had information about the city we were currently in - which was nice for the ports where we went on our own after our included excursion. 

Viking's Red Tent with chairs, apples, city guides and water (on the ship).

After picking up a pamphlet, we boarded the ship and we were handed a glass of champagne! Nothing says "welcome to vacation" like a welcome glass of champagne. 

We headed straight to our stateroom, we were told at check-in that it was ready (another time we didn't have to wait). The first thing we noticed was how spacious it was. 

Large staterooms

The king sized bed was a true king (no split in the middle where two twin beds are pushed together).  Our stateroom also had lots of storage between the closet, two nightstands and built in drawers and compartments.  Plus the bed was tall enough that we could store all of our luggage underneath and not have to see again until it was time to depart. 

A glimpse of the large closet back to our cabin's front door.  

One of the things that sold us on Viking was that all of the staterooms have a balcony, even the lowest priced category has a balcony (which is what we booked)!  Our balcony had plenty of room for two chairs and a large table - perfect for having breakfast on in the morning while enjoying the view of each port we visited!

Every stateroom has a balcony 

Even the desk had storage!  The desktop is where the complimentary bottle of water was placed along with the VOX boxes that are used on excursions.  The desk also held our mini-fridge which was replenished daily with cokes and snacks which included (for us) potato chips and Toblerone bars! Some categories of staterooms will even have alcohol in their mini fridge. Our cabin steward (who was also very friendly) told us that if we prefer a certain soft drink over others, he would give us more of those. 

Complimentary snacks replenished daily. 

Our room also had a seating area with a coffee table and two comfortable armchairs and that were mainly use to place our coats on as Italy was experiencing abnormally cold weather during our honeymoon. 

Seating area with coffee table.  

The piece de resistance of our stateroom was the bathroom! The bathrooms have so much storage too - drawers at the sink and on each side of the mirror there were shelves giving us plenty of space to unpack all of our toiletries! 

Lots of bathroom storage.

The shower wasn’t one of those awkward triangular shaped ones that you can find on most ships. This was a full sized/human sized shower that had plenty of space to shampoo your hair without banging your elbows! The shower also had a little ledge to sit on. 

Human sized showers in stateroom's bathroom.

An unexpected element of the bathroom was the heated floors! This was so nice in the mornings or after a rainy excursion. Large shower, countertops, storage and heated floors - what more could you ask for out of a stateroom bathroom? 


The food was excellent on our Viking cruise. All of it was also complimentary, even the specialty restaurants and room service. This was a big sell for us and we wanted a nice meal (or two) to celebrate our marriage. 

Dessert at the Chef's Table

In the mornings we would have pots of coffee and pastries delivered to the room or we would go to the World Cafe for the breakfast buffet.  At the buffet there were so many breakfast choices including a cooked to order egg station (I got an omelette or eggs Benedict); breakfast meats; potatoes; fruit; pastries; and more! At the cooked to order station I didn’t even have to wait there, being on a small ship was such a perk! (The Viking Ocean Cruises hold 900 passengers compared to mega-liners that hold 5,000 and up. These cruises, in my experience, have a lot of hurry up and wait moments. Never once did we experience this and that was wonderful.) Our favorite part of World Cafe was the pizza; gelato and sushi stations! 

At the main dining room, the Restaurant, we never waited to be seated either.  The Restaurant is the ship’s main dining room, where dinner is served every night. Breakfast and Lunch is served here when the ship is at sea or if there is a late arrival/early departure from a port.  We only ate here for dinner.  The dinner menu has two menus - a set menu that is available every night and a specialty menu based off of where the ship was for the day (this one changes daily). 

The Restaurant

As with all Viking Ocean cruises wine, beer and soda are included at meals - another great perk as we do enjoy a drink with dinner.  The wine changed daily as to what was the included wine but there was always a red or white to select from.  We actually opted for the Silver Spirits package (Viking’s drink package that includes any drinks - except champagne - throughout the day for less than $20 per person per night) so we could have specialty coffees in the morning and drinks after dinner at no extra charge. 

A glass of wine after dinner at the Explorer's Lounge. 

Another spot we enjoyed eating at was the Pool Grille.  We ate here a lot for lunch after morning excursions before heading back out into the city.  There was a Viking Burger that was very good, a Philly Cheesesteak that my husband loved; and various other sandwiches. There was also a salad bar that served rotational items. 

Pool Grille Menu

Our favorite specialty restaurant was Manfredi’s, an Italian restaurant.  Once again, no extra charge for eating here!  The food was outstanding, we ate here our last night and I wish we ate here every night as the food was so good (I want to remind you we were on a cruise sailing around Italy and this food was still amazing). 

Manfredi's Dining Room

Another huge value of a Viking Cruise are the included excursions.  At each port there was at least one included excursion.  We knew that booking our cruise that we wouldn’t have to pay extra to explore the cities we went to - either by booking an excursions that wasn’t included or having to pay for transportation to go sightsee on our own.  The included excursions, in our experience, provided transportation and a local guide to tell us about what we were seeing.  After the tour was over we could take the transportation back to the ship if we desired, or we could stay and walk around in the city center.  A lot of times we did this and would ask our guide where we should eat lunch/what we should do.  All of the guides were extremely friendly - a few went out of their way to walk us directly to a restaurant they recommended! 

In Messina on a complimentary excursion.

We did pay for two excursions on our cruise - I was not going to Italy without experiencing a winery!  These were worth every penny we spent.  A lot of cities we went to, Viking provided transportation from the port to the city center!  So if our excursion was a half day, we could go right back out without having to worry about getting a cab/walking a far distance. It was a very nice and unexpected perk. 


The last big perk of our cruise was access to the LivNordic Spa. 

Hot tub and loungers at the spa

Massages, facials, etc. were not complimentary, those were at an extra, reasonable, cost. There was complimentary access to the hot tubs, heated loungers, sauna and snow grotto.  Yes, there is a room full of freshly made snow as part of the Nordic spa tradition to stimulate one’s circulatory system. I did not do this but my husband did and loved it! 

Snow Grotto

Overall, the ship was gorgeous and the crew were extremely friendly and would go out of their way to help you.  The main stairwell of the ship had an electronic screen that would display a beautiful picture that represented each port.  The ship had a very clean and streamlined look overall.

Changing Picture

The large pool in the middle of the ship, also where you'll find the Pool Grille, had a retractable cover that allowed us to enjoy the area still despite the abnormally cool temperatures Italy was experiencing during our visit.  At night this is where they would play a movie.  They handed out popcorn and blankets for this nightly movie as well!

Pool

If you think that the all-inclusive Viking cruise experience is a perfect fit for you please contact me for pricing! Viking sails all over the world with sailings in Europe, Alaska, Caribbean, Transatlantic and more. All Viking cruises (both ocean and river) that are booked with me, guests will receive a FREE onboard credit to spend as you wish on your cruise! If you have questions about Viking or would like pricing please email me at lauren@magicaltravel.com; message me on Facebook; or call me at 800-883-1535 x 46!