On board - outstanding, would do another Viking cruise without hesitation if the only factor. Flights - poorly planned, would never go through their flight planning personnel again. Shore excursions: Included - low quality, bus window views and very heavily dependent upon the guide. Paid - high quality, typically guides were professional and interesting, visited sites were accessible and interesting. In general the on-board Viking experience is outstanding. However, that outstanding level does not carry over to the Viking flight planners and the included excursions.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Viking set up our airline travel. We got an extra flight leg to Lima Peru while everyone else we met appeared to go from Atlanta direct to Buenos Aires. We lost a day of visiting Buenos Aires in exchange for trip to the Lima airport (don't go there) we never wanted.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All restaurants were excellent and varied in offerings. Afternoon tea also available. You will gain weight if you aren't careful.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Pool was nice. Included were an astronomer (very interesting), an historian (very interesting), an explorer (ok), and a car racer (had to be into racing to enjoy). A ship building contest was also available.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Enjoyed the shows, singers were great with a variety of shows. Musicians were all professional. Even the cruise director and his assistant sang - very well.
Children's Programs
No kids on board.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Our waiters in the specialty restaurants knew our names and were pleasant. Room stewards were the same and provided anything we needed immediately. All ship personnel were pleasant, helpful, and efficient.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The ship was nicely laid out, extremely clean (I saw an officer with a white glove at the bar area one day checking), and never seemed crowded.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Size was fine. We were our and about most of the time and only used the cabin for sleeping.
It was quiet for sleeping. No problems with water, shower, or bathroom.
Ship tip
The food is very good in the regular and specialty restaurants. Be careful - you will gain weight on this cruise.
Ship dropped anchor near the glacier for great photos. Captain sent out a small boat to capture a chunk of the iceberg and they brought it back on board for all to see in the atrium with caviar and champagne. Nice touch.
Included tour was not that great. Went out on our own. Town is not impressive. However, found their large (two buildings) fruit and vegetable stalls. That was wonderful walk through and we never felt unsafe.
We had to be off the ship by 0800. Our flight home was at 2310 at night. Santiago is about an hour or so away from the port of Valpariso. Viking added in a bus tour to the ride from the ship and a conference room in a nice hotel as a waiting room. There were probably 250 people (out of 900 on board) stuck in this same situation. I consider it really poor planning on the Viking flight planners (again) to put people in this situation.
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