If you are the least bit mobility impaired, think twice about booking this trip especially if the weather is going to be hot. The sights you see are amazing but be prepared for long walks over uneven, rocky terrain. If you like wearing flip flops on excursions, please reconsider.
The Mars staff was not up to what I have had on other Viking Ocean cruises and that was a bit disheartening. On the other hand, their food was better than I remember, with the chefs not afraid to give the food some taste.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
ON CONTINUATION FROM BANGKOK
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Food was generally above past Viking ocean cruises. Lobster a couple times that always gets my vote. I think the Viking Mars was probably a little short staffed at both World Cafe and main restaurant for a pretty much fully booked ship. I did have an excellent tenderloin steak in The Kitchen Table.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Viking does not have the traditional activity variety of a family oriented cruise ships. The pools and spa areas are nice. The golf course was designed by someone without any imagination and was boring. For fitness, Viking insists on buying weigh machines that are connected by ropes/cables and are not very good.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Classic Viking band with excellent musicians. The vocalists both band and entertainers were very good, especially the female singers. Ar-ar, male band singer was very good also.
Children's Programs
Viking - no kids!
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The rank and file wait staff and room stewards were great with super customer oriented attitudes. On the other hand, shore excursion management and guest services were a step below previous Viking experiences. Attention to detail was lacking on this ship, from incorrect corrections being sent out, lack of information on excursions, wrong times stated and printed.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Up to previous Viking standards on this category.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This is a deluxe veranda room and I knew what to expect from past cruises at approx 270 sq ft. It might a bit tight for some but for our us, it met our needs. The downside of the arrangement is closet access being very tight next to the bed, only one person at a time.
Ship tip
I would think again until the staff of the Mars is a bit more experienced.
It is India, hot, busy, noisy, dirty, densely populated; but you have to experience it. India was a bit over the top on entry, show paper visa, passport, get fingerprinted probably the most cumbersome country of all countries visited. Also port is very industrial as are most ports on this itinerary and you just cannot walk off the ship into the city.
If your excursions includes entry to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, ladies-you must be pretty much covered from head to foot. Vikings said covered down to past knees but wife was stopped for showing calves. Had to scramble to find sox to cover them up. Men - no shorts means no shorts. Mosque is amazing and worth seeing. Clean, vibrant city.
You must do Petra! Beware, there is a about a two mile walk each way to get to Petra and if it is hot, it is a long walk. Golf carts are availabe for extra cost but lines for the return can be long meaning not much time to walk around. Petra is more than the first building (treasury). If you have it in you, climb up the right side to get a great view of the theater and how big Petra was.
Amazing city, clean, modern. Had snorkeling booked but was cancelled, Viking substituted the sub ride- ok but the included glass bottom boat probably had better views based on my wife's pictures. Get used to high security precautions in Egypt.
Long bus ride through desert. Amazing look along the Nile on how today's Egyptians live. I took included tour to Karnak Temple and was amazed. Look for color restorations on the huge columns there. Would have been nice to cross Nile to Valley of the Kings but pricey.
We got luck, original time in Canal was supposed to be 4am but we got held up at anchor and entered at 0830. Ship had excellent narrator onboard for first few hours. Most scenery will be on the west bank but look at both sides as you go.
Again, long bus ride from Port Said to Giza Pyramids - included tour. Was there 40 years ago and now packed with tourist, buses and camels. Not much time at the actual pyramids before you are bused to a further away observation point. Also the new museum there should be opening soon.
Did the Jerusalem/Bethlehem tour and humbling to be at places in the Bible. Very crowded at both places. Next day did the included tour to look at Bahia Gardens and bus to ancient Akko - well worth it.
This is where Viking originally had two days here but cancelled one. So on disembark day, you really don't get to see anything except the bus ride to the airport.
Disembarking was running about 45 minutes late with no communication from Mars on when you would be off the ship. People sitting in lounge getting worried about plane reservations. In general, communications from Mars fell below expectations multiple times this trip.
Thanks for your detailed review. We were on Mars in January and the Service Desk was fantastic for us. Our bags never made it for our 15 day cruise which meant I was always intereacting with them. Not happy about the situation but very pleased on how they turned lemons into lemonade. Great trip.
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