Fantastic Alaska Cruise

Item: Viking Orion
Rating: 5
Author: Whizzo

Viking Orion Cruise Review to Alaska

Whizzo

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

5 out of 5

Verified Review

10 Night Alaska & The Inside Passage (Seward To Vancouver)

Sail date: June 19, 2023

Ship: Viking Orion

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 6025

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

I'm so glad that we went through Delta Travel (agent Mayra Silveira). She caught several issues prior to our departure, and responded quickly when our flight home was canceled. She also was able to book us into a fantastic hotel in Vancouver at a very decent rate when our flight was rescheduled for the next day. And the cruise itself was a delight. The ship's crew were uniformly kind and courteous, and the history and astronomy programs extremely entertaining and enlightening.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

We were particularly impressed with the World Cafe offerings. We ended up mostly eating at the specialty restaurants (loved the Italian dining option) and the World Cafe.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

The enrichment speakers, including the resident historian and astronomer, were wonderful, and added so much to the trip.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

The cruise director also happened to be a professional singer. Her performance was incredible.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Our housekeeping staff were both wonderful. Always kept our room spotless.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

This is less a comment on the ship, per se, than on excursions to see wildlife. If you want to see bears, take your cruise the last couple of weeks in July, when the salmon are running. You'll have a much greater chance of seeing bears trying to obtain a salmon lunch.

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Ports of call

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

5 out of 5

Valdez, Alaska

5 out of 5

Cruise Yakutat Bay

5 out of 5

Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Alaska

5 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Sitka, Alaska

5 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

our excursion in Ketchikan was great, but unfortunately we didn't have time to explore the town before the ship had to leave.

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Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

5 out of 5

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Disembarkation was fine, although a lot of people were extremely stressed because they found out their flights were cancelled (Viking chose United Airlines for much of the air transportation). I realize Viking adjusts flights through their emergency travel section, but it would be wonderful if Viking could have a couple of air specialists available to adjust air travel when necessary.

5 Comments

Ladyjunecliff 10 months ago

Thanks for all the details. We didn’t see bears when the salmon were spawning in August last year

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ddme 1 year ago

Thanks for your thoughtful review.

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javawoody 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your experience, and also the importance of a good TA

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Glad you enjoyed your Alaska cruise. Thank you for sharing your experience. Great tip as well!

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