While we've done a Viking river cruise, this was our first Viking ocean cruise. Ships are lovely, and we enjoy the smaller size and lower number (about 900) of passengers. Food and service are excellent. Staff are well trained, friendly, and professional. The atmosphere is quiet, subdued, and somewhat intellectual with more focus on lectures/learning than entertainment. The average age of clientele is 70+ with few exceptions. No matter whether lecture, shore-talk, or vocal concert, passengers flock to the theater early with good seats a premium. Included tours (one at each stop) were generally disappointing bus rides around the city with the driver trying to also serve as tour-guide. Having only been on one previous Viking trip, we were unable to get access to the other tours that sold-out to more tenured Viking guests. This is the pecking order for booking excursions and specialty dining. I wouldn't rule out another Viking ocean voyage, but it was a mixed-bag for me.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
This was about the only negative experience of this trip. We had the Pre-Cruise Extension through Viking and stayed at the wonderfully located Marriott, Sydney at Circle Quay. The Viking representatives at the hotel were lacking in organization and communication. Repeatedly, some Viking guests received information while many others did not. On the day of embarkation, we'd been told our luggage would be collected outside our rooms. Then before boarding coaches to the ship, we'd have to reclaim them and insure our luggage got on the coach. The plan go
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The ship's main dining room food was quite good, as were most of the speciality restaurants. Staff were helpful and gracious. Personally, this was the best buffet we've ever experience on our many cruises. Food was tasty and attractively displayed. There were frequent variations to keep it interesting for lunch each day. Again, staff were very attentive and helpful with drinks at your table.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The ship had some outstanding lectures - professors from various universities speaking on topics relevant to Australia and New Zealand as well as astronomy. Almost daily, there was a bean-bag-toss contest in the Atrium between the Officers vs. guests. There is a spa and the usual options.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Most evenings, there was some sort of vocal concert in the theater - of good quality. Additionally, there were multiple venues each evening with live music. One was a solo guitar/singer, a pianist, and a duo on violin and cello. One evening there was a party on the pool deck with live music and dancing.
Children's Programs
Children/persons under 18 are not permitted on Viking ships.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Service was excellent from almost every staff member we encountered. While there were a couple who seemed not to be happy in their work, all the others went out of there way to be charming, friendly, and helpful.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Yes, Viking ocean vessels are beautiful in design and kept immaculately clean. However, a couple of negatives about function. The "Atrium" is the large heart of the ship, three floors with seating on each floor for reading/visiting/congregating/listening to music. However, all the windows are covered. While allowing some light, one can't see through them at all. I believe some of the lifeboats may be outside some of those windows. I would have preferred a view from this much used area. One had to either go to the Explorer's Lounge at the front of the ship, or to their own stateroom to see out. And while the lowliest stateroom is lovely and has a balcony, the closet isn't practical. It is wedged beside the bed and has sliding doors. One side is for long-hanging items, while the other is only for short and contains a set of drawers. We found the overall hanging space to be marginally workable, but it was very awkward for two people to use the closet. We took turns going in beside the bed to get to the closet and operate the sliding doors that covered one side or the other. We find staterooms with more "open" closets far more practical and accessible. The bathroom and shower were spacious/lovely, but the tradeoff was the small and impractical closet.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
This was a very nice and comfortable cabin with the exception of the closet situation as previously described. Cleanliness was impeccable. The cabin was tight, but contained everything needed. The desk contained a built in flip-up lighted mirror. However, my wife rarely used it as one needed to unload everything else on the desk to be able to open/use it.
Ship tip
Unlike all the other cruise lines we've sailed on, this is a very quiet atmosphere with generally guests around 70 and up. A good deal of the live music is classical. Vocal performances are excellent, but no production shows, no games/trivia contests, etc. I enjoyed the atmosphere, but one needs to know what to expect and how different it is than other cruise lines. After my first cruise on a Viking ocean ship, I'm still trying to decide which atmosphere I prefer.
1. The included excursion for our Pre-Cruise Extension was a tour of The Rocks with an Aboriginal guide. This was poor as it was obvious to all that the guide was unprepared and just "winging it". It was the worst tour of our trip due to the guide.
2. We took the included excursion which was generally a bus overview of the city. It was a good tour.
This is a blanket comment/concern regarding all the included excursions on this trip. The bus/coach drivers have to double as tour guides. We feel this is asking too much of the driver responsible for such a large vehicle in traffic to, at the same time, provide a meaningful narrative/tour. Also, this is simply not safe - they can't concentrate adequately on both driving and narrating. Most were not great narrations as the drivers rightly concentrated more on their driving. One driver had problems with her headset mike, and tried to use a hand-held mike while driving us for about an hour. I appreciate her tenacity, but it was very dangerous! These included excursions were largely "weak" - mostly driving around the city while a bus-driver made a comment here and there as they had time/inclination. On multiple busses, the audio system on the bus was poor and guests had difficulty and/or couldn't hear the narration. None of the bus drivers used the Vox-boxe system that had been provided to each guest. That would have improved our hearing.
Thank you for your review. I’m sorry that you had to have your driver be the guide. I don’t quite understand how that could happen. Unless Viking isn’t prepared to pay for an extra guide. Yes, the BASS STRAIGHT is notoriously bumpy when sailing. I agree with you about the entertainment and on my last cruise I swore that I’d never go back because music that was provided was not for me. However, due to what I thought was a good itinerary I’ve booked another one but I’m prepared now and I’m stealing myself for boredom.😂😂 if you do go on another cruise there’s a way to manoeuvre the two chairs in your cabin to give yourself more floorspace. Generally on Viking though they are pretty good at what they do. Thank you very much for your review.
Thanks for sharing. We are planning to take that cruise soon. We are not in our 70s. We plan to have a great time. The cruise appears to be more interesting and hopefully faster paced than the river cruise.
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