On Saturday we board Viking Ocean Cruises first-ship Viking Star for a 15-night itinerary titled Into The Midnight Sun.  Starting with an overnight in London we also end with an overnight in Bergen. In between,  we sail first to Scotland then on to Denmark before an intense study of Norway at six different and unique places.  This is not our first Viking ocean cruise. There have been several of those, each a little bit better than the last.  Still, it does not take a lot of exposure to the Viking version of travel to notice recurring themes that add up to a stellar experience.  It’s these Viking cornerstone features that we’re looking forward to the most.

 

VikingCornerstone Features
Viking Resident Historians Bring More Than Enrichment

 

Many cruise lines have an enrichment element to them. Cunard line has been filling the time on transatlantic crossings quite adeptly with an award-winning enrichment program. That’s not what this is.

The responsibilities of Viking Resident Historians extend well beyond just lectures during each cruise itinerary and include a couple features we enjoyed as well as a few new ones:

• Iconic Lectures- Presenting itinerary iconic lectures (examples in Europe and Scandinavia include: The Roman Empire; The Ottoman Empire; The Hanseatic League; Imperial Russia) We enjoyed these several times throughout our Viking Star Caribbean sailing.
• Roundtable Discussions- Conducting roundtable discussions (examples include: The Elgin Marbles; Women Explorers; Venetian Naval Power) happened from time to time as we sailed into different parts of the Caribbean

They could have stopped there and had far more than the ‘enrichment’ lectures featured on a number of other cruise lines.  But that’s not how Viking rolls.  Instead, these thoughtful additions to the program are the elements that other cruise lines will attempt to emulate:

• Dinner Discussions- Hosting history-themed dinner discussions onboard
• Office Hours- Holding daily “office hours” for one-on-one time with guests
• Questions And Interactions- Being available for guest questions and interactions outside lectures and office hours throughout the itinerary

In addition to Viking Resident Historians, sailing along with Viking guests for the entire journey,  onboard Guest Lecturers will contribute their particular expertise (art, architecture, music, etc.) of the region.  Those notable speakers are more familiar to small ship and/or luxury cruise travelers, like enrichment speakers on other lines.

 

 

Viking Cornerstone Features
Viking Venice Class Flexibility

To have a great cruise sailing experience, travelers need to be closely matched with four factors.  The right cruise line, a good ship with appropriate features, an itinerary that they can get excited about and accommodations they will feel comfortable living in. Get all four of those basic variables right and the odds of enjoying a quality travel experience anywhere in the world are quite favorable.

To put that good experience over the top, knowing details of the actual onboard experience, getting an idea of the typical passengers we might encounter then detailing other areas of interest to cruise travelers can bring an information match made in heaven.  Our other two sailings on first-ship Viking Star were on their popular Empires of the Mediterranean itinerary, a part of the world almost as familiar to North American cruise travelers as the Caribbean. A Norway-heavy itinerary like we will experience is about as close to Viking taking a staycation as we will ever see.  Considered experience-wide, Norwegian influence dominates Viking, sort of like how the North American influence dominates most big ship experiences that work.

Observation: Until recently, I would have said ‘See MSC for one that does NOT work’ but that situation is getting better. Slowly. It’s like MSC and North American cruise passengers are in a staring contest and no one is budging. We want them to be nice and they simply don’t have their heart in it.  Each Viking ocean cruise ship has a crew-sourced heart, regardless of what the corporate talking points are. We also don’t have to look far to find that ships have souls as well.

When Viking first sailed to New York City then on to the Caribbean. we saw the hoped-to-be-flexible Viking Venice-class ships adapt well. The open-air ability of multiple spaces on the ship proved popular in the Caribbean as one might anticipate. The rich history of the Caribbean came alive as Viking presented places we had visited previously in an entirely different way.  That the different way was better and sustainable spoke volume about the company’s ability. This was not a topic covered more than the droning monologue of a tour guide on a paid excursion. We did few of those.  To say Viking Star is a good match for this interesting itinerary is an easy call.  Our experience with the brand supports a hearty thumbs up in advance.  Still, it will be interesting to observe and compare the current Viking ocean experience to previous versions and other cruise lines as well.

Interestingly, Viking has gone out of its way to make ships identical.  What one ship has on it that others don’t is pretty much not something to consider.  Everything one ship does not have, none of them have. No casinos.  No photographers. No…wait, let’s stop right there for a moment.  Casinos and Photographers are, simply put, cash cows for big ship cruise lines, a critical part of the traditional cruise line business model.  None of that on Viking ships. We’ll take notes and double back on this topic later.

 

Viking Cornerstone Features
Why You Should Care

These favorite features of a Viking ocean cruise are just two.  There are many.  Every one of them is not on the Viking feature list.  Frankly, this duo was selected randomly from a list that numbers more than 30 at last count.  I suspect that number may rise. When we are done, I believe we will have a good, updated feel for what it’s like to sail with Viking, right now.  Existing detail on Viking ocean travel will be updated as well, much like we did last summer with the Viking river travel version on their classic 15-night Grand European Tour.  The comparative difference between that experience and our last with Viking on the river confirmed: this is a company that never sits still but constantly looks for new ways to show us the world in comfort.  I suspect this experience will continue to support that thought in ways consistent with the quality for which the Viking name is known.

 

ONE MORE:
Cruise Fact- When christening ships, a good quality champagne or rum is required. Using the cheap stuff is considered very bad luck.