We've been aboard 2 days now and it's time I gave you a run down of our cruise ship, the Viking Sea.
Viking are best known as a company that does river cruises, but a few years ago they decided to branch out into ocean voyages as well. Their approach is somewhat different in that they are aiming at a very specific market, namely the sort of older, retired people who are predominant on their river cruises. At 900 guests maximum their ocean going ships are big enough to have plenty of facilities, without being the sort of behemoths that the rest of the cruise ship industry is currently churning out.
No children are allowed on Viking ocean ships, so you won't find families onboard. The entertainment is firmly aimed at the older set. No water slides or karaoke bars - just plenty of quiet spaces to relax.
There are 10 passenger accessible decks. The top deck is the sports deck, complete with putting green and a walking track. But it's so hot here in the Caribbean that I haven't seen anyone up there. Deck 8 is an outdoor sundeck thar looks down into the main pool area on deck 7
Deck 7 is one of the main entertainment areas of the ship. There are 2 pools: a small outdoor one and and an indoor one. The indoor pool sits under a retractable roof which is usually left at least partially open when we're in Port and it's not raining. Once the ship is out at sea it gets quite windy, so they usually close the roof. There are also 2 sizable hot tubs. One outdoor and one in the area with the retractable roof.
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The pool bar and grill serves burgers, hot dogs and salads and it's a very popular place to eat in between swims. Also on deck 7 is the World Cafe, which is the buffet and is a cut above the buffets on the larger ships - which often have to devote a lot of their offerings to children. There's also the Wintergarden, a glass roofed lounge area where afternoon tea is served daily.
Deck 7 is rounded off with the Explorer's lounge and bar, which has a superb view out of the front of the ship and also serves interesting Scandinavian snacks.
Decks 6, 5, 4 and 3 are all passenger cabins. Each passenger deck has its own customer laundrette.
Social areas pick up again on decks 2 and 1 where you find the Star Theatre (mostly given over to lectures), 2 cinemas and Torshavn (which is the nearest thing to a nightclub that you'll find onboard). The atrium is an open lounge area that spans 3 decks with a lounge bar at the bottom. There is often live music happening in the atrium and also in the Explorer's lounge, pool area, Wintergreen and the outside seating area of the World Cafe. Music is usually of the classical variety although the string duet in the atrium did do a stonking version of the Star Wars theme the other night.
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There is a spa and about 3 shops selling jewelry and other upmarket items such as unique Nordic clothing and glass and silver ornaments. There's also a tiny shop selling items you might have forgotten like deodorant or electrical adaptors, etc. The remaining restaurants are the main restaurant, an Italian restaurant called Manfredis and a more upmarket restaurant called the Chef's Table. All the restaurants are free and there is also at least one free excursion at each port of call - even if its usually only a walking tour of the local town. Alcohol and tips are extra, but other than that there's very little of the nickle and diming that you find on the large cruise ships. Of course, this might be due to the fact that a Viking Sea cruise is a lot more expensive in the first place.
Becky and I think this is one of the most beautiful ships we've ever been on.