Viking Mars

Eastern Mediterranean Cruise

April

Pros: Very nice ship. Food is very good. Stateroom was also very nice.

Cons: Airport Transfer. Missed port. Altered Shore Excursion. Chef's Table.

Recommended: Yes

Overall a very nice cruise. My comments will focus on the negatives but keep in mind that we did give it 4 stars. Our package included pickup by Viking at the Athens airport for transfer to the Mars. For some reason, Viking did not have our flight info and was not there to greet us at our baggage claim. With that help of a local, we tracked them down at a different terminal's baggage claim. We missed the port for Ancient Troy. The day was sunny, windy, with small waves (no whitecaps whatsoever). We were told that it was too windy and that no waves did not mean it was still safe to dock. Granting Viking the benefit of the doubt on the safety issue, I still have an issue that they do not refund docking fees to their passengers. Their policy on the docking fee issue means that Viking financially benefits when a port is missed. At Rhodes, our excursion could not tour the Grand Master's Palace due to some European Government VIPs having a get-together there. The alternate was the Archeological Museum which was, in our opinion, a waste of time. The Chef's Table menu was not to our tastes. Be sure to check the set menu for the Chef's Table to see if it is too your tastes before having dinner there.

Panama Canal cruise

February

Pros: Excellent food and staff.

Cons: Some excursions not great

Recommended: Yes

Some of the excursions needed to have more information included in the description before purchasing not wait until the port talk when it is too late. Our excursion in Belize "Xunantanich Mayan Temple" was listed as 7 hours, but failed to mention that 5 hours would be riding on a bus. Belize had a nice shopping area, but we arrived too late after our tour to take advantage of them as we had to be onboard. In Roatan the "Animal Sanctuary and Mangrove Forest Cruise" was excellent! Bird Lover's Dream in Montego Bay was wonderful even thou it rained. Very enjoyable. Rainforest & Aerial Tram in Colon was nice, but sadly saw no wildlife on tram ride, but good views from Gamboa Tower. Final day in Cozumel we did the included tour Ruins of San Gervasio in the morning. Our guide, Luis, was excellent. very knowledgeable. Excellent tour! After getting back and having some lunch we went to the "Atlantis XII Submarine Experience". This was another nice experience.

An awesome experience

February

Pros: Great ambiance Cleanliness Good food Concern for passengers Friendly staff

Cons: Slow turnover to clean restaurant tables

Recommended: Yes

This was a wonderful and relaxing cruise. The staff was incredible. Our room stewards were very friendly and competent. We love the large staterooms with ample storage. The itinerary was the best, and the Viking crew makes adjustments due to weather or conditions to benefit the passengers.

Viking Ocean Cruises Mars

February

Pros: Great overall experience.

Cons: Not a lot of activities during the day besides the pools and spa. Just the normal stuff like trivia and name that tune.

Recommended: Yes

Unable to visit Jamaica due to rough seas.

Panama Canal cruise

December

Pros: Outstanding service, great restaurants, Viking Mars is meticulously maintained and our Explorer aft suite and deck was great.

Cons: The Viking Mars ship, like all Viking ships furnishing is of Scandinavia design that might not appeal to some. With that said, the ship is has high quality finishes throughout.

Recommended: Yes

We had several days of rain and somewhat rough seas that limited many shore excursions but other than the experience of passing through the Panama Canal, the other ports of call were somewhat redundant.

Outstanding Cruise

November

Pros: Friendly staff, well organized events, top notch food

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

We were spoiled the entire cruise. Every need was met and there were so many additional touches that made the trip so wonderful. The small things like offering a slushy by the pool or meeting us after a shore excursion with a cool, damp cloth were such a pleasant surprise. I could go on and on but people just have to take a cruise on Viking to find out for themselves.

British Isles Cruise 2023

September

Pros: Service, hospitality, food, programs, tour organization and execution

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Viking provided, in our experiences, the usual high level of services, programs, and support.

British Isles Explorer 15-Day Cruise

August

Pros: Beautiful, well-appointed ship; wealth of common areas and decks for walking; extreme variety of delicious food; comfortable cabin; exciting route (Bergen to Greenwich); superb lecturers; exceptional classical music performers; delightful and talented musical productions; historic excursions; exceptional ship leaders and staff (especially our cabin steward Gandi).

Cons: No cons, just suggestions. Recommend adding a day to the stop in Edinburgh. Given that tenders must be used, one day is simply insufficient. I know that we can rely on our phones for Google maps, but I would rather the excursion leaders provide marked-up maps for better orientation at stops. We took the Beatles Tour in Liverpool. It needs to be a full-day tour as a half-day gave a modicum of time left to tour the Beatles Museum. We had to rush through and read only a small portion of the postings. As a non-alcohol drinker, I would have enjoyed a greater variety of non-alcoholic beverages, especially specialty coffees.

Recommended: Yes

This was our first Viking Ocean cruise. We have taken Viking River cruises and have enjoyed them immensely so we wanted to experience an ocean cruise without casinos, children, and sales vendors. They are advertised as the "thinking" person's cruise and did not disappoint. We love history and learning about other cultures. As Native Americans, we are keenly aware of how cultural differences shape one's life and views of the world. Kudos to Viking. We are already looking for our next opportunity to take another ocean cruise with you.

High Expectations Met and/or Exceeded

April

Pros: Outstanding staterooms

Cons: SE Asia port locations

Recommended: Yes

As 1st timers, our most unexpected surprise about Viking : we loved the historical and site lectures, cultural presentations and how they were often available recorded and in our stateroom. We did not participate in other on board activities (baggo, card games etc) so 3 stars. We often stepped out on our veranda for pictures , checking the weather , etc. and loved the heated floor in the bathroom. Dining options were plentiful and we found we enjoyed eating on the rear deck near the Aquavit Bar. The Chef's Table was excellent. Crew staffing was different than other lines we'd sailed as in one port our cabin steward was replaced and then in another few ports a good number of the dining room staff turned over. This led to some understandable miscues and confusions but they always did their best to remedy.

Viking cruise in the Bay of Bengal

November

Pros: Beautiful ship, elegant furnishings and decorations, well appointed stateroom, fabulous staff.

Cons: This was the first cruise in this part of the world since Covid and some of the ports were just not ready for tourists. But many were and our guides were excellent.

Recommended: Yes

We loved this ship and would go on it again if the opportunity arose. We like the size (930 passengers), but there were only 650 on this trip. We feel that Viking is a wonderful cruise line which gives good value. They offer an included excursion in every port as well as optional ones which you pay for. Wine and beer are included with both lunch and dinner. The staff was friendly and very eager to help. They called us by name after only a couple of days. The entertainment was very good, although there were no big production shows. The lecturers were excellent- at least 5 different ones- all of whom spoke multiple times. There were 5 sea days and there were plenty of activities provided, including duplicate bridge, which we enjoy. All in all, Viking continues to delight us.

Anticipating our next cruise with Viking.

October

Pros: Excellent service, personable staff without exception, great food, outstanding facilities.

Cons: Many of the tours were "sold out" early at each stop.

Recommended: Yes

I recommend the Viking Line for any of the offered cruises. Viking is for the adult traveler.

Review from a Martian

July

Pros: Viking ships are built the same so when you start your cruise you are already familiar with the ship.

Cons: I really cannot think of anything.

Recommended: Yes

The staff was excellent! Sometimes they knew our needs before we did. We were always greeted with friendly and helpful crew members. They went above and beyond to make our cruise enjoyable. The ship is beautiful, and we knew our way around as soon as we boarded. Each port had something to offer, the guides were local. Everything was extremely organized. I personally, would have liked some "official" information on the COVID-19 status. Passengers were being isolated in the cabins on deck 3, but the only way to hear news, was from another passenger. The Viking Daily (schedule) would recommend masks for passengers and require masks for crew. Passengers might be more careful if they knew there was a bigger issue with COVID-19.