Viking Sea Winter Romantic Mediterranean review – A different perspective.

I will try not to report what others have before unless itwas incorrect or really important. We have been on 2 Viking river cruises andthis was our first Viking ocean cruise. We chose this itinerary because of thecost/value and interesting ports.

We used Viking Air which was a direct Delta flight (withabout 150 other Viking cruisers) from JFK, we had one carry on and one checkedbag (after reading how 30 passengers had their luggage lost on the same cruisea few weeks before, we didn’t take a chance). The airport was nice and Vikingpersonnel were right there by the baggage claim to walk us to our busses. Thecheck in was very quick and painless. Our flight arrived around 10am and by 11we were sitting in the World Café resting and waited for lunch. The staff asalways was very nice and helpful. After lunch we checked our reservations forManfredi’s at the entrance to the WorldCafé, the reservation was wrong but was quickly fixed and a reservation addedfor the Chefs Table for the Oriental menu. We then walked around to explore,people were resting in chairs and lounges all around the ship waiting to checkinto their rooms. Complaint for the day- Viking should have offered shuttlesto/from Barcelona even on a limited schedule instead of wasting the day “so wecan rest” according to the Explorer desk staff. February was a great time totravel with cooler temps and much smaller crowds. Layering clothes is importantand saves room for purchases.

Barcelona - We chose the included tour which was very niceand informative. We left the tour right before the end since we were close tothe hop on hop off bus that we wanted to do, so we could see the Sagrada Familiaand Guell Park. We should have taken taxis which would have been quicker andcheaper as well as make reservations for each site from our smart phone toavoid not getting into the sights. Walking to the Park Guell was difficult butyou can still go into the free side of the park that has many nice things tosee. We then took a taxi back to the ship after we found out it only cost about12.00 (bridge fee and port fee was additional). Must see – the La Boqueria FoodMarket which is part of your tour (make sure you buy a snack or some freshfruit while there so you don’t have to go back).

Toulon – We chose the included tour which was nice andprovided a good sampling of the area. We were docked very close to the old partof town and easy to walk to restaurants and shops (had to buy fresh bread thengot butter from the World Café and it was great).

That evening we had dinner at the Chef Table for OrientalNight but were not thrilled with the food and had dessert at the World Café. Wemissed the CC meet and greet because this was the only time we could fit in. Wethen watched Woman in Gold by the pool. It was very nice and cool (NOTE- the ACdoes work by the pool but I guess not well during the day since it was alwaysvery warm there) and the staff were very friendly. The assistant tour directorwas there and said this was the most people they had seen for a movie – over 40people and had to get additional headphones and make popcorn. Also went toMansens for a late night snack (nice meat platter, really good but probably notthe best right before bed) and enjoyed it by the fireplace.

Monte Carlo – We chose the NICE, ÈZE & MONTE CARLOoptional tour which was wonderful. It was drizzling at times but not hard rain.Eze had a nice ancient town but the walking was slippery and a woman fell andhurt her ankle in one of our tour groups. The guides seemed very helpful andmade arrangements for a taxi back to the ship and a storekeeper helped her to achair where she could wait. The bus drive was very nice to and from Nice. Oncein Nice it was still rainy but the city was pretty and easy to walk around. Ourguide was very nice and showed us where to have a nice sandwich. Then we wereoff to Old Monte Carlo which was also nice to see. Many shops (especially ifyou like Ferrari and Grand Prix items) and places to eat were on the smallstreets and easy to walk to. Then off to Monte Carlo which was not as great asI had thought it would be. The hairpin turn was interesting but the casino wasboring and the one bently ,one farrari and two bmw’s parked infront were a let down. I can see more exotic carsat the mall during the summer. That night we ate at the restaurant and had anice window seat for my birthday. The waiters brought a cake and sung for mewithout telling them it was my birthday. The waiter had room service bring theleft over cake to our room (the cake was an awesome chocolate layer cake withfresh fruit on top).

Corsica – We chose the included tour since the day beforewas long and it was nice. Warning - you have to watch where you walk in Corsicabecause they let their dogs poop all over and they don’t pick it up. Nothinggreat to see or do here so we went back to the ship for lunch and then to thespa (which was crowded) which was very nice. Later we enjoyed afternoon teaoutside the Wintergarden (English breakfast tea and sandwiches that were verygood). Dinner was at Manfredi’s for our birthdays (mine was day before andwives was the next day). Food was good but not as great as I had heard and thestaff was not attentive either. They knew it was to celebrate our birthdays anddidn’t even sing when they gave us some chocolate dessert (which looked likethe dog poop we avoided during the day). When making the reservations the staffmember said it was going to be great there for a special event and they wouldsing in Italian and English – guess it was an off night.

Florence/Pisa – We chose the optional Tour Through Florenceand Pisa. A long day but wonderful tour. Pisa was nice but way too rushed. Note– if you want to go into any of the buildings in the Square of Miracles get yourticket right after the guide leaves you at the door with the yellow sign on it.We wasted precious time looking to buy tickets where the guide had told us togo. We didn’t get to go into the tower but went into all the other buildingswhich cost about 30.00 each I think but I guess worth it. The little stands onthe street had the best prices for the Pinocchio toys. Note – the guidespointed out the women pick pockets that were waiting while you walked back tothe bus. Florence was wonderful to see. It was cool after being warm(sweatshirt weather) in Pisa. The tour was very good and there were plenty ofplaces to eat (I found the best panini place on TA (I forgot if I can say thesite) and it really was. The gelato was good. We shared so we could trydifferent places. It was so nice to see everything when it was not crowded. Wewalked up the tower of the Duomo. Nice views but not easy to walk up then down allthe stairs with others walking in the opposite direction (some not socourteous). At the end of the tour there is a small restaurant that had awesomedesserts (had cannoli) and thick hot chocolate as well as cappuccino which wasalso very cheap. The tour guide left us at our end meeting point but it was awalk back to see what we wanted to go back to.

Rome – we chose a later included tour. After the long daybefore we were tired and I had to get up around 5am to select our seats on ourAlitalia flight home. During the night there was a Code Alpha alert which wefound out the next day was for a woman who had passed away. This tour is greatfor mobility impaired people since you drive around seeing many sites (rightside of the bus was better) and when you get to the Vatican parking it waswheelchair accessible (the guide walked with the wheelchairs a different wayafter he told us which way to go). Many homeless were all around the area. Theline to see the Vatican seemed longer then the hour we had so we went to lookfor lunch. Note- the Vatican was supposed to be closed due to the holiday butwas not from what we saw. Note- If you have a person with a walker orwheelchair in your party (not your tour group but your small party) you canskip the line. We went to the block past the Vatican and there were religiousshops and places to eat. We had the best gelato there (again recommended onTA). I am not sure if we should have taken a different tour instead since itwas our first visit but I think it gave a good overview. Next time I would takethe highlights of Rome tour to see the Colosseum or another one.

The Viking Sea- Pros – Great ship as almost every normalperson has said before. We had rough seas two nights which the Sea seemed tohandle well but I could not compare it to rough seas I have experienced onother cruises. Note – while at the captains welcome, he told us that we wouldhave rough seas at 10pm and true to his word it got rough at 9:55. But if youwere not at there you would not have known about this important info. The foodwas great as well, from the main restaurant to the World Café. The staff wasalways attentive and friendly. You must use your onboard credit early in yourtrip since we sailed late there was not time for the stores to be open thenstores didn’t open while in port and then you would lose your hard earnedcredit. Don’t forget to bring an expired gift card to keep in the room lightsactivator (I am sure there is a better name for this gadget), if you don’tleave your key or another card in this your AC will turn off and some of youroutlets/USB chargers will not work as well. The room attendant will pull it outalittle to turn it off to save electricity. All of the tours I was on couldhave been ok for people with limited mobility. If you want to see the sites andnot stay on the ship, it seems that you can stay with the bus and it would notbe a problem (but I would check when you are starting the tour). The drivers wehad were all very nice. The Sea never felt crowded at all as others had said. Idon’t think many people ever found the Explorers Lounge. Most passengers werefriendly as on our river cruises and talked about other travels. The elevatorsclose quick so be prepared to go in and out quickly. No set dinner seating andseating for 2,4,6 or more was a nice change from other lines. On the nightbefore disembarkation, order room service for a sandwich to take with you ontothe plane and maybe a snack for the morning. Room service is not available thatearly and the area you wait in to leave only had croissants and coffee.

Cons- the tour director did not seem as nice as she couldhave been, same for the man selling future cruises (I looked forward to bookingmy next cruise with Viking but the offers were nothing special since it seemedmost people were going to book anyway since they loved cruising with Viking).The Explorer Society meeting was a waste (again I looked forward to speakingwith others about their Viking cruises as we did on the River Cruises but noone seemed to care, they just wanted their free champagne and caviar). Theheated floor in the bathroom should be able to be turned off like on the riverboats. The closets should be half shelves since no one has that many hangers. Anotherthing I noticed was that during the tours we took on this cruise Viking did nothave to pay for anything additional except for the one church we went into inBarcelona. On the river cruises Viking seemed to pay additional for many includedsites we visited. There also should have been slower paced versions of theincluded tours just like on the Viking riverboats. There should also be arecording of the days port talk on the tv in case you don’t attend and want tokeep informed. Too bad there was noplace on the passenger questionnaire to suggest things.

Thank you for a detailed review including your excursions.

My TA did tell me that Viking does use Delta a lot for air. I am glad to see you got direct flight from JFK. I really want to fly Delta because I get sky miles, and have used them everytime I have flown to or from Europe.

When we sailed on the Star. Recordings were available on the TV a few hours after the port talks. Lectures too. I wonder what happened.

When we sailed on the Star. Recordings were available on the TV a few hours after the port talks. Lectures too. I wonder what happened.

They are not easy to find, so I would guess many folks miss them. Their tv system is awesome.

Thanks for this review. We did this cruise three weeks ago and I wrote a review but it is always nice to read someone else's experience.

You are the second CC member to comment on the heated floor in the bathroom. I thought it was wonderful. What is it you don't like about it? (Please don't take this as a criticism, I am just interested to know.) Jay

I love heated floors but they should be able to be turned off (like in the Viking Long Ships). They worry about being green and also when you leave your damp/wet towel on the floor for the steward to change the floor under them gets super hot. I cannot imagine heated floors while in the tropics either since the bathroom seems warm now in the winter. I like to dry my washed socks on the floors on the riverboats since they dry faster then hanging and there is no laundry.

I see. But the heat goes off when the card is removed from the slot. So you turn the floor off when you are not there.

BTW the wall sockets remain live so that you can charge your devices, there is no need to keep a card in the socket. This is not made clear and we found out by accident. This might be something to do with the Quiet Vox box being on charge. Jay