In depth review, Barcelona to Bergen, Viking Star Maiden Voyage, 2 - 16 May 2015

My wife and I booked about a year in advance for this leg of the Star's maiden voyage the purpose being to celebrate my 50th Birthday with Viking after having a wonderful river cruise experience.

We booked our own air after a not so good experience with Viking Air for the river cruise we took last year and finding less expensive fares when booking on our own. We flew from San Francisco to Barcelona with return from Oslo to San Francisco, both connecting in Amsterdam. We flew on KLM and had an outstanding experience to start and end our vacation. Again, less stress, better control, and service than we experienced with Viking Air.

We did however utilize the Viking Transfer option and were met in Barcelona by multiple Viking personnel and barely had to touch our luggage. We checked into the ship while still at the airport, prior to boarding busses for the trip to the harbor. The process was quick and seamless and felt more like we were just waiting for enough people to fill the bus. We were quickly on our way to the Star on a nearly full bus with many more passengers still streaming into the arrival area ready to check in.

We arrived a little past 1:00 PM so we were able to go directly to our Penthouse Veranda Stateroom and wait for our luggage. It arrived within 15 minutes of our entry to the cabin and we quickly unpacked. Our initial perception of the cabin was highly favorable. The Penthouse Veranda was more like a hotel room than a cruise ship cabin. There was plenty of storage for all our clothing and baggage. Admittedly, I'm more of a clothes hog than my wife, so I had two suit cases, she had one. We still didn't fill all the drawers in the cabin. There is storage in the desk, veranda, and under the safe/coffee maker. Plus the closet has shelf storage above the rail. Our hanging clothes didn't over tax the space in the closet, there was plenty of room to breath.

The bathroom was amazing from the start. Plenty of room for one. The key being one. We would not recommend two people trying to get ready at the same time. What's nice is there is a lighted makeup mirror in the desk and the hair dryer is also portable allowing my wife to use the bathroom first and shift to the desk, freeing up the bathroom for me. The shower is pure bliss for a cruise ship, hotel, visit to your brother-in-law, I don't care where you go. The only one better is the one you build for yourself at home. There is always sufficient hot water, an adjustable shower head, both up and down, and for intensity. It is like a rain shower head so much water comes out. And there is a tiny bench to sit on for the men, or a place for the ladies to put the foot up on to shave their legs, depends on your perspective. The sink is a shallow, farm house style, with counter space on both sides. There are drawers and shelves on both sides, for both of you to have your own space for your stuff.

The living room area is nice for room service meals and reading. We also used it for watching the view out the window, both sea, and in port when relaxing in the cabin. Opposite the window is the door to the veranda which is plenty big enough with two chairs and a table to share. We had coffee and the occasional glass of sparkling wine while watching the world sail by from the veranda. The further north we sailed, the less we used the veranda. It isn't as much fun at 50 degrees with the wind blowing off the North Sea.

The lights and electronics in the room were the only shortcomings. The lights just didn't have enough independent controls, nor any type of dimmer capability. It was all or nothing with the exception of the headboard reading lights. Oh, and the bathroom nightlight that took us two nights to figure out how to turn off. The switch is next to the bed on the side closest to the veranda. The TV worked fine for us the entire leg with the exception of one morning when it was out for three hours for an upgrade. When it came back on there was a new safety video and a "Ship Locator" application that was not yet working, but I'm sure will be soon. The movie and TV show selection was limited but sufficient for our watching needs. There was an interesting mix of classic and quite recent films. As well as a variety of television shows. There was also some live channels, but since we were on vacation, live TV, especially news, isn't something we were interested in, so I'm not sure how well they worked. The coffee maker produced adequate espresso and coffee. We usually went to the World Cafe and made lattes their and brought them back to the room, but occasionally I needed caffeine just to get out the door. The mini-bar is stocked with soft drinks and some mini bottles of alcohol. In the Penthouse Veranda you may have one refill per day. Given all the choices on the ship, we rarely took from the mini bar.

The wifi worked well in our cabin when it was working well on other parts of the ship. As our leg was the ride into Bergen, there were many travel press individuals on board who had priority on the wifi so our access suffered. It wasn't that important to us, but understandably, it was to others. I do activate global access for my cell phone while in Europe and we did utilize that when in port if the wifi was not sufficient. The ship itself has an above average wireless network. It is the connection from the ship to the internet that causes issues. The fact that the IT staff on the ship can allocate bandwidth to individual channels proves there are good capabilities on board, they just need more bandwidth, and less press personnel. Which will clearly be a short term problem. So the future looks bright for wifi on the Star.

The ship itself is gorgeous! Nothing like being on a brand new ship. The design is highly pleasing to the eye and it is very easy to get around. There are elevators fore and aft as well as stairs for those committed to burning off some of the additional calories to be consumed while on vacation. There are many places to stick yourself away and relax onboard the ship. And in most of them staff will quickly find you and offer some form of service. And true to the spirit of the Viking Cruise Line, not trying to nickel and dime you to death. They will bring you coffee, or tea, or food, depending on where you are. Or if you do want a beverage from a bar, they will certainly do that too. Regardless, the service is always the same, excellent. The Explorers Lounge on the front of the ship, floors 7-8 is where we found ourselves most of the time, there are huge windows to see the world while lounging on comfy chairs and couches. They also have light musical entertainment in the evening that sits well in the background if you are talking with friends. It's never loud or attempting to be the center of attention.

While there are also theaters and the Torshavn Club on the lower decks we didn't find time to enjoy them. There simply wasn't enough time in the day to do everything on the ship. We did enjoy trivia in the Explorers Lounge, but we didn't attend lectures, or shows, or watch movies under the stars. My wife did attend a wine tasting that she enjoyed, but outside that we were either hanging out with other guests, eating (which we did a lot of) or snoozing to get ready for the next day's activities.

We both utilized the Spa for massages. And they were outstanding! We had a couples massage on my birthday and while we were there we also used the Snow Grotto and Steam Room, both excellent. My wife went back later in the cruise for a hydro facial and looked at least 15 years younger, I swear! She's still at least 8 years younger and it's been over a week, so it must be magic. She used the pool and hot tub in the spa and said both were better than the pools on top of the ship.

We did swim in the infinity pool, how could you not take advantage of this unique feature. It was almost as warm as the hot tub next to it. And it was really cool to "swim toward the sea" below us. The hot tub was ok, but could have been a bit hotter for our taste. One funny note, it is listed as safe for 17 people. It would be like a clown car at the circus to see 17 people in that hot tub it is so small. Perhaps that's why the water isn't that hot, it's accounting for 17 people and that would definitely make it hotter!

The Winter Garden is a really cool place on the ship. While I thought we would have tea each day on the ship, just one day showed us there was no way we could ever eat that much and then plan on dinner later. Tea time should be moved up to 3:00 instead of 4:00 so there is time to make room in your belly for supper later. We did make it to tea time a couple of other times, but then had a very light dinner at the World Cafe.

The World Cafe is a three meal destination on the ship. And the coffee machines are available 24/7. All you have to do is put your mug under the spout and press latte or cappuccino and out it pours. You can also get boring black coffee too, or tea. Breakfast is very good with a lot of diversity in choices. You can eat light with fruit and yogurt or heavy with an omelette, potatoes, and sausages. They have waffles, cook to order eggs, meats (cold and hot), bread items, pastries, cereal, fish (yuk!), and almost the Full English Breakfast. I never found myself lacking in choices nor did I leave hungry. They serve coffee and juice to your table and are always clearing used dishes.

For lunch the World Cafe serves a wide variety of dishes. They usually have roasted meats, pasta, salads, breads, potatoes, rice, and an amazing Gelato Bar! They have other desserts too but they have an amazing Gelato Bar!

Dinner at the World Cafe is a self service affair with choices equal, and in some cases, better than what is being served in The Restaurant. There were many nights with crab legs, giant prawns, lobster tails, roast beef, pork loin, roast chicken, foie gras, pasta, salads, potatoes, soups, breads, and desserts, with the amazing Gelato Bar! We at gelato for dinner a couple of nights, nothing else. It think those were 4:00 PM Tea nights.

The Restaurant is a sit down service that offers breakfast and dinner. The breakfast is a menu order service that includes most everything you would expect including Eggs Benedict. Everything is served to the table and presented ready to eat, even the yogurt is in a bowl, versus a container. It was a nice change of pace we enjoyed twice on our cruise while at sea and we had plenty of time. Generally, we preferred the flexibility of the World Cafe which had more items to choose from.

Dinner at The Restaurant was very good with rarely a wait of more than 5 - 10 minutes for a table, for 2 or shared. The menu includes regional specialties, a three course tasting menu, and fixed offerings for those who are looking for some predictability in the menu. We had excellent dinners in The Restaurant with fairly quick service, if that is what you want, or a long lingering dinner, if your evening allowed for that as well. The included house wine was always enjoyable and paired well with the food. We never skip, nor, share, dessert, and specialty coffees, including decaf are also available. We do, cross taste desserts however! And every dessert we had in The Restaurant was excellent. The starters and main courses were also well thought out and cooked. Neither of us required additional seasoning, nor did we ever return anything for temperature or taste. The meals we shared with others were fun and the table setup was conducive to enjoying company without interfering with other tables.

Our first night on the ship we ate at the Chef's Table. We are both big fans of fixed tasting menus with wine pairings so the concept of The Chef's Table was exciting for us. And we were not disappointed. We had two different menus while on our cruise, they change about every 9 days. The first menu had a Venetian theme and was delicious. It was mentioned that the ship wasn't in Venice anymore, so why the Venetian them now? I don't think that is the point of The Chef's Table. The prior menu had an Asian them, and the ship was clearly not in Asia. The intent is to have 'A' theme, build on it, and pair each course with wine. The second time we went the theme was "Sweet and Sour". Both menus were interesting and contained both subtle and complex flavors and textures. The wine pairings were varied and interesting and contained selections from many different wine growing regions. The service for this type of dining requires a lot of knowledge about what is being served and we found the servers to be spot on. Not only did they know how to present the food and wine, they have depth of knowledge when questioned to help make the experience even better.

While there is s lot of discussion about The Chef's Table and the format I just don't think most cruisers are ready for this current theme in fine dining. While we enjoy the idea of a blind tasting, meaning you don't normally know the menu until you sit down, and in some cases until the course is served, it seems many cruisers want control over what they will be served. They want choices, and that is not what a Chef's Table is all about. It is about the Chef making the choice, and you enjoying the freedom of sitting back and relying on their expertise for an excellent meal. I never would have tried many different dishes if it weren't for this format of dining. But if the cruising customer isn't ready for it, I'm afraid The Chef's Table will have to change to accommodate the majority of diners who demand choice.

And finally for dining is Manfredi's. We had three great meals at the Italian themed restaurant. The menu isn't deep, but there is plenty to choose from during a cruise. And the food is fantastic! The service is great and the servers are learning more Italian every day which we found to be an interesting and welcome component to the restaurant. We dined at a two top the first time there and utilized that evening to get to know the menu and the sommelier in preparation for my 50th Birthday Party dinner. We absolutely loved the food and the house wine. And the sommelier was brilliant in helping us select sparkling, white, and red wines for the party. She was also very knowledgeable on grappa, which I love and gave me an excellent recommendation for my after dinner cordial of choice when dining Italian.

My birthday party was held in Manfredi's private room. We were a party of 10 and fit very comfortably in the room. The table itself is a work of art with the top being made from a single olive tree. We were allocated two dedicated servers and the sommelier assisted with all the wine services. Everyone was able to order off the full Manfredi's menu without any limitations, first course, second, pasta, and dessert. The meal was concluded with a group from the staff singing me Happy Birthday while one of the managers played the accordion. It was a fantastic way to celebrate my birthday and I highly recommend taking advantage of this offering if you have something to celebrate while onboard.

We also utilized room service about 4 times. Twice for breakfast and twice for late dinners. All four times we had no issues with our orders or delivery times. I know some passengers have expressed issues with having wine by the glass delivered, we ordered two glasses of wine and they were delivered without question.

I love breakfast and both times we ordered room service for breakfast it was because we had early days and wanted to eat before we left our cabin. You have to hang your order tag out at night before 10 or 11 PM I can't remember which, but one night we were late in doing so and we still had our order delivered without delay. On both mornings our orders actually arrived 5 - 10 minutes early. The food was hot and cold where expected. And coffee arrived in a large carafe, an absolute necessity!

The last place we ate at was Mamsen's Deli in the Explorers Lounge. This is home to the Norwegian waffles and lots of delicious cakes. Oh they have some regular food too which my wife ate, but I mostly stuck to the sweets. I did have the potato soup one afternoon and that was very good, but did I mention they have cakes, and lots of them. You generally choose what you would like and then let one of the staff know where you are sitting and they bring it to you, along with a coffee or tea, or whatever beverage you may want. My wife had the shrimp salad and cucumber salad and thought both were excellent. The nice thing about Mamsen's is the location where you will enjoy your treats, the Explorers Lounge, pick a couch or comfy chair next to a large window and enjoy the view while you snack.

Finally are the excursions and ability to be an independent explorer. We boarded in Barcelona and after unpacking and checking out our cabin we headed right out to enjoy a bit of the city. It was very easy to disembark and board a bus for a couple of Euros getting you a round trip ticket to a very busy shopping area just a couple of miles from the ship. We spent a few hours exploring in order to quickly move us to the European Time Zone and not nap back in our cabin. The area we explored is a notorious pick pocket zone so we were very carful to protect our belongings. We ended up taking a taxi back as the area we were in stretched quite a distance in one direction and we didn't want to walk back the same way we had just come. The taxi was inexpensive, 7 - 8 Euros I think. Overall it was a nice way to start the trip and keep from sleeping the afternoon away. Plus we had thwarted all the pick pockets, bonus!

The next day we took the included City Tour of Barcelona. We gathered in the Star Theater at our appointed time and when our number was called disembarked into busses to start our tour. It was a nice overview of the city with 2 or 3 stops to check some things out and take pictures. There were also bathrooms at each stop and plenty of time to use them. We were not disappointed at all with this tour and felt like we were off to a great start on the trip. Since it was a Sunday there wasn't that much traffic. I could see this tour being more difficult on a weekday.

We sailed to Cartagena overnight and had a beautiful arrival at the port in the morning. We were booked for our second included tour for wine tasting and a visit to La Manga which straddles a strip of sand between the Mar Menor and the Mediterranean Sea. We were notified about 24 hours before the tour that the wine tasting had be relocated from the winery to a "Luxury Sports Hotel" where all the Spanish football teams assemble for their Winter Camp and practice matches. The wine tasting was in a giant ballroom and managed poorly. It was almost impossible to understand what was being said by the person at the front of the room. So we just made up our own tasting and drank the wine however we wanted to. What the heck, it was like 10:00AM, so almost anything goes with wine that early. The wine itself was so so and we weren't pressured to buy any. As a marketing push it was a failure, and the location was nothing to write home about.

Our next stop was La Manga, the seaside town. It was actually pretty cool. On one side you have "The Dead Sea of Europe", and the Mediterranean Sea on the other. The town sits on a strip of sand between them. Since we had already started drinking I opted for a local specialty, a Spanish Coffee if you will, with some hooch in it and a light cinnamon flavor. It was very good. We walked to the beach and visited some beach shops before boarding the bus for a stop at a lighthouse on the way back to the ship. The lighthouse itself is quite a walk up some step paths and then steps inside to get to the top. My wife made the trip, it wasn't for me as I had been drinking all morning and considered not safe for steep stairs. Not my fault they kept leading me to alcohol. So I had an ice cream to sober up. After the light house we made our way back to the ship for an on-time arrival.

In the afternoon my wife did some independent exploration of Cartagena and found the city itself to be very accessible from the ship. She visited the Roman colosseum and much of the city's art nouveau architecture. As the area was at the end of a 5 day festival there wasn't much open so most things were viewed from the outside. But the key was most of the city is just a short walk from the ship.

The next morning was arrived in Gibraltar where we had our first optional excursion booked. We had selected the World War II Tunnels and Gibraltar tour. Again we assembled in the Star Theater and very soon thereafter our number was called and we disembarked to a waiting mini-bus. We had an absolutely fabulous tour of Gibraltar! Our guide was very funny and had live his entire life on the rock, he was easily in his 50s. He took us all over the place and detailed the rich history of Gibraltar with a special emphasis on the Second World War. We stopped at a sea side park for a potty break and photos before he drove up the winding roads to where our tunnel tour would start. Along the way we had our first introduction to the 'monkeys', which are really Barbary Apes. They put on a show of their own and even climbed on top of our bus a couple of times. Our guide did warn us about getting to close to them and, of course, not to feed them, the monkey's, not the locals.

We arrived at a tunnel entrance and exited the bus for our tour inside the Rock. We all donned helmets and were assigned a guide specifically for this portion of the day. The young lady we had as it turned out had only recently started as a guide, but most of the important facts were well expressed. It was very interesting to see what life was like building and then living inside of a mountain during wartime. There were a lot of challenges and many creative answers had to be developed in order for them to be successful at their mission. As they never had to fire a shot from the Rock during World War Two it's apparent they were successful in their task. No German ship dared to come within range of the guns on Gibraltar fearing they would be sunk.

At the conclusion of the Tunnels Tour our guide picked us up again and we resumed our bus tour. One of my highlights was driving across the active runway at the Gibraltar Airport. The have stoplights on both sides for when an airplane is landing of taking off and in between is a steady stream of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. We drove up to the boarder with Spain and then back toward the ship. He stopped at the shopping district and let some folks off, before returning to the ship. We took advantage of the stop at the shopping area and walked the half mile or so back to the ship. The entire tour was listed to be about two hours, but actually lasted closer to four. We thought the extra time was well spent with a very entertaining guide, visiting interesting locations, and learning things we didn't know. I'm sure some might view the not sticking to schedule as an issue. For us, the time flew by.

After what seemed like a very quick visit to Gibraltar we hit the seas again and sailed into the Atlantic for the first time! And within a few nautical miles we pulled into Cadiz. It was a beautiful morning and Cadiz is a much larger port, more like Barcelona, than we had been in the past two days. We docked right up against the city and had a great view of the buildings on a very sunny warm morning.

We had chosen to be part of a private tour for the day and the 8 of us were going to Seville. We had arranged to meet outside the ship at a designated time and none of us had issue with doing so. Our tour company brought a van big enough for 20 so we had plenty of room to stretch out. After a brief city tour of Cadiz we were on the road to Seville. The drive went by quickly as we had good company in the van and the scenery was pleasant to look at. Our guide pointed out a few things along the way but didn't over burden us with every rock and twig between Cadiz and Seville.

Upon arrival in Seville we stopped for a quick coffee/potty break and started our day of touring around. We spent most of the day off the bus and walking around with our guide. One of the key reasons we chose the private tour was we all wanted to tour the inside of the Alcazar, not just drive by it, which was what the Viking tour was offering. Our choice was well rewarded. Our guide was fantastic and we had a wonderful day walking the tiny streets and passage ways of Seville. Visiting, and being guided through the Alcazar, was one of the highlights of our entire cruise. We had time for lunch and shopping on our own and we took advantage by having tapas and sangria at a small restaurant, all of which was fantastic. We did a little shopping and then rejoined our small group for a bit more site seeing before boarding our bus for the ride back to Cadiz. There was no issue with time and we boarded the Star with plenty of time to spare before sailing to Lisbon.

Our overnight sailing to Lisbon produced our first experience with some light, rolling seas. The ship itself handled it well and we both enjoyed being 'rocked' to sleep. It had been a long time since either of us had been rocked to sleep. We sailed into Lisbon mid morning for what would be a short stop. We had booked our second optional excursion, the City Tour with Funicular Ride, and again had no issues with getting our tour number, disembarking, and boarding our bus.

The tour itself started at Lisbon's Cathedral where our bus dropped us off. We then proceeded to walk for a long time. We affectionately call this type of tour "The Death March". Although it wasn't listed as being even moderate in activity, we walked up, up, and up some pretty steep and uneven cobblestone sidewalks. This was our first time utilizing the Quite Vox system so we could hear our guide, we just couldn't always see her as we were stretched out pretty far at times. We visited a few churches, had some wonderful views, and walked through quaint little neighborhoods. Of course all the walking up had to be followed by walking down, down, and more down. The problem with the death march is not knowing when it will end. And the guide is usually cagey about telling you because they don't want to lose members of the group. So the not knowing along with the building pain from all the ups and downs was drowning out whatever she was saying about Lisbon. And while we kept seeing a Funicular, apparently it wasn't the one we were going to ride.

Ultimately we arrived at sea level and walked through a lovely shopping area that was also full of cafes. It was very inviting, but we weren't stopping, we had a Funicular to find and ride. After walking all the way through, about a quarter of a mile of great shopping, coffee, and beer, we arrived at the bottom of the Funicular we would ride. There was a queue of about 30-40 people waiting for a car that holds 15 and it would be about 20 minutes before we would start boarding our tour. It would take three cars to get us all to the top and then 15 - 20 minutes of downhill walking to get back to where we were. Our calculation told us that this would wipe out any shopping time and no coffee, treats, and beer. So we determined the bus meeting point and skipped what we thought the highlight of the tour was, the Funicular ride.

I parked at a cafe while some shopping was done and then I was joined one at a time until all four of us that were marching together had used up all the time. It was much nicer to sit and enjoy the people watching, drink a coffee, eat a treat, then drink a giant beer, then be marched around anymore. We did make comments about this tour upon our return and on the survey that the stress level needs to be increased to moderate at a minimum. My disability makes walking difficult, downhill especially, and it resulted in me being wiped out by the time we returned to the ship.

After our short stop in Lisbon is was time for our first two days at sea as we headed for Rouen. As part of my 50th Birthday Cruise the trip to Northern France was of special interest to me for the opportunity to visit Normandy and the D-Day Beaches. I was disappointed when access to the excursions opened and there was no trip available to book. Well with my new found courage through Cruise Critic I began a search for an independent tour company. Not only did I find a great one, I made some wonderful friends along the way.

I selected Bayeux-Shuttle as the tour company, and I highly recommend them to anyone wishing to tour this World War Two battlefield in Europe. There was no problem filling the van's eight seats before we started the cruise. Most tour companies are reluctant to pick up tours from Rouen as most ships dock in La Harve. After speaking with the owner of the company he agreed to meet us in Rouen and I'm glad he did. All of us on the tour had lunch the day before in the World Cafe to get to know each other a bit before spending a full day in a van together. It was a nice opportunity to learn that we were all very compatible for what turned out to be a twelve hour day.

The owner, Andy, picked us up at 9:30, and drove us to Bayeux, where our guide Mike was waiting to provide our tour. As we had no restriction on being back on the ship that evening Andy stretched our tour to the full day version. We started in Bayeux and headed out to Utah Beach, the furthest western beach the US landed on back on June 6th, 1944. Along the way we stopped at St. Mere Eglise, the small town that was a focal point for the 82nd Airborne starting around midnight that day. There is still a simulated paratrooper hanging from the church tower today out of respect to the US troopers who fought and died there as they unfortunately dropped onto an awakened and alert German Garrison who started killing many of them before they hit the ground. You can still see bullet holes in buildings and damage to wrought iron fences today from the battle. Along the drive the tour company had screens in the van which displayed GPS enabled maps that played interviews and brief stories about our locations so it wasn't just up to our guide, Mike, to do all the talking.

Another nice thing about being in our small group was that as we talked about different parts of the battlefield that we each had interest, Mike would add to the discussion, or in some cases, deviate from the route to take us to the spot we were talking about. The most memorable of these occurrences was our stop at Brecourt Mannor where Easy Company, 506 PIR, depicted in "The Band of Brothers" saw there first unit action of the war. We had the chance to stop there, see the actual location, and recent monument to Richard Winters. There were special moments like that sprinkled throughout the day.

We spent time at Utah Beach, Pointe Du Hoc, Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, and several other small towns and villages slightly inland from the beaches. As we met our guide in Bayeux, our lunch orders were taken for a stop near Utah Beach where the owner has a home. There we were treated to baguettes with ham and cheese, or cheese, or vegetarian. There was also coffee and tea plus chips, and sodas for a Euro each.

We returned to Bayeux around 7:00PM or so and made it back to the ship a bit after 9:00PM. It was by far the best excursion we had on the entire cruise and when Viking finally did post a trip to The Normandy Beaches, our's was less expensive by about 60€ each. We received far more value, and individual attention, for less money. Between Cadiz and Normandy the lesson of private excursions was clear. Better value and attention, for less money. You do have to do some work yourself, but highly worth it.

We departed Rouen for the long journey across the English Channel up the Thames to Greenwich for a day of independent exploration of London. Here is where we had a little good and bad luck with excursions. I know many passengers were held up due to the late arrival of the Port Agent and tours didn't start on time. Lucky for me I woke up with a severe case of vertigo and was trying out the ships hospital. I have always enjoyed the BBC show "24 Hours in A&E" and wanted my own insiders tour, so my body decided to give me one. Unfortunately, my wife had to come along for the ride.

Turns out my vertigo was potentially a stroke so I was whisked away into the next available tender and into a waiting ambulance. We then went to Lewisham Hospital where for the next nine and a half hours I got my insiders look at the A&E. All's well that ends well, and while we didn't get the day in London we had planed, I also didn't have a stroke. I had a deep inner ear/and or throat infection causing my vertigo. While they did want to keep me overnight for observation my wife was able to get them to release me back to the ships Doctor and we made it back around 9:30. It was another night my wife had room service, with wine! I'm still looking for patient zero as I either had strep throat or influenza, both of which have an incubation period of 1-3 days. So if you are out there, please contact me for a proper thank you!

Safely back on the still spinning ship, we set sail for Norway. After two days we docked in Bergen for our final excursion, The Ascent of Mt. Ulriken. Given Bergen's 200+ rainy days a year we felt special that we had clear blue sky's on our last adventure from the Star. Once again we had an on time departure from the Star Theater and boarded our bus for a brief city tour as we made our way to the gondola that would take us to the summit of Bergen's tallest mountain. We had a pretty funny guide and enjoyed the time we had in the motor coach learning about Bergen. We then arrived at the base of the gondola and our group was split into three for separate cars to ride up the mountain. We were expected to maintain our order coming down ensuring a consistent amount of time for each of us on the summit. A good plan, not always used, nor followed in many places.

The ride up was especially nice as we were escorting several flats of strawberries for the restaurant up top. While the views improved, so did my hunger for the berries. Fortunately we made it to the top before my willpower gave out and red fingers and lips would give me away. We had cinnamon pastries, tea, coffee, and for some reason, bouillon waiting for us in the restaurant. Because nothing is as delicious as chicken bouillon and a cinnamon pastry. I really think time would have been better spent outside taking in the views over the pastry and hot beverage. You don't really have a lot of time up top as it is, and the pastry is only so so.

We took as many pictures as time allowed, explored a little bit and returned to the gondola terminal for the ride down. Once at the bottom we reboarded the motor coach and saw a few more sights on the way back to the ship. Unlike other excursions this one felt short to me. Perhaps it was because it was our last day on the ship, but it just didn't feel like we saw a lot. And while we had great views from the top of Mt. Ulriken, we didn't stay as long as I would have liked. Once back at the ship we took advantage of the nice day and immediately went back out into town for independent sightseeing and shopping.

The Star is able to dock so close to town in Bergen that walking in for sights and shopping is very easy. Although there are many steep hills and mountains surrounding you, the main areas are mostly flat and close to the ship. Given the Norwegian holiday weekend most everything and everywhere was crowded. And since it was a rare sunny day many of the locals were like lizards out on every rock soaking it up. It was a great day to see it.

And so ended our Barcelona to Bergen cruise. The next morning they booted us off the ship like we hadn't paid for the last leg, which we didn't. So we said our tearful goodbyes and made landfall around 9:30AM. The cold slap of reality hit us as it was lightly raining and about 45 degrees. Vacation was definitely over.

Many thanks PopsA for an absolutely brilliant report on your experiences & an obviously fabulous time, despite the little hiccup in London. It was very good of you to take the time & effort to do so & very much appreciated by one who is to do "Viking Empire" at roughly this time next year. It is a very well balanced commentary on your experiences - funny too!!!

Thank you for a detailed cruise report. I loved that you included your experiences of ship and private tours in your report.

You made me hungry for something sweet in reading about the wonderful food on board and in the places you stopped on your tours.

Glad your detour to experience the health system in England ended on a positive note.

A belated Happy Birthday.

Looking forward to sailing to some of the same ports of call next year on my cruise, and booking a Viking cruise when the 2107 sailings come out on the Midnight Sun/fjord sailing.

Wonderful positive review, thank goodness. Sorry you missed our wonderful Greenwich. Lewisham hospital doesn't usually form part of The World Heritage tour but I hope they were good to you. The hospital was due for closure but a hard fought local campaign has kept it open. You could have been taken to Kings which is also local and was featured in the 24 Hours in A & E that you like watching. Viva the NHS !

Looking forward to our 2016 trip even more after reading your comprehensive review. Thank you.

Thanks for your. Fantastic positive review. It is truly refreshing after reading so many negative reviews. I also will review after our Bergen to Stockholm trip is completed. So far, all is Good

It was indeed refreshing to read your detailed and thoughtful review of your recent cruise on the Viking Star. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

Thank you for the belated birthday and good health wishes. And thank you NHS!

While I agree there are many negative comments we didn't meet anyone on the ship who wasn't having a great time. I find it a bit disconcerting that when a comment about something not going, or have gone right, and it is followed up by a flurry of negativity. Especially by people who haven't even been on the ship.

We will definitely cruse with Viking again, both Ocean and River. The primary reason we have a great time is the onboard customer service. The everyday Viking hosts, those in the restaurants, bars, lounges, house keeping, spa, etc.. They always strive to make you feel special, wanted, and pampered.

We expected a few hiccups due to the Maiden Voyage, yet we didn't really feel any. Given the chance, the onboard customer service will almost always bring you a high level of comfort and satisfaction. And I don't think it matters if your on the first cruise for a ship and company or their 100th, you must always have some flexibility. If you don't and you let the outcome become a bigger issue than the original problem in the first place, you are likely to never really be satisfied, regardless of the situation, vacation or otherwise.

We met some wonderful people, enjoyed a great, and beautiful new ship, and were continually treated like royalty along our journey. What more can I say other than job very well done.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I imagine you have spent most of your life looking for the beautiful. My other guess is that the hundreds of people who have been on the Star have enjoyed it like you and the ones who had complaints are the ones voicing them here. I am not implying that people haven't had something to complain about BUT I can't believe anyone has cancelled a cruise because of something they read here. For us, to find a cruise that did both the Fjords and the other normal Scandinavian-Russia loop was what sold us. The gelato is another BIG selling point. Can't wait. My husband says if it is cold, we will get some and then go sit in front of the fireplace and love every bite. Again, I really appreciate your taking the time to fully describe your time on the Star. Very kind of you!

I can't tell the difference between ice cream and gelato, but the few times I asked in World Cafe I was told that it is ice cream. Manfredi's serves gelato, per its menu. I only bring up the ice cream vs. gelato thing because I've seen a couple of other posters mentioning that he/she can't wait for the gelato. Now if only we can convince Viking to keep the "ice cream/gelato" station open longer than just during World Cafe lunch and dinner!

I definitely agree with huntersyaya that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if you're looking to have a positive experience on the Star it won't be difficult. I enjoyed the gelato (and yes, it was definitely gelato) every day, usually twice (which was more than enough!).

Thank you for taking the time to write such a positive in depth review.

PopsA, Loved, loved, loooooved, your well written story!!! I can't tell you how helpful you've been to future Viking Star cruisers. I'm booked for the 50 day cruise starting in late March 2016. I've never been on an ocean cruise, so again, I appreciate so much seeing it through your eyes. You're my kind of guy and your wife sounds lovely as well! My best wishes to you both!!

Awesome, excellent and detailed review PopsA. It was a complete meeting you and your wife on the cruise. I hope we cross paths again. Your review was so good you reminded me of where I was and what i did (at least when i was with you).

A highlight for me, was the excellent Normandy/ D-Day trip you two organized. Much thanks! I agree completely with your endorsement of that company. They were so good I would (and may) book them again for round 2.

I can't tell the difference between ice cream and gelato, but the few times I asked in World Cafe I was told that it is ice cream. Manfredi's serves gelato, per its menu. I only bring up the ice cream vs. gelato thing because I've seen a couple of other posters mentioning that he/she can't wait for the gelato. Now if only we can convince Viking to keep the "ice cream/gelato" station open longer than just during World Cafe lunch and dinner!

I'm not sure if I'm happy or not that gelato is available every day. Maybe I should pack clothing that is at least one size larger than I wear. Here is a explanation of the difference between gelato and ice cream. I don't remember where I got this.

Gelato is Italy's version of ice cream with three major differences. First, gelato has significantly less butterfat than ice cream. With the lower butterfat content, gelato is less solidly frozen than ice cream. Second, gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. Ice cream is produced by mixing cream, milk and sugar, and then adding air. Manufacturers add air to ice cream because it nearly doubles the quantity of the product. No air is added to gelato. The result is a higher quality dessert with a richer, creamier taste. Third, gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below freezing, gelato is served 10-15 degrees warmer than ice cream. Because it is less solidly frozen, gelato's taste is further enhanced as it melts in the mouth.

I do believe most of my clothing was replaced with a smaller size about halfway through the cruise. I thought about wearing just my swim trunks and the comfy robe that was in the cabin the remainder of the cruise but my wife frowned on that idea.

CrusinSubMan we will cross paths again when you guys are home and settled. We don't have far to travel to share wine. My email address is brian_plew@yahoo.com contact me when you have a chance.

Not sure how I missed your review when you posted it, but I guess that was when I was taking a break from Cruise Critic, at least the Viking section!

Thanks for all the details, belated birthday wishes, and happy to hear you have recovered from your health issue.

I had to laugh while reading about Gibraltar. We were there last year and I decided I wanted to walk across the runway. I took a bus up to "the Frontier" as they call it, and went up to the beginning of the walkway over the airport. Mid-way I paused to take a picture of the mountains in the distance. I heard a voice over a loudspeaker saying, "Please do not stop on the runway." That felt kind of creepy, but maybe I missed a rules and regs board or something. I started walking faster, and after I and about 15 other people had gotten to the other side, we heard bells and whistles and saw the gates coming down in front of a line of cars. A plane was about to take off, so the runway walkway/highway was closing. After about 10 minutes the gates went up and the cars (and a lot of motorcycles) started flying onto the airport.

Yes, it was the first time I had walked across an airport. Gibraltar was quite fun, despite my cousin telling me, "Gibraltar's nice, but there's not much to do there." Of course, he doesn't cruise, he takes land vacations, and doesn't understand that in many places you cruise to, the reverse is true - there is too much to do and too little time!

Anyway, thanks for your review and information, and for letting me relive my day in Gib.

Great review PopsA! We really enjoyed celebrating your special day with you, and spending time with the two of you. I think that you have painted an excellent picture of the trip and how it rolled out for you. We had similar experiences on board and I enjoyed reading this - brought back some good memories! Thank you!