Viking Ocean Sea Jewels of the Southern Mediterranean mini review

I just disembarked the Viking Sea. The ship is lovely and offers great amenities throughout the ship as well as in the cabin.

Being a techie, I loved using the free WiFi Web Access throughout the cruise as well as being able to access my personalized daily calendar which listed my booked excursions and restaurant reservations on my phone, tablet or cabin tv.

In the cabin, I had plenty of power outlets as well as usb plugs just above the bedside tables. Each headboard also has a built in swivel reading light making it easy to read in bed without disturbing your partner.

The spa and gym were well equipped and open most of the time . A nice amenity in the spa was having an ample supply of robes, towels, even comfortable plastic sandals to wear in the spa or up at the pools. It eliminated the need to use the robes in your cabin and to get them wet unnecessarily. The mid ship salt water pool was open all the time which was nice. The temperature was set about 81degrees F. The aft infinity pool was out of commission and I never found out why.

The ship has the look and feel of a fine five star hotel rather than a cruise ship. The public areas and the spa on Decks 1 and 2 are beautiful but somewhat enclosed so it's easy to forget you are on a ship.

The staff go out of their way to be cheerful and helpful although I found the service in all the dining rooms a bit uneven at times, depending on the waiter. Several times during the week we our entree didn't arrive for 15-25 minutes after our salad. I don't know if the delay is caused by the kitchen backup or something else. I suspect Viking will work it out with time. Viking promotes having women serving people in the dinnertime which is nice to see after so many male dominated cruise lines.

My favorite space in the entire ship is the Explorer Lounge on Deck 7 forward. It is simply stunning and a great place to read, get a snack and watch the world go by. There is ready access to the outside as well if you want to venture out for photos or to get a broader view.

The the World Cafe is nicely designed and the food was just as good or better than the dining rooms. The only problem we encountered was on days when there were many excursions returning to the ship at the same time, or excursions leaving around the same time. Then it was really crowded and not especially pleasant. I'm sure Viking can work this problem out over time by staggering their tours better.

The singers and dancers performed in the theater which has a state of the art sound and lighting system, including the latest in LED screen technology. The shows were not always successful in showcasing the talented singers and dancers, a couple of show themes kissed the mark. But the Abba song show was a huge crowd pleaser as well as a perfect way to showcase their singers.

The two classically trained dancers could have been used more effectively and more often.

For those who enjoy non alcoholic beverages, they have the best selection of choices of any cruise line I've been on, including, non alcoholic beer, wines and even champagne.

EMBARKATION and disemarkation was the smoothest of any cruise line I've been on too. They break up the departures for example in 15 minute intervals so that there isn't that giant crush of people looking for their luggage at the same time. Bags are tagged and organized ashore according to each group of 25. Very nice.

Our cabin attendant did a great job, although I hardly saw him and couldn't get him to understand my desire to keep the beaker of fresh water provided in the cabin each day in the bathroom where I used it.

I was so busy with extra excursions that I didn't spend much time aboard during the day.

One disappointment on our itinerary was that in two ports we couldn't take advantage of the included tours because the optional paid cruises we took returned to the shop 15 minutes after the free tour departed. I would have expected Viking to work this out and to make accommodation. The Excursion desk people said they could not.

Overall, I am very impressed with Viking Ocean. Their ships have much to offer above others in the small ship market. The staff are a wonderful United Nations, especially of Eastern Europeans etc. And having women servers was nice to see.

Our cruise director was a very talented Mezzo soprano who at times was a bit too overbearing/ dictatorial and somewhat condescending to passengers for my taste, but she softened and grew on me as the cruise progressed. She went out of her way to give credit to the entire staff the lady night and made the passengers feel appreciated.

One big advantage Viking has over other American based cruise lines is that Viking goes to more places off the beaten track like Algiers, Vallencia and Tunisia, Egypt and Istanbul that I want to continue to visit. They are a little pricy but I hope they can offer sales that will enable me to use them more often.

We used their air offering both going and coming. The pricing was unbeatable given our itinerary arriving and departing from different ports.

ship.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Nice review, glad you had an enjoyable time. Can't wait for our cruise

Thanks, really enjoyed reading your review.

Nice review, leaving on this same cruise in about a week. I suppose our main concern is security in Algiers and Tunis. Thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for sharing. We'll be on this itinerary layer this month. Getting excited!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Nice review, leaving on this same cruise in about a week. I suppose our main concern is security in Algiers and Tunis. Thoughts?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I would also like to hear about your ports of call and about any of the Viking tours that you took. We'll be doing this cruise next January and would love to hear from more people who have done Southern Med with Viking.

In Malta, take an organized tour or use the hop on hop off bus to go to the ancient walled city of Mdina. Don't miss visiting the old Roman house just outside the gates there too. It's easy to miss. Nora was worth visiting, but the guide provided by Viking was terrible. You'd have to choose between these, otherwise you will have a very long day and be rushed. The island is beautiful.

In Tunis, don't miss the Bardo Museum tour. It costs extra but is worth every penny. It has the finest collection of Mosaics anywhere in the world. It was the highlight of our week.

In Algiers, the free tour is great. If you have time take the optional tour to the botanic gardens.

Hopefully Viking will adjust the timing of the optional tours so you can still go on the included tours. They didn't do that in every case on our trip, but enough people complained, hopefully Shore ex will have fixed that.

Valencia included tour is fantastic. It's called Impressions. In the afternoon we took the optional tour Treasures of Valencia. Both were terrific. Hope this helps

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We took a taxi to the Bardo Museum since we wanted to chose how long we would stay at the museum and the optional tour said about one hour (did not have a chance to ask those on the tour how long they stayed). At the cruise talk, they said taxis were safe and our experience was very good. The prices are posted on the wall as you come out of the passport control and taxis are there. You can decide if the driver speaks English to your satisfaction. For $10 euros more, our driver took us to the Medina too-we chose this over the optional tour for our museum time rather than price but it was a little less expensive even with us paying the price for 4 for just 2 of us. We signed up for the last optional tour of the day to see a bit of Carthage. Viking waited for returning passengers and others so that we left late and the tour was very rushed. We spent 30 minutes at the Casbah downtown while several people used bathrooms then took a whirlwind ride through Carthage seeing very little and

not what was said in the brochure. Scheduling in Tunis needs tweaking but it is a great port and there is a lot of security. They really want us to come and were very friendly.

Algiers was also great but visas are a problem there. You can get a visa on your own for $149 and some work or you can go with a group tour staying in the group without the personal visa. Something like in Russia but we could not find out if you could go with a group on a private tour instead of the ship tours as in Russia. The ship tours were good but we had a great deal of security and police escorts. Tunis and Algiers are great additions to cruise ports-go and enjoy these ports with an open mind. The other ports on this itinerary were also great but we had good weather the whole time (just luck)

We were booked on this itinerary but unfortunately the British Foreign Office will not "permit" UK citizens to visit Tunisia, except for essential reasons. I am sure the Tunisians would be very welcoming and would like to receive tourists but the recent terrorist atrocities has made the FO feel responsible for our safety .

Viking offered us a different itinerary which did not include North African ports and we will be doing that cruise in two weeks' time. We have also been given an upgrade to a PH veranda suite which is unexpected and very nice. We are looking forward to this, our first Viking Ocean cruise.

Jay23, I saw your post in another thread about that and thought it was interesting. We just thought in light of the current political environment security risks may be increasing and of concern in N Africa.

Thank you, dhsamso and gymswim for your responses. Very helpful, especially the information about the visas in Algiers.

Did anyone do the "Best of Tunis" tour? That is the one I have my eye on.

What was the weather like in Tunis and Algiers?

Great review, thank you for taking the time to share.

Dear gymswim,

Thank you for taking the time to write and share such an informative review.

We are truly delighted that you enjoyed your overall experience with Viking Ocean Cruises. All of your comments, both complimentary and constructive, are appreciated and have been noted for consideration. Feedback is an instrumental part of our growth and we thank you for your contribution.

Should you wish to discuss your experience with a Viking representative, you are more than welcome to write to us at TellUs@vikingcruises.com.

Thanks again for sharing, gymswim. We look forward to cruising with you again in the future.

Warm regards,

Viking Cruises

I just disembarked the Viking Sea. The ship is lovely and offers great amenities throughout the ship as well as in the cabin...

Thank you, dhsamso and gymswim for your responses. Very helpful, especially the information about the visas in Algiers.

 

Did anyone do the "Best of Tunis" tour? That is the one I have my eye on.

 

What was the weather like in Tunis and Algiers?

You're welcome. When we were there last week the weather in both porrs was clear, sunny. Low of 55 and a daytime high of 65 F.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thank you, dhsamso and gymswim for your responses. Very helpful, especially the information about the visas in Algiers.

 

Did anyone do the "Best of Tunis" tour? That is the one I have my eye on.

 

What was the weather like in Tunis and Algiers?

Don't know anyone who took the full day BEST OF TUNISIA tour. Last week when we were there, the weather in both ports was sunny, clear. Low of 55 F high of 65 F.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Last week when we were there, the weather in both ports was sunny, clear. Low of 55 F high of 65 F.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks. I hope it will be equally as nice when we get there.

Thank you for your cruise review. The ports sound really interesting.

Do you now the prices for massages in the spa?

Thank you for your cruise review. The ports sound really interesting.

 

Do you now the prices for massages in the spa?

These are approximate prices based from memory: 50 minutes deep tissue $140; 80 minutes $180.

I am considering this cruise 2/1/2018 and have found the comments here very helpful. It doesn't seem like the included shore excursions are all that good and I am concerned about Tunis and Algeria but would love to see these areas. What other countries require visas and what is the cost? Also, this is intended to be a very special birthday cruise so am interested in the food - are there regional options for each country?

Thanks for an excellent review. I am considering a similar but shorter itinerary on the Viking Star in early February 2018. I imagine much of your information may be similar. I want to spend a few days in Barcelona at the end of the cruise but the cost for two nights that I saw seemed a bit pricey. Wondering about Air BnB or do you have to take the Viking reservation in order to get the airport transfers? Thinking of booking flights with Viking as well since you mentioned you thought it was a good deal.

Thanks for an excellent review. I am considering a similar but shorter itinerary on the Viking Star in early February 2018. I imagine much of your information may be similar. I want to spend a few days in Barcelona at the end of the cruise but the cost for two nights that I saw seemed a bit pricey. Wondering about Air BnB or do you have to take the Viking reservation in order to get the airport transfers? Thinking of booking flights with Viking as well since you mentioned you thought it was a good deal.

There is no need to do this with Viking. Making arrangements on your own will get your twice as many nights, maybe even more, as Viking offers for the same price. Keep in mind that if you are offered two nights it means that you basically have just two days to tour--or even less because you have to waste some time on the first day getting from the ship to your hotel and when you wake up on the third morning you are heading to the airport to get home (and yes, this is the same whether you do it on your own or with Viking but worth mentioning).

It will cost you $100pp for deviations in the flight. You will definitely lose the Viking transfer in Barcelona and you should ask if you will lose the transfer in Rome. We deviated on our way home but not our way in and only lost the transfer on the leg we deviated but these things can change so it is best to ask Viking when you are making your reservations.

There are many many hotels in Barcelona, nice ones at that, where you can spend a reasonable amount of money and still be central located and get the services of a hotel (house cleaning, help with the language and finding your way that you don't get with rental arrangements).

Transfers in Barcelona are simple. It is a short ride to the airport and the cab fare is a fixed price plus a euro or two for each suitcase that is put into the trunk (this is a standard fee in Spain and has been since I lived there in the early 70s).

I am considering this cruise 2/1/2018 and have found the comments here very helpful. It doesn't seem like the included shore excursions are all that good and I am concerned about Tunis and Algeria but would love to see these areas. What other countries require visas and what is the cost? Also, this is intended to be a very special birthday cruise so am interested in the food - are there regional options for each country?

The included excursions are good, but some of the optional ones (like Bardo Museum in Tunis) are better in my opinion so you just have to be sure to check to be sure the shore excursion times don't conflict.

Not sure what you mean by "concern" going to Tunis and Algeria. Terrorism and unrest is a threat in so many places around the World these days. I felt well protected on our tours. We did not need Visas in advance for our itinerary.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I am considering this cruise 2/1/2018 and have found the comments here very helpful. It doesn't seem like the included shore excursions are all that good and I am concerned about Tunis and Algeria but would love to see these areas. What other countries require visas and what is the cost? Also, this is intended to be a very special birthday cruise so am interested in the food - are there regional options for each country?

Each night in the main dining room, Viking includes a regional specialty on the menu. I don't know if it is also served in the buffet because we haven't eaten dinner in there. It is not served in either of the specialty restaurants.

As for flights, book them with Viking and then go shopping on your own to see if you can get a better price. You will be able to cancel them even after you have paid in full as long as they have not been ticketed. There is already a lot of information available online (here in the Ports of Call section and on Trip Advisor) about how to do the transfer from the airport to Civitavecchia or from central Rome. Since you are coming from Hilo, I would highly suggest that you arrive a day or two early so that you can rest up after what will be a very arduous journey. Maybe even book a hotel in Civitavecchia so you won't be tempted to spend your time exploring Rome.

Usually the World Cafe buffet includes the regional dish options featured in The Restaurant as well.

I don't know if this is ALWAYS the case.

One of the best things about Viking cruises is the ability to sample (or chose not to) varied regional dishes.