My review of Empires of The Mediterranean on Viking Star

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We are now spoilt forever

Viking Star Cruise Review by G. GIRL

Trip Details

• Sail Date: May 2018
  
• Destination: Mediterranean
  

Where do I begin to tell you about our fantastic trip on the Viking Star?

We had an excellent flight from London with BA in business class which set the tone for the trip, the food was lovely and the crew couldn’t do enough to help ( they even took my new shoes which had rubbed my heal to manipulate the leather to soften it. Now that’s what I call service, I only asked for a sticking plaster!)

The Viking staff were there at the carousel to take your cases and they led you to the coach. This is one area where things were not seamless, the girl took off at a rate through an airport rammed with people and surprise surprise we lost a few and had to wait for quite a while for them to be found.

Our deluxe veranda cabin was spotless and well appointed. There was plenty of hanging space and by using the top shelf in the wardrobe the drawer space was adequate. Our steward was lovely, attentive but not in your way. We asked for ice the first night we were there and he made sure we had it every day without us even asking.

Our first nights dinner was in Manfredies. All I can say is if you eat meat order the steak, it is to die for! What ever you have you will enjoy but the portions are very generous. If you have only one official reservation don’t worry, ask at the desk and if they have a space they will get you in if they possibly can.

While on the subject of food I may as well deal with it now. We only ate in the main restaurant once, there was nothing wrong with it but the portions were enormous. I ordered the chicken and half a chicken came, I couldn’t finish the breast portion let alone the leg. We ate in the chefs table restaurant which was good too but keep an eye on the fixed menus for the day you fancy as some can be quite fish oriented. Our main stay was the world cafe and why not when there is fillet beef, ribeye, lamb, veal, lovely vegetarian options and show cooking at the back of the ship. If you like seafood you would have enjoyed crab legs, prawns, scallops, oysters Rockefeller, langoustine risotto....I could go on. We also enjoyed breakfast room service on our balcony and although it doesn’t reach you as hot as it would in the restaurant it was still good.

We had the included wines which changed pretty much each day and all were good. We chose the upgrade in the chefs table for $25 each which was nice but we were more than happy with what they served. Some staff members were a bit slow to notice you needed a top up but on the whole they were good at keeping an eye on their tables.

The excursions we chose were very enjoyable and if lunch is included they are of a good quality. If you get the opportunity to see Krka National Park go, it is beautiful. The day we went there was a ridiculous delay at the entrance over tickets for the coach which made our trip a rushed affair which was a shame as I could have spent hours just taking in the natural beauty of the place. Your camera is a must. There were many highlights and some destinations were a lovely surprise, Montenegro is beautiful I didn’t know much about it before but loved it.

The included tour of the town in Slovenia you could do yourself at your own pace if you didn’t want to know the full details of the history etc as it is on the ships doorstep.

The entertainment was top notch. The cruise director on our itinerary was Nolan Dean and he is a talented chap, he sings and on the night of his and his assistant Brain Rodriguez show his comedy literary had you crying with laughter. Brian’s singing voice is incredible from pop to opera he can do it all. I must compliment the musicians, they are extremely talented and the ships singers could turn their talents to all sorts. The guest entertainer was a fantastic young guy Dean Stansby, that young man knows how to put on a show. He is from the UK so when he sang Sweet Caroline, like us, the audience participation from the American crowd took him by surprise! We thoroughly enjoyed the shows.

The ship itself is beautiful, it’s more like staying at a rich Norwegian friends private villa than a mass produced cruise ship. It is never crowded, you never have to fight for a seat anywhere.

Any tips if you’ve yet to book.......if you’re doing Athens to Venice try to get a cabin with an odd number, you will have the coast line on your side. Watch the embarkation video on your tv when you get there as many questions will be answered there. Pool towels are on the sun beds not in your cabin. If there is anything you can’t see but want just ask, the chefs are happy to do what they can, oh and tell them if you have allergies they do like to garnish with nuts.

All in all we have been spoilt they even made my husband a delicious birthday cake for a surprise. If we fancy another cruise, and now I’m sure we will we wouldn’t dream of going with any other cruise line. Amazing.

Thank you for your review full of details.Like you, I loved the Viking cruise experience.

Delightfu review thanks.

We look forward to our b/ b in the fall and hope it is all you experienced as well.