Viking Star:the Highs and a few lows

Just back from Barcelona to Bergen. Viking Star is truly beautiful. She offers a serenely elegant design that has nothing to do with glittering chandeliers and faux gilt ornamentation. The designers did a marvelous job, with an eye to detail that is astounding. Stair railings are covered in leather, the elevators have LED lighting around the bottom, and the deck number is shown in the elevator and opposite the opening doors. And on and on. Viking is generous, too. While some cruise lines prohibit you from bringing wine aboard, and others charge a corkage fee for consuming it in the dining room, Viking allows you to bring a reasonable amount of wine aboard and, without penalty, consume it in any dining area. The free wines offered at lunch and dinner ran the gamut from good to pretty bad. Always available was a cremant, Romer, that was quite palatable.Crew? Uniformly invested in courtesy and service. Maybe a tad over trained, as it was impossible to pass a crew member without being given a smile and a hello. To which, of course, you have to respond in kind. Our cabin attendant, Ayre, should be cloned by every cruise line. He was the definition of responsive, courteous and efficient. The food? Pretty good, with some glaring failures. The kitchen cannot make hash, nor chilli con carne. Cannelloni served in the restaurant was awful But osso buco was grand. Manfredi, the Italian restauant, was a notch better than elsewhere. The World Cafe, the buffet area, had its problems, too. Some mornings a carafe of coffee sat on every table. Some mornings, a request for coffee produced a waiter carrying a single cup. The brew in each was quite different. A request for English Breakfast tea mostly received "tropical" English Breakfast--an altogether different animal. Unsweetened ice tea was in short supply, as sweet peach tea always came instead.

A few more crabby complaints. The shower would routinely switch from a selected temperature to scalding. (Eventually fixed by a plumber.) Several mornings there was no hot water at the sink, making shaving a chore. It wasn't fixed, but the problem did disappear. The IT system sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. Ditto the TV. But add it all up and you have a beautiful ship, an earnest crew, and a generous owner--viz. not just the wine policy, but free tours, walking or otherwise, in every port.

So, welcome Viking Ocean. You made a very favorable first impression.

So glad to hear that you enjoyed your time aboard the Star. We don't sail until next July so I'm sure most of the little problems will be corrected.

Just back from Barcelona to Bergen. Viking Star is truly beautiful. She offers a serenely elegant design that has nothing to do with glittering chandeliers and faux gilt ornamentation. The designers did a marvelous job, with an eye to detail that is astounding. Stair railings are covered in leather, the elevators have LED lighting around the bottom, and the deck number is shown in the elevator and opposite the opening doors. And on and on. Viking is generous, too. While some cruise lines prohibit you from bringing wine aboard, and others charge a corkage fee for consuming it in the dining room, Viking allows you to bring a reasonable amount of wine aboard and, without penalty, consume it in any dining area. The free wines offered at lunch and dinner ran the gamut from good to pretty bad. Always available was a cremant, Romer, that was quite palatable.Crew? Uniformly invested in courtesy and service. Maybe a tad over trained, as it was impossible to pass a crew member without being given a smile and a hello. To which, of course, you have to respond in kind. Our cabin attendant, Ayre, should be cloned by every cruise line. He was the definition of responsive, courteous and efficient. The food? Pretty good, with some glaring failures. The kitchen cannot make hash, nor chilli con carne. Cannelloni served in the restaurant was awful But osso buco was grand. Manfredi, the Italian restauant, was a notch better than elsewhere. The World Cafe, the buffet area, had its problems, too. Some mornings a carafe of coffee sat on every table. Some mornings, a request for coffee produced a waiter carrying a single cup. The brew in each was quite different. A request for English Breakfast tea mostly received "tropical" English Breakfast--an altogether different animal. Unsweetened ice tea was in short supply, as sweet peach tea always came instead.

A few more crabby complaints. The shower would routinely switch from a selected temperature to scalding. (Eventually fixed by a plumber.) Several mornings there was no hot water at the sink, making shaving a chore. It wasn't fixed, but the problem did disappear. The IT system sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. Ditto the TV. But add it all up and you have a beautiful ship, an earnest crew, and a generous owner--viz. not just the wine policy, but free tours, walking or otherwise, in every port.

So, welcome Viking Ocean. You made a very favorable first impression.

Sounds like you enjoyed your cruise on Viking Star and you have got me looking forward to our cruise next year as I am sure any problems experienced on board will have been fully rectified by the time we sail. With regard to the free wine, I have yet to find a free or drinks package included wine on any of the cruise lines that I would consider purchasing for myself, and I am no wine expert, so it will be nice to be able to purchase wine on shore to consume on board. Maybe I'm getting cynical in my old age but I am not sure the owner is particularly generous as the cost of the "free tours" will have been factored into the price of the cruise and if the passengers are consuming their own wine they will not be consuming the owners free wine.

Pugwash123

Thank you for your review. The design of the interior of the ship was really thought out , not a copy cat of other cruise lines.

I love that all cabins have a balcony, great common space to delight the eye and comfortable space for reading, conversation or watching the ocean.

Love that there is NO casino, photographer always trying to take your picture, no art auction, no added fee for specialty restaurant, or using the spa area.

The service sound very attentive from your room steward. And a friendly staff does add to ones vacation.

I am sure the glitches will be ironed out with as the weeks go by.

I am still smitten with the Viking Star. And thanks to all those who have voiced their complaints , I also have taken them into consideration. l am looking forward to sailing on the Viking in 2016 or 17.

Thanks so much to everyone -- on this thread on others -- who have shared their experiences--both good and not so good. The good reminds me why we booked the Star in the first place and the not so good reminds me there will always be rough spots -- and knowing where they might be ahead of time is very helpful.

As the maiden voyagers disembark and their voices go silent here on cc, they leave a little empty place. I'll especially miss the 50-day folks who have shared so much of their journey. Best wishes to you all for the remainder of your travels and have a safe trip home.