Why choose to cruise with Viking Cruises?

When it comes to cruising, you have so much choice in terms of lines and destinations that sometimes it can be difficult to choose.

In this blog series we’ll look at the top reasons why you should consider various cruise lines.  In this blog we explore the six reasons why you should consider Viking.

Explore like a Viking

Viking really is quite a unique premium cruise line in that it offers a wide variety of cruises – from the rivers of Europe to the oceans of the world – and everything in between.  There truly is a type of cruise to suit everyone’s wants and wishes.

Viking actually sail to all corners of the globe.  With river cruises throughout Europe, Egypt, Russia and Asia.  Their Ocean offering, currently with a fleet of five ships sails to every corner of the world. In fact, Viking also offer the longest World Cruise at 245 days

Excursions are actually included in every port you visit, which is really great value.  Not only that, but the excursion is chosen well to enrich your experience of that place.  You can also opt to pay for optional ones, so you’ll find that on a typical day some people will take multiple excursions.

Exploring the world in comfort

This is actually the brand slogan for Viking, and it is so true. From my experiences with Viking, I’ve always said that they deliver an upscale and curated product that is a refreshing entry within the cruise market.

Viking honestly feels more like a home away from home, an upscale boutique hotel that isn’t in the slightest stuffy – and this goes both for the river and ocean products.  There are no formal dress-codes, no urgency to be places and genuine staff that go out their way to make your stay as great as possible.  The same goes for the cabins, with an incredible attention to detail including little things like heated bathroom floors, USB points and other nice features.  On ocean, all cabins also have a balcony.

I don’t say this often, but I honestly cannot fault Viking as a product.  I’ve now sailed with them a number of times both on the rivers and oceans and they get full marks across the board for me.

A Scandi-inspired haven

Viking ships are a scandi-haven from the outside world.  The ships are so very well designed, being light and airy.  The designers have used a lot of different earthy textures – including warm woods, metals, textiles and other materials to make it really feel comfortable, but also chic and contemporary.  This is applied in different ways across their ships to create different atmospheres, but the core DNA remains the same.

The same can be said across the fleet, as the aesthetics are very similar and consistent. This is great because when you step foot on board any of the ships, you immediately feel like you are in a familiar setting and that you have come home.

Food and Drinks

Given the aesthetic I’ve spoken about, all the bars on board Viking ships are really lovely spaces to spend time in – whether that’s sailing through the Wachau Valley on a river long ship, or through the Norwegian Fjords .  These ships have been built to be outward facing and really social and enjoyable spaces.  And this is matched with some brilliant bar service and quality.

The food experience on board is also something else.  All food on board is included within your cruise – For ocean, that is to say, the main restaurant serving a variety of food which is tailored to the destinations you visit; or the World Café, an upscale casual eatery; the pool grill which honestly serves some of the best burgers at sea; or the two alternative restaurants found on board – Manfredi’s Italian and then a Chef’s Table experience (which features numerous menu’s that rotate depending on the cruise). Then there is Mamsen’s, another casual eatery that features a variety of Nordic dishes inspired by and named after the owner’s mother.  You can read our dining guide here.

An intimate affair

My experience of sailing with Viking has always been that it’s an intimate affair. Whether you are a guest, or a member of the crew, these is a particular feeling of extended family that I’ve not felt with all cruise lines.

Viking’s ships never feel crowded.  Even on the ocean ships, as they only takes 930 passengers, it never feels crowded at any point in the day – the same goes for their river counterparts.  And because the ships are of a smaller scale, they can go into a wider range of ports that some of the bigger ocean ships simply cannot.

Viking grows from strength to strength

Viking continue to grow from strength-to-strength.  There is an ever-growing fleet of both river and ocean vessels, but on top of this, Viking are also building a number of new types of ships.  What makes this exciting is how good Viking are at taking the core DNA of the brand and expressing it locally in new ships and new interesting ways.

While Viking have sailed the Mekong for a number of years, soon they will introduce a brand-new purpose-built ship for passengers to enjoy this incredible itinerary.  For me, this is perhaps the one cruise above all others I want to try one day.

From 2022, Viking will also enter the Mississippi market, providing 8- to 15-night trips visiting this remarkable area. You can read more here about Viking on the Mississippi.  The combination of an American Mississippi cruise with the Viking approach will be fascinating to experience.

And to top things off,  Viking now operate a new type of expedition ship, opening up even more destinations for guests, including the Galapagos, Antarctica and other fascinating areas.  These intimate ships, with only 378 guests, are truly something not to be missed and will open up whole new areas of the World to explore with Viking.  You can read more here.

Want to know more?

Visit the Viking website here.

You can also read all about my Viking experiences below – which go into more detail on the above points.

• A Danube Waltz
• Explore the Caribbean
• Into the Midnight Sun

Let me know in the comments and on social media your thoughts on Viking.  Have you spent time on board? What’s your favourite part?