If I had to describe our 15-night British Isles Explorer sailing with Viking Cruises on Viking Sky in one word, it would be “flawless”. Every element of the travel experience that Viking touched exceeded our expectations. Other travel companies that were part of this trip for another post. On Viking Sky, from the moment we walked on board to the moment we walked off, every element of the experience was orchestrated perfectly.
When considering this sailing, I could have chosen the newer Viking Neptune for our same itinerary; Viking had multiple ships doing this run. But I had not sailed Viking oceans since before the pandemic. I thought it would be interesting to compare what I experienced sailing the ship when it first launched to the experience now. It was better. Far better. Let’s start with some examples.
We begin with housekeeping, the people who clean the cabins. Contributing to Viking’s flawless rating, cabin stewards and their assistants know our tour schedule and plan cleaning around it. We rarely saw that hard-working crew, but nearly every time we entered our stateroom, they had just been there to tidy things up. This is a mark of a top-quality hotel department.
Also different this time, a brand new user-friendly Viking Voyager app with everything from our personal schedule to menus in all venues updated daily. I seriously regret that it does not work off the ship. I would love to fuel memories of the future with the ability to see what’s on the menu for dinner tonight, wherever the ship might be.
Especially interesting on this sailing: Future Cruise offers to die for with a reduced deposit, extended date for final payment, onboard credit on the cruise you book, and an equal amount on the current cruise. We booked one for 2025 and another for 2026. I have never done that on board before.
Also verified, bullet point features of all Viking ocean cruises, in general:
- No Children Under 18- Verified. But it was not all seniors like me. I talked to other passengers in their 20’s and 30’s. I suppose having ten ships in the water now has brought a more diverse passenger mix. With about 10,000 guests sailing at any given time, Viking seems to have surpassed its mission of “Exploring The World In Comfort”.
- Heated Bathroom Floors and Mirrors I do not have these at home and I sure do enjoy using them at sea or on a river when sailing.
- No Casinos- Still true and more so than when we last sailed a Viking ocean ship. Another core value of Viking Cruises is being “the thinking man’s cruise” instead of “the drinking man’s cruise”. That’s even more so today with a robust book of included and optional shore explorations.
- No Nickle and Diming- This is a big one, and oh, it’s so true. Once on board, the lion’s share of everything we do is included. We bought the Silver Spirits plan but probably could have been fine without it. The wine and beer flow freely at mealtime.
- No Charge Wi-Fi- Yes and it works well. On a day at sea, I uploaded video, a rather huge file. Appropriate: The Internet should be free worldwide anyway. The trick is to do it very late at night, early in the morning. This is not Starlink and I believe that is on purpose. Viking is really into sharing the destinations we visit, often engaging multiple senses along the way.
- No Charge For Beer & Wine with lunch and dinner – as it turns out, that’s plenty for us but I am still happy we chose the Silver Spirits plan. Lisa might not have discovered the wonders of an Aperol Spritz
- No Umbrella Drinks- True on the umbrella drinks but I am told that they make a great Pina Collada
- No Photography Sales – About the only thing close to this are some really great Viking note cards in the ship’s stores.
- No Inside Cabins- Everyone gets a balcony. Ours was upgraded to a Penthouse balcony when we arrived on the ship as were a number of others on board.
- No Smoking- I did not even get a whiff of it and I would if there was. Viking does provide a nice smoking area on the top deck where a nice breeze
- No Waiting In Lines– This was a “so far, so good” thing while sailing. In retrospect, the only lines we experienced were due to seniors. In general, we are always early for everything.
- No Formal Nights, Butlers or White Gloves- Nothing against butlers in general but they would not fit in here. Think casual during the day, or business casual in the main dining room… but don’t devote too much time to this. There is no dress code yet for some reason, we don’t see people in dining in shorts and flip-flops. I think that’s the result of being the thinking man’s cruise.
- No Charge Alternative Restaurants- Manfredi’s or The Chef’s Table, there is no charge. We did Manfredi’s once and never did the Chef’s Table. By the time our pre-sailing night at the Chef’s Table came around, we had already fallen in love with the superb dining room staff. Frankly, the Chef never had a chance. This is a main dining room experience to die for. Photo gallery coming up.
- Free Spa- Viking’s Nordic Spa is a unique experience one might pay to use on a different cruise line. On Viking Sky, it was included in the fare.
See what we have published about this most current sailing of Viking Sky so far:
