Viking Ocean Cruises Review + Viking Sea Review (Caribbean)

Are you planning a voyage on one of Viking’s ocean-going cruise ships? Lucky you!

We’ve enjoyed two longer cruises with them now.

This is our second Viking Ocean Cruises review – our Viking Sea review of our 11-day Caribbean cruise.

Our other review of the Viking Star is based on our first Viking cruise, a 14-day northern European voyage (Viking Homelands cruise).

We’ve also written about Viking’s drinks menu and their Silver Spirits package – in case you want to know all about whether it’s worth paying extra for the package!

Anyway, back to this review of Viking Ocean Cruises…

We’re going to start in the middle – with our shore excursion in St. Thomas. Because it will give you an idea of what it’s like to cruise on a Viking ocean ship.

St. Thomas shore excursion

Our jaunty open-sided minibus grinds its way up a twisty road on our Viking Sea Caribbean cruise excursion.

The free shore excursion is a scenic tour of St. Thomas.

A sudden downpour blankets what should be panoramic views at the mountain top 2,100 feet above sea level.

“Well, there goes that idea,” moans one of our fellow guests, dressed for sunny safari weather, camera at the ready.

The sun takes pity on us, however, at the Magens Bay viewpoint on the way down.

Peeking out, it reveals the come-hither curve of white sand below that’s consistently voted one of the world’s 10 most beautiful beaches.

And what’s this? Waiters from our cruise ship circulate rum punches from a pop-up stand set up by a roadside stop.

How to cheer us up this grey day on our Caribbean cruise!

Viking Ocean Cruises reviews

The Viking Sea is the second ship in Viking Ocean Cruises’ fleet of 930-passenger vessels.

Viking built its reputation on river cruising. Viking River Cruises counts almost 80 river vessels in its fleet, plying the waterways of Europe, Egypt and elsewhere.

Now, ever since branching out into ocean cruising in 2015, it’s also made a name for itself with its affordable-luxury, ocean-going cruises.

Viking simply has some of the best new cruise ships out there! And they go the extra mile to offer a great value cruise experience.

Read other reviews of Viking Ocean Cruises on Cruise Critic or other reputable sites and you’ll see they agree with us.

Viking Ocean Cruises excursions

Part of the appeal to Viking’s ocean-going cruises is the one free shore excursion offered in every port (like our St. Thomas tour) – something that all Viking Ocean Cruises shore excursion reviews note.

Complimentary shore excursions are rare on ocean cruises, unless they’re expedition-oriented.

On our Caribbean cruise, we also enjoy included tours like bus and ferry tickets to explore Bermuda on our own; a visit to a centuries-old plantation manor in St. Kitts; and a guided walking tour of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico.

(Additional optional tours are also offered on each cruise.)

We’re given complimentary bottles of water when leaving the ship and iced facecloths when we return.

Our Viking Caribbean cruise itinerary:

Viking Ocean Cruise ships

Guests, many repeat, also like the design of the Viking ships.

Viking ocean ships:

Viking Star was the first ship in Viking’s ocean fleet. And we’ve mentioned that Viking Sea was the second (2016).

Then came Viking Sky (2017), Viking Sun (2017), Viking Orion 2018) and Viking Jupiter (2019).

In 2021, Viking Venus debuted. Viking Mars came along in 2022. And Viking Neptune is slated to begin her inaugural voyage – a world cruise – in December, 2022.

Come 2023, a new ship, the Viking Saturn will set sail, making a total of 10 Viking ocean-going ships.

They’re almost identical, except for the Viking Orion and Viking Jupiter. They each boast the addition of a high-tech planetarium called the Explorer’s Dome.

These ships reflect the clean Scandinavian aesthetic favored by Viking’s Norwegian founder, Torstein Hagen.

Light streams in through big glass windows, bouncing off blonde wood floors.

Staircase railings are wrapped in ivory leather.

And modernist paintings by Edvard Munch and other Norwegian artists adorn the walls; the Viking Sea showcases more than $3.3 million USD of art.

(You can even download a Viking Art Guide app for a narrated tour.)

Viking expedition ships:

In addition to the above 10 ships, Viking introduced two expedition ships in 2022, Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris.

Polar-class vessels, they can voyage to Antarctica and the Arctic.

Carrying 378 passengers each, they’re dedicated to adventure cruising and offer a very different experience compared to Viking’s larger ships.

The outdoor spaces are heated (to take the chill off when visiting the polar regions).

And many cabins have cool Nordic balconies. With these, the top half of a glass floor-to-ceiling window opens down so it becomes a glass railing, proving an open-air balcony of sorts.

And get this – the expedition vessels carry two submarines each. Plus, the cost for your sub dive is included in your cruise fare.

Viking Sea review: Cabins

Viking Ocean Cruise staterooms (standard size 270 square feet) are particularly well thought out.

Fancy gazing at a kaleidoscope of colorful island scenes from your balcony – cold gin-and-tonic in hand (the complimentary sodas restocked in your mini-fridge daily) – as you sail away each afternoon?

Well, all Viking Sea staterooms have balconies with rattan chairs and glass railings.

Beds are king-size too, dressed with soft white duvets.

We also have a Nespresso-style coffee maker in our Deluxe Veranda room.

And a swack of convenient USB bedside and other plugs means we can recharge our phones, iPad, laptop and cameras all at the same time, without the nuisance of charging first one, then the other.

Oh, and wait till you see the bathrooms!

They come with heated floors – great for warming tootsies if you’re cruising northern Europe. (But we ask our steward to turn off the heat on our tropical cruise.)

And you can easily lather up in the glass walk-in shower without bumping into the sides.

Explorers’ Lounge

Early in our cruise, we spend time in the two-story Explorers’ Lounge at the bow with its floor-to-ceiling windows.

Sinking into buttery leather sofas draped with reindeer pelts, we thumb through books about Amundsen, Cook and other explorers, then check out the telescopes.

You can browse scads of intriguing books all over the ship.

“We offer our guests the thinking man’s cruise, not the drinking man’s cruise,” Torstein has said.

But only in the Explorers’ Lounge will you find Mamsen’s.

The traditional Norwegian café serves delicacies like gravlax on toast and steak tartare, and best of all, made-to-order waffles with sour cream and berries.

The pools

When the weather heats up, we gravitate to the decks outside.

Some guests laze by the central main pool, which has a glass retractable roof.

Cushioned loungers and plush seating areas, with overhead shade, invite dozing and reading.

We prefer hanging out by the striking glass infinity pool at the stern though.

Looking out from the pool’s warm water, you feel as if you’re swimming in the sea – why get off the ship!

Afternoon tea

Indeed, in Sint Maarten, where a behemoth ship also docks, we stick close to “home” – which means we don’t miss afternoon tea.

And so at 4:00 pm in the Wintergarden solarium, we order Earl Grey from a menu of 25 loose-leaf teas, served in a white teapot.

A waiter delivers a three-tiered cake tower with almond tarts and crustless cucumber sandwiches, along with plates of warm scones, clotted cream and jam.

A trio of musicians plays classical melodies in the background.

Admittedly, it’s not as if we need tea, what with dinner to look forward to later.

Viking Sea dining options

Talk about great food!

Along with the main dining room, two specialty restaurants vie for our tastebuds.

Manfredi’s Italian restaurant:

Our favorite, Manfredi’s, is probably the best Italian restaurant at sea.

Black-and-white marble floors and vintage photos of Italian actors on the walls lend it an authentic Italian feel, and it has a lively buzz.

Must try: the Bistecca Fiorentina rib eye steak – rubbed with chili, brown sugar and mushroom powder – perfectly broiled to your liking.

The hand-rolled gnocchi in black truffle cream is a worthy appetizer.

The Chef’s Table:

The Chef’s Table, on the other hand, pushes the culinary boundaries.

Set five-course menus rotate every three days.

The amusing “Sweet and Salty” pairings are especially fun.

Passion fruit with grilled scallops and beets? Grand Marnier Bavarian cream and strawberry sauce with basil jelly and black Hawaiian lava salt? It works.

Viking Ocean Cruises’ entertainment

After dinner, we check out the entertainment.

More classy than glitzy, it caters to the mature tastes of the well-traveled audience from Australia, Britain and North America.

We enjoy performances by a talented ventriloquist one evening, a classical crossover pianist the next.

Guest lecturers include a ship historian, BBC producer and marine biologist – and their lectures are pretty enriching too.

Puerto Rico

In Old San Juan (our last port of call), we’re surprised the colonial buildings, shops and restaurants look in such good shape – here, you’d hardly know Puerto Rico was very badly hit by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

We linger on the cobblestone streets, reluctant to start packing.

Pink and lemon parasols strung high above Fortaleza Street – a new art installation – catch our eye. They make us smile as we walk back to the ship.

Viking’s recipe for success?

Viking Ocean Cruises has struck a sweet spot with its stylish mid-size vessels.

All of Viking Ocean Cruises’ ships are adults only cruises; passengers must be 18 or older.

This makes for a more refined experience than cruising on a family-friendly ship. Indeed, Viking is one of the best cruise lines for adults.

The cruise line’s “no nickel-and-diming” philosophy is a hit too.

Along with complimentary shore excursions, you get free unlimited WiFi; free self-serve laundry; and complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks at lunch and dinner.

There’s no extra charge either for the specialty restaurants or to use the Nordic Spa (complete with hydrotherapy mineral pools, steam room and “snow grotto”).

Where does Viking sail?

Viking Ocean Cruises itineraries:

Viking Ocean Cruises specializes in two-week Baltic and Scandinavian cruises.

But itineraries run the gamut from “quiet season Mediterranean” and Caribbean cruises to voyages in Australia and Asia.

Viking river and ocean cruises:

Want the best of both river and ocean cruising?

You can do both on the same trip.

Viking’s combination cruises allow you to seamlessly tack on, for example, a northern Europe ocean cruise to a Viking river cruise on the Danube or Rhine.

That’s a wrap for our Viking Ocean Cruises review on the Viking Sea!

Viking Cruises has garnered a slew of awards over the years for its ocean ships – from “#1 Ocean Cruise Line” (by Travel + Leisure readers) to “Best Overall Ship” (Cruise Critic annual cruisers’ choice awards).

We’re fans too, and look forward to our next Viking ocean cruise.

---

---

Photo credits: 2 to 10, 12 to 14, 16 to 19, 21, 22 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | 11, 15, 20, 23 to 25 Viking Ocean Cruises

---

We sailed as media guests on the Viking Sea. But as always, all opinions are our own.

---