After spending a week on the Viking Spirit, an older ship, boarding the Hermod took your breath away. The public rooms and dining room were beautiful. The cabin was pretty as well but the size left a lot to be desired. A nice wall mounted flat screen TV, good shower and full length mirror but the cabin was just too small-a good 50 sq. ft. smaller than on the Spirit.
The staff with the exception of the wait staff acted as though we were bothering them when asking for anything. The hotel manager is the responsible party for the staff and he and the staff should learn from the Spirit crew who were outstanding. A dirty tissue was in the hallway and stayed there all day until finally removed. There's no excuse for this lack of caring by the crew. The main lounge had two big screen tv's but the channels were so limited, we couldn't get Wimbeldon or the World Cup. The Viking needs to opt for better programming. Again, only one after dinner program with the other nights you were on your own. The food on the Spirit was much better than on the Hermod even with the menu being the same in the evenings. Again, a 7 day cycle for the meals even though 3/4 of the guests on the shop were on the Spirit. Viking needs to correct this oversight when the trip was sold as one cruise. Majority of the guests that were on the Spirit felt the same way about the Hermod and the crew. Newer isn't always better. The hotel mgr. and Maitre D were never too visible and left a lot to be desired. At one port, it was a steep ramp to the get off the ship and I had to ask the Maitre D to have a crew member assist those who had difficulty walking up the ramp-they should have known this-lack of customer service. We had engine trouble at the beginning of the trip and we were delayed 5+ hours and ended up missing one port-the program manager nor hotel mgr apologized for the delay and didn't even offer a free drink or something to compensate us. The Hermod was a real disappointment. Looking forward to my next ocean cruise.
It was a French balcony but the size was just too small. Two people can barely move around in the cabin. Choices in tv channels was so very limited. The WiFi did not work in the cabins-you had to do to one of the public rooms. At least they didn't charge you for it.