We chose this cruise based upon a friend’s recommendation. We were happy that we weren’t being nickeled and dimed throughout the cruise. Don’t need a casino, and liked that there weren’t noisy kids running around. Cabin service was exceptional. Service in the alternative restaurant Manfredi’s was also exceptional (the food was great too). Didn’t make it to the Chef’s Table (had heard the menu was Cantonese for most of the cruise). I really liked the seafood and my friend liked both steaks she had. We only ate in The Restaurant once, and service was SLOW (there were 6 of us at a shared table). We tried Mamsen’s only once for breakfast. The waffle was great, but not the “one of a kind” that it’s advertised to be. Most of our meals were in the World Cafe. Both of us felt that more effort is put into presentation than taste. I had trouble getting water served to me in the World Cafe several times throughout the cruise, but not in any of the other restaurants. The shore excursions were exceptional! I think I took 3 included excursions, paid extra for 3, and had a pre-extension in Madrid. There was a noticeable difference in the English spoken by the guides on the excursions we were charged for versus the included excursions (which makes sense).
Travel was seamless on the way there, but a disaster on the way home (our luggage is still in Frankfurt and may be there for a while due to a strike by Lufthansa cabin crews). We purchased the trip insurance through Viking, and ended up sleeping at the airport because the insurance company would not verify that they would pay for a hotel (we had to pay upfront, submit a claim and they would “consider” paying it). I figured the hoops we would have to jump through would not be worth it, and the day had been so stressful (running through two airports, making one connection because they held the plane, and missing the other by 5 minutes). I didn’t want the additional stress of needing to be back at the airport at 5:30 am to catch the final leg. Viking probably doesn’t even know what we went through on our flights home (we missed the last flight after being re-routed to Colorado Springs just to get fuel in case we had to circle Denver for a bit, and then having 20 minutes to get through Customs, TSA a second time that day, and having to take a train to B concourse, just to miss our plane by 5 minutes).
Gaudi church and Gruell Park
Rode a bus around town with an hour of free time.
Downpour of rain. Too much time on our own before changing of the guard.
Would have been better, but downpour of rain!