We sailed with Viking in March 2019 on the “In Search of the Northern Lights” cruise. It was our third Viking cruise. The first two were river cruises. We booked this cruise because we were really keen to experience the Aroura Borealis, and we were fortunate to succeed! We also really liked the itinerary, exploring a number of different ports in Norway and staying overnight in some of them. We are also booked for another Viking ocean cruise to Australia and New Zealand next week. We love the simple but beautiful Scandinavian design and decor of Viking’s ships. We also love the informal atmosphere including the informal dress code and open seating in the restaurant. There were a variety of dining options and all the food was good. Viking does a great job of offering lectures and other activities related to the ports of call. We especially enjoyed the small size of the Viking river ships which made it easy to meet new people and form friendships. Since the ocean ships are larger, there is a little less chance of seeing the same people you meet again and building friendships, but we still managed to make some friends on board, and we really appreciated that the ships are on the small size for ocean-going vessels. We never had delays getting on or off the ship.

The itinerary for the Northern Lights cruise was great, and we liked having overnights in some of the ports. I would recommend booking the Northern Lights excursions in both the ports where they are offered (Tromso and Alta) to maximize your chance of seeing them. We went on the one in Alta. It was run by GLOD Explorer and they did an outstanding job of maximizing the odds of seeing the lights, since they have several different viewing locations, and select the best spot for the conditions each evening. We regretted not booking the excursion in Tromso, since we heard great reports from other passengers. We were disappointed to miss one port - Bodo - due to rough weather, but the staff made sure to offer a full schedule of lectures, etc. to help fill the extra day at sea.

The staff, without exception, was friendly, helpful, and efficient. I can’t say enough good things about their courtesy and genuine friendliness. This has been true on all three Viking cruises, and we especially enjoyed chatting with them and hearing about all the many different home countries they come from. Read more