As you may know (if you saw this post), my husband and I flew to Venice this past week, embarking on a two-week “Mediterranean Odyssey” aboard the Viking Sea, courtesy of Norwegian cruise line, Viking Cruises. Here’s a quick overview of the place we’re visiting:
After another great night’s sleep in our super plush-and-comfy bed, I’m now writing to you halfway through the cruise (ie. a week in), flipping through the Viking Daily. Each evening we’re given a new Viking Daily: a booklet explaining everything that’s going on the following day, the time we disembark, some history about the town we’ll be visiting, that day’s available activities, suggestions for in-town shopping and food, and other essentials like the weather, ship location, shuttle times, etc. It’s basically the day’s guidebook.
Needless to say, I’m super excited to visit all these towns, most of which I’ve never been to before.
As you can imagine, I was really excited when I learned about Viking Cruises and realized that a big part of the reason people go on cruises is not only to (comfortably) visit a lot of destinations in a short timeframe, but to also learn about their history while there. So while I could’ve just done my own thing and aimlessly wandered around the towns we’ll be visiting, I made sure to sign up for the included tours at each destination.
Last year, I went on a trip to Brussels and got a few guided tours while there. At first, I was worried that I’d hate going on a guided tour… After all, I’ve never been a big fan of history or forced itineraries. They remind me of high school, when all I wanted to do was show up, leave, and do what I wanted, when I wanted. And to this day, I still need help remembering the time and place of all my appointments. But I swallowed my doubts and met up with the tour guide at the appointed time. To my surprise, I really (like, really really) enjoyed learning the history and secrets of the places we visited. In fact, the tours ended up being the most memorable part of the trip, and provided me with loads of cocktail-conversation fodder.
One of the aspects that worried me was the whether Viking could accommodate our vegan diet. But, shortly after we arrived, the executive chef, Martin Kitzing, came to our suite to discuss our custom vegan menu options. We were also appointed our own “head waiter” who will help make sure everything goes to plan, and whom we have been consulting daily to customize our menu.
Viking puts a lot of effort into making sure that the food we enjoy on board is hyper fresh. About half of the ingredients are picked up that day in port, making our vegan meals farm-to-table fresh. And we can taste the difference.
The restaurants (there are five on this Viking Sea ship), the food and the service have all been outstanding. Much better than I ever expected to find on a cruise ship. The lounges and restaurants are super comfortable, and remind me of a 5-star hotel experience — but with the most incredible view.
As someone who loves interior decor, I’m absolutely obsessed with the furniture on this ship. It’s Nordic-modern style and they used lots of soft fabrics with the emphasis not only on clean and simple design, but on comfort. The colors are blues and natural tones like creams and browns, and the result is a very relaxing atmosphere.
There are lots of both indoor and outdoor lounges to have a drink, listen to live music or read a book in, all while looking out at the water or scenery. This is shaping up to be the most relaxing, stress-free, and comfortable trip I’ve been on — ever.
Want more? Check out My Viking Cruise: Hanging in the Mediterranean
Have you ever gone on a cruise? Would you?
Amazing! I did a school cruise (loooong time ago….) and it was nothing like that! We did however, stop at Santorini and i have never forgotten it, I thought it was so beautiful. Really hope to go back there some day BUT my husband isn’t as keen. Plus… we’d have the kids. Bah. 😛
I’ve always wanted to go to Santorini and Mykonos…
The whole trip sounded wonderful. You were lucky to have found a route that was so calm. My last one was from Australia. My cruise went out from Queensland, Australia over to the islands Vanuatu, Lifou and Noumea. At times it was so turbulent it was hard to walk straight (pressure bands and ginger tablets saw me through). We heard stories at dinner that some people hadn’t been able to leave their cabin yet due to sea sickness – and at that point we were four days in! We were introduced to an elderly lady who was on her 47th cruise!! Anyway such a brilliant post .You’re certainly on the right side of the world to fit some great places in ?
Your room looks amazing. I wish all cabins would look like that but what an amazing trip! The last cruise that I took was across the pyramids in Egypt before the troubles. Yikes! That was great because the ship was small. I think we were about 100 people which I thought was perfectly fine. I did get ill for a day or two but not because of the sea but because of the sun: 40C out there was killing me! I’m a bit worried about the time when docked as you need time to do a walking or local heritage tour, have lunch, and do some shopping I reckon however, I think river cruises are more my thing as I like historical places LOL!
Great post! I am a bit reluctant to try large cruise ships – too busy, long queues everywhere….might give Viking a try though!
So glad you’re enjoying it, Hilary! – I was a little worried about the motion sickness so glad that you didn’t feel it. Looking forward to more posts and pics of your cruise. 🙂
I get seasick on smaller boats, but this ship is so large, and the Mediterranean is so calm, that I hardly even realize it’s moving unless I look out the window!
My husband and I love cruising and have been on 7 ocean cruises and one river cruise. We have never had a bad experience and always come away with new friends.We have yet to do a Mediterranean cruise but plan to.
WOW – that’s a lot! I guess it’s your favorite style of travel? I’d love to go on a river cruise one day…
Wow, cruising looks incredible! I had never considered taking a cruise before but this looks truly beautiful and like a great experience!
I love the idea of making new friends and waking up each day ‘in a new place’. ?
Loving the pics 🙂 What a lovely article! We went on a Med Cruise in Oct of 2009 and the weather was great. We sailed out of Civitecchia (Rome), to Livorno (Florence) to Ville Franche (Monte- Carlo) to Barcelona and then to Malaga, Spain, and the trip was great. We spent 4 days in Rome before the cruise and 4 days in Malaga after the cruise, and loved every minute of it. Hope you have as much fun, am sure you will. 🙂
That sounds fantastic! October is a much better month to go… August is super hot…
Great article and truly wonderful photos! Indeed, a writer and photographer in one persona 🙂
I’ve read somewhere that Viking Cruises focus on the comfort of mature travelers, would you know if this is true and why?
Well, Mike and I are one of only about five or so couples we’ve seen that are under 40… Most are over 60 or 70…
Great piece! The photos are a delight! Enjoy your cruise. The Mediterranean is one of the world’s best destinations to explore by cruise ship. 🙂