Travel with The Weekly: What to expect on a Viking Ocean Cruise

I have never cruised anywhere in my life. The longest I have stayed on a ship was on an overnight ferry from Ireland to France. That being said, although I have never been much inclined to travel on a cruise, I was always curious. However, I was invited to experience my first ever cruise this year. Fittingly, it was to my home country of Ireland.

The best way to know if you like something is to give it a go. So, I packed up my bags, sorted my newly acquired Australian passport and called up my mother (back in Ireland) to be my travel companion. And the two of us set sail with Viking Cruises.

Follow along if you’ve ever been curious about what happens on a Viking Ocean Cruise or the route we’re travelling on — the British Isles Explorer. This specific route travels from Norway to Ireland and the UK.

Day 2: Bergen

The first official day of our cruise begins in Bergen. We had booked a shore excursion for the afternoon, so we opted to spend our morning at the Nordic Spa. So, after enjoying breakfast at the World Cafe, which had many options for every kind of palate, from Texas French toast and biscuits and gravy for the Americans to Norwegian fare for those who wanted to sample some local cuisine (the Texas French toast was divine).

After having our fill, we put on our swimmers and our dressing gown and headed down to the spa. Inside the main area, there is a thermal pool (complete with water jets), a hot tub, a steam room, a meditation area, and a snow grotto. In the separate changing rooms, you will also find a sauna and a cold plunge pool. The thermal pool was lovely, not too hot at all, but plenty relaxing. As usual, you are advised to shower before you enter the pool, steam room or snow grotto. However, instead of a standard shower, there are two experimental showers. One with multiple shower heads with adjustable temperature. And the other is a simple water bucket, which was, of course, my favourite (as a lover of a classic bush shower).

After a relaxing morning in the spa, we figured that we had our swimsuits on, so let’s check out the main pool. On deck seven, around the corner from the World Cafe, that’s where you’ll find the main pool, pool bar and grill. The pool is also heated and fairly deep. Perfect for getting in a couple of lengths. Once we’d had our fill, we went back to our rooms to shower, change and get ready for our walking tour of Bergen.

Shore excursion: Walking tour

Unlike other cruise providers, Viking offers a complimentary shore excursion at every port. In Bergen, there is a walking tour. We met our guide, Mathieu, at the port terminal to begin our walking tour. Unfortunately, we arrived on one of the 260 days of the year when it rains in Bergen, and some of our travel companions were not dressed for the inclement weather. So it ended up being just six of us walking through the old Viking and Hanseatic port town of Bergen and Bryggen, led by Mathieu. In addition to providing a great guide to the history of the area, as a resident, Mathieu also gave his own recommendations for eating and drinking.

One of those locales was Fjåk Chocolate, a hot chocolate cafe. Now, my mother and I wouldn’t be hot chocolate drinkers, but we thought, why not try the local fare (plus it was fairly cold, and we were drenched). However, the hot chocolate was delicious. I went for the 60 per cent Haitian dark chocolate, and mum opted for the 45 per cent milk chocolate variety. But, for those with a sweet tooth, there were also options for spiced gingerbread hot chocolates, matcha variations, plus coffees and sweet treats.

Preparing to set sail

Back on the ship, the crew were getting things ready to set sail. After we dried off following our shore excursion, we decided to play a game of Scrabble in the games room area (were mum totally thrashed me). While there, the safety drill happened. Nothing major, just the alarm and a safety announcement. By then, it was 4 pm, so we checked out the afternoon tea in the Wintergarden area. It was absolutely packed, so we joined a couple from Washington state and another woman from Wisconsin. Turns out they were Viking veterans and adored the cruise line.

The tea itself was quite lovely. There was a tea menu to choose from (I went for spiced cinnamon, whereas mum went for Earl Grey). Classic high tea fare of scones and mini sandwiches was provided as well, which we enjoyed while listening to our new American friends wax lyrical about their high seas adventures with Viking.

Travel with The Weekly: What to expect on a Viking Ocean Cruise

Dinner and a show

Afterwards, we got ready for dinner in The Restaurant, which is the main restaurant on deck two. There’s a dress code: elegant casual. It essentially means no jeans and no thongs. Men wear shirts and trousers, women wear dresses or shirts and pants and a nice top.

The menu changes every night. It always features a chef’s choice, which is inspired by traditional dishes of the port cities the ship is in. There are also some classic options like steak and fries available every night. My mum and I were blown away by the food quality and service.

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We had the same starters and mains, but differed on the dessert: chicken curry croquette starter (which was essentially an Indian-curry-filled arancini ball), then duck breast with blueberry sauce and the most incredible carrot mash for amin. For dessert, I had the espresso mousse (yum), and Mum got the creme brule. We paired our meal with a lovely French Syrah. As we were eating, the ship reached further into open waters, and the swaying started!

To officially start the cruise journey, the captain hosted a Welcome Reception at the Star Theatre. He introduced all the senior staff, including the on-board historian who’s from Queensland, and the musical guests. After some fabulous musical performances, we went to bed for a nightcap. Early start tomorrow!

Day One: Bergen

As I was travelling from Australia, I arrived in Bergen, our first port, the day before disembarkation. And as my mother was joining me from Ireland, she and my father enjoyed a couple of days in Bergen together before I arrived. Our visits are normally confined to Christmas time and weddings, so enjoying a reindeer hotdog or Norwegian beer together (both delicious by the way) was a welcome change!

However, if you decide to go on this cruise, you can arrive on the day of the cruise. Viking can organise a shuttle from the airport (which is about 40-45 minutes away). As I said, I was coming from Australia, so I appreciated an extra night to adjust to the time zone.

Check-in

As I have never been on a cruise, I wasn’t sure what to expect when it came to the check-in process. But it was seamless. Ahead of the cruise, Viking has posted our luggage tags. We simply had to attach those, and as soon as we arrived at the port, their staff took them away, with promises that they would be brought to our staterooms (they were). As my mother and I are both European citizens, passport control at the port was also very easy. But it wasn’t much more difficult for other nationalities. We noticed they had to have their photo taken, like you’d get at passport control at an airport.

I had brought along a copy of The Australian Women’s Weekly, and while I was searching for my boarding pass, the woman next to me spotted it. Turned out she was also there from Australia, Aly and her partner Dave were also sailing with Viking for the first time, although they weren’t complete novices like us.

The crew greeted us on board with sparkling wine and juices. We then listened to our safety demonstrations before the crew invited us to relax while our rooms were being prepared. We had a quick look around the Living Room (lobby) and took advantage of our Silver Spirits Package with a cocktail before our orientation tour.

Orientation tour

Although it’s a smaller cruise ship, it’s not exactly small. There are nine decks (aka floors), and venues are located on decks one, two, and seven.

Wes, the head of client services, took a group of other first-timers around (including our new Aussie friends). Decks (floors) one and two are where the restaurants are. There are around eight to choose from. Chef’s Table is a higher-end degustation-style venue with wine pairing and a more formal dress code — no jeans, please. Next door is Manfreddi’s, an Italian restaurant. Upstairs on Deck Two is the aptly named “The Restaurant”. Casual dining can be found on Deck 7 at the World Cafe, a buffet-style eatery with plenty of food options. There is also The Grill by one of the pools, plus afternoon tea is served in the Wintergarden.

Beyond food, there are multiple pools, a spa (complete with thermal pool, snow grotto and sauna), a gym, and plenty of bars to choose from. Mum and I tried to make a mental map before heading back to our rooms to sort our bags and our shore excursions.

Our room

Luckily, we were upgraded! So our twin-bed stateroom had a bit more space than we anticipated. The room is well-furnished with plenty of natural elements such as wood panelling and leather on the door handles. We also have a balcony and a seating area — great for when you have to write while on a trip! Staff greeted us and gave us a tour of the stateroom and its amenities (including the bathroom’s heated floors and the minibar that’s restocked daily and included in the fare).

The Penthouse Junior Suite stateroom on-board the Viking Star

Dinner

We kept it simple on our first night and opted to dine at World Cafe. As mentioned, there is plenty to choose from, from Asian fare to risottos, local cuisine to Italian specialities. After dining on risotto and salmon with paired wines, followed by a cheese board, we headed back to our stateroom to rest up before our first shore excursion tomorrow in Bergen. Check back in then!

The author was a guest of Viking Cruises.

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