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It just might be the perfect cruising moment — at least for me.
As I write this, I am sitting in the stylish, glass-walled lounge at the front of the Viking ocean ship Viking Saturn, my travel companion at my side.
Awaiting our lips, in Schott Zwiesel crystal glasses, are martinis made with gin from Highclere Castle, a Viking partner — garnished at our server’s recommendation with orange twists to match the spirit’s citrus overtones.
In the background, classy orchestral music plays. Not too softly. Not too loudly.
Just outside, the rugged coast of Scotland scrolls by — a seemingly endless loop of dramatic cliffs, mountains, beaches and picturesque villages.
We take a break from writing to raise our glasses in a toast to the lovely day we had walking this coastline during a port stop in one of the villages. We reminisce. We smile. We laugh.
In a few minutes, we will descend to the ship’s main restaurant for a delightful dinner, attended to by a polished staff.
Really, I can’t think of a better way to end the day.
It isn’t, for the record, a new experience for me. It is the same sort of graceful, tasteful cruising moment that I have been having on Viking ocean ships ever since they debuted a decade ago, and that has prompted me to write fondly of the line many times.
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Still, it is only now, as I head into the later years of life, that I am beginning to understand the appeal of these vessels at a deeper level.
Like millions of other Americans nearing retirement or already there, my years of frenetic family trips to theme parks and beach towns are in the past. So are the more hardcore adventure trips of my youth — the weeks trekking in the Peruvian Andes or mountain biking in the Appalachians — and the penny-pinching budget travel of my early years.
At 56, I am finally ready for something that is both more refined and more relaxing.
I have hit the Viking age.
Elegant, upscale cruising
Some cruise lines try to be all things to all people. Viking isn’t one of them.
Since its founding in 1997, the upscale cruise brand has carved out a niche catering to a certain type of thoughtful, inquisitive, generally older traveler looking to explore the world and learn a thing or two along the way.
Most Viking customers, like me, are approaching their retirement years or are already there, and they’re eager to finally see all the places they didn’t have time to visit while raising kids and establishing careers in their younger years.
They’re also ready to travel in relative comfort, with all of the little hassles that come with world travel smoothed away, and they’re willing (and finally have the means) to pay for that type of experience.
For this subset of travelers, Viking has crafted a broad range of carefully thought-out cruise itineraries on ships that were purposefully designed to offer an intimate and elegant experience.
As I am seeing on this 14-night “British Isles Explorer” sailing around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and have seen on many Viking voyages before, they are elegant trips in every way.
Impeccably designed ships
It is an elegance that starts with the design of the ships, of which there now are 11 — all essentially the same.
From the easy flow of interior spaces to the understated sophistication of the Scandinavian-influenced decor, the look is unified, stylish and refined in a way that is rare in the cruise industry.
These aren’t ships jammed with bustling and boisterous amusement zones, bars, restaurants and showrooms, as is so common these days.
At the core of the public areas on each of the vessels, for instance, is a central atriumlike space that, in contrast to what you find on many ships, is an oasis of calm and civility. Called The Living Room, it has a noticeably residential feel, with comfortable and cozy seating areas that are perfect for conversation over coffee and pastries from the cafe in one corner.
I love just sitting in this space, sipping a cappuccino, reading one of the books on art and design that can be found in the small library in another corner — or listening to the classical pianist that sometimes plays the Steinway at the base of the room’s grand stairway.
That stairway leads up to a second level where more seating areas include high-tech tables where you can call up digital versions of chess, mahjong and other games. On this sailing, I’ve spent hours up there with my companion and newfound friends.
The Living Room is one of two main gathering spots on each of Viking’s ocean ships, the other being the similarly serene glass-walled lounge overlooking the bow, known as the Explorers’ Lounge. Also residential in feel, and cozy, it is two decks high with a bar and a small food outlet serving Norwegian specialties — a tie-in to the brand’s Norwegian founder.
From morning to night, the Explorers’ Lounge is where I always seem to find myself on any given sailing, soaking in the beauty of the passing scenery through its floor-to-ceiling glass walls, a coffee in my hand if it’s early, a cocktail later in the day.
That is, if I can tear myself away from the tranquility of my room. The cabins on Viking ocean ships are triumphs of Scandinavian-influenced design, with touches big and small (I love the heated floors in the bathrooms) that make you never want to leave.
Related: Everything you need to know about Viking cabins and suites
One more thing I love about Viking ships is that they are intimate and uncrowded.
The vessels are notably small when compared to many of the giant ships debuting these days, which creates its own kind of classiness. In an era of ever-bigger megaships that can hold as many as 7,000 people, Viking decided to keep the size and capacity of the vessels in its fleet at a human level. No matter where you are on board, you never feel like you’re traveling with a crowd.
A refined ambience
Still, the classiness of Viking ships goes beyond their design. It has just as much or more to do with their ambience.
It’s a calm, quiet, cultured sort of vibe — one where you won’t hear music blasting from speakers in every corner of the ship or a lot of shipwide announcements.
On board Viking ocean ships, the activity schedule revolves heavily around what the line calls “cultural enrichment” — lectures by experts on topics related to the places its ships visit, as well as cultural and culinary offerings that often have a local tie-in.
On our voyage around the British Isles, for instance, an expert on ballistics and ancient weapons gave a talk on the catapults used in castle warfare in the region during the Middle Ages. Another expert regaled us with the science behind the making of Scottish whiskies. Scottish music, dance and verse were the focus of another lecture.
It is, as Viking founder Torstein Hagen likes to say, a “thinking person’s cruise.”
There is musical entertainment, too — often wonderful musical entertainment. But it’s notably not the sort of overly loud and flashy musical entertainment you often get on cruises. Instead of raunchy comedians and ear-splitting, strobe light-flashing musical extravaganzas, the main theaters on Viking ocean vessels serve up a more serene lineup of performances. On my sailing, we enjoyed a pianist on a couple of the nights and a small group of vocalists that sang Broadway tunes and other songs.
Just steps away from the main theaters on each of the ships, an intimate nightclub called Torshaven often has a small band with vocalists performing classic dance tunes aimed at an older crowd (one night when I walked in, quite a few couples were on the dance floor rocking back and forth — or should I say swaying — to the 1950s Dean Martin song “Sway”).
Another entertainment highlight on my sailing has been a classical duo — a violinist and cellist — playing traditional Norwegian music in The Living Room in the early evenings while works by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch flash across a large digital screen. Viking calls these Munch Moments, and they’re about as classy as can be.
Up in the Explorers’ Lounge, meanwhile, evenings typically bring live music from a guitarist, a pianist or the same classical duo that performs in The Living Room. But it’s live music played softly enough that you can still hold a conversation.
Other daily entertainment includes an elaborate afternoon tea in the glass-enclosed Wintergarden atop the ship, accompanied by classical music.
As I said, classy. And very adult.
What Viking ships don’t offer — and, for many, this is a significant part of the appeal — are any onboard amusements that would draw families, such as waterslides or go-kart tracks. They’re not those sorts of ships.
In fact, the line doesn’t even allow children under the age of 18 on its ships. It’s one of the only major cruise brands in the world with such a rule.
Viking ships also don’t have casinos, which is unusual. They’re not those sorts of ships, either.
A focus on the destination
It isn’t just what happens on board Viking ocean ships that wins my adoration. These vessels also get my praise for how they deliver the off-ship experience.
For starters, Viking ocean ships often take it slow when sailing around a region, building in frequent stops at ports that aren’t all that far apart to allow for longer stays in each place they visit. That, in turn, gives passengers more time to explore historical sites and experience the local culture than is typical on cruises.
On my 14-night British Isles Explorer sailing, for instance, we almost never traveled more than 250 miles between port stops, allowing for long days in each port and even overnight stays in some places.
In Liverpool, England, for instance, we remained docked until 10 p.m., late enough that passengers could head into town in the evening for a pint of the city’s iconic Cains ale. We could do that because our next stop, Holyhead, Wales, was just 90 miles away.
In both Bergen, Norway, and London, where the cruise began and ended, respectively, we docked overnight for even longer visits.
Even more notable, perhaps, is the way Viking helps passengers on its ocean vessels get to know each of the ports they visit. In contrast to most other ocean cruise lines, Viking includes a guided tour in every port at no extra charge.
This is something that even some of its highest-end rivals, such as Seabourn, Crystal and Explora Journeys, don’t do.
On my sailing, Viking guides toured us through Edinburgh; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Dublin; and Canterbury, England, among other places — all for no extra cost.
No nickel-and-diming
The lack of extra charges for at least one shore excursion in every port (there are more elaborate, extra-charge excursions in every port, too) is just part of a no-nickel-and-diming philosophy at the brand that is one of its best features.
I’ve always loved that Viking doesn’t charge for Wi-Fi on board, wine or beer with lunch and dinner, specialty restaurants, room service, and even use of the self-serve launderettes located in cabin areas — the latter was much appreciated by me and my companion as we arrived with two suitcases full of dirty clothes from several weeks of touring in Egypt and Europe.
There’s also no charge to lounge in the lovely, Scandinavian-themed thermal suite at the ship’s spa, which is home to a thermal pool and hot tub, steam room, snow grotto, experience shower, and other spa experiences.
On many ships, even high-end luxury ships operated by other brands, such thermal areas are only available to passengers who pay extra fees for a pricey spa treatment or, in some cases, a spa day pass.
Bottom line
Viking ocean cruises have specifically been designed to appeal to a certain type of thoughtful, curious, somewhat older traveler who has the time and money to explore the world. As such, a Viking cruise isn’t for everyone. On many of the line’s sailings, passengers are a cohort of travelers who, for the most part, are notably older than me — often in their 60s, 70s and 80s.
But even at 56, I feel like I fit right in, and if you’re like me — someone who is ready for a more refined and relaxing sort of travel experience after years of bustle — it’s a great choice.
Viking can be defined as much by what it isn’t as what it is. It’s not a line for families with young children. It’s not a line with megaships topped off by every sort of amusement known to humans. And it’s not a line for the party crowd.
What it is, on the other hand, is a line that has focused very specifically on “thinking person’s cruises” that offer a deeper dive into the destinations that its ships visit than is typical at many lines, with about as classy an onboard experience as is available these days.
In a phrase, it’s all about exploring the world and doing so in comfort.
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